Written by Greg Fertel
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19 May 2008
The 2008 MLB draft, which is on June 5th and 6th, is coming up very soon. As always, it is a great opportunity for the Yankees (and other teams) to restock their minor league systems, uncover some hidden gems, and discover the stars of the future. I really enjoy following the draft because of its unpredictability and its depth. While the NFL and NBA drafts are fun because they are both full of players who are ready to make an impact in the majors right away, the MLB draft is so much fun precisely because there is so much possibility in those 50 rounds. Dozens of draftees seem to have all-star ceilings, and even the lower-round guys can sometimes be envisioned in a big-league uniform one day.
This year's draft is considered somewhat weak in terms of pitchers compared to last season, both in high school and college, as there is no consensus can't-miss prospect in the bunch. While Brian Matusz of San Diego and Aaron Crow of Missouri are the top college arms this season, they are not considered in the same class as David Price, Andrew Miller, or some of the top college arms of yesteryear. Likewise, there is no high schooler with the talent or hype of Rick Porcello or Clayton Kershaw, and there is no real consensus on who the first high school arm to be picked will be.
The deepest area of this draft is definitely college hitting, with 3b Pedro Alvarez of Vanderbilt, 1b Justin Smoak of South Carolina, and C Buster Posey of Florida State representing 3 guys who are almost definitely locks to be top 10 picks. The high school bats aren't too shabby either, led by SS Tim Beckham, C Kyle Skipworth, and 1b Eric Hosmer.
While most of the names I mentioned above are likely to be gone before the Yankees pick comes at #28, as usual, there is a good chance that an elite talent could drop to the Yankees because of injury, excessive bonus demands, or other complicating factors. Last year,
Andrew Brackman, a consensus top 5 pick before going down with an elbow injury, fell to the Yankees at #30 because other teams were unwilling to take the chance of giving a major league contract and multi million dollar bonus to a raw college pitcher who was likely to need elbow surgery. And while one could definitely question the riskiness of the pick, there is no doubt that Brackman was the most talented player available, and few teams other than the Yankees have the financial strength to take a flier on a high-volatility player with the potential to be a superstar.
The Yankees come into the draft with a very strong farm system that is a little deeper in pitching prospects, by virtue of the organization's recent emphasis on drafting pitchers. However, the Yankees should continue to draft the best talents available, regardless of organizational need. They should continue to look for the talented players that fall in the draft, get them signed, and keep building the next generation of Yankee stars.
From now until the draft I will be making some posts talking about some potential picks for the Yankees, both in the 1st and later rounds, as well as giving my impressions about what I've been hearing about the draft as a whole. So stay tuned. In the meantime, if you want to find scouting information on potential draftees, be sure to check out these sites:
MVN Draft University
MILB Draft Reports
SaberScouting
Brewerfan.net Draft Coverage
