2010 Yankees Draft Preview

Written by Greg Fertel | 11 March 2010

Andy Seiler of MLBBonusBaby.com came out with his 2010 Draft Preview for the Yankees. First, he reviews recent drafts and takes a look at who the Yankees targeted. Then, he discusses the Yankees' drafting philosophy, their budget, and the improvements that have been made in the front office.

"If I was writing this draft preview five years ago, I’d be talking about how dysfunctional the Yankees’ scouting was when teamed with the rest of its front office."

Now, it is clear that the Yankees farm system has taken a big hit over the past few seasons. There are a few distinct causes of this and it goes back to Andrew Brackman. The 2007 first round pick has yet to distinguish himself as a top prospect and put up a pretty awful debut in 2009.

After that, the Yankees failed to sign their top pick in the 2008 draft, Gerrit Cole. Getting no plusses from two straight first round picks will always hurt a farm system. Add in that the Yankees just traded away three good prospects in Austin Jackson, Arodys Vizcaino, and Mike Dunn and it's no surprise their system is currently in the bottom echelon.

I don't disagree with the assessment that the Yankees have a low-tiered farm system now, but I don't think it's a big deal. As Seiler notes, the Yankees give Damon Oppenheimer(pictured) one of the top draft budgets in the game. The Yankees will look to draft impact talents that have signability concerns, as they have since Oppenheimer took control.

The farm doesn't look good right now, but that won't last long. The Yankees will devote a lot of money to the 2010 draft and could sign the touted Cuban shortstop Adeinis Hechevarria. Things don't look great right now, but I wouldn't worry too much; the picture will look better in a year or two.

Photo Credit: Cataffo