With the 2024 draft class light on hitting, the Yankees took one of the most unique approaches of any organization by leaning into this class’ strength and selecting pitchers with eight of their first ten picks. More specifically, they selected pitchers from major programs. In fact, six of the first eight pitchers they selected were from SEC programs – two apiece from Vanderbilt and LSU, respectively.
Let’s forget the players they selected for a moment and focus on their macro draft strategy. For an organization which I’ve argued is better at developing pitchers than hitters, I find it fascinating they selected so many players from a position group in which they’ve been able to extract more value from in the past. Conventional wisdom suggests they should’ve taken more swings on positions in which they’ve struggled to develop – in this case, hitters – hoping the law of averages allows for the development of one or two positional prospects of note. They went against conventional wisdom, though, and leaned even further into their developmental strength.
Truth be told, I like the plan. It would’ve been easy for the Yankees to look at their board and say, “We need to fill out our organization with hitters,” when in reality, you can do that in the back ten rounds of the draft. The first ten rounds are precious currency with slot values attached. Very few organizations win by going with the grain, and the Yankees took a unique strategy to this draft that treads a nice line between risk and reward.
One of my favorite quotes in baseball is from Dodgers’ President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, when he made comments about the lucrative contracts he’s authorized: “If you’re always rational about every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.” Was it rational to select virtually no hitters with any of their premium picks? Probably not, but it aligns with what they’ve done a much better job of developing of late. It’s a bold move that could result in the Yankees having an abundance of pitching in a few years. Even if the results don’t amount to a desired outcome, that would be more an indictment on the developmental process than the draft strategy.
As for the players themselves, I won’t add much to what we’ve already written about:
Instead, I’ll comment on the types of pitchers they targeted. In keeping with tradition, the Yankees selected large, hulking pitchers with very loud stuff. According to Baseball America, all but one pitcher that the Yankees selected in the first ten rounds are 6-foot-2 or taller (sorry Gage Ziehl). As you might expect, virtually all the pitchers they selected boast plus or better extension because of their wingspans and release points. Virtually all of them throw hard, though some have better shape on their fastballs than others (refer to my supination comment regarding Bryce Cunningham here).
As you go down the line of pitchers, each one has trickier issues than the previous one. Cunningham has a straightforward developmental path where he’ll need to supinate more on his fastball and adjust the usage of his secondaries, whereas Thatcher Hurd has louder stuff but more strike-throwing concerns, something that isn’t remedied with a simple tweak to his release point. The concerns and viability of a breakthrough diminish as you go further down the draft list, but there’s a plausible case where every pitcher selected has at least a solid reliever outcome.
I am a bit surprised the pool money they saved by selecting Hess in the first round didn’t go to a prep player later on. To me, this sniffs them getting sniped on prep players they either hoped or expected to still be available come later rounds. I’m sure they’re still content with their picks, and I believe they liked Hess alongside the alternatives in later rounds enough to gamble on their prep target still being there in the middle rounds. If anything, it means the Yankees could sign their picks for less than the bonus pool caps – not that that’s something to be proud of, especially when you’re the New York Yankees, but you get the gist.
I’d be remiss not to mention the two hitters the Yankees selected in the first ten rounds, with Grand Canyon’s Tyler Wilson and William & Mary’s Joe Delossantos being selected in the eighth and tenth rounds, respectively. Wilson is the son of Yankees scout, Steve Wilson, and boasts an impressive combination of feel for hit and power. He’s a corners-only option – likely a first baseman – but he’s a fine gambit to crack the top-20 organizational rankings if the power he exhibited at GCU sticks (I have my doubts there). Delossantos has equally impressive power from a corner outfield spot, but he might need a swing change to be on plane with the ball more consistently.
To cap off our draft coverage, hopefully you’re sensing my intrigue with this class. This is a high-risk, high reward-type class where you could either watch four of five impactful arms see their value soar as they enter the Yankees’ pitching infrastructure, or you might end up with one middle reliever. This class may not be as complete as the Yankees hoped, as I truly believe they got sniped on a prep prospect in the middle rounds, so their plan B is what I’m grading. All things considered, I’ll give the Yankees a B- for their draft. I always prefer upside to floor, and this class embodies that idea more than perhaps any Yankees draft in the last decade.
What do you think, though? Are you a fan of this draft class, or are you the bearish keyboard warrior living at home, sitting in your basement with your draws on and cookie crumbs on your stomach? Let us know by partaking in this poll and sharing your opinions in the comments below!
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What grade would you give the Yankees’ 2024 draft?
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