The draft is one week away and one thing is very much clear. This isn’t a very good draft at all. There is a couple of factors that are leading to it being a down draft.
1. Injuries. A lot of the top talent in this draft has gotten hurt. You have Aiken and Matuella that most people know about. Also there is Kolby Allard who was considered a top prep pitching prospect that has been hurt and won’t pitch before the draft. You also have Nathan Kirby who recently got hurt.
2. Elite college pitching just isn’t there. This has been a trend for a number of years now. Elite HS pitching is being drafted and signing which leaves less top pitchers for college coaches to develop. Nathan Kirby was a top pick out of HS but did what Murray did and took himself out of the draft. Since then he has been good but not great. Most of the top pitchers have multiple concerns about what role they are going to have in pro ball as many see relievers in their futures. Using any first round pick on a reliever usually isn’t’ a smart play. The best pitcher in college Tate wasn’t even suppose to be a starter this year but had to go into the starters role because of an injury.
3. High school ranks don’t have the upper velocity that we have seen in years pass. Their are some good arms in this draft from the HS ranks but nothing like we have seen over the past few years. There isn’t tons of 6’3″ and taller pitchers throwing mid 90s as there have been.
These are just a few reasons why this draft is not looking as if it will be a great draft. Not a ton of upside but I believe there is a decent amount of depth in it. I could see many guys even into the mid 1st round cut deals for below slot. If that happens we could see more good players in the 10th round and later sign than we have seen. For that stand point with the amount the Yankees have to spend I believe they will be aggressive and do that too.
If you thought that having a mid first round pick was great for the Yankees it might have been one year too late. We will just have to wait and see.
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