The New York Yankees MLB First Year Player Draft Recap

James Kaprielian delivers during a game against Arizona State in March 2014. (Don Liebig / UCLA)

The New York Yankees selected 41 players in this year’s Major League baseball First Year player’s draft.

Out of the 41 players picked, 24 of them were pitchers, including No. 16 overall pick James Kaprielian, a right handed pitcher from UCLA. Among the 24 pitchers selected by the Yankees only four of them were lefthanders.

The Yankees selected 32 players from the collegiate level to go with nine players from the high school level. The Yankees also received one compensation pick after David Robertson signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox. The pick was the No. 30 overall and with it the Yankees selected Kyle Holder, a shortstop out of the University of San Diego.

Among the players selected were 10 infielders, two catchers, and five outfielders, and the youngest player selected by the Yankees was Michael Hicks, an 18 year old out of Coeur d’Alene HS (Idaho). Hicks is a 6-7 first baseman who was selected 783 overall. The 18 year old hit .437 with 11 doubles, five homeruns and 27 runs batted in in 25 games with Coeur d’Alene HS.

The Yankees second round pick was used on Jeff Degano, a left handed pitcher from Indiana State University. Degano, who has already had Tommy John surgery, was ranked as the No. 83 pitching prospect according to Baseball America. Degano was 8-3 with a 2.36 earned run average in 2015.

In the third round, the Yankees selected their first high school player in Drew Finley out of Rancho Bernardo HS (Calif.). The 6-3 right-hander, who was ranked the No. 60 pitching prospect by Baseball America is the son of David Finley, the Dodgers’ vice president of amateur and international scouting.  Finley, 18 was the 92^nd overall pick in the draft.

The Yankees found a surplus of pitching and a lot of young talent in this year’s draft. Either way a Yankee fan looks at it, this draft class is definitely one to keep an eye on, and one that could see several members in the majors sooner rather than later.