MLB draft preview
The MLB draft is just about a week from today. Starting Monday, Damon Oppenheimer and his staff will begin selecting new players into the Yankees’ system for us to all yell and argue about even though they are years away from any meaningful contributions. Today, we’re going to go over some of the draft logistics to get you prepared and update on the latest mock drafts.
Draft Logistics
The draft takes place over three days and lasts 40 rounds. The first day is Monday, June 3 and you can follow along either online at mlb.com or watch it live on MLB Network starting at 7pm ET. On Monday, the first two rounds of the draft as well as some competitive balance and compensation picks will be made.
Here is the draft order for day one: 1st round, 1st Compensation, Competitive Balance A, 2nd round, Competitive Balance B, 2nd Compensation. The first and second rounds are what we are used to. The compensation picks are for teams who lost free agents over the offseason, and the competitive balance rounds are based on luxury tax payments and market size. What you need to know is the Yankees have three picks on day one. They have the 30th overall pick in the first round, the 38th overall pick in Compensation Round A (acquired in Sonny Gray trade), and the 67th overall pick in the second round.
Day two of the draft takes place on Tuesday, June 4, and consists of rounds 3-10. Day three is Wednesday, June 5, for rounds 11-40. For both those days, you can follow alone live at mlb.com.
In terms of money, the Yankees have a total of $7,455,300 in their draft pool. The way the draft pool works is complicated so let me explain. That pool can be allocated however the Yankees like for their picks from the first 10 rounds. That covers every pick made on days 1 and 2. However, any player selected on day 3 who receives a bonus over $10,000 counts against the bonus pool. Most teams will try to save draft capital by selecting low leverage college seniors on day two so that they have draft pool money left to throw at a few high upside questionable signability guys on day 3. And of course, there are penalties for going over your draft pool allowance.
Latest Mock Drafts
For a full recap of a few mock drafts, check out our posts from the past two weeks. In the past week, there have been two more mock drafts released and they feature new players being mocked to the Yankees. Over at MLB Pipeline, their latest mock has the Yankees selecting Kameron Misner, OF, Missouri. They rank him as the 30th best player in this draft class and had the following report:
Misner's bat speed, strength and the leverage in his 6-foot-4 frame give him huge raw power that he's just beginning to tap into. He's a polished hitter with a sound left-handed swing, good balance and a mature approach that had him leading NCAA Division I in walks when he got hurt in 2018. He also has plus speed and the aptitude to steal bases, making him a 20-20 threat.
After playing mostly left field as a freshman and a lot of first base as a sophomore, Misner has looked comfortable in center field this spring. He has the quickness and strong arm to patrol anywhere in the outfield, with a chance to stick in center in pro ball and the tools to profile well in right. Scouts love his makeup as well.
Loud tools and great makeup are exactly what the Yankees like, and Misner fits the bill. He does have some injury and performance concerns from the past year which make him a risky pick for the first round, though MLB says he “has the best all-around tools in the 2019 college crop.”
Over at The Athletic (subs req’d), they did a beat writer mock draft with Lindsey Adler selecting for the Yankees. She has the Yankees taking Matthew Lugo, SS, Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy, and says the following about him:
Lugo is an 18-year-old shortstop/second baseman from Puerto Rico whose glove is his calling card right now. He’ll be one of the youngest players available in the 2019 draft and is a commit to the University of Miami — and he happens to be the nephew of Yankees special advisor Carlos Beltrán.
MLB Pipeline ranks Lugo as the 38th best player in the draft and said this:
Lugo's bat is what has stood out the most, especially over the summer and at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship in October. He has an advanced approach at the plate, especially given his age, with a line-drive, up-the-middle philosophy. While he's not nearly as big as Correa, Lugo looks the part already and has more pop from the right side of the plate than you might expect, with some feeling he could have better than average power in the future. While he's not a burner, he runs well underway and is a solid athlete.
The Yankees are known to prefer players who already have wood bat success and it is noticeable that Lugo has an advance approach for such a young player. I can’t help but notice similarities to Gleyber Torres in the profile. An advance approach, surprising pop, not fast, and questionable defense all sound a lot like Torres. And since Beltran works for the Yankees, presumably they will have great insight into Lugo.
Conclusion
With less than a week to go before the draft, there is still no consensus on who the Yankees will take, and we might all be in for a surprise next week!
You can contact Rohan on Twitter @rohanarcot20