The Yankees believe they could have another fast riser in their second-round pick from this year’s draft.
The most recent Yankees draft pick to make it to the big leagues is 2017 first-rounder Clarke Schmidt, the right-hander who debuted three years later.
The Yankees believe they could have another fast riser in their second-round pick from this year’s draft, Stanford right-hander Brendan Beck, according to VP of domestic amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer.
“We think he could be really close,” Oppenheimer said Wednesday, a day after the MLB draft wrapped up. “There’s not a lot that has to happen with him. There’s not a lot of development that has to go in. He just probably needs to build up innings. … We think we’re getting a high-end starter.”
A four-year starter at Stanford, Beck struck out 143 and walked 26 in 108 ²/₃ innings as a senior. Beck has four pitches, with a fastball that has reached 96-97 mph, Oppenheimer said.
Beck was one of 17 college players the Yankees drafted with their 20 overall picks, though Oppenheimer said that wasn’t a designed strategy. One of the three high school players they selected was left-hander Brock Selvidge (an LSU signee), whom they picked in the third round. The Yankees believed was a top-three high school pitcher in the draft at this time last year.
“We think we’re going to get that one done and that he will become a Yankee real soon and get his career started with us,” Oppenheimer said of Selvidge. “We think we really might have got ourselves something really good in the third.”
Asked about the signability of the Yankees’ top five draft picks, Oppenheimer said he didn’t anticipate they would have any issues.
Some scouting reports on the Yankees’ first-round pick, Trey Sweeney, question whether he will stick at shortstop. But Oppenheimer pushed back on that idea, insisting Sweeney has the tools to stay there.
“He’s smooth, he’s got good hands, he runs well enough, his range is good and he’s got a plus arm,” Oppenheimer said. “Realistically, he has all the tools and the intangibles to be a shortstop. He has a clock to play shortstop, so defensively we don’t see any issues why he wouldn’t stay there.”
The Yankees announced midseason promotions for eight minor leaguers, led by top prospect Jasson Dominguez. The 18-year-old outfielder was moved from the rookie Florida Complex League to Low-A Tampa, and debuted by going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs Tuesday night.
Other notable promotions included shortstop Anthony Volpe (No. 11 prospect, per MLB.com), who moved from Low-A Tampa to High-A Hudson Valley, and right-hander Glen Otto (No. 28), who moved from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Greg Joyce
