The Game-thread will go up at 6:30, but we'll have this Draft-thread running simultaneously if you want to follow that.
I'll be tracking and analyzing both picks the Yankees make tonight.
Here's a Yankee-focused draft preview.
Television coverage will begin at 6 p.m. on MLB Network.
UPDATE 6:30 - As expected, Strasburg was taken #1. The rest of the NL East will probably hate him within a couple years.
UPDATE 8:30 - The Yanks take high-school outfielder Slade Heathcott (great baseball name, btw). I have to admit I've never heard of him. I'll take direct quotes from his MLB.com scouting report:
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| Hitting ability: | Heathcott has plus hitting ability from the left side of the plate. |
| Power: | He has plus power to all fields. |
| Running speed: | Even with a knee brace, he showed above-average speed. |
| Base running: | Has great instincts on the bases and will be a base-stealer in the future. |
| Arm strength: | Also clocking in at 95 mph in the past off the mound, his arm from the outfield is a big plus. |
| Fielding: | He's a plus defender who can play all three outfield positions well. |
| Range: | His speed and his instincts allow him to cover a lot of ground. |
| Physical Description: | Heathcott is muscular with broad shoulders and a v-cut torso. |
| Medical Update: | He had ACL reconstruction surgery in November and has been playing with a knee brace, but shows no ill effects. He recently sprained a shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield, but sustained no structural damage. |
| Strengths: | Plus tools across the board. Intense competitor with instincts beyond his years. |
| Weaknesses: | There are some off-the-field issues that concern some. His makeup on the field is fine, but his character is the question. |
| Summary: |
Heathcott is a very interesting high school outfielder with plus tools across the board. Even after November ACL surgery, he runs extremely well, has a plus arm from the outfield and can really hit for average and power from the left side of the plate. He's an intense competitor, but there is some concern over character issues off the field. The team that gets those questions answered could be the one to take him on Draft Day. |
From baseballfactory.com:
One of the best athletes in the 2009 high school class, Heathcott is also one of the top 2-way prospects. He is a well rounded outfield prospect with speed, arm stregnth, hitting ability and power potential. His fastbal reaches in the low 90s and goes with a solid breaking ball.
From The Sporting News:
Heathcott is one of the most athletic players in the draft. A football player, too, he plays baseball like he plays football, which might be a reason for some of his injuries during high school. Also had some off-the-field problems with both parents having past problems with drugs. But Heathcott, in a professional and disciplined atmosphere like the Yankees, should provide Heathcott the support he will need. An excellent runner and stone-cold hitter, Heathcott is a pretty solid pick.
Here is Heathcott's Facebook page.
Heathcott's a surprising pick. There were two very high-ceiling pitchers still on the board: Tanner Scheppers and Rex Brothers. Scheppers is a righty that throws in the mid-90s and has had injury concerns - it seemed the perfect fit for the Yanks. Brothers is a lefty that also throws mid-90s, and has a great slider, but no third pitch.
UPDATE 10:15 - With their 3rd round pick, the Yankees took John Murphy, a right-handed catcher out of The Pendleton (High) School in Florida. BA's scouting report:
The scouting consensus seemed to be that Murphy had risen to the top of the pile of Florida prep catchers by the end of the season, after an amazing spring playing for the IMG Academy in Bradenton. Murphy hit .627 with 11 home runs in 102 at-bats, rapping 34 extra-base hits overall and striking out just four times. That built off a strong summer and fall performance, as Murphy starred for the Florida Bombers during Connie Mack play and the World Wood Bat tournament in Jupiter, Fla., in October 2008. Murphy’s bat attracts most of the attention, as he has a short, sharp righthanded swing that generates good bat speed and plate coverage. Scouts grade his hit tool ahead of his power, though he’s expected to produce average power with wood. He’s also athletic, having made a shift from outfield (and occasionally third base) to catcher. He’s shown he’s more than capable of handling catcher, showing plus arm strength, solid receiving ability and a quick transfer. The Miami recruit has intelligence and makeup needed for the position, as well, and had hit his way into supplemental round consideration.
The draft starts up again at noon tomorrow as round four kicks off.