2013 Yankees Draft Picks: Gosuke Katoh

By Jason Cohen@Jason00Cohen Jun 7, 2013, 4:00pm EDT

When the Yankees drafted Gosuke Katoh with their second round pick the consensus seemed to be "Who?" It turns out he's a defensive whiz second baseman who has the potential to be a contact hitter with some power. He seems like a reach for a second round pick, having been ranked at 189 by Baseball America, but the Yankees seem to like his glove and he could still surprise everyone and hit.

It's possible the Yankees drafted him to try him out at shortstop or, more likely, because they need the extra money to sign Ian Clarkin. It was also believed that he'd go to UCLA if he wasn't picked high enough in the draft, and when he was projected to go no sooner than the fourth round, a second round pick will probably get the job done.

At Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, Katoh ranked #74 in the 2013 class by MaxPreps, he took part in the 2012 Perfect Game All-American Classic, the 2012 Area Code Games, he was a member of the 2012 WWBA 17U All-Tournament Team, the 2012 Perfect Game Underclass All-American 3rd Team, and was All-League in 2012.

Anthony Boyer at the Crawfish Boxes says he is one of the best defensive players in the country, with good instincts, feet, and glove. He has too weak of an arm to play on the left side of the infield, so he'll have to stay at second base. Katoh has good bat speed with some lift and a lot of patience. He modeled his offensive game off his idol, Ichiro Suzuki, even going so far as to become a left-handed hitter, and can really run down the line. Boyer believes his floor is that of Jose Lind and his ceiling could be close to Luis Castillo.