MLB Draft 2019: The Yankees select Jake Sanford 105th overall

The 2019 MLB Draft kicked off last night. In the first round, the Yankees selected high school infielder Anthony Volpe. With their supplemental pick, they nabbed college pitcher TJ Sikkema. Finally, they went all-in on shortstops by selecting Louisiana State’s Josh Smith in the second round.

We are officially underway again today. With their third-round pick, the Bombers selected Jake Sanford 105th overall. The outfielder hails from Western Kentucky and is six-foot-two and 215 pounds.

Baseball America ranked him 324th on their Top 500 list, while MLB.com placed him at number 107 in their Top 200. Interestingly, the college junior didn’t receive any offers to play baseball coming out of high school, and walked on at McCook Community College. He didn’t garner much attention from scouts until 2019 when he surprised everyone with his power, slashing .402/.488/.828 with 22 home runs on his way to winning the Conference USA triple crown.

Here’s an excerpt about Sanford from Baseball America’s scouting report:

“ Sanford has plenty of strength and plus-plus raw power, though there are scouts who question how much of that power he can get to against better pitching...Sanford is fringey defensively, as a below-average runner with a below-average arm that will limit him to left field or first base, putting plenty of emphasis on his bat.”

What do you think of this selection?