MLB Draft 2019: Grading the Yankees’ day-three picks

The 2019 MLB Draft is over! Thanks to their supplemental pick as part of the Sonny Gray trade, they drafted 41 players over the past three days. They sped through rounds 11-40 today, so here’s a quick recap of what went down on the final day of the draft.

Over the first two days, the Yankees focused mostly on their favorite type of player: college pitchers. That remained true today. With their second pick of the day and 375th overall, the Bombers selected southpaw pitcher Ryan Anderson out of the University of Nevada. Checking in at six-foot-six, Anderson was just one of the huge pitchers the Yankees picked today. Thirteenth-round pick Nelson Alvarez (6’4”) also fits that description, along with Shaine McNeely (6’4”), Zach Kohn (6’4”), Gerrit van Zijll (6’4”), and Bryce Jarvis (6’2”).

When all was said and done, the Yankees selected a whopping 18 pitchers today. They ended up with six left-handers on the day, and six prep arms. Interestingly, the Yankees used their 20th-round pick on Jack Leiter, son of former Yankee Al Leiter. It is highly unlikely that he will sign, given how vocal he has been about his Vanderbilt commitment. Maybe they can snag him in a couple of years.

After going all-in on catchers during last year’s draft, they only selected two today. With their 885th pick, the Yankees nabbed Chase Illig out of West Virginia University. They also selected Chad Knight in the 31st round. The high school senior hit 11 home runs this season, but also has been used as a pitcher. He even got a pitching lesson and pep talk from Mariano Rivera once.

Although they selected quite a few infielders in the early rounds of the draft, the Yankees only picked four today. Second baseman Oliver Dunn went in the 11th round. He slashed .362/.449/.559 this season, but there are questions about his ability to stay in the infield long-term. They went with power hitter Chad Bell out of the University of Louisiana Monroe in the 19th round. The third baseman slugged 18 home runs for ULM.

The Bombers also selected a pair of large, college first basemen: Kyle MacDonald and Jake Farrell. The latter was the second Jake selected today, and the fourth selected by the Yankees during this draft. I’m pretty sure they would have picked our very own Jake Devin next if the draft only had a 41st round.

Finally, the Yankees drafted four outfielders on the day. The first was Pat DeMarco out of Vanderbilt. They also drafted him back in 2017, so they are apparently big fans of his. Jake Pries was selected 735th overall out of UCLA, and Luke Brown was selected 765th. Pries saw his power numbers jump up during his senior year, and Brown slashed .398/.469/.557. The Yankees also picked University of South Florida-commit Dontae Mitchell in round 38. He successfully stole 32 bases out of 33 attempts his senior year of high school.

If you’d like to read more about all of New York’s day-three picks, check out our write ups of rounds 11-20, 21-30, and 31-40.

Now it’s your turn to weigh in on the Yankees’ day-three picks. Did they select too many pitchers? Was it pointless to waste a pick on Leiter? Did they draft too many high schoolers? Vote in the poll below and share your opinion in the comments section. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow when our draft tracker goes live!