MLB Draft 2022: Yankees select Anthony Hall 130th overall

The Yankees’ fourth-round pick is in! After going back-to-back on pitchers in rounds two and three, the team took its second position player: college outfielder Anthony Hall.

The 21-year-old was previously drafted in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Braves out of Point Loma High School in San Diego, which might be a place familiar to Yankees fans. That’s where a pair of perfect-game artists attended, many years apart — Don Larsen and David Wells.

Hall decided to go north to the University of Oregon instead, and he carved out a nice career for himself as a Duck. In 124 games across three years, the lefty hitter batted .307/.374/.554 with 29 doubles, 9 triples, and 21 homers. The 2022 campaign was unsurprisingly his best, as Hall hit .333/.402/.640 with 14 bombs in just 60 games.

Check out a closer look at Hall’s swing:

Baseball America ranked Hall at No. 136 in their pre-draft accounting, while MLB Pipeline had him 144th. He’s considered a pretty well-rounded player, as both BA and MLB tagged all of his tools — hit, power, run, field, and arm — in the 45-50 range. MLB even went a smidge further on his power, giving it a 55 grade. BA noted that Hall has “plenty of strength and above-average raw power to the pull side,” which is certainly evidenced in that homer above.

Here’s a bit more from MLB on Hall’s bat:

A left-handed-hitting and throwing outfielder, Hall has the chance to be an impact bat. There’s some definite juice in his swing with plus raw power, especially to the pull side, but he’s shown the ability to hit the ball out the other way, too. His approach got better on the Cape, as he took more pitches and used the whole field more consistently, and that has helped him get to his power more this spring. He crushes fastballs, but he needs to continue to refine his recognition of softer stuff.

As referenced in the quote, Hall spent the summer of 2021 in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .283/.382/.481 with 12 extra-base hits (4 homers) in 123 plate appearances. BA praised his ability to control the zone there, too. This is all a good example of Hall’s potential in terms of actually using a wood bat rather than the ol’ aluminum.

Hall has played center with Oregon but will probably end up in a corner spot. That’s not a bad thing either, as he can glove it, too:

Hall’s power is his best feature, but he looks like he’ll be quite a nice overall prospect.

Welcome to the Yankees, Anthony Hall!