MLB Draft 2024: Yankees select Thatcher Hurd 89th overall

The Yankees had an interesting Day 1 of the 2024 MLB Draft, selecting a pair of college pitchers whose statistical track records were less than impressive, but whose physical traits leapt off the page. New York went back to the well once more, selecting another collegiate right-hander with their third-round pick in the form of Thatcher Hurd out of LSU.

Hurd would’ve been a top prospect coming out of high school in the 2021 Draft, but elected to attend UCLA. He pitched well in his first year at UCLA but an injury shortened his season, and he ultimately transferred to LSU ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Much like the Yankees’ first two picks, Ben Hess and Bryce Cunningham, Hurd’s overall college stats do not impress. Hurd put up a 5.68 ERA in 63.1 innings in his first season in the SEC, and followed that up with a 6.55 ERA in 44 innings this year. He struck out loads of batters, finishing his college career with a 12.0 K/9 rate, but command issues plagued him, to the tune of a 4.7 BB/9 figure.

Hurd reportedly sits mid-90s with his fastball, with the ability to spin it up towards 98 mph (sound familiar?). Baseball America ranked Hurd as their 128th-best prospect, praising his fastball and slider. From BA’s scouting report:

Hurd looks the part with a great pitcher’s frame at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds and a relatively clean and easy delivery. The slider is his best offering, a mid-80s sweeping breaking ball that features impressive movement and power and has real plus potential... Because of his pure stuff and athleticism many scouts think Hurd will be a better pro pitcher than college pitcher, but he’ll need to refine his command and figure out how to avoid the pileup innings that plagued him in Baton Rouge

The parallels between Hurd and the Yankees’ top two draft picks really are striking. In Hurd, the Yankees have another top athlete with potentially premium raw stuff, but one who failed to put it all together on the field in college. Given how adept the organization has been at getting the most out of less heralded pitching prospects once they reached the farm, Hurd, along with Hess and Cunningham, seems like a pretty good talent for the Yankees to bet on.

What do you think of the Yankees’ third selection? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to the site today as we bring you all the Yankees’ picks all afternoon.