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From June 9th to the 11th, the baseball world will be captivated by the 2016 MLB Draft. Years of scouting finally gets put to the test for all 30 major league teams. Last year, the Yankees took UCLA pitcher James Kaprielian with the 16th overall pick in the first round. They followed that pick by taking shortstop Kyle Holder in the Compensation Round with the 30th overall pick, which they received after David Robertson signed with the White Sox. Robertson is holding down the fort in the South Side of Chicago and is still the elite closer he was while in pinstripes, but at least the Yankees finally got someone to hold all their excess Kyles.
Most fans out there are wondering who their favorite team will pick, hoping they stumble into the next Derek Jeter or Bryce Harper. The Yankees will definitely have their board of players they like and know who they prefer. Unfortunately, until draft time, we won't know what the Yankees are thinking. So for now, we turn the question to you. Is there any player (or players) you want the Yankees to draft in particular?
With 40 rounds, there are literally hundreds of high school and college players that are scouted and drafted. It's hard to keep track of all of them, but here are some links that might help your research.
Minor League Ball's Top 151 Draft Prospects
MLB.com's Top 100 Draft Prospects
Minor League Ball's Draft Profiles Index
Matt P's possible first-round picks
Caitlin's possible second-round picks
Jason's aggregated mock draft
Everyone has their own individual way of ranking players, based on their system, grading scale, or just preference. If it were up to me, I'd release a Top 100 Draft Prospects list based solely on their names. Some of my favorite names in the draft are: Riley Pint (RHP, HS), Colby Woodmansee (SS, Arizona State), Logan Ice (C, Oregon State), Akil Baddoo (OF, HS), Anfernee Grier (OF/SS, Auburn), and Griffin Jax (RHP, Air Force).
Obviously the draft in any sport is a toss up, but in baseball it's especially hard to predict success. With that in mind, who do you think the Yankees should draft? Do you think they should draft based on best player available or position of need? Perhaps a combination of both? Are there any positions you think the team should focus on or should they just adopt the Kunj Method and draft based on names and hope for success?