Yankees draft preview 2018: Aggregated mock draft

The build up to the 2018 MLB Draft has been immense, but the wait is almost over. Before we can see who the Yankees are actually going to be drafting, we took a look at several mock drafts from some of the most prominent evaluators and websites in the business. But who’s right? In order to figure out which player is most likely going to get drafted by the Yankees, here is an aggregated list of several mock drafts. I took a look at the mocks released by MLB.com, FanGraphs, ESPN, Perfect Game and Baseball America. The results were interesting.

Averaging out everyone’s selections, the favorites quickly separate themselves from the rest. California high school shortstop Brice Turang comes in as the most popular pick, thanks to MLB.com picking him three different times. Considered a true shortstop, Turang once figured to be among the best in this year’s draft class. A serious case of over-scouting and underwhelming performances has seen his ranking drop dramatically.

Based on previous drafts, the Yankees will likely be sniffing around for a deal. An undervalued talent with at least the potential to be worth more is right up Damon Oppenheimer’s alley, and it’s telling that both Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo know this. If I’m making the decisions, though, I’d prefer if they didn’t pick a guy who’s value is already falling. The draft is hard enough as it is, there’s no reason to make it any worse by getting too cute.

Other prominent selections include first baseman Triston Casas, who Baseball America chose for the Yankees three times in a row. He is said to possess some of the best raw power in the draft, but there are questions regarding how frequently he can make contact in order to use it. Given the fact that all his value is in his bat, it doesn’t give him much leeway when it comes to his long-term projections.

The Yankees currently have Greg Bird, and we all hope he can stay healthy and be the first baseman of the future, but you can’t wait around without developing a backup plan. Taking a first baseman with power makes sense, but it feels like a waste in the first round. The Yankees have plenty of other needs first, and there are likely to be plenty more options later in the draft.

Tied with Casas is right-hander pitcher Kumar Rocker with three selections between MLB.com and Perfect Game. He’s noted as a big dude who can throw the ball really hard with an impressive slider to match. Rocker is another guy who has been around for awhile, so other players have passed him as they break out. Still, it’s hard to pass up on a guy who can touch triple digits on the radar gun.

Out of the top 30 prospects in the Yankees system, a good portion of them are right-handed pitchers. As they say, you can’t have too much pitching, and Kumar Rocker is definitely the type of guy you take without hesitation. Out of the two other players mentioned here, Rocker is the one I would be most happy with because it seems like he has a real chance to stick in the rotation.

At the end of the day, the Yankees are (hopefully) going to take the best player available. It’s hard to say how accurate these mock drafts are outside the top 10 picks, especially since no one could foresee Oppenheimer taking every single right-handed pitcher last year. In the end, this is all just some fun food for thought.

What do you think? Who will the Yankees choose in the first round?