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Today we officially begin our coverage of the 2015 MLB Draft. You may have noticed a few posts around here recently that were devoted to the draft, but starting this week you'll be seeing at least one article every weekday for the next month. The draft takes place over a three-day period with round one and two on June 8, rounds 3-10 on June 9, and rounds 11-30 on June 10. We'll be providing you with news, analysis, reviews, previews, and more in order to prepare you for the coming event. If you've never been interested in the MLB first-year player draft before, maybe this content will help you jump on board. Without further adieu, here is a look at this year's draft order and how we got here:
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Houston Astros (Compensation for not signing 2014 No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken)
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Texas Rangers
5. Houston Astros
6. Minnesota Twins
7. Boston Red Sox
8. Chicago White Sox
9. Chicago Cubs
10. Philadelphia Phillies
11. Cincinnati Reds
12. Miami Marlins
13. Tampa Bay Rays
14. Atlanta Braves
15. Milwaukee Brewers
16. New York Yankees
17. Cleveland Indians
18. San Francisco Giants
19. Pittsburgh Pirates
20. Oakland Athletics
21. Kansas City Royals
22. Detroit Tigers
23. St. Louis Cardinals
24. Los Angeles Dodgers
25. Baltimore Orioles
26. Los Angeles Angels
2014 proved to be a disappointing season as the Yankees finished with a 84-78 record–one game worse than the 2013 squad. On top of that, they didn't get a first-round pick because of the signings of Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, and Jacoby Ellsbury. This year, however, the Yankees did not give up any draft picks in the offseason, while others did. The Mets surrendered their first-round pick in order to sign Michael Cuddyer, while the Blue Jays gave up their pick for Russell Martin, allowing the Yankees to move up two spots. As compensation for not signing Brady Aiken, the Astros were awarded the second-overall pick (along with the fifth), leaving the Yankees at 16th overall.
With the 16th overall pick this year, it marks the franchise's highest selection since they chose C.J. Henry in 2005 with the 17th overall pick. That clearly didn't work out, though players chosen 16th overall haven't been that incredible either. The best draft picks at 16th overall over the last 20 years include Lance Berkman, Nick Swisher, and Brett Lawrie, with a few others in there who at least reached the majors.
Not only do the Yankees get the 16th overall pick, but they also receive the 30th as part of the compensation round. When the White Sox signed David Robertson, who the Yankees gave a qualifying offer to, they agreed to forfeit their second-round pick and give the Yankees a compensation pick. In previous years, Ty Hensley and Andrew Brackman were each drafted at 30th overall.
In the second round, the Yankees will have the 57th overall pick and the 15th pick of the round thanks to the Twins and Red Sox. After "earning" protected picks in this year's draft, Minnesota and Boston sacrificed their second-round picks to sign Ervin Santana and Pablo Sandoval/Hanley Ramirez, respectively. From the third round on, the Yankees will have the 17th pick of each round.
Here are a few items you should become familiar with before draft day:
You can find all our draft coverage within our Draft Coverage section, which I have linked below and will also be on our front page, as well as our 2015 MLB Draft storystream that will be located on the right side of any article related to the draft. What are you most excited about when it comes to this year's draft?
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