When considering players to draft, you can’t necessarily assume deals will happen, that existing stars will produce throughout their term or that players stay healthy. The depth is there to get teams through a rough patch or to bridge the gap in the situation where a player is injured. We’ve seen that enough times, and especially now with C/1B Ben Rice replacing 1B Anthony Rizzo due to a fractured forearm injury.

It’s important to not focus entirely on the first few rounds of the draft, especially considering that prospects each develop at a different pace. For example, Ben Rice was a 12^th round pick in 2021 and is the only one to have made an MLB debut of those drafted by the Yankees in that class. Those prospects include Trey Sweeney (traded to LA; with AAA), Brendan Beck (out with TJS), Brock Selvidge (AA), Cooper Bowman (traded to OAK; with AA), Will Warren (AAA), and Jack Neely (AAA) to name a few.

There’s not a significant amount of depth with natural first basemen and third basemen, with most depth coming in the middle infield. Most of those middle infielders don’t necessarily have a “natural position”, instead playing a mix of 2B/SS/3B.

A simulated draft (rounds 1-5) and why these players fit the Yankees:

1st Round, 26^th overall: OF Mike Sirota (Northeastern) – Just the fact that Sirota is the great-nephew of famed Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford should be reason enough that the Queens native becomes a draft selection for the Yankees. Looking at his batting average of .298 in the 2024 season and the handful of records he’s held during his time at Northeastern is what really deserves the attention of the Yankees. It’s also entirely possible that Sirota gets taken before the Yankees make the 26^th pick this year.

Sirota was very patient at the plate in 2024, breaking a Northeastern record set by Carlos Peña in 1998 with 59 walks in 191 AB (30.8% BB), while also knocking in 37 RBI on 57 H, batting .298. Sirota was also 19 for 23 (83%) in stolen base attempts.

The Yankees have had good luck lately drafting out of Northeastern, with Cam Schlittler owning an ERA under 3, while Sebastian Keane has flashed some brilliant stuff but has also struggled at times. However, they’re pitchers and Sirota isn’t, and he can potentially out-perform both. If the Yankees truly want 1^st round caliber pitching, they could go with SHP (yes, a switch-pitcher like Pat Venditte) Jurrangelo Cijntje from Miss. State. I think Cijntje may be gone before the Yankees have a chance to get to draft him, though, and while they did go with switch-handed catcher Anthony Seigler in a top round, I don’t think they’ll be so bold to draft a switch-pitcher, even if he is a natural lefty.

MLB Pipeline scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 50

2nd Round, 53^rd overall: 2B/SS Christian Moore (Tennessee) – Moore is another SEC prospect, which recently has been the division that the Yankees have been drafting from or have taken away potential signings from. While these prospects all went 1^st round, Anthony Volpe, a Vanderbilt commit, then 2022 with Spencer Jones, a Vandy OF, and 2023 with George Lombard Jr, another Vandy commit, were all committed to Vanderbilt, an SEC baseball powerhouse. The Vols don’t hold the same kind of weight within the conference as the Commodores, but the SEC has produced a lot of big prospects over the years.

The Brooklyn native had a contact rate of 75%, while leading all D1 batters with 111 hits and breaking the Vols’ single-season home run record with 34 home runs. Pipeline notes that he will likely land at 2B, which is an area that the Yankees have some iffy depth with Ben Cowles as the best natural 2B in the system. Sure, the Yankees have a lot of depth in the middle infield, with prospects like Oswald Peraza and Jared Serna coming to mind, but the Yankees haven’t shown confidence in Peraza and Serna is some time away.

Moore fits the Yankees because he’s a similar type of prospect as Lombard, who also went 1^st round last year. A double-plus power tool with plus hit is something the Yankees haven’t really chased of late, including Spencer Jones who was rated as a 50 hit and 55 power. If these scouting grades truly pan out as they have with other prospects, Moore may fly through the system with a potential 2026 debut. My biggest concern is that Moore may be gone before the Yankees pick 53^rd in the 2^nd round.

MLB Pipeline scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

3rd Round, 89^th overall: LHP/1B Johnny King (Naples, FL) – King looks an awful lot like a lefty version of former Yankees 4^th round selection Beck Way (traded to KC in Benintendi deal), although King has less velo than Way did when he debuted. Like Way, King has a nearly sidearm delivery, something the Yankees seem to prefer given the supposed reduced risk of injury. King has a 6-4, 210 lb frame with room to build some muscle, which should translate to an uptick in velo down the line.

King has a two-seamer as his primary pitch that sits 92-95, a 1-7 curveball that sits in the upper-70s and is currently working with a changeup. That fits the typical Yankees profile, especially with a prep product that they can still mold, as well as the fact that he may also be working on a slurve.

While King can play as a potential two-way player, and it wouldn’t be unrealistic to see the Yankees draft him as such considering they chose LHP/1B Josh Tiedemann last year as a prep prospect, it would be more reasonable to expect he becomes one or the other. Tiedemann played as a 1B/DH in Spring Training, but later was used as both a DH and a pitcher before going down in early May to injury.

The Yankees can always use a left-handed pitcher, and the depth at first is less than spectacular, with only Coby Morales, Dylan Jasso, Josh Moylan, Kiko Romero and T.J. Rumfield as well performing regular 1B. A lot of that depth is in the lower levels, which means that short of a breakout prospect, the Yankees may need to lean on guys like Rumfield and Rice for a while.

MLB Pipeline scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

4th Round, 119^th overall: C/1B Cole Messina (Miss. State) – “Moose” profiles as a Spencer Henson-type prospect, although Messina would likely stick as catcher. The Yankees have one of the deepest and highest quality catching depths in the industry, both from domestic and international drafts, and it’s sort of difficult to project the position he may play. Using Ben Rice as an example again, he was drafted in the 12^th round as a catcher. The Yankees saw the potential in his bat and converted him over to a first baseman. Will the same thing happen here with Messina?

Going back to look at 1B depth, the depth is weaker at the lower levels, considering the Yankees recently have moved Coby Morales from the outfield to play first base with Low-A Tampa.

Messina’s power is what sticks out to me most, along with his (below-average) hit tool. My colleagues at Prospects Live profiled Messina in depth last year, saying, “He does a good job managing his strikeouts compared to walks, he barrels the ball often and is aggressive early.” A lot of that sounds like the kind of bat the Yankees traditionally are looking for, especially with someone who could play 2+ positions. It wouldn’t be too wild to expect that if Messina can play 1B, he can likely play 3B in a pinch, too.

MLB Pipeline scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

5th Round, 152^nd overall: RHP Matt Ager (UC Santa Barbera) – After drafting Ryan Harvey in the 11^th round in 2022, the Yankees may return to UCSB again in the 5^th round to go after tall righty Matt Ager. With a four-pitch mix, Ager has an arsenal of fastball, slider, curveball, changeup, with his SL and CB being his best pitches. Ager reminds me a lot of former Yankees prospect Derek Craft (2018, 16^th rd.), although at 6-foot-6, Ager is 2 inches shorter than Craft.

My colleague Tyler Jennings at Prospects Live saw Ager in a matchup at Campbell this past February, where he noted that “there were times that command was spotty”  and that he adapted to the umpire’s small-ish strike zone as his outing went on. Ager’s pitches have good movement, and you could tell in this video that he’s just missing the zone, which is something the Yankees can work on.

Via Pipeline, Ager had a low walk rate in 2023 with a 2.5 BB/9, but he suffered an oblique injury last November which may have affected his effectiveness in 2024. Although Ager has been a starter with the Gauchos, I can see the Yankees moving him to the bullpen as a reliever. I think that his slider and curveball plus mixing in the fastball and change at times may be better suited as a middle reliever to solely get outs as opposed to using him as a starter. Given how many of the farm system’s bullpens have been emaciated as a result of injuries this year, selecting and moving Ager makes sense for the Yankees.

MLB Pipeline scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

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