​It’s once again that time of year when a new generation of Yankees prospects begins to surface through the Major League Baseball Draft, as the organization looks to add fresh talent to its storied farm system in the days and weeks ahead. While the top overall picks tend to dominate the headlines, keep in mind that impact can come from anywhere on the draft board. This year, Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice have emerged as candidates for Cy Young and MVP-type seasons, all while reaching their first All-Star Game. They were selected by the Yankees in the seventh and 12th rounds of the 2022 and 2021 drafts, respectively, underscoring that value can appear well beyond the very first picks.
Jake, Madison, Michael, Peter, Jonathan, and our longtime friend Dan Kelly—who previously previewed the draft for us—will join me as we break down the Yankees’ latest draft class, starting with the first four selections today and continuing through Round 5 and beyond tomorrow. It’s worth noting that Philadelphia’s two-day draft schedule differs somewhat from last year and is a notable shift from the three-day format used in earlier years. If you’re curious about potential targets for the Yankees, Dan has offered a solid roundup of names from recent mock drafts. He also candidly acknowledges that predicting which players will still be on the board by No. 35 overall is a challenging endeavor.
If you’re interested in tracking the MLB Draft beyond PSA’s coverage (which you can follow here), below is the viewing guide for the proceedings. The consensus guess is that the Yankees will be on the clock around 4 p.m. ET for their first selection. Here’s the breakdown of coverage:
– 1:00–2:30 p.m. ET – Preview show and Picks 1–10 (NBC/Peacock)
– 2:30–4:30 p.m. ET – Picks 11–40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.tv, MLB+)
– 4:30–7:45 p.m. ET – Picks 41–135 (MLB.com, MLB.tv, MLB+)
– 11:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. ET (MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)
For Sunday’s draft order, the Yankees sit 35th overall, ten spots behind their typical placement due to luxury tax penalties levied on several teams, including the Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, and Blue Jays. Although this adjustment shifts their first selection, they still retain all of their expected picks because they did not sign any free agents this past offseason. It’s also important to note that under current MLB rules, only Competitive Balance Round picks can be traded; while the Yankees are technically selecting in the first Competitive Balance Round, that pick is considered an untradeable first-round position that merely moved back ten spots.
The first half of the first round was largely shaped by December’s MLB Draft Lottery, which the White Sox won. The Rays currently hold the top pick, and the Twins follow after them, with UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey, and Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson widely anticipated to go within the first three selections. It remains to be seen which club will kick off the action for the Pale Hose. And as a bit of dark humor reminiscent of the White Sox’ positioning in 2024–25, the 119-loss Rockies are ineligible to pick any higher than 10th this year for the sake of better SEO.