New York Yankees' 2023 MLB draft picks, analysis
The 2023 MLB draft is complete! And after 20 rounds of picks, New York Yankees fans are surely already dreaming that one of the newest Yankees will be a star. But which one? Here's more on New York's 2023 draft class, with analysis from ESPN insiders.
First round (No. 26 overall): George Lombard Jr., SS, Gulliver Prep (Fla.) HS
27th in Kiley McDaniel's pre-draft rankings
The son of a former big leaguer who played six seasons in the majors and is currently the bench coach for the Tigers, George Jr. is -- no surprise -- a fundamentally sound player with good baseball instincts. A 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter, he's not a lock to remain at shortstop, but scouts love his makeup and he just turned 18 in June.
McDaniel's pre-draft take: It's not quite Andruw Jones, Matt Holliday, or Carl Crawford from last summer's first round, but Lombard Jr. also has big league bloodlines from his father. Lombard isn't a slam dunk shortstop, with many scouts projecting him to second or third base, but they love his makeup and think he's one of the safest bets to hit in this prep position player class.
Why the Yankees took him: Have you seen Josh Donaldson's batting average? There are across-the-board tools here and given the recent success of sons of major leaguers, the Yankees are betting on that working for Lombard as well. Interestingly, he didn't devote himself fully to baseball in high school -- he also played soccer -- so there might be untapped potential to go with the strong fundamentals. -- Dave Schoenfield
Third round (No. 97 overall):Kyle Carr, P, Palomar College
298th in Kiley McDaniel's rankings
Fourth round (No. 129 overall):Roc Riggio, 2B, Oklahoma State
99th in Kiley McDaniel's rankings
McDaniel's pre-draft take: Power-and-patience type with limited defensive value has been a standout since early in his high school class. Teams are almost certain he's a big leaguer.
Sixth round (No. 192 overall):Cade Smith, P, Mississippi State
Seventh round (No. 222 overall):Kiko Romero, 1B, Arizona
Eighth round (No. 252 overall):Nicholas Judice, P, Louisiana Monroe
172nd in Kiley McDaniel's ranking
Ninth round (No. 282 overall):Jared Wegner, OF, Arkansas
Tenth round (No. 312 overall):Brian Hendry, P, Oklahoma State
Eleventh round (No. 342 overall):Josh Grosz, P, East Carolina
Twelfth round (No. 372 overall):Brady Rose, P, Dallas Baptist
Thirteenth round (No. 402 overall):Josh Tiedemann, two-way player, Hamilton (Ariz.) HS
Fourteenth round (No. 432 overall):Danny Flatt, P, P27 Academy (S.C)
Fifteenth round (No. 462 overall):Tomas Frick, C, North Carolina
Sixteenth round (No. 492 overall):Andrew Landry, P, Southeastern Louisiana
Seventeenth round (No. 522 overall):Wilson Rodriguez, OF, Academia Presbiteriana HS (PR)
Eighteenth round (No. 552 overall):Coby Morales, OF, Washington
Nineteenth round (No. 582 overall):Cade Austin, P, South Carolina
Twentieth round (No. 612 overall):Bryce Warrecker, P, Cal Poly
