May 25, 2016: South Carolina Gamecocks pitcher Clarke Schmidt (6) during the Ole Miss Rebels versus the South Carolina Gamecocks Second Round game of the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, AL. (Photo by: Bobby McDuffie/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).
The Yankees used their first-round pick, the 16th overall selection, to draft right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt. The junior out of the University of South Carolina going 16th came as a surprise to draft observers.
Many scouts had projected Schmidt as a late-first/early-second round pick, but he fell on many draft boards owing to his need for Tommy John surgery, which should sideline him for the remainder of 2017.