As a Yankees fan, it’s easy to underestimate the draft. “We made the playoffs again. We’ve got a super late first-round pick. What good is that going to do? This is way too late a pick to be worth anything,” you think, as you watch the front office go completely off the beaten path and snag a mysterious name. “Oh, Dante Bichette,” you think. “Neat name.”
However, the thing about that is…other teams find gems where the Yankees don’t. Having a pick in the 20s is far from an excuse for being unable to uncover talent. Annually, the second round is chock full of blossoming big leaguers who would’ve loved to have gone slightly earlier to the Yankees.