NEW YORK -- Heading into this year's Draft, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that the team's plan was to simply draft the best player available, but he also noted that "pitching is the key to the kingdom."
Although New York did draft 24 pitchers, the team did not stick to that idea as much as it did last year. Instead, the bigger trend this year was behind the plate.
• Draft Tracker: Every Yankees pick
In 2017 the Yankees selected 28 hurlers. Of their first 11 picks, 10 were pitchers. This year the approach was more balanced between pitchers and position players, but with New York selecting seven backstops -- including Mickey Gasper, who was originally announced as a catcher before switching his position to first base -- pitchers and catchers made up 31 of their 40 picks.