Yankees enjoy rare busy first round
The New York Yankees had three picks Thursday in the first round of the draft, making the event far more intriguing for the team than it has been in recent years.
Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo, the 2013 Big East Player of the Year, was the team's first pick at No. 26. Jagielo, a semifinalist for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award last season, hit.388 during his junior year, leading the Big East in slugging percentage (.633) and on-base percentage (.500).
Jagielo played with Harwich in the Cape Cod League last summer, batting .291 (46-for-158) and ranking second in the league with 13 home runs.
"Eric Jagielo is a physical, left-handed hitter with plus power," said Yankees vice president of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer. "He performed well in Cape Cod, and shows a good combination of plate discipline and power."
Jagielo is the first college player taken in the first round by the Yankees since 2007, when they took right-hander Andrew Brackman. The last time the Yankees took a college position player in the first round was 2001, when they selected John-Ford Griffin.
With the 32nd pick -- a compensation pick for losing Nick Swisher as a free agent -- the Yankees took Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 255 pounds.
"Aaron Judge is a big man, and obviously a great-bodied athlete who has a high upside," Oppenheimer said. "He can run, he has a good work ethic, he can throw and has the potential to be a five-tool guy with some size and strength."
One pick later, the Yankees took high school left-hander Ian Clarkin with the pick they received as compensation for losing reliever Rafael Soriano.
"Ian Clarkin has a combination of the things we were looking for," Oppenheimer said. "He is a left-handed pitcher with plus velocity and has a plus curveball. On top of that, he's a tireless worker. We think we got something special with him."
