New York Yankees 2023 MLB Draft Report Card
To see 2023 Draft Report Cards for every team, see our Draft Report Card landing page, here.
Revisiting the 2023 Yankees MLB Draft class after the conclusion of the minor league season.
Best Pure Hitter: The Yankees drafted a lot of power-over-hit offensive profiles, but that’s not exactly the case with shortstop George Lombard Jr. (1), who showed some of the best contact skills of this Yankees draft class and has a chance to be a solid-average hitter with good balance and adjustability in the box.
Best Power Hitter: New York clearly prioritizes exit velocity data based on the numbers their hitters put up in pro ball, but the standout here is 24-year-old outfielder Jared Wegner (9), who homered 15 times with Arkansas in the spring and has above-average power that plays to all fields.
Fastest Runner: Lombard Jr. (1) is an above-average runner who is occasionally slow out of the box with his first step, but is quite fast when underway.
Best Defensive Player: Lombard Jr. (1) has the best defensive profile of this Yankees draft class and projects to stick at shortstop, where he has solid actions and arm strength for the position. If he gets too big to stick in the middle, he should be an above-average defensive third baseman.
Best Fastball: None of the Yankees pitchers in the 2023 class made pro debuts this year, but righthander Cade Smith (6) has a fastball in the 92-95 mph range that has been up to 97 with excellent riding life.
Best Secondary Pitch: Righthander Nicholas Judice (8) consistently struck out more than 10 batters per nine innings throughout his college career and a large part of that was thanks to a sharp-breaking mid-80s slider that generated a 35% miss rate this spring.
Best Pro Debut: Outfielder Coby Morales (18) only played 10 games with Low-A Tampa after signing, but he hit .293/.408/.537 with one home run and seven doubles. There’s some swing and miss in his game, but he made sound swing decisions in his debut and also posted impressive exit velocity data.
Best Athlete: Lombard Jr. (1) has big league bloodlines as the son of six-year big leaguer George Lombard. He runs well, has power and also was a talented soccer player in high school.
Most Intriguing Background: Second baseman Roc Riggio (4) was a draft-eligible sophomore and a highly-touted prep hitter out of high school. He immediately hit the ground running at Oklahoma State* and was a career .316/.438/.601 hitter who homered 29 times in two seasons and had the sort of animated playing style that endeared him to Cowboy fans and enraged those of rival SEC teams.
Closest To The Majors: Wegner (9) could fit in this category because he’s quite old for the class and might need to be pushed aggressively to get to age-appropriate levels, though Riggio (4) is perhaps the more advanced hitter who has a bat-first profile that might allow him to move quickly as well.
Best Day Three Pick (Or NDFA): Righthander Bryce Warrecker (20) is a fascinating 20th-round selection. He has a massive frame at 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, and while he was a starter with Cal Poly, many scouts think he is the sort of pitcher whose stuff could take a significant step forward in a reliever role in pro ball.
*Editor’s Note: Riggio was incorrectly labeled an Arkansas Razorback initially. He played college baseball at Oklahoma State. This has been corrected.
