The New York Yankees have a lot of catching options already. In fact, the organization has become something of a catcher factory the last few years.
New York has Austin Wells, J.C. Escarra, and Ben Rice on what’s suddenly become a crowded depth chart. They’ve also lost Luis Torrens, Jose Trevino, Ben Rortvedt, Carlos Narváez, Gary Sanchez, and Kyle Higashioka to decent roles with other organizations.
One might think the Yankees taking a catcher with their first draft pick this summer would be a foolish move, but in Major League Baseball, you don’t draft on need. Prospects can become anything during their time in the minors, and if the Yankees see a catcher they think can be a game-changer, they’ll grab him.
One ESPN draft analyst believes they’ll do just that.
In a recent mock draft, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel predicted that the Yankees would select Hauppauge H.S. (NY) catcher Michael Oliveto with the 39th overall pick in the Jul. 13 amateur draft.
“Oliveto is a local pick who played high school ball on Long Island and a late riser. Nobody in baseball knew his name until a standout event last fall, but he ended up choosing Yale over some blue-blood programs,” McDaniel wrote.
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“He didn’t face much top-end competition this spring, but a handful of teams saw a pretty swing with 65-grade power, which Oliveto put on display at the combine… Who was the last lefty-hitting high schooler from a cold weather state with that sort of profile who went around here in the draft? Jackson Merrill.”
Oliveto has a sweet left-handed swing, and at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, he’s got a good frame with more filling out to do. All of the Yankees’ current catchers bat lefty, so they clearly have a type.
With only 11 days until the draft, we’ll soon find out if the Yankees’ thinking matches McDaniel’s.
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