Bronx Bomber Ball

With their final pick on day two of the 2017 MLB Draft the Yankees selected RHP Chad Whitmer out of Southern Illinois University. Whitmer was the ninth pitcher and eighth RHP to be selected out of the first ten players drafted by the team. Whitmer is from South Bend, Indiana and attended Penn High School. He is 6’3” and weighs 180 pounds. Photo Credit: The Southern Whitmer was used primarily as a starter in his senior season for Southern Illinois. He went 6-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 95 strikeouts. He had a career 3.70 ERA at the collegiate level. Whitmer profiles as a reliever with elite control as he only allowed 2.2 BB/9 over 104 innings last season. Whitmer won MVC player of the week twice and earned second-team All-MVC for the 2017 season. Whitmer will save the Yankees money as the senior pitcher will likely be easy to sign, and the Yankees will have the leverage in negotiations. The Yankees had their sights set on pitching throughout the course of the...

Looking to bolster their future bullpen, the Yankees have once again selected a right-handed pitcher. With the 272 nd pick of the ninth round New York has selected right hander Austin Gardner out of The University of Texas-Arlington. Photo via utamavs.com

The Yankees selected yet another pitcher in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB Draft, taking RHP Kyle Zurak from Radford University. Zurak is 22-years-old and stands at 6'0", weighing in at 205 pounds. Credit: www.radfordathletics.com

That makes two consecutive rounds now that the Yankees drafted a pitcher named Dalton. Higgins, 21, is a right-handed pitcher out of Dallas Baptist University, and is a typical power pitcher that the Yankee organization seems to love. He sits 92-94 mph with his fastball, which can top out at 95, and also as a sharp 82-84 mph slider and curveball. Photo via Dallas Baptist University

The Yankees continued to roll with their pitcher heavy draft picks, selecting LHP Dalton Lehnen from Augustana College in the sixth round, and 182 nd overall. The 21 year-old is the first left handed pitcher selected in this year’s draft by the Yankees. Photo via Augustana College

Glenn Otto is the fourth right hander that the Yankees have taken in the first five rounds. Another Texas big boy like fourth round pick Canaan Smith, Glenn Otto stands 6’4” and weighs 225 pounds. A closer at the the very prestigious Rice University, he is currently tied with former Yankee David Aardsma on Rice’s all time saves list. Photo Credit: Houston Press

In the fourth round of the 2017 MLB draft, the New York Yankees selected 18-year old outfielder Canaan Smith from Rockwall-Heath High School in Rockwall, TX. The 122nd pick overall, Smith is the first position player drafted by the Yanks and is a very talented young player. Photo Credit: Daily Times

The Yankees continue their trend of drafting pitchers in this year’s draft as with their third round pick they have selected RHP Trevor Stephan out of Arkansas. The 6’4 RHP was ranked as the 87th best draft prospect by MLB.com and features one of the better fastballs in the 2017 draft class. Photo Credit: Arkansas Razorbacks Stephan played first base at Magnolia West High School in Texas, but elected to pursue pitching at Hill Junior College in Texas. He struggled his freshman year in college with control of his pitches, but put it together in his sophomore year posting an 8-1 record with a 2.88 ERA at Hill and, as a result, was drafted in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, in the 18th round. He decided to not go pro in 2016 and transferred to Arkansas to further his development. In 2017, he led the Arkansas Razorbacks with a 2.87 ERA, which was tenth in the SEC. In a team high 91 innings, he struck out 120 batters, which was the fifth highest in schoo...

With the 54th pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees have selected RHP Matt Sauer out of Righetti High School in California. Sauer was ranked the 28th best prospect in the draft by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. Sauer is commonly regarded as having some of the highest potential of any high school arm in this year's draft. Photo Credit: Scott Smith

With the 16th pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees have selected RHP Clarke Schmidt from the University of South Carolina. Schmidt was MLB Pipeline’s 49th ranked prospect and he was Baseball America’s 32nd ranked prospect. Schmidt comes along with much promise, but much concern as a risky first-round pick by the Yankees. Photo Credit: Gerry Melendez

June is just around the corner and with that, the MLB draft is as well. The MLB draft is often the least hyped of all the major sports drafts but with all the young talent coming into the Yankees’ organization these last few years, Yankee fans should have plenty of reasons to be excited to add more to the mix. The MLB draft will take place from June 12-14 in scenic (not really) Secaucus, New Jersey and will be broadcasted on MLB Network and MLB.com. Credit: Rahim Ullah The Stanford Daily