Yankees News and Notes: Draft rounds 3-15, Gardner, Robertson, All-Star voting

In Day 2 of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the New York Yankees decided to give it the old college try, using 10 of their 15 total picks yesterday on college-level players.

One day after selecting

Ty Hensley

with their first pick, number 30 overall, the Yankees had two picks in the second round on Tuesday. They went

up the middle

with those two picks, first with shortstop to be turned center fielder Austin Aune and then with Miami Hurricanes catcher Peter O’Brien. O’Brien’s selection was the start to a trend for the Yankees as they drafted older and possibly closer to major league ready talent with 9 of their remaining 13 picks, including seven in a row from rounds four through ten.

Here is a brief look at the Yankees

third through fifteenth round picks

.

• 3rd Round, Nathan Mikolas, OF Bradford HS (Wisc) – Power bat, but could be moved to first base.
• 4th Round, Corey Black, RHP, Faulker – San Diego State transfer who has had Tommy John surgery. Expected to be used as a reliever.
• 5th Round, Robert Refsnyder, 2B, Arizona – Minimal power will move Refsnyder from the outfield to second base for the Yankees system.
• 6th Round, Nicholas Goody, RHP, Louisiana State – Was drafted by the Yankees in last year’s draft in the 22nd round. He saved 11 games for LSU, striking out 45 in 32.1 innings.
• Round 7, Taylor Garrison, RHP, Fresno State – 27th round pick in 2011 (Dodgers), saved 11 games in his senior year.
• Round 8, Taylor Dugas, CF, Alabama – All-time hits leader (332) for the Crimson Tide. Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in same round in 2011.
• Round 9, Derek Varnadore, RHP, Auburn – Not a shiny pick like some others, picked for his build and potential.
• Round 10, Matt Snyder, 1B, Ole Miss – Big 6’6” power hitter, follows father’s and brother’s path as professional ballplayers.
• Round 11, Caleb Frare, LHP, Custer County H.S. (Mont.) – Signed to play in Utah.
• Round 12, Christopher Breen, C, Winter Springs H.S. (Fla.) – Set to play at Seminole State College for now, the Yanks get another offensive leaning catcher.
• Round 13, James Pazos, LHP, San Diego – 40th round selection in 2011 (Arizona Diamondbacks), a reliever who struck out 63 batters in the same number of innings.
• Round 14, Andrew Benak, RHP, Rice – Another big body, Benak was converted to a starter this season after three years as a reliever.
• Round 15, Dayton Dawe, RHP, A.B. Lucas H.S. (Canada) – The Yankees went north of the border for their last pick of the day. Dawe is coached by former Yanks reliever Paul Quantrill.

GARDNER IFFY FOR METS SERIES

Brett Gardner, out since April 17th with a strained right elbow, could be ready to play in this weekend’s Yankees/Mets subway series but Joe Girardi wasn’t committed to it. According to the NY Post, Gardner had five at-bats in an extended spring training game yesterday. Girardi and the Yankees would probably feel better if he had some minor league games under his belt before putting him into the major league lineup.

ROBERTSON HAS 35-PITCH BULLPEN SESSION

David Robertson is about seven to ten days away from returning to the Yankees barring a setback. He threw 35 pitches yesterday and came out of it “feeling well.” Girardi has indicated that Robertson will be pitching in the eighth inning and other pressure situations should they arrive earlier in ball games. Rafael Soriano has converted all seven of his save chances since Robertson was sidelined.

JETER LEADS AMERICAN LEAGUE SHORTSTOPS IN ALL-STAR VOTING

Derek Jeter has the early lead in All-Star voting for American League shortstops, second in the AL overall to Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. Jeter has accumulated just under 1.7 million votes in the first reveal of the polls. Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira are all in second place in their respective positions. Alex Rodriguez is fourth among AL third basemen. Cano was named the captain of the American League Home Run Derby participants.

LATER TODAY

The Yankees Minor League Report will cover the past week’s results down on the farm and provide draft updates as the final day of the first-year player draft comes to an end.