News York Yankees Editorial: Did the Yankees Screw Up Their Second Pick?

I spoke about this briefly in my rapid reaction to the first two rounds of the draft, but now it’s time elaborate.

With their 30th selection in the 2015 MLB Draft (as compensation for David Robertson signing with the Chicago White Sox) the New York Yankees selected Kyle Holder, a natural SS out of the University of San Diego. Holder was considered by many to be the best defensive shortstop in the draft, but has a ton of work to do on the offensive side of the ball.

A defensive wiz at SS with no bat… a description that is becoming all too familiar in the Bronx. The Yankees already have two guys on their roster in Stephen Drew and Didi Gregorius who fit the description. This sounds a lot like Brendan Ryan and Vicente Conde down in the Yankees minors as well.

Taking a step back, it seems as if adding players with this description is becoming a trend for the Yankees on draft day. Tyler Wade is starting to come around, but both him and Angel Anguilar are light-hitting shortstops with above average gloves as well. Of course there’s Cito Culver too, but every time I talk about the first round bust it makes me cringe.

So did the Yankees essentially draft Stephen Drew 2.0? To a certain degree, yes. But is this really a bad thing? Well that remains to be seen.

We can’t forget that Gary Denbo, a former hitting coach is now the head of our minor league department, and has already worked wonders in developing the prospects in our farm system. As a matter of fact, Denbo and the minor league affiliates of the New York Yankees are sending a plethora of our young prospects to their respective All-Star Games, including a grand total of eight Tampa Yankees to the Florida State League All-Star Game later on in the month.

So what does this mean for a player like Kyle Holder?

It means that should he sign with the New York Yankees, he’ll get thrown into a revamped farm system that for the the first time in a long time, has positive youth movement. Denbo and company are doing a tremendous job thus far, and if you don’t believe me, take a look at Ramon Flores‘ performance last night in the Bronx. If that doesn’t do it for you, take a look at Jacob Lindgren, Salde Heathcott, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Mason Williams and nearly the entire Tampa Yankees pitching staff!

Holder has the tools to be a major league gold glover, but now it’s up to the Yankees player development staff to work on Holder’s bat.

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