Yankees: 4 Draft Picks New York Couldn’t Make Under 2020 Rules

Jorge Posada wouldn’t have gotten a chance in 2020’s MLB Draft.

3. Jorge Posada, 1990 (24th Round)

The Yankees liked Jorge Posada so much they selected him twice — in two separate rounds that won’t exist this year.

In 1989, they took Posada in the 43rd round out of Calhoun Community College in Decatur, AL. In 1990, they tried again, snagging him in the 24th. And you won’t believe this…it worked!

Though he silently sat around in the clubhouse during the 1995 postseason, a 25-year-old Posada got his first real chance at a backup job in 1997, hitting .250 in 224 plate appearances. His 1998 breakout power surge went under the radar thanks to so many impressive veteran performances that year, but 17 home runs from a complete unknown made him impossible to ignore.

In 2000, a 28-year-old Posada made his first of four consecutive All-Star appearances, cementing himself as perhaps the most unexpected member of the Core Four, and one of the all-time draft steals. And, thanks to the Yankees’ advanced scouting, they first found him in a round that hasn’t existed in decades.