Yankees: Revisiting New York’s Very Fruitful and Weird 2013 Draft

The New York Yankees’ 2013 Draft (in which they nabbed Aaron Judge) was extremely weird.

Good news: the New York Yankees selected Aaron Judge in the supplemental first round of the 2013 MLB Draft! Bad news: their other first-round picks.

How often do the Yankees have three selections at the top of the draft, anyway? That’s an opportunity you simply can’t botch, and luckily, they didn’t. Though the picks that surrounded Judge were ultimately busts, both benefitted the Yankees as high-profile trade pieces.

In that vein, this particular draft, in the middle of a dark and feckless summer with far too much Vernon Wells involved, was a beacon of the next era of Yankee baseball in the best way.

The New York Yankees nailed all three of their first-round picks in the 2013 MLB Draft — in different ways.

Judge was selected 32nd overall, and we all know his story — from Fresno State behemoth to Cape League success story to stunning superstar.

At No. 26, the Yankees used their first selection on Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo, and at No. 33, they tabbed Team USA lefty Ian Clarkin.

Jagielo survived in the system until the winter after the 2015 season, following a solid .284 season at Double-A Trenton. Then, he became the centerpiece of the Yankees’ trade for a diminished-in-value (with scandal attached) All-Star closer named Aroldis Chapman. His final pro season came in 2018 at Double-A for the Miami Marlins; he hit .198 with 11 homers.

Clarkin made it until the 2017 deadline in pinstripes, at which point he became a secondary piece in the biggest deal of that doorstep-of-the-World Series season, which brought Todd Frazier and David Robertson to New York, sending the crafty lefty to the Windy City. He’s Padres property now, and has battled injury in most years since.

While Clarkin and Jagielo both found their place in Yankees history in suboptimal fashion, we suspect New York would’ve been happier with a few pitchers still on the board in the Competitive Balance Round instead. Sean Manaea, two-way stud Michael Lorenzen, and All-Star closer Corey Knebel were all available.

As for the rest of New York’s draft? Tyler Wade in the fourth round is the only addition who stuck around long enough to make a big impact on their current roster, but other selections include Dustin Fowler in the 18th, part of the (puke) Sonny Gray trade, and Andy Pettitte’s son, Josh, in the 37th.

Judge was the headline here, of course, but New York parlayed all three of their top selections into a more successful spot. That’s how it’s done.