Latest New York Yankees 2026 mock draft pick feels too familiar to be wrong

The New York Yankees have become notoriously difficult to predict in recent mock drafts, as they increasingly dance to the beat of their own drum. They're also increasingly correct; the Ben Hess heave seemed like desperation, but they managed to unlock him rather quickly from a non-premium draft position. Still ... if there's one area where the Yankees seem confidently aligned, it's "Vanderbilt-committed high school shortstops".

Anthony Volpe. George Lombard Jr. Hell, they even tried to break the Vanderbilt lock on Jack Leiter (didn't work) and pried a few pieces from their pipeline in recent seasons in Spencer Jones and Bryce Cunningham. They're one of the top programs in college ball 20 years running, and their interests align with the Yankees (even if their "interests" are just "the most talented young players in the nation").

It seems at least semi-logical that the Yankees — always interested in "talent first, position later" and actively seeking shortstops for a half-decade — would attempt to chase another Vandy commit this time around.

That's why Baseball America is mocking local shortstop Aiden Ruiz to the Bombers, and we can't help but smile and nod and know that they're either completely correct or very wrong — no in-between.

1 reality standing in the way of obvious 2026 Yankees MLB Draft pick

Now, word of warning: the last time a Yankees pick felt quite this obvious (shortstop, backyard, local grit), it was high school shortstop Sammy Stafura; the Yanks passed on him out of Walter Panas HS in 2023 and he fell to the Cincinnati Reds in the second round. Yes, that was the Lombard Jr. draft. Perhaps we all should've looked a little harder for the Volpe comp that summer rather than settling on "Local Boy, No More Notes Needed". Imagine what could've been. The Yankees could've made the Ke'Bryan Hayes trade instead.

Ruiz, as a purported "hit over power" bat, doesn't necessarily jive with the Yankees' guiding ethos there, either. Still, Lombard Jr. was in a very similar bucket, and his athleticism has taken him to the top of the heap among minor-league defenders in the system, while the power has ticked up with the aging curve. If the Yankees can restart the clock on a Lombard Jr. clone with top-tier collegiate programs chasing him, too, all while taking quick scouting jaunts down the road to finalize their assessments, that seems totally viable. Likely, even.

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