Late-round Yankees 2023 MLB Draft pick got suspended in college for best reason ever

The New York Yankees went with athleticism over certainty with their first-round pick in this year's draft, selecting "shortstop" (and possible third baseman/anything else) George Lombard Jr.

Most believed the Yankees would play it safe and choose shortstop Sammy Stafura from their own backyard. He was the prospect most often connected to the Yanks during the process -- and by "most often," we mean "in literally every mock draft up until the moment of truth." Instead, New York went renegade, opting to pay a likely overslot deal to the son of the Tigers' bench coach (and former Braves top pick).

But the Yankees didn't stop being a wild card with their first-round selection. In fact, further down the draft board in the 11th round, they decided to let their hair down and get a little crazy. This team's known for being clean-cut and playing by the rules. They don't typically go for bad boys.

But it'll be tough for mothers to explain the criminal backstory of the Yankees' 11th-rounder to their innocent sons and daughters. East Carolina right-handed pitcher Josh Grosz was both ejected (!) and suspended (!!!) last season at ECU for violating NCAA rules ... against props in celebrations.

When Grosz's teammate smacked a home run in May, the righty fed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the dugout. The umpires deemed this excessive and taunt-worthy, ejecting Grosz before suspending him from the following game. Feeding someone a sandwich? In cold blood? Ruthless.

East Carolina right-hander Josh Grosz is Yankees' newest draft pick and illegal sandwich aficionado

Grosz's on-field bonafides? Not sure why you'd care about those, considering we've got a certified problem child on our hands, but happy to provide them anyway. He was second-team All-Conference in 2023, serving as ECU's Sunday starter for the majority of the campaign (No. 3, in collegiate terms). A 3.66 ERA and 79 strikeouts over 76.1 innings this season marked the best year of his college career; he finished his time at school with a 4.76 ERA overall.

And 1.00 illegal sandwiches fed to teammates.

Assuming this isn't Grosz negligence on the Yankees' part, we hope the minor-league coaching staff can get him in line and teach the righty about the way things are done around here. If not, we might get a PB&J version of what that one Mariners scout did to Jesus Montero with the ice cream sandwich.