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Yankees choose shocking Alabama righty with 2024 first-round MLB Draft pick

That's...not what we expected.
Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

Mar 15, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama starting pitcher Ben Hess makes a pitch against Tennessee at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the first game of the SEC season for both teams. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

Ahead of the 2024 MLB Draft, even the experts seemed baffled by the number of directions the Yankees could possibly be tempted to choose with the 26th overall pick.

This selection, of course, represented a choice 10 slots below where New York should've been; their first pick dropped 10 spots because of how far they exceeded the luxury tax.

And with that choice -- and with plenty of collegiate bats fitting the Yankees' profile still available -- Brian Cashman and Co. selected a "big, physical" starting pitcher in Alabama's Ben Hess. Hess, MLB Pipeline's 44th-ranked prospect, sports the best K-per-9 in Crimson Tide history.

He's also joining the draft broadcast quite a bit earlier than expected.

Yankees choose Alabama right-handed pitcher Ben Hess with 26th overall pick

MLB Network's draft broadcast was immediately baffled by the selection of Hess, noting that he doesn't fit the mold of the pitchers the Yankees typically select. The group of analysts were confident that Hess will be a major-league pitcher, per the scouts they've spoken to, but alluded to "medicals popping up on him" that seemed likely to push Hess out of the first round. Have the Yankees seen those?

Oh, and for those who prefer traditional statistics, Hess finished 2024 with a 5.80 ERA, albeit with 106 strikeouts. Less than encouraging.

The Yankees' track record with developing collegiate pitchers should be trusted, and Hess seems like a personality fit, but it certainly feels fair to question the pick now. Everything the panel mentioned about the Yankees unlocking Hess felt like something they'd typically try in the second or third rounds instead. With LSU's Tommy White and Kentucky's Ryan Waldschmidt still on the board, it seems fair to question whether the Yankees fixated on something here that only they can perceive. Did the Bombers outsmart themselves yet again? Who else was chasing Hess here?

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.