Yankees land perfect Austin Wells replacement in MLB's latest 2026 mock draft

Drafting for immediate need over drafting the "best player available" is typically a losing strategy; that's one reason the Yankees usually operate by the guiding theory of "take more shortstops, figure out their real position later". If the chips fall the way MLB Pipeline's latest 2026 mock draft believes they might, though, the Yankees will have a chance to both select the best player on the board at No. 35 as well as a nearly plug-and-play option for their current woes.

New York's first selection this year is in the Supplemental Round after the first has concluded, thanks to MLB's awesome policy that punishes teams for spending in free agency to attempt to better themselves. Good stuff. Still, there won't be any crying in baseball if Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson is available and ripe for the taking when the Yankees hit the board. MLB's Jim Callis predicts the Yankees will leap all over him, and we'd agree.

Ironically, the last time the Yankees selected a close-to-the-majors college catcher was Austin Wells himself. At the time, the prevailing thought was that Wells' bat was all-the-way ready and his defense might need some time to catch up. Somehow, Wells worked himself into being a brilliant framer, and reached the majors with 20-homer power. Instead of growing his offensive game, though, it dissipated over time, potentially infringed upon by some nasty lingering injuries and numbness.

Is it time to pull the plug on the Wells Era already? Probably, given this team's window and need for a right-handed catcher (like Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins). Further resetting the timeline by selecting Jackson would be the cherry on top.

Where does Daniel Jackson rank among 2026 MLB Draft's catching depth?

It's a two-horse race to be the top collegiate catcher selection in this year's draft, and Jackson's going to come up a relatively distant third (though there's no shame in that). Georgia Tech's Vahn Lackey, Jackson's in-state collegiate rival, could go as high as No. 1 overall, according to Baseball America's pivot-filled Mock Draft 3.0 from last week. Pipeline has Arkansas' Ryder Helfrick going eighth overall in their latest projection.

Then comes Jackson, who mashed 32 home runs (yes, from the right side of the plate) this past season (his age-21 campaign), posting an otherworldly 1.276 OPS. The ideal nature of the fit, mixed with other rumored Yankees targets like high school third baseman Bo Lawrance rising a bit (into the Red Sox's range, per Pipeline), makes Jackson seem like an obvious choice.

Of course, the Yankees could go shortstop (or Ben Hess-type) again and fool us all for the fifth year running.

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