Yankees officially overpay top 2025 MLB Draft pick despite fulfilling his wish

The New York Yankees' top selection in the 2025 MLB Draft was knocked back allllll the way down to the No. 39 pick because, here in MLB, we do things a little (ahem) differently. If teams spend money on free agents, we make their draft picks worse as a punishment. A punishment for ... trying to succeed at baseball.

The Yankees bypassed the luxury tax by so much that their first choice was knocked into the Comp Round. They also lost the draft pick they received for losing Juan Soto because they tried to improve the roster after he left. Meanwhile, the Orioles — a borderline money-laundering scheme, at this point — picked four times in the top 37. Bravery.

Since New York didn't pick between 39 and 103, they had a smaller-than-usual bonus pool to work with, restricted (as always) by the very same forces that moved their selections around. One way to manage these types of deficiencies is to go underslot with your top pick, then try to use the savings later on a top-round talent who won't sign — unless you sway him.

The Yankees took an alternate path. They selected a high-school bat in shortstop (for now) Dax Kilby, then played it mostly safe later in the draft by emphasizing pitchers with one trait they love (reliever types) and Jeff Kent's son. Kilby's a contact-over-power guy at this point in his development process, but he's certainly a higher-upside name than they were probably expecting to land in their laps at 39, especially when all the buzz was that they'd target a college arm. There's a reason that Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' VP of domestic amateur scouting, was "holding [his] breath" prior to the selection.

Kilby, too, claims he was hoping for this outcome all along, swayed by an excellent impression at a Yankees pre-draft workout. Still, though, hope talks ... but money screams. Just because Kilby loved the Yankees and the feeling was mutual did not mean he made it any easier on them to sway him from his commitment to Clemson University.

The Yankees and Kilby agreed on a $2.8 million bonus on Friday afternoon post-physical, which was nearly $300,000 over the slot value assigned to the selection.

New York Yankees first pick Dax Kilby signs for overslot bonus

Thankfully, the money that Kilby accepted over his slot value was basically canceled out by fifth-round pick Core Jackson going willingly underslot by a similar amount. The Yankees didn't take many wild swings (even though they did overpay their top selection), but fans are wary of 19th-rounder Hayden Morris, a power arm with pro prospects.

If Morris is the only wild card in a draft where the Yankees entered with severe restrictions, though? Not bad, and you can afford to overpay the player you believe in if you play it safe elsewhere.