1st round pick Ian Kennedy went 24-12 in three seasons with USC
Brian Cashman has stressed the importance of building up the Yankees’ farm system, and their draft picks yesterday reflected that sentiment. The Yanks selected pitchers in 14 of the 18 rounds on day 1; their other picks were 3 outfielders and a shortstop. 15 of the Yanks’ 18 picks were college players and 3 were drafted right out of high school, including 3rd round pick Zachary McAllister. Director of scouting Damon Oppenheimer described McAllister as “a real quality high school pitcher. He's got a good arm, can pitch and throw strikes. He's a big kid." The Yankees’ first round pick (21st overall) was Ian Kennedy of USC, who was the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and pitched for Team USA in 2004-2005. Oppenheimer was very satisfied with the Yanks’ selections and feels confident about the future of the team’s farm system. It will take several years to see what impact these players will make on the organization, but as Oppenheimer said, "If we can sign all of the guys we took, we'll have had a heck of a draft."*
*Assuming he’s not using “heck of a draft” in the same vain as the “heck of a job” Dubya felt FEMA was doing during Katrina. Labels: farm hands |
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