2018 Draft: Latest Mock Drafts, Vasil, Team Representatives

The three-day 2018 amateur draft is less than a week away now. It begins Monday, when the Yankees will be in Detroit to play a doubleheader. That’ll be a busy day. The Yankees hold the 23rd overall pick this year. Here’s the latest draft dope.

Keith Law’s mock draft v3.0

Earlier today Keith Law (subs. req’d) released his third mock draft, and he still has the Tigers taking Auburn RHP Casey Mize with the No. 1 pick. No reason to think that’ll change now. Here is his mock selection for the Yankees:

23. New York Yankees: J.T. Ginn, RHP, Brandon (Mississippi) HS
They’ve also heavily scouted Grant Lavigne, a prep first baseman in New Hampshire, although he could be there for their second pick at 61.

Here’s my write-up on Lavigne. Ginn is my list of prospects to profile before the draft — I always have more names than time — and he’s quite similar to RHP Matt Sauer, the team’s second rounder last year. He’s mid-to-upper-90s with a nasty breaking ball, but his delivery is high-effort, and there’s some thought he’ll wind up in the bullpen long-term. Interesting to see the Yankees connected to arms now. They’d been tied to bats all spring.

MLB.com’s mock draft v6.0

Another week, another mock draft from the MLB.com crew. Jonathan Mayo provided this one. He of course has the Tigers selecting Mize with the top pick. Here is his mock pick for the Yankees:

3. Yankees: Brice Turang, SS, Santiago HS, Corona, Calif.
Bats, particularly high school ones, get mentioned the most here, and if the Yankees wanted a different prep shortstop, they could go with Xavier Edwards from Florida and this could be the high mark for New Hampshire high schooler Grant Lavigne. If they wanted to switch gears, Mississippi lefty Ryan Rolison provides a college pitching option they may not have thought would be available.

So we’re back to the “the Yankees are focusing on hitters” thing. Alrighty. Here are my write-ups on Turang, Edwards, and Lavigne. Rolison would be a coup with the 23rd pick. A four-pitch college lefty with arguably the best curveball in the draft class and a summer of dominance in the Cape Cod League? Those dudes usually don’t last long on draft day. Stranger things have happened, but I’d be surprised to see Rolison still on the board when the Yankees pick Monday.

Vasil withdraws from draft

Earlier this week Massachusetts HS RHP Mike Vasil announced (on Twitter) he is withdrawing from the 2018 draft and will follow through on his commitment to Virginia. Jonathan Mayo confirms Vasil has been removed from the eligible player pool, meaning teams won’t even be able to draft him and try to change his mind with a big bonus offer. Every year there seems to be that one top prospect who withdraws from the draft and goes to school. This year it’s Vasil.

The 18-year-old Vasil was considered a potential top 15 pick earlier this spring, though he left a start holding his elbow a few weeks ago and was later diagnosed with muscle fatigue. Tests showed no structural damage and he returned to the mound earlier this month. Vasil’s a three-pitch guy with a low-90s fastball, a curveball, and a changeup. He has a chance to come out of school as a very high pick in three years, though Virginia has a brutal track record with pitchers. All their guys seem to get hurt or stall out. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez has had far and away the most successful MLB career among Virginia pitchers.

Swisher and Roldan to represent Yankees

MLB announced the club representatives for this year’s draft broadcast earlier this week, and representing the Yankees will be special advisor Nick Swisher and manager of international operations Victor Roldan. The Yankees hired Swisher earlier this year. Roldan has been with the team several years in their international scouting department. Here is the club representatives press release.

Over the years the Yankees have sent one familiar face and one behind-the-scenes person to the draft as their representative, which is pretty cool. Good to see guys like Roldan get a little reward for their hard work. The club representatives don’t do a whole lot during the draft broadcast. They’re basically a liaison between the team and MLB when times comes time to make the pick. They’ll also announce picks after the first round at the podium. Who will be more excited, Swisher announcing the second round pick or the kid getting drafted?