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Ranking The Yankees’ Top 5 Draft Picks of All-Time

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Ex-teammates Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter won five World Series together and stand as two of the Yankees' best draft choices in their history.

This offseason, the New York Yankees have once again established themselves as one of the most active teams in all of baseball. They’ve brought in four big-name players so far via trades and free agency, and they very well may add a few more before next season rolls around. While the Steinbrenner family has become notorious for bringing in talent from around the league to bolster the roster, that doesn’t mean that the Yankees haven’t produced their share of homegrown talent. Notably, some of New York’s most celebrated players in their history have been selected by the franchise via the first-year player draft. With that said, here’s a look at the Yankees’ five best selections since the MLB draft’s inception in 1965.

The Top 5 Yankees Draft Picks of All Time

5. Ron Guidry (1971)

The Yankees selected “Louisiana Lightning” with the 67th pick in the 1971 entry draft, though at the time they had no idea the left-hander would end up starting 323 games for the franchise. Despite waiting until he was almost 27 before holding a starting role, Ron Guidry would go on to become one of the best pitchers to ever don Yankee pinstripes.

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Over 14 seasons, all with the Yankees, Guidry pitched to a 3.29 career ERA, racking up 170 wins and 1,778 strikeouts. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 1978, that season marking the first of four All-Star appearances. But perhaps his most notable achievement was his five Gold Glove awards, a testament to his spectacular defense that led to an entire brand of gloves bearing his name. Not many players can say they’ve had a series of athletic equipment named after themselves.

4. Don Mattingly (1979)

Who would’ve guessed that “Donnie Baseball” was drafted by the Yankees in the 19th round (493rd overall)? It didn’t take Mattingly much time to prove his merit though, as he never spent more than a year at any level of the minors, making his debut in 1982. By 1984, he established himself as one of the top hitters in the league, leading the AL with 207 hits. By 1985, he had an AL MVP under his belt.

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But despite all of his individual accolades (9 Gold Gloves, 6 All-Star appearances, 3 Silver Sluggers), Donnie Baseball had his career ended prematurely after a series of back injuries forced him to retire following the 1995 season. Ironically, the Yankees made the World Series the year before his debut (1981) and the year after he retired (1996), meaning that one of the most iconic Yankees of the century never got a taste of the Fall Classic. Regardless, many still make the argument that Mattingly belongs in Cooperstown, which isn’t far-fetched since he is considered one of the best first basemen to ever grace the diamond.

3. Andy Pettitte (1990)

Much like Guidry, Andy Pettitte stands out as one of the best pitchers in Yankee history not only because of his longevity, but because of his clutch factor and postseason success. This is especially impressive because he was not a highly touted prospect, having been drafted out of high school in the 22nd round of the 1990 draft (594th overall).

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Though perhaps not a Hall-of-Fame caliber player, Pettitte stands out because of his incredible consistency. Over his 18 MLB seasons (15 with New York), Pettitte had just one season with an ERA+ under 100, meaning that he was almost always an above-average pitcher. He also posted a 3.81 ERA over 276 1/3 postseason innings (an MLB record), and won the 2001 ALCS MVP when he beat the 116-win Seattle Mariners twice in that series. So, despite not being a bonafide ace, Pettitte proved invaluable in countless other ways during his long career in pinstripes.

2. Aaron Judge (2013)

Sure, his career is still ongoing, but what he has already accomplished is simply stunning. Selected by the Yankees 32nd overall in 2013 after attending Fresno State, Aaron Judge will likely go down as an all-time great Yankee. Of course, he will probably need a World Series ring to fully warrant this honor, but his out-of-this-world stats speak for themselves.

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The Yankee captain just won his second AL MVP this past season after having one of the best offensive seasons by a right-handed hitter in history. Since his magical rookie season in 2017, Judge has already accumulated a brWAR of 52.2, also becoming the fastest player to reach 300 career home runs (955 games). Of course, he also broke the AL home run record two years ago (62). Even crazier? His career OPS currently stands at 1.010, and he is the only active player whose career OPS eclipses four figures. He still has lots of time to build on his legacy, but so far it’s looking like he will go down as an all-time great Yankee.

1. Derek Jeter (1992)

Five World Series rings speak for themselves, and it’s hard to forget about one of the greatest hitting shortstops to ever step on the field. Of course, the Yankees had expectations for Derek Jeter when they drafted him sixth overall in 1992, but they never could have imagined the five titles, 3,465 hits, and 2,674 games at shortstop that he provided over his 20-year career.

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There isn’t much to say about Jeter; rather, his accomplishments pretty much speak for themselves. He is undoubtedly one of the best Yankees ever, let alone their best draft selection.

The post Ranking The Yankees’ Top 5 Draft Picks of All-Time appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.