Hale: 2006 Draft Was A Turning Point For Yanks

From Mark Hale:

The Yankees' drafts were terrible for several years. But things have changed

Take a look at the team's amateur drafts from early this decade and you find the equivalent of an abandoned old parking lot -- it's basically just weeds and litter. But general manager Brian Cashman said the team altered its approach to the draft three years ago, and there have been better results to accompany it.

In 2006, the Yankees drafted Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson and Mark Melancon -- all of whom have reached, or are excelling in, the majors -- while also landing Dellin Betances, Zach McAllister and George Kontos, all of whom could get there at some point.

"It has a chance to be one of the better drafts of all time," Cashman said.

This year's draft is Tuesday -- the Yankees pick 29th in the first round and at No. 76 in the second -- and they will continue to use the philosophy born in 2006. That year vice president of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer became, in Cashman's words, "fully empowered." Before that, Cashman said, "There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen. A lot of different philosophies colliding at times."

But beyond who does the picking, the draft targets for the Yankees have changed. For example, now it's more about a pitcher's stuff than his statistics.

"Players with tools, tools scouting rather than performance scouting," Cashman said. "Going aggressively after the difficult signs. ... It's really just keeping it simple. Going after players with big tools. Big tools hopefully lead to championships."

In fact, from 2001-05, some of the few good players the Yankees drafted they didn't sign. The Yankees took right-hander Daniel Bard in the 20th round in 2003. He's now with the Red Sox and ranks as one of the majors' most touted relief prospects. In 2004, the Yanks took Chris Davis in the 50th round but didn't sign him. He now plays first base for the Rangers.

The only contributing players that the Yankees drafted during that span were Phil Coke (26th round, 2002), Phil Hughes (first round, 2004) and Brett Gardner (third round, 2005). And the jury is still out on all three.

The Yankees did take outfielder Austin Jackson in the eighth round in 2005, and he could be their center fielder of the future. They snagged pitcher Jeff Marquez in the first round in 2004 before sending him to Chicago in the Nick Swisher trade -- so he did help the Yankees in that sense.

But the Yankees also wasted first-round selections on John-Ford Griffin (2001), Bronson Sardinha (2001), Jon Skaggs (2001), Eric Duncan (2003) and C.J. Henry (2005).

True story; I have a friend who played for Seton Hall Prep with Eric Duncan. The day after the Yankees drafted him my friend's father told me that Duncan would never make it to the big leagues, and he had no idea what the Yankees were thinking wasting an first-round pick on him. So far it seems that this kid's father knew more than the Yankees did.

The one area where I will give Brian Cashman credit is how he helped the team change its philosophy after he was given full control. Clearly the 2006 draft marks the beginning of this period. It amazing to think where the Yankees would be if they didn't have idiots running the drafts from 2001-2005, and they should consider themselves very lucky that they were able to get players like Hughes and Jackson with all the crap they drafted.

The next chance the Yankees have for a good draft will come Tuesday night. You can watch the draft on MLB Network, starting at 6:00 p.m.