Yanks Make Heathcott Their 1st Round Pick

The Yankees drafted center fielder Slade Heathcott, with the 29th pick in today's draft. He's a high school center fielder out of Texas HS in Texarkana, Texas.

Here's what Baseball America has to say about the Yankees no. 1 pick:

Heathcott is an enigma for scouts. He's a legitimate second-round talent as both an outfielder and a lefthanded pitcher, but he has DHed for most of the spring. He was out until mid-March recovering from November surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, then jammed his throwing shoulder diving for a fly ball in his second game back. When healthy, he's an athletic outfielder with five-tool potential. He swings a quick bat from the left side and has strength and power in his 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame. He earns plus grades for his hitting and his speed, and he has good range and above-average arm strength in the outfield. Heathcott was selected for the Aflac All-American Game last summer as a pitcher, and some clubs like him more as a lefty with an 88-92 mph fastball that touches 94 and a promising curveball. There's effort in his delivery because he approaches pitching like he does everything else: full speed ahead. Heathcott hasn't pitched this spring because of the shoulder injury, however. His makeup also is a concern for several clubs, so it's uncertain where he'll fit in the draft. He's committed to Louisiana State.

Peter Abraham had this quote from Damon Oppenheimer about Heathcott:

“We’ve been scouting Slade for two years, and we’re excited about selecting him. We really liked his combination of tools, athletic ability, performance and grit on the field. He’s a versatile hitter and has good speed in addition to possessing an above-average arm.”

Here's what MLB.com has on Heathcott.

Keith Law also mentioned earlier in the day that he has "makeup issues," so we'll see how that plays out.

I don't know much about him, but he sounds like another high-risk, high-reward pick for the Yanks. Typical of their recent drafts.

With the second round they picked J.R. Murphy, a catcher from Pendleton HS, in Bradenton, Florida.

In his senior year of high school he hit .627 with 11 home runs, 66 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and 34 extra-base hits in 102 at-bats, and Baseball America ranked him the fifth-best catcher in this year's draft class. You can read more on Murphy here.

Here are the full results of the first three rounds of the draft. Rounds 4-50 of the draft will take place tomorrow and Thursday.