The second through 10th rounds of the 2021 MLB Draft were held on Monday, and after selecting Eastern Illinois SS Trey Sweeney with the No. 20 overall pick on Sunday night, the Yankees were set to add nine more new Baby Bombers to the fold.
Stay up to date with our capsule profile trackers below:
ROUND 2 (No. 55 overall): RHP Brendan Beck, Stanford (Sr.)
The brother of current Giants prospect Tristan Beck, Brendan was a two-way player who became exclusive to pitching in 2019, and was Stanford’s No. 1 starter in 2021. The 6-foot-2 righty has four pitches, with a fastball that sits low-90s and three secondary pitches that grade out as “average” per MLB.com’s scouting report.
Beck was 9-3 with a 3/15 ERA and 143 strikeouts over 108 2/3 innings this season for the Cardinal, and was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and first team All-Pac 12. He was ranked No. 99 overall by MLB Pipeline and No. 81 by Baseball America.
ROUND 3 (No. 92 overall): LHP Brock Selvidge, Harrison (AZ) HS
Selvidge was the No. 1 HS LHP and No. 2 player in Arizona per Perfect Game, and the last player selected from Harrison was none other than Cody Bellinger. Per MLB Pipeline, the lefty’s fastball sits low-90s but can hit 96, and has a three-quarters slider, an improving curveball, and a rarely used changeup. Selvidge, who also played the outfield (and hit .320 over 75 HS games), had a 2.41 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings this past season, and was committed to LSU heading into the draft.
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ROUND 4 (No. 122 overall): 2B Cooper Bowman, University of Louisville (Redshirt Jr.)
Bowman was a shortstop at Iowa Western CC his first two years, and hit .418 with 44 stolen bases in 84 games for the 2019 JUCO World Series runners-up. His lone season at Louisville saw him move to the other side of the keystone, and the righty hit .293 with eight homers and 20 steals in 44 games.
Per MLB Pipeline: “Bowman has a smooth right-handed swing, good feel for hitting and a patient approach, allowing him to make regular contact and get on base. He has a quick bat with solid raw power and can drive the ball out of the park from gap to gap, giving him 15-20 homer potential, and has plus to plus-plus run times and showing a knack for stealing bases.” It also noted, however, that his arm strength is better suited for second base, but “he runs well enough to play center field if needed.”
The Yankees also took a Louisville second baseman in the second round five years ago, and that 2016 pick, Nick Solak, became part of a deal for Brandon Drury and is now the Rangers’ starting 2B.
ROUND 5 (No. 153 overall): 1B Tyler Hardman, University of Oklahoma (Sr.)
Hardman was a 37th-round pick of the Rockies in 2017, but went undrafted in 2020 despite an All-Star Cape Cod League season in 2019. The righty was the Big 12 Conference batting champ, hitting .397 last season, and he cranked 12 homers and drove in 49 in 55 games.
Hardman was a first baseman his final three years but did play third base in the Cape Cod League, and according to MLB Pipeline, “Hardman is still a below-average runner who may be limited to first base. He needs to clean up his footwork but projects as an average defender with arm strength to match. He played mostly third base on the Cape but would have a long ways to go to become adequate at the hot corner, while left field could be a more realistic option for expanding his defensive horizons.”
ROUND 6 (No. 183 overall): RHP Richard Fitts, Auburn (Junior)
A key reliever on the 2019 Auburn team that reached the College World Series, Fitts transitioned into the rotation for 2021, but fell to a 5.88 ERA in 13 appearances (eight games) around a March foot injury. Overall, Fitts had a 5.23 ERA in 117 innings over three seasons.
MLB Pipeline notes that Fitts developed a four-seamer that hits mid-to-high 90s as a starter to complement his low-90s sinker, and has a changeup and slider that sit in the 80s but “regressed this spring.” However, “his 6-foot-3 frame is strong enough for him to handle a starter's workload, his arm action and delivery are sound, and he throws strikes with his entire arsenal,” and “adding to the package is his competitiveness, which draws as much praise as his stuff.”
ROUND 7 (No. 213 overall): LHP Robert Ahlstrom, University of Oregon (Senior)
A starter for most of his three years in Eugene, Ahlstrom blossomed as Oregon’s ace in 2021, going 9-3 with a Pac-12 leading 2.50 ERA in 90 innings over 14 starts. He spent his freshman season at Chemeketa Community College in Oregon, where he was named NWAC Southern Region MVP as a pitcher and utility player. On the mound, he has a three-pitch mix and is a command guy.
ROUND 8 (No. 243 overall): RHP Will Warren, Southeastern Louisiana University (Senior)
Warren had a breakout senior year at SELA, going 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA and striking out 95 in 91 innings to earn First Team All-Southland Conference honors. He was a true swingman over his four years, as a reliever in 2018, a starter in 2019, and both in 2020, and finished his college career with a 3.56 ERA. He features a low-90s fastball (topping out close to 100) and a mid-70s curve, and could further develop both a slider and a changeup that sit in the low-80s.
ROUND 9 (No. 273 overall): RHP Chandler Champlain, USC (Junior)
A swingman as a freshman and reliever in the shortened 2020 campaign, Champlain became a full-time starter at USC this season and went 4-4 with a 5.06 ERA in 74 2/3 innings. He is a second-generation ISC athlete – his father, Jay, was on the Trojans’ 1978 national championship football team – and per Baseball America, Champlain “flashes a 93-96 mph fastball, an above-average 12-to-6 breaking ball and an average changeup at his best. His fastball is often straight, however, and his control is below average, resulting in too many walks and hits allowed.”
ROUND 10 (No. 303 overall): SS Benjamin Cowles, University of Maryland (Junior)
Cowles was the First Team All-Big Ten selection and a Baseball America Third Team All-American after hitting .287 with a conference-leading 18 home runs (fourth most in Maryland history) and 51 RBI, which was good for second in the Big Ten. Cowles, who grew up in upstate New York idolizing Derek Jeter, was a three-year starter for the Terps, hitting .243 overall in 117 games.
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