Eric

Jagielo

Jagielo will receive a bonus of $1,839,400, which matches the assigned slot value for the No. 26 overall pick. The Yankees also selected Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge (No. 32) and high school left-hander Ian Clarkin (No. 33) in the first round. Both are unsigned at the moment.

With three of the last eight picks in the first round, the Yankees played it rather safe with the first pick. Jagielo upped his stock in the Cape Cod League last year and then hit .388/.500/.633 with nine homers for Notre Dame this season. He’s questionable to last at third base, and he may not run well enough to be an asset in an outfield corner either. He does possess plenty of power from the left side of the plate, so with hopes of playing in Yankee Stadium, he’s an intriguing fantasy prospect.

The homer was the fifth of the season for Jagielo, who’s batting .271/.333/.552 with 16 extra-base hits and 20 RBI through 25 games. The 22-year-old left-handed hitter has some swing-and-miss to his game, evidenced by his 27 strikeouts thus far as well as his career strikeout rate of 24.5% over parts of three seasons, but his power has translated nicely thus far in his first taste of the Double-A level. Jagielo’s defense at the hot corner is also a concern, as he lacks the range, quickness and hands for the position at the highest level. The good news is that his dangerous bat should support a move across the infield to first base.

He sustained a bruised left knee earlier this week and isn’t expected to miss a significant amount of time. Jagielo, a first-round draft pick back in 2013, is in the midst of a strong 2015 campaign for Trenton, batting .284/.347/.495 with nine home runs, 16 doubles and 35 RBI in 58 games. On top of that, the 23-year-old has trimmed his strikeout rate (23.4%) in his first taste of the Double-A level, though it has come with a decreased walk rate (7.3%). Jagielo is not going to hit .280-plus for the entire season, especially given his .342 BABIP, but it’s a very good sign that both his power and on-base skills have carried over to the Eastern League.

Jagielo was having a solid start to his full-season debut when he landed on the disabled list in late May, batting .256/.339/.500 with 10 home runs, eight doubles and 31 RBI through 42 games at the time of the injury. The 22-year-old hasn’t found his groove since returning to action, evidenced by his .250/.333/.426 batting line, three home runs and 24-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19 games. However, the left-handed hitter has shown signs of coming around lately, with a .306 batting average and two long balls in his past 10 contests.

Jagielo, 21, was promoted directly from the Short-Season New York-Penn League to High-A Tampa this season, so expect the 2013 first-round pick to struggle at times this season. Through his first four games at the advanced level, Jagielo is batting .067 (1-for-15) with nine strikeouts against two walks.

Jagielo now has six home runs on the year including two in his last three games. The former first-round pick has struck out a whopping 13 times over his last ten contests but has balanced that out by driving in seven runs during that same span. Jagielo’s high strikeout rate, though concerning, hasn’t been a huge detriment to his average, which sits at a reasonable .287. With Chase Headley manning third base for the Yankees, it could be a while before we see Jagielo in the big leagues.

A first-round pick in 2013, Jagielo hit .284/.347/.495 with nine home runs over just 58 games in his first taste of Double-A last season. He missed much of the year with a knee injury. Most expect Jagielo’s bat to play at the major league level, although there are questions as to whether he can stick at third base.

He underwent surgery to repair a slight fracture near his left eye, which will sideline him for the next 4-6 weeks. The 26th overall selection from the 2013 draft, Jagielo slashed .256/.351/.461 with 18 homers and 58 RBI in 92 games between the Yankees Rookie League squad and High-A Tampa.