They didn’t have a first-round pick last night, but the Yankees did have a supplemental first rounder at No. 51 thanks to losing Javier Vazquez as a free agent (seriously) and they used it on high school slugger Dante Bichette Jr.
In addition to being the son of four-time All-Star outfielder Dante Bichette he’s also a legitimate prospect, with Baseball America ranking Bichette as the 108th-best player in the draft.
And as Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News points out, it also didn’t hurt that Bichette Sr. is such good friends with Yankees manager Joe Girardi that Girardi named his son Dante. They played together on the Rockies from 1993 to 1995.
If junior can match senior’s career the Yankees will be thrilled with the pick, but he’ll probably never be able to match the old man’s physique.
New York gave up its first-round pick, No. 31 overall, to sign Rafael Soriano as a free agent.