2026 MLB Draft Review: New York Yankees

The players

Two years ago, the Yankees took a college pitcher from the SEC, Ben Hess, with their top pick. For 2026, the club repeated history, in a sense, by picking Arkansas hurler Hunter Dietz.

Dietz, a high-profile arm sophomore with the Razorbacks, received his turn to pilot the Arkansas rotation in 2026 and thrived, as he struck out 131 batters over 85.2 IP this past season. Those 131 strikeouts were good for seventh-most in D1 this season.

For Dietz, it’s fastball/slider/curveball. His fastball sat in the upper-to-high-90s, and he paired that with an awfully good slider that he could throw for strikes and induce swing-and-miss. Between the stuff and the production in the top-tier conference across college baseball, it’s no shock to see why Dietz was picked in the first round.

After Dietz, the Yankees went to Canada to grab high school pitcher Sean Duncan. From British Columbia, Duncan is one of those high-upside pitchers teams love, just in terms of pure potential. A 6’3” left-hander with a low-to-mid-90s fastball, coupled with a changeup and breaking ball.

The Yankees then took two college catchers, Oklahoma’s Brendan Brock and Texas A&M’s Bear Harrison. Brock, part of the OU team that won the national title, tandemed with now-Guardians C/1B Deiten Lachance this past season. He finished second in total hits (74) and home runs (13), both of which were behind Lachance.

Lots of power, as Brock made a good amount of hard-hit contact. However, he struck out a lot, as Brock went down 73 times over 60 games.

As for Harrison, the Texas A&M backstop can be considered an advanced stats darling. Harrison posted a .495 on-base percentage this past season with the Aggies, buoyed by 41 walks over 53 games. He hit 12 home runs last year, and Harrison also had a good track record with wood bats.

Sandwiched in between Brock and Harrison was Paul Contreras, who led Cal State Fullerton in batting average (.340), runs scored (40), home runs (14), and RBI (45).

Michael Harpster, a junior from ETSU, struck out 78 over 72 innings for ETSU this past season. Harpster was in the rotation for ETSU in all three seasons he was in college. And he was one of many college players who filled out the Yankees’ MLB Draft for 2026.

The Yankees took some well-known college performers. Tyce Armstrong started the year off with a bang with three grand slams on Opening Day with Baylor, showing the kind of power he has in his game. He ended the year with 24 home runs.

Outfielders Blake Cyr and Dean Toigo both had track records, too. Cyr, who transferred to Florida after a strong start to his collegiate career, rebounded in 2026. Senior pitcher David Leslie struck out 75 over 65 for Pittsburgh. Low-to-mid-90s fastball, along with a hard curveball.

Lastly, we will touch on Luke Pettitte, the son of longtime Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte. Luke went to Dallas Baptist, a school that’s produced some good pro pitchers over the past few years. And Pettitte looked poised to follow in that same path, especially given how well he pitched in the Cape back in 2025.

But thanks to injury, Pettitte didn’t pitch in 2026. Instead, he DH’d for the Patriots and wound up hitting 16 home runs in just 42 games.