Yankees Land Injured College Outfielder with Upside in Latest MLB Mock Draft

The New York Yankees have had to get adept at finding value late in the first round — and beyond — the past several years.

That’s the price to be paid for being good and spending a lot of money.

The Yankees haven’t had a first-round pick in the teens since 2017, when they selected pitcher Clarke Schmidt with the No. 16 overall pick. Since then, New York has selected as low as No. 20 and has seen its first-round selection pushed back into the 30s twice.

That will be the case again in July’s MLB draft as the Yankees will select No. 39 overall. Because the Yankees exceeded the second surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax with their payroll last year, their assigned pick falls back 10 selections. So, New York went from No. 29 to No. 39 in the order.

That means the Yankees are probably looking at the best available player. Recently, Baseball America published its third mock draft and assigned the Yankees a college outfielder with upside and an injury — Texas outfielder Max Belyeu.

Who is Max Belyeu?

The product of Aledo, Texas, is in his third collegiate season. He had a breakthrough in 2024, as he was named the Big 12 player of the year and to the league’s first team. He was named a second-team all-American and selected to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. He batted .329 with 50 runs, 15 doubles, 18 home runs and 53 RBI.

His batting average has gone up this season to .358 and he’s slammed six home runs and driven in 22 runs. But, he hasn’t played since March due to a thumb injury, which is why Baseball America sees the right fielder dropping here — and giving some value to whichever team takes him.

“…when healthy, he displayed one of the better hit tools in the class to go with a plus throwing arm in right field,” wrote the publication’s staff.

Assuming he’s healthy by July, Belyeu could fit into a late-season stint at High-A Hudson Valley.

The Yankees have been leading toward college players with their first round pick the past few seasons. Last year’s first-round pick was Alabama right-handed pitcher Ben Hess.

New York dipped into the prep ranks in 2023 with shortstop George Lombard Jr. out of Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Fla. The 19-year-old phenom was recently promoted to Double-A Somerset.

The Yankees selected outfielder Spencer Jones from Vanderbilt in the first round in 2022 and he is now at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 2021, the pick was Eastern Illinois’ Trey Sweeney. The shortstop was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is now with the Detroit Tigers and is playing in the Majors.

Starting catcher Austin Wells was taken in the first round in 2020 out of Arizona.

The 2025 MLB draft will be held Sunday and Monday, July 13-14, during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.