HOUSTON — The Yankees picked shortstop Trey Sweeney with the 20th pick in the MLB amateur draft Sunday night. The lefty with power played for Eastern Illinois and was ranked 55th among prospects by both Baseball America and MLB.com.
The 6-foot-4, 21-year-old Sweeney is seen as an average athlete, who will likely have to move to third base with an above average bat.
“He’s got a good approach and he can hit for average and power,” a National League talent evaluator said. “He has a lot going on with the swing, but consistently makes contact.
“Defensively, I don’t believe he sticks at shortstop, but he has a strong arm and should be fine at third.”
In 48 games this season, Sweeney hit .382/.522/.712 with 14 homers and a 1.234 OPS. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweeney did not get a chance to play in summer leagues like the Cape Cod League against higher-level competition.
“I think he could have gone higher if he’d had the chance to play last summer,” the scout said. “I think he would have done well.”
It was the fourth consecutive year the Yankees have picked a position player with their first pick. It was the highest the Bombers have picked since 2017, when they drafted right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt.
