The Yankees have agreed to a deal with No. 67 overall draft pick Josh Smith, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The now-former Louisiana State shortstop will sign for his full slot value of $967,700.
Smith, 21, hit .346/.433/.533 with nine home runs, 17 doubles, a pair of triples and 20 stolen bases in his junior season at LSU. Entering the draft, he was ranked by Fangraphs as the No. 53 prospect available, while Baseball America tabbed him 68th and MLB.com listed him at No. 76. Smith doesn’t draw plus grades for any single tool but has average or above-average rankings across the board. He’s listed at 5’10” and 175 pounds, and most reports give him a chance to stick at shortstop even though some believe a move to second base is ultimately in his future. Smith had been the only unsigned pick among the Yankees’ selections in the draft’s first 10 rounds.
The Hall of Fame journey begins.
Another Josh Smith!!!!!
Exclamation point override!!!!!
No the same one like the Astros Dererk Fisher.
See you in SI soon brother and welcome aboard the Evil Empire.
Do you play? What position?
No sir. Just a long time fan living in Florida now ( originally from New York)
So he’s really 5’8″ and 160 lbs and Jose Altuve 2.0. I’ll take it.
He looks to be a very similar player as Volpe. And with the glut of infielders they already have, seems like a couple of curious early picks to me. But we will see.
“And with the glut of infielders they already have, seems like a couple of curious picks to me” What scouting service do you represent?
The Yankees
Hes a college Jr. So with his current skill grades and development… that puts him on track for a late 2023 or 2024 debut.. they got time to work out his position.
He was junior, I believe he missed a year because of injury but that doesn’t mean he is a sophomore.
look forward to him being dealt for another power throwing righty bull pen option that can barely make it out of Scranton