Yankees pull off a right little coup

In the eighth round of the draft last week the Yankees selected CF Austin Jackson. However the lad seemed destined for a future in college basketball having agreed to a full scholarship with Georgia Tech and seemingly losing interest in baseball.

These signability issues allowed Jackson to drop from the first round all the way down to the eighth but still Yankees fans seemed to think this was a wasted pick. Obviously someone on the Yankees had done their homework and next week Austin Jackson will arrive in Tampa to undergo a medical and join the New York Yankees minor league system.

At the time of the draft he was ranked #77 by Baseball America, but he had been ranked a great deal higher but he reluctance to play baseball dropped him down the rankings. The Yankees are paying him good second round money, believed to be around the $1m mark to choose them over being a Point Guard at Georgia Tech.

This is a really nice move by the Yankees and if they can get CJ Henry in ASAP and get them both working out together, then the Yankees can be happy with the first signings from the draft. Of course there is a long way to go but these two guys are both heavily thought of and down the line could be fine Major Leaguers.