With the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft kicking off last night in Texas, the New York Yankees had two picks in the first two rounds, but there weren’t clear answers on what they would do. Some thought the Yankees could go for a collegiate hitter like Tommy White out of LSU or go for a prep infielder, but their first-round pick ended up coming out of nowhere. Ben Hess, a right-hander out of Alabama University, would be their selection of the night at 26. Later on that night, the Yankees would get another college arm as they picked up Bryce Cunningham out of Vanderbilt 53rd Overall.
It was an interesting day of drafting for the Yankees, who went the unconventional route in both rounds to try and land high-upside pitching.
Yankees’ First-Round Pick (No. 26): Ben Hess
2024 NCAA Stats: 5.80 ERA | 68.1 IP | 34.8% K% | 11.5% BB% | 1.7 HR/9 | 3.45 xFIP
It may puzzle you why the New York Yankees would select a pitcher who never found much success in college, but there are some key things to note in regard to draft analysis. Grading a pitcher based on their ERA and using that as a barometer for prospect status would be asinine, and while Ben Hess is a work-in-progress, his arsenal has some excellent whiff pitches with the strikeout rates to back up his swing-and-miss potential.
Ben Hess’ most-used pitch is his four-seam fastball, which is released from a slightly flatter angle than the average right-hander, sitting 93.9 MPH with 18.9 inches of Induced Vertical Break. Furthermore, his fastball gets 13.3 inches of run, giving it plenty of movement that should help it stay off of barrels. College pitch data can always be shaky, but the shape of his fastball is reliant on movement up in the zone, resulting in a 92nd-percentile Whiff Rate (29.1%).
The curveball is absolutely wicked, with -16.6 inches of Induced Vertical Break and -16.1 inches of horizontal sweep at 76.3 MPH, making it a big looping curve. Batters had a 58.2% Whiff Rate on that pitch with a high Chase Rate to go alongside it. It’s an unbelievable offering, but the Yankees will have to work with Hess on his two other secondary offerings. While the curveball should mow through left-handed batters, Ben Hess will need to work on a slider and/or changeup.
READ MORE: Yankees land towering pitcher with top-fight upside with 26th overall pick
His slider doesn’t get enough chases or whiffs, but the Yankees do a great job developing sliders, so I’m very excited to see how he fits into the team’s future. The reason you draft for excellent stuff and potential over things like immediate pitchability or ERA in college is that teams know they have more tools to refine and correct a talented pitcher. Some arms don’t take that “leap” in college, and it takes a deeper dive than what’s feasible at college.
We’ve seen Ben Hess top out at 98 MPH, and the top comparison for him has been Lance Lynn, who also utilized a trunky tall frame to the tune of a 3.77 ERA and 32.7 fWAR across 1,985.1 innings. We’ll see if the Yankees can maximize Ben Hess or not, but it’s not wise to bet against someone like Sam Briend. This will likely also be an underslot, which will give the Yankees more money to use in later rounds and pick up some talent.
Yankees’ Second-Round Pick (No. 53): Bryce Cunningham
2024 NCAA Stats: 4.36 ERA | 84.2 IP | 26.6 K% | 9.4% BB% | 1.5 HR/9 | 3.83 xFIP
I almost like the Yankees’ second-round pick more than their first-round one, as Bryce Cunningham has some frightening stuff in his repertoire. It starts with his power four-seamer, sitting at 94.6 MPH with 19.2 inches of Induced Vertical Break and 10.7 inches of run. On average, fastballs at his release points produce just 16.5 inches of ride and 6.5 inches of horizontal run, so his movement is much greater than what most hitters would expect vertically and horizontally.
Cunningham pairs it with an excellent changeup that averaged 20.5 inches of horizontal movement at 86.4 MPH, making it a powerful changeup that generated a staggering 52.9% Whiff Rate. The Yankees do not care that the Vanderbilt product had a 4.36 ERA in the NCAA, as when he pitched in the Cape Cod League (which uses wooden bats), he posted a 2.38 ERA and 25.8% strikeout rate.
The Yankees will also need to work on a stable slider for the right-hander, which as mentioned with Ben Hess is right up the organization’s alley for the draft. It’ll be a very interesting story to follow because the upside here is enormous, when you run his fastball through Robert Frey’s Stuff+ Model, you get some pretty wild results. Anything above 150 is considered an elite pitch, and his four-seamer sits at a whopping 167.
There’s a lot to love about what Bryce Cunningham can be as a starter, but there are two distinct flaws that he’ll need to work on with the Yankees. His command isn’t great, resulting in damage pitches in-zone and some walks as well, but he moves well and that’s something to note when talking about a player making mechanical tweaks. Cunningham will also need a slider, but that’s something that the Yankees develop really well.