Yankees select high school shortstop Dax Kilby in first round of MLB draft

The New York Yankees selected two players in the MLB draft, focusing on maximizing limited opportunities due to penalties. With their first pick at 39th overall, they chose high school shortstop Dax Kilby from Newnan, Georgia. Kilby, a 6-foot-2 left-handed hitter, batted .495 in his senior season and led his team to a state championship, though he must be signed away from a commitment to Clemson.

In the third round (103rd overall), the Yankees picked Kaeden Kent, son of former MLB player Jeff Kent. Kent played shortstop for Texas A&M, where in his junior season he recorded a .943 OPS with 13 home runs in 56 games, marking a breakout year.

The Yankees faced significant draft constraints: Their original first-round pick (29th) dropped 10 spots because they exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax threshold by $40 million last season. They forfeited two picks entirely, including a second-rounder for signing Max Fried (who received a qualifying offer from Atlanta), leaving them with only $5.383 million in signing bonus pool money—the lowest in baseball.

Historically, the Yankees have prioritized position players in early drafts. Since 2018, only one pitcher (2023 first-rounder Ben Hess, who has a 4.08 ERA in High-A) was selected in the first round. Their recent first-round picks include Anthony Seigler (2018), Anthony Volpe (2019), Austin Wells (2020), Trey Sweeney (2021), Spencer Jones (2022), George Lombard Jr. (2023), Hess, and now Kilby.