Yanks: Sweeney has 'all the tools' at SS

The Yankees believe that Trey Sweeney, the organization’s first-round selection in the MLB Draft, has the tools necessary to stick at shortstop in the professional ranks.

Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said Wednesday that the club came away pleased with its haul from the 2021 Draft -- a 20-player group that includes Sweeney, who was tabbed from Eastern Illinois University as the nation’s 20th overall selection.

“We really see him as being able to play shortstop,” Oppenheimer said. “He’s smooth; he’s got good hands. He runs well enough. His range is good, and he’s got a plus arm. Realistically, he has all the tools and the intangibles to be a shortstop. He has the clock to play shortstop, so defensively we don’t see any issues.”

Some scouts have suggested that the 21-year-old Sweeney could profile as a third baseman in the Minors. Oppenheimer said Sweeney is versatile enough to play other positions, but the club is eager to see the 6-foot-4, left-handed hitter progress in the middle of the infield.

“I feel confident sticking at shortstop, playing at the highest level,” Sweeney said. “But I know there’s some things I need to work on, including my speed, to be able to do that. I’m confident in myself to play shortstop, but I also have experience around the rest of the infield, so it wouldn’t be a problem to me either way.”

Oppenheimer said he is unconcerned about a potential organizational logjam at the position, given that Anthony Volpe -- the club’s first-round pick in 2019 and No. 11 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline -- is also a shortstop. Generally speaking, teams look to draft the best available talent on the board, not for need.

“In the amateur world, you just can’t stop taking the best,” Oppenheimer said. “Sweeney was the best guy that we thought [was available] at the time. Even though you have Volpe coming, you still make that pick.”

Oppenheimer said he sees no signability issues at the top of the Yanks’ Draft class, including second-round right-hander Brendan Beck, who came 55th overall from Stanford University. Oppenheimer said he believes Beck could reach the Majors in a short period.

“We think he could be really close,” Oppenheimer said. “There's not a lot of development that has to go; he just probably is going to need to build up innings. He’s really athletic and came to Stanford as a position player. He throws strikes; he has four pitches. He's been up to 96-97 [mph] and can also gear it back like a starter and pitch at 92 and go get the other stuff when he needs it.

“He can pitch to a scouting report if his slider’s going good or his curveball, so we think we’ve got a guy who has four pitches, has got command and he's athletic. We think we're getting a high-end starter.”

The Yankees are enthused by their third-round selection, high school left-hander Brock Selvidge, who was rated as one of the top prep talents in Arizona. Oppenheimer said he believes the Yankees will reach an agreement with Selvidge, who he feels was one of the top three high school pitchers going into the Draft.

“He had a hiccup during his spring a little bit because of some different coaching philosophies, and then he got back on track after the season was over,” Oppenheimer said. “We saw him at the MLB Combine, and he was back to the guy we thought he was going into the Draft. We think we might have got ourselves something really good here.”