With the MLB Draft upon us, how about we rewind the clock five years and take a look back at the Yankees’ 2021 draft class? Major League Baseball’s draft is unique among the major professional sports. Many of the players selected never make it to the team that drafted them, whether they choose not to sign, are traded away before reaching the majors, or simply fizzle out somewhere along the development ladder.
For the Yankees, the 2021 class featured several early selections who ultimately had little direct impact on the organization. However, the class also produced two late-round gems who have since become important pieces of the major league roster.
The Yankees made 20 selections in the 2021 MLB Draft and signed all but two of them. Nineteenth-round pick Dominic Keegan honored his commitment to Vanderbilt, while 20th-round selection Sean Hard chose Boston College instead. Of the 18 players who signed, seven are still with the organization.
Among those seven, two names stand well above the rest: eighth-round pick Will Warren and 12th-round selection Ben Rice. Both of those selections came outside the first five rounds, making this class the opposite of top heavy.
Warren has developed into everything the Yankees could have hoped for from a pitcher selected outside the first five rounds. He has already logged 278.1 major league innings, including 33 starts last season and another 18 already this year, establishing himself as a valuable member of New York’s rotation, even if it has come at the back end.
Rice has not only become the Yankees’ best selection from this draft, but arguably one of the biggest steals of the entire 2021 draft. Players selected after the 10th round rarely reach the major leagues, let alone develop into All-Stars in just their second full season. The Yankees selected Rice out of Dartmouth in the 12th round, and just a few years later he has become one of the organization’s biggest success stories. Here’s hoping Rice puts on a show in the Home Run Derby and keeps his breakout campaign rolling.
The other five players from this class still with the organization are second-round pick Brendan Beck (No. 55 overall), third-round selection Brock Selvidge (No. 92), fifth-round pick Tyler Hardman (No. 153), 13th-round selection Zach Messinger (No. 393), and 15th-round pick Danny Watson (No. 453). Beck got his first cup of coffee in the majors earlier this season, though his most recent start was one he’d probably like to forget. Hardman, Messinger, and Watson are all currently with Triple-A Scranton, while Selvidge is on the injured list at Double-A Somerset.
The Yankees have also used seven members of the 2021 draft class as trade chips to acquire major league talent. Those players include first-round pick Trey Sweeney, fourth-round selection Cooper Bowman, sixth-round pick Richard Fitts, seventh-rounder Robert Ahlstrom, ninth-round pick Chandler Champlain, 10th-round selection Benjamin Cowles, and 11th-rounder Jack Neely.
Collectively, those prospects helped the Yankees acquire Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino, Alex Verdugo, José Trevino, Andrew Benintendi, Jorbit Vivas, Victor González, and Mark Leiter Jr. I’ll admit, a few of those names made me shiver as I typed them. Most of those trades could probably be called pushes, with neither side clearly winning the deal. The obvious exception is the José Trevino trade. Trevino made an All-Star team, won a Gold Glove in pinstripes, and became a fan favorite, before eventually getting traded for Fernando Cruz. For all that, we thank Ahlstrom for his sacrifice.
That leaves four members of the class who are no longer with the organization through other means. Fourteenth-round pick Sean Hermann was selected by the Mariners in the Minor League Rule 5 Draft. Sixteenth-rounder Cole Ayers was released by the Yankees in March 2026, while 17th-round selection Grant Richardson was released during the 2025 season, and 18th-round pick Bailey Dees was released in April of 2026.
Not every draft class is a home run. Five years later, the Yankees’ 2021 class looks like a slightly above-average group, even if it got there through the unconventional route of developing later-round talent. Any draft that produces a reliable major league starter, an All-Star hitter, and several additional pieces that helped patch holes on the major league roster should ultimately be viewed as a success. Another five years from now the narrative might change, but for now, well done 2021.
