Yankees Select Pair of Pitchers To Open MLB Draft

 

Yankee Stadium. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees selected two players over the first two rounds of the 2024 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. With their first-round selection (26^th overall), the club drafted right-handed pitcher Ben Hess out of the University of Alabama. In the second round, the Yankees chose RHP Bryce Cunningham out of Vanderbilt University with the 53^rd overall pick.

Ben Hess went 5-5 with a 5.80 ERA (68.1IP, 60H, 47R/44ER, 35BB, 106K, 13HR) in 15 starts this past season for Alabama as a junior. His 106 strikeouts led the team, were eighth-most in the SEC in 2024, and were the fifth-most in a single season in school history. 

Over three seasons with the Crimson Tide (2022-24), Hess went 12-6 with a 4.81 ERA. He had 138.1 innings pitched, 111 hits, 84 runs/74 earned runs, 62 walks, 205 strikeouts, and 26 home runs in 33 career games (30 starts). He also compiled a 13.34 K/9.0IP ratio over his three seasons at Alabama, the highest mark in school history. 

Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees Vice President of Domestic Amateur Scouting, said, “Ben checks off a lot of things for us. He fits what we are looking for in a potential top-of-the-line Major League starter. Specifically, he’s a big, power right-hander that can throw two breaking balls and can reach up to 97 (mph). We think there is even more to come from Ben with our player development program.”

The selection of Hess marks just the third time the Yankees have selected a collegiate pitcher in the first round of the draft since 2009, along with current Yankees starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt, whom they drafted out of the University of South Carolina in 2017, and James Kaprielian (2015, UCLA). Additionally, the Yankees have selected a college player with nine of their last 14 first-round picks since 2013.

Hess is only the fifth player from the University of Alabama that's drafted in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft. The first four were Joe Vitiello (seventh overall in 1991 by the Kansas City Royals), Jeremy Brown (35^th overall in 2002 by the Oakland Athletics), Taylor Tankersley (27^th overall in 2004 by the Florida Marlins) and Tommy Hunter (54^th overall in 2007 by the Texas Rangers).

A Charleston, Ill., native, Hess was ranked as the No. 38 overall prospect by Baseball America and No. 44 by MLB Pipeline.

Bryce Cunningham made 16 starts for Vanderbilt last season as a junior, going 7-4 with a 4.36 ERA (84.2IP, 69H, 49R/41ER, 34BB, 96K, 14HR). Additionally, his 7.33 H/9.0IP ratio ranked eighth among SEC pitchers, while his 1.22 WHIP was the 11^th-lowest mark. Over three seasons with the Commodores (2022-24), he went 11-8 with two saves a 4.95 ERA (160.0IP, 135H, 102R/88ER, 71BB, 168K, 28HR) in 46 games (26 starts).

“We love Bryce because he’s another pick that could have top-end starter potential and has already been tested in the SEC,” Oppenheimer said. “He’s a quality pitcher and a powerful right-hander with a big fastball that can reach up to 99 (mph), a good changeup, and a slider that continues to improve. Bryce has continued to get better, and credit to him on what he has done on his own, his performance in the Cape Cod Baseball League, and the support he received at Vanderbilt.”

Cunningham was a two-time All-Star in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Bourne Braves, whom he pitched for in 2022 and '23. He posted a 2.38 ERA (22.2IP, 6ER) and 25K in the summer of 2023.

A native of Headland, Ala., Cunningham was ranked as the No. 39 overall prospect by Baseball America and the No. 63 by MLB Pipeline.

RHP BEN HESS

Selection: First Round (26^th overall)

School: University of Alabama

Hometown: Charleston, Ill.

DOB: 9/3/2002

Age: 21

Bats: R Throws: R

Height: 6'5" Weight: 255 lbs.

RHP BRYCE CUNNINGHAM

Selection: Second Round (53^rd overall)

School: Vanderbilt University

Hometown: Headland, Ala.

DOB: 12/20/2002

Age: 21

Bats: R Throws: R

Height: 6'5" Weight: 230 lbs.