The Yankees found a little piece of franchise history in the lineup card, not the box score. Against the Mets on Sept. 11 and 12, New York started five players it had drafted and signed in the first round: Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr.
No Yankees club had previously put five homegrown first-round selections in the same starting lineup in the Draft era, which began in 1965. The Twins were the only other Major League club this season to field that many first-round picks developed within the organization.
Quick facts
- Aaron Judge was selected 32nd overall in 2013.
- Anthony Volpe went 30th overall in 2019.
- Austin Wells was the 28th pick in the 2020 Draft.
- Spencer Jones was taken 25th overall in 2022.
- George Lombard Jr. was selected 26th overall in 2023.
- The Yankees have posted 34 straight winning seasons.
It is an unusual Bronx collection, even by Yankees standards. The Core Four clubs of the late 1990s and 2000s never had this particular first-round homegrown look, and neither did the Baby Bombers group from roughly a decade ago.
Injuries have taken Judge and other established players out of the lineup for significant stretches this season. New York has leaned heavily on its pitching while building the American League’s second-best record, but the younger position players have been part of the lift.
“It means we’re doing something right,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “When you make a pick, the hope is that player eventually contributes in New York and helps the club chase championships.”
The achievement carries extra weight because the Yankees rarely draft at the very top of the board. All five of the players in that September lineup were chosen between No. 25 and No. 32, where evaluating impact talent becomes less certain.
The organization had a long dry spell with first-round position players before Judge arrived. From Derek Jeter’s selection at No. 6 in 1992 through Judge’s 2013 Draft, the Yankees used 14 first-round choices on position players. Only Bronson Sardinha and Slade Heathcott reached the majors with New York.
Sardinha, the 34th overall selection in 2001, and Heathcott, taken 29th in 2009, combined for 42 plate appearances across 28 games. Those were the only big league games either player played.
That does not make every earlier selection a total loss. Some prospects became useful trade currency as the Yankees tried to win immediately under the pressure that comes with the uniform.
Brian Buchanan, a 1994 first-rounder, was included in the 1998 trade for Chuck Knoblauch. C.J. Henry, drafted in the first round in 2005, helped bring Bobby Abreu to New York in 2006. Eric Jagielo, selected six spots before Judge in 2013, went to Cincinnati in the 2015 deal that delivered Aroldis Chapman.
Cashman sees the recent run as the result of organizational work rather than a fortunate streak. The Yankees have invested throughout the system in performance science, mental-skills support and specialized player-development coaching.
“The more recent results show that we are improving as we keep evolving and growing,” Cashman said.
Damon Oppenheimer, the club’s vice president of domestic amateur scouting, has spent 34 years with the Yankees and has overseen the Draft since 2005. His department has tried to blend traditional scouting with newer evaluation tools, while putting major emphasis on learning the person behind each prospect.
That research can include conversations with travel-ball coaches, college contacts and even host families from the Cape Cod League. Oppenheimer said surviving the climb to Yankee Stadium requires more than physical ability.
“We understand how difficult it is just to become a Major Leaguer,” Oppenheimer said. “Here, it is even more meaningful because those players had the toughness and resolve to make it through the path to becoming a Yankee.”
He also pointed to later-round products Ben Rice, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren as part of the homegrown wave. For a club positioned as a World Series contender, the two September lineup cards offered more than a historical footnote: they showed a young core already taking its place beside the veterans.
The Yankees will carry that marker into October, hoping this group’s first shared bit of history becomes the opening chapter of a deeper postseason run.
