Ben Hess Selected by New York Yankees in First Round of 2024 MLB Draft

The first Alabama baseball draft pick of the Rob Vaughn era is a first rounder.

Mar 15, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama starting pitcher Ben Hess makes a pitch against Tennessee at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in the first game of the SEC season for both teams. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

As many expected, right-handed starting pitcher Ben Hess has become the first Major League Baseball draft pick of the Rob Vaughn era. The New York Yankees took Hess with the 26th overall pick in the draft on Sunday night, making him a first rounder.

The talented right-hander boasts a prolific arsenal, including a fastball that tops out at 98 miles per hour. That pitch helped earned him his nickname: "Heater." Hess just finished his junior season at Alabama, in which he spent a large portion of the season as the ace of the pitching staff. His final collegiate start, on June 1 against Stetson, doubled as his NCAA Tournament debut.

Hess finally reached that postseason start after a number of injury woes affected his career at the Capstone. He had a delayed start to his freshman season in 2022, but even then, the coaching staff saw him as a prospect with a bright future. That year, he turned heads when he struck out 10 batters in an SEC Tournament appearance against Georgia. In 2023, his season was cut short early in conference play; at the time, he had a 4-0 record, 49 strikeouts and a 3.22 earned run average in seven starts. When the team made a super regional, it did so without him being able to pitch in the postseason.

Poised for a breakout year in 2024, Hess got off to a great start to the campaign, including making an appearance on the Frisco Classic All-Tournament team after striking out 10 batters in five innings during a start against then-No. 20 Indiana. He faltered somewhat in league play, finishing his season with a 5.80 ERA, but still struck out the third-most batters in SEC play (70) and led the team in both wins and strikeouts (106). By the time the regionals rolled around, he was back to form. Hess strikes out a lot of batters, posting eight punchouts or more on eight different occasions this past season.

The prestigious Yankees organization liked what it saw and has officially made him the first draft pick since Vaughn took over as head coach. The Illinois native, whose career college ERA sits at just over 4.8, will now be able to take his next steps under the watchful eye of the team that has won the most World Series titles of anyone in baseball. He is the first Alabama pitcher to be drafted since last year, when three of his former stablemates heard their names called, and the fifth first-round pick in program history.