New York Yankees Select Ben Hess 26th Overall

The Yankees looked to bolster their pitching core and selected a right-hander from Alabama.

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

With the 26th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected right-handed pitcher Ben Hess.

Round 1 | Pick 26: The New York Yankees select RHP Ben Hess out of Alabama.#MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/v86mXt3NeN

— NYYPlayerDev (@NYYPlayerDev) July 15, 2024

A 21-year-old college junior from the Alabama Crimson Tide, Hess is the first pitcher selected by the Yankees in the first round since they took Clarke Schmidt 16th overall in the 2017 draft. The Bronx Bombers also had the 26th overall selection in last year's draft, which they used to select high school shortstop George Lombard Jr.

Hess was ranked 44th on MLB's Top 250 Draft Prospects list; last season, he pitched in 68.1 innings and racked up 106 strikeouts against just 35 walks, albeit with a 5.80 ERA. His pitch mix includes a four-seam fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup.

"Hess' best offering is a four-seam fastball that sits at 92-96 mph and reaches 99 with run and carry up in the strike zone," Hess' MLB.com profile says. "His mid-80s slider with two-plane depth gives him a second plus offering and he can turn it into a shorter, harder cutter. He also can employ an average mid-70s curveball to give batters a different look, but has lost faith in a fading mid-80s changeup that showed flashes of becoming a solid offering in the past."

Of the Yankees' Top 30 prospects, 11 of them are right-handed pitchers; this group is headlined by Chase Hampton (3rd), Will Warren (7th), and Clayton Beeter (13th). However, all three of these pitchers should be major league ready by 2025 at the latest, so the addition of Hess should help make up for their graduations.

Regarding the Yankees' current rotation, it seems to be set in stone for the next few seasons. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon won't be free agents until 2029, Marcus Stroman has a vesting option for 2026 while hitting free agency in 2027, Nestor Cortes Jr. will be a free agent in 2026, and the aforementioned Clarke Schmidt is under team control until 2028. But given the team's track record for developing bullpen arms, there could be an avenue for Hess there.

Even though there are some questions surrounding Hess, such as past injuries and a regression in pitch command from his sophomore to junior year of college, he should be in great hands in the Yankees' organization, which hopefully can develop him to the best of his ability.