Yankees Take C.J. Henry with 17th Overall Pick

The draft finally arrived on Tuesday, June 7th. And, with their first pick, the Yankees' took Oklahoma high school shortstop, C.J. Henry.

As it has been projected for over a month now, the Yankees picked C.J. Henry 17th overall in the first round of the 2005 MLB Amateur draft. Henry, a shortstop, may eventually be moved to the outfield, but make no mistake, he is a five tool player. A right handed hitter, Henry is arguably one of the top athletes in the entire draft and the Yankees are more than thrilled to have him in the organization.

Off the field, you can't find a much better young man than C.J. Henry. Not only as far as scouts are concerned, but just for the everyday person, this 18 year old has a plus personality and makeup. He has handled himself in a mature manner leading up to the draft, making clear statements to scouts that his focus is on baseball and nowhere else. But, besides baseball, Henry does his part in the community off the diamond as well. The 18 year old participates in a Leadership Mentor Program, a program dedicated to helping the health and welfare of the community. So, as most scouts have already taken note of, C.J. Henry is not only a great investment for his baseball skills but for his superb personality traits as well.

The Yankees obviously showed showed how much they liked this young man by taking him over two polished college star pitchers, Craig Hansen and Luke Hochevar. But, this shows that they will be more willing to focus on pitchers in the next few rounds. We will continue draft coverage as it unfolds here at PinstripesPlus.com.