On June 9, the New York Yankees selected Blake Rutherford, 19, as the No. 18 overall pick in the Major League Baseball amateur draft.
The outfielder recently graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills.
Rutherford grew up idolizing the NY Yankees’ Derek Jeter. According to the Ventura County Star, his mother Julie said, “He is so excited. Our family has been Yankees fans all of our lives. … Who wouldn’t want to play for them?”
Standing 6-foot-3, the 200-pound lefty-swinging Rutherford finished this past season having batted .577 with 13 doubles and four home runs in 27 games.
The UCLA commit entered the draft with a rating as the No. 4 prospect by ESPN’s Keith Law, No. 8 by MLB.com and No. 9 by Baseball America.
Yankees amateur scouting director Damion Oppenheimer told Yankees On Demand, “I’m really excited. Blake’s a guy that we’ve scouted for a long time, done a lot of work on him over the years. He’s got tools. … He’s athletic. He’s performed. We couldn’t be happier with him falling to us where he did.” Rutherford told the Los Angeles Daily News, “I don’t think it’s hit me yet. It will hit me soon. I grew up a Yankees fan. I loved the Yankees and the organization. … It’s an amazing legacy, and it’s a pretty incredible situation.”
