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New York Yankees Sign Dante Bichette Jr.

In a perfect world, the Colorado Rockies would have been able to use one of the draft picks on Dante Bichette Jr., son of former Rockies outfielder Dante Bichette. Or at least that what I think some fans of the "Blake Street Bombers" generation hoped for.

Junior is like his father: he has a ton of power in his bat. And while he has a good arm, he doesn't field particularly well at shortstop, his prep position. He's likely to wind up at the hot corner or more likely in the outfield. So when the 2011 MLB Draft came around, the New York Yankees popped Bichette with the 51st overall pick, the 18th pick in the supplemental first round. He signed with them on Saturday, June 18.

Did Yankees manager Joe Girardi have anything to do with selecting the son of a former teammate? It's hard to gleam that, but it would be a good guess based on this from the above link:

While they were teammates with the Colorado Rockies, Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Bichette developed a close friendship; Girardi even named his own son Dante.

After Bichette Jr. was taken in the Draft, Girardi remarked that he sometimes found it difficult to believe that the youngster who once fell asleep in his car seat was now a top prospect being scouted by big league teams.

Dante Girardi has a few years to go until he's eligible to be drafted. The kid is just nine years old (six at the time this article was written).