OF Jake Sanford, 3rd round (105th overall) - New York Yankees - SIGNED - $597,500
With their third round (105th overall) pick, the New York Yankees have selected OF Jake Sanford.
Hometown: Cole Harbour, N.S.
Bats/Throws: L/R
Height/Weight: 6’ 2” 215 lbs.
School: Western Kentucky University
Coach: John Pawlowski
Previous Teams: McCook Community College Indians, Dartmouth Moosehead Dry, Nova Scotia Selects 17U, Dartmouth Juniors, Dartmouth Arrows and Cole Harbour Cardinals
Previous Coaches: Jon Olsen, Bob Gillis, Jason Davis, Kevin Richardson, Pat Westhaver, Johnny Schrider, Joe Hicks, Danny Fraser and Andrew Boyd
Most influential person in my baseball life: “My junior college coach Jon Olsen. He gave me the opportunity to be a walk on at McCook and let me prove myself to earn a spot on the roster, be a starter for two years and eventually first team all region both years.”
Twitter Handle: @jake_sanford96
Slot Money: $554,300
Scout: Mike Gibbons
2019 season as a junior with Western Kentucky Hilltoppers: Hit .398 in making 56 starts in 56 games with 20 doubles, two triples, 22 homers and 66 RBIs with a 1.288 OPS ... First winner of Conference USA's Triple Crown (batting average, homerun and runs batted in leader) in league history … Conference USA statistical rankings in 30 league games: .439 batting average (1st), .521 on-base percentage (2nd), .862 slugging percentage (2nd), 14 homeruns (2nd), 41 runs batted in (1st), 106 total bases (1st), 54 hits (1st), 35 runs scored (3rd) … Doubled against Austin Peay ... Three hits with a solo homer and an RBI against Louisiana Tech ... Three two-hit games with a double, homer and six RBIs in three-game sweep over Rice ... Four hits, including a solo homer facing Texas-San Antonio ... Went 4-for-4 with two doubles facing Kentucky ... Facing Florida Atlantic, he hit a pair of three-run home runs — one in Game 1 to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth, then a second in Game 2 to give the Hilltoppers a 6-0 lead in the second frame. Florida Atlantic intentionally walked Sanford twice but he still went 2-for-3 ... Six hits against Marshall with a double, home run and three RBIs ... Seven hits against Middle Tennessee including a triple, homer and one RBI ... Two hits including an RBI double against Vanderbilt ... Nine hits with a double, two homers and seven RBIs in Charlotte series ... Was 3-for-6 with three homers and eight RBIs in win over Eastern Kentucky to break the school record with of RBIs in a single game ... Against Florida International in a three-game set he had four hits, a double and two bombs ... Solo homer in Austin Peay game ... In Alabama-Birmingham match up he had five hits, two homers as he plated five runs ... Had two four-hit days against Memphis including a home run, driving in three ... Homered to drive in two runs facing Louisiana Monroe ... Solo homer against Tennessee ... Three hits facing Eastern Illinois with three RBIs ... Five hits in opening sweep of Northern Kentucky with three doubles and a triple driving in four.
2018 season as a sophomore at McCook CC: Batted .374, with 16 doubles, five triples, with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 54 games. He had a .450 on-base average while slugging .700 ... His average led the team and was eighth best in the region, while his slugging mark was the all-time best for an MCC hitter, his 73 total bases were second best in the region, his homers tied for the Region IX lead and his RBIs were fourth most ... Slashed .356/.424/.671 in 108 games in two seasons with the Indians with 61 extra-base hits, including 23 home runs, 10 triples and 28 doubles ... Had 42 walks compared to 72 strikeouts ... Produced 40 multi-hit, 21 multi-run and 16 multi-RBI games at McCook ... Had a multi-home run game against Lamar.
2017 season as a freshman at McCook CC: Hit .358 with 13 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 39 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .663, which is a school record ... Had opposite field home run was out of reach of Colby’s Joe Lubick for a 7-6 victory. He also hit a two-run home run over the right centre fence to tie the game in the seventh ... Had multi-home run games against Colby and Southeast ... The first baseman made the team as a walk-on.
Honours:
2019 Honours: First winner of Conference USA's Triple Crown (batting average, homerun and runs batted in leader) in league history … Named 2019 Conference USA Player of the Year … Named 2019 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year … Named to Conference USA First Team … Named Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist (for outstanding Division 1 Collegiate Player) … One of 40 players named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List ... Earned Perfect Game/Rawlings First Team Midseason All-American ... Was back-to-back Conference USA Hitter of the Week ... Earned Perfect Game/Rawlings Player of the Week as well as National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Hitter of the Week, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Player of the Week (twice) ... College Sports Madness National Player of the Week ... TOPSYs John O. Oldham Male Student-Athlete of the Year ... TOPSYs Best Male Record-Breaking Performance
2018 Honours: Earned All-Nebraska College honors among two-year college players ... Named First Team all-Region IX team at McCook
2017 Honours: Earned All-Region IX First Team honors
Canadian Sanford named Conference USA Player of the Year
Canadian Sanford a strong All-American candidate
Cole Harbour teen cooking up something in Nebraska
Randy Miller: MLB Draft 2019: Yankees take Western Kentucky OF Jake Sanford in 3rd round
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MLB draft pick reflects on his journey from Dartmouth to the Yankees