The Yankees had one pick remaining on Day 1 of the MLB Draft, which was set to adjourn after the fourth round and related compensation selections. They had already added a pair of lefty pitchers in top pick Hunter Dietz and Sean Duncan, as well as a backstop in Brendan Brock. So once the order wrapped back around to them at No. 127 overall, the Yankees branched out from the battery.
The newest Yankee is Cal State Fullerton outfielder Paul Gutierrez-Contreras II, who simply went by Paul Contreras during
the majority of his time as a Titan. The university has a good baseball program, one that has produced All-Stars like Matt Chapman, Justin Turner, Tim Wallach, and the man who went No. 1 overall in Derek Jeter draft, Phil Nevin. Gutierrez-Contreras will now aim to join this well-regarded fraternity.
Although Gutierrez-Contreras wasn’t ranked among the Top 250 by MLB Pipeline, they did have a short write-up on him available shortly after his selection, referencing his accolades as Big West Co-Player of the Year this past season:
Contreras spent a year at Modesto Junior College before moving on to Cal State Fullerton. He was named Big West Co-Player of the Year as a junior in 2026 following a .346/.441/.633 line to go along with 14 homers. He’s a big, physical right-handed hitter who made some subtle changes at the plate to unlock some of his tools as a junior. Still only 20, he’s played right field mostly in college, but some scouts think he should get a look in center as a pro.
Baseball America did have Gutierrez-Contreras on their larger board, at 372nd overall. They noted his no-batting-glove look, which will certainly make fans think of Jorge Posada, or more recently, Trent Grisham. Here’s a little more from them:
Contreras is well-built with lean strength throughout his frame. He has a simple setup with a small leg kick, but his swing can get a bit long at times. Contreras is a patient hitter who makes lots of contact against all pitch types, with solid gap-to-gap power as well. His miss rate jumps against harder fastballs, which will be more of a question at the next level.
Gutierrez-Contreras will turn 21 on August 5th and seems like a fairly likely sign, perhaps under-slot of the $603.5K figure given his general ranking in comparison to where he was drafted.
Born in Turlock, CA, and a graduate of Joseph A. Gregori High School in nearby Modesto, Gutierrez-Contreras has done a very nice job of raising his draft stock in the past year. He hit .293/.407/.431 in 145 plate appearances for the Duluth Huskies of the wood-bat Northwoods League last summer in Minnesota with an .838 OPS that was 77 points better than the league-average OPS. He followed that up with the aforementioned stellar spring for Cal State Fullerton, with 24 extra-base hits in 52 games and a 1.074 OPS that ranked third in the Big West Conference.
I’m always a fan of drafting players who have actual playing experience with a wood bat, and Gutierrez-Contreras certainly also did his share of mashing as a Titan. The 127th overall pick does not have a prestigious track record—two-time All-Star and gangly 2015 NL batting champion Dee Strange-Gordon is probably the best position player ever taken there—so it’s important to keep expectations in check. I think Gutierrez-Contreras is a perfectly solid pick here and should be a nice outfielder to add to the system.
