NYDN: Yankees take pitcher Clarke Schmidt with first-round draft pick

ANAHEIM—The Yankees went for pitching in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft, taking Clarke Schmidt, a 21-year-old righty out of the University of South Carolina, with the No. 16 overall selection.

Schmidt underwent Tommy John surgery in early May. He went 4-2 with a 1.34 ERA in nine starts in his junior year before tearing his UCL in late April. He struck out 70 in 60.1 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .194 batting average.

“Schmidt was 94-97 with life, a big action changeup, and a hard but short breaking ball, but he had a rough, shotput-like arm action and blew out his elbow in April,” ESPN draft expert Keith Law wrote.

This is an outstanding pick. For the flat ground squad. As…