On June 8, 2007, the New York Yankees selected Venditte in the 45th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft with the 1,345th overall pick. Venditte was surprised by the pick, because he had told all major league scouts that he intended to return to Creighton for his senior year. The Yankees called him during the 30th round of the draft, asking him how much it would take to sign him, but Venditte refused to set a price. Ultimately, the Yankees were unable to sign Venditte before the August 15, 2007, signing deadline. Venditte said that he was not quite ready to turn professional and wanted to build velocity with his left arm and add another pitch with his right.