The New York Yankees traded away their 2016 closer, Aroldis Chapman, to the Chicago Cubs for their No. 1 prospect (5th overall in MLB), shortstop Gleyber Torres, and two of their outfield prospects, Brian McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Afterwards, MLB.com updated their top 100 prospect list, and wouldn’t you know it, five young Yankees prospects made the list. Prior to the beginning of their season, the Yankees only had three players on that list.
New York Yankees Prospects For The Future
Gleyber Torres and Jorge Mateo
Torres, 19, immediately became the Yankees top prospect, and will start out at Tampa. The young shortstop is currently ranked 26th by MLB.com. The number 27th ranked prospect in all of baseball is his new Tampa teammate, Jorge Mateo. Mateo is fresh off a two-week suspension for violating team activities, causing him to miss the Futures Game.
Mateo, 21, has a slash-line of .266/.323/.396 with five home runs and thirty-four RBI in seventy-six games. He’s also second in the Florida State League with twenty-six stolen bases and twenty-two extra-base hits, including eight triples. Torres gets the edge over Mateo in the rankings because he’s a year younger and a little more rounded as a ball player. Both Torres and Mateo are shortstops, meaning one of them will have to move to second base. As it stands now, Mateo appears to be the one to make the switch.
Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez
One of the Yankees more promising Triple-A power hitters is outfielder Aaron Judge. Judge was making his case for a big league call-up before a knee injury kept him out of Scranton‘s lineup for most of July. The 24-years-old is currently ranked 32nd by MLB.com, and has clubbed sixteen homers with an .825 OPS in eighty-three games at Triple-A. The Yankees organization has high expectations for Judge, who is considered Carlos Beltran‘s heir apparent in right field next season. Judge is a right-handed hitter listed at 6’7 and 255 pounds.
Another prospect the Yankees are very high on is catcher Gary Sanchez. Sanchez nearly beat out Austin Romine for the job of backing up catcher Brian McCann on the Major League roster, but the Yankees felt Sanchez needed more at-bats at Triple-A. Before the season started, Sanchez was ranked 59th by MLB.com, but has since moved up in the rankings and has settled into 39th overall. With the addition of Gleyber Torres, the Yankees now have four prospects in the top forty. The 23-year-old catcher has been absolutely fantastic this season, batting .286/.333/.478 with ten home runs in sixty-eight games. Sanchez continues to thrive behind the plate, and Jonathan Mayo said both Judge and Sanchez could find themselves making an impact next year.
Blake Rutherford and James Kaprielian
The Yankees top draft pick in 2016, Blake Rutherford, all but fell to them at No. 18 overall, mainly due to the fact that other teams couldn’t afford him. Rutherford is another Yankees prospect ranked inside the top 100, at sixty-four. The young outfielder is even five months younger than the 19-year-old Torres. Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer really wanted Rutherford after witnessing his raw talent. That talent has Rutherford tearing up Rookie Ball, as well as the Appy League. The Yankees would like to get him settled into one of the corner outfield spots. Given his smooth lefty swing, Yankees Stadium could become home for him for many years to come.
The Yankees could’ve had one more player crack the top 100 ranking if 2015’s top pick, James Kaprielian, stayed healthy. Kaprielian has been out of action since the end of April with a flexor strain, making a return to the mound this season highly unlikely.
Just several years ago, the Yankees farm system was pretty much in disarray. Even if these prospects don’t pan out, at least the farm system is in much better shape. With the six viable prospects the Yankees now have to go along with first baseman Greg Bird and pitcher Luis Severino, the future might indeed be bright for the Yankees.
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