The Yankees went all-in on rebuilding last summer, dealing Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran at the deadline, then trading Brian McCann this winter, netting them three of their top six prospects on this list and three others in their top 20. The major league roster is much younger already, but the Yankees could use more upper-level pitching to help fortify the team’s old, injury-prone rotation.
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1. Gleyber Torres, SS (Ranked No. 4)
2. Blake Rutherford, OF (Ranked No. 22)
3. Clint Frazier, OF (Ranked No. 27)
4. James Kaprielian, RHP (Ranked No. 28)
5. Aaron Judge, OF (Ranked No. 44)
6. Justus Sheffield, LHP (Ranked No. 88)
7. Jorge Mateo, SS
8. Tyler Wade, SS
9. Chance Adams, RHP
10. Miguel Andujar, 3B
Non-top 100 guys
Jorge Mateo is an 80 runner who should be able to play an above-average shortstop, but he hasn’t made much quality contact and the speed may not be enough to overcome the bat’s deficiencies. He’s not a terribly disciplined hitter (or fielder), but he could get away with that if the contact he made was hard; so far, it hasn’t been. Tyler Wade is the better shortstop and hitter but without the standout tool, and I worry about Wade’s durability given his slight frame. He can stay at shortstop and makes better-quality contact right now, performing better at a higher level at the same age as Mateo. You could flip these guys, but there’s enough industry faith in Mateo’s speed and body -- and perhaps reputation -- that I left him one slot above Wade.
Chance Adams is a short right-hander with an average fastball without plane or sink, although he had success at age 21 in High-A and Double-A last year and could reach the majors this season. He has three pitches, including an above-average curveball, and if his size or durability becomes an issue, as I heard from some (but not all) scouts who saw him, he could be a David Robertson type in relief too.
Miguel Andujar had his best year yet with the bat, repeating High-A and moving up to Double-A at age 21, showing good contact rates and pop while playing above-average defense at third. There’s a potential everyday player here.
Albert Abreu (11) was acquired from Houston in the Brian McCann trade. He throws 93-96 mph with a decent breaking ball; he looks like a starter and his delivery works, but his command and feel aren’t there yet, and he struggled while starting in 2016. It sounds like the Yankees plan to develop him in that role, as they should.
Dustin Fowler (12) has a broad mix of tools -- some power, some speed, enough range to play center -- and the bat speed to hit for average, but he’s so aggressive that he hasn’t shown any OBP ability since Low-A. I don’t know if it’s a poor approach or just a kid facing older competition for the past year and a half, but he has enough raw ability to be a top-10 guy in almost any other system.
Lefty Ian Clarkin (13) was healthy all season, pitching in the low 90s with a good curveball; Double-A will be a good test of his ability to use his two above-average pitches to get guys on both sides of the plate, as hitters there will lay off the curveball if he can’t locate it.
Dillon Tate (14) regained a little of his old velocity later in the year, but nowhere near enough to make him more than a middle relief candidate; he was throwing 93-95 mph from the pen in the Arizona Fall League and it was pin-straight, although he did show an above-average changeup and slider. I’m not sure I’ve seen a guy fall this far that fast, as Tate was the fourth overall pick in 2015 (by Texas) but traded for two months of Carlos Beltran 13 months later.
Domingo Acevedo (15) can hit 100 mph but has a violent delivery that’s going to hold him back from starting. He had success at both A-ball levels last year, walking fewer guys than I would have expected, but there’s no big league starter with that delivery. Drew Finley (16), on the other hand, had a beautiful delivery out of high school, throwing 90-93 mph with a plus curveball, but the Yankees tweaked his mechanics, costing him velocity and some bite on his curveball. This will be a big year for him developmentally.
Shortstop Wilkerman Garcia (17) flopped in the Appy League last year, but he was just 18 years old; with his swing and the high likelihood he stays at shortstop I wouldn’t give up on him. Outfielder Esteban Florial (18) was born in Haiti; he’s toolsy, with 55 to 60 power and plus running speed, and could end up with five plus tools. The biggest question is his ability to hit. The Yanks pushed him to the Appy League at age 18 last year, and he was awful for a month and then hit well in August. I think the real message was that he was young and inexperienced for that level.
Shortstop Kyle Holder (19) is at least a 70 defender, but it’s probably a 30 bat; the contact he makes isn’t good enough to make him more than an emergency backup right now. Right-hander Freicer Perez (20) is 6-foot-8 and throws up to 98 mph already with good angle; he’s currently in search of a good breaking ball. Their 2016 third-rounder Nolan Martinez (21) throws 88-93 mph with a huge spin rate on his fastball and good depth on his curve, but needs more power to the latter pitch and to develop a reliable changeup.
Right-hander Nick Nelson (22) was the Yankees’ fourth-round pick in 2016 and was pumping 96-97 mph in instructional league with a big curveball. He also walked a man an inning in the Appy League, so he’s a work in progress. Infielder Oswaldo Cabrera (23) played short and second but his arm will force him to the latter position; he’s an average defender with a promising hit tool. Right-hander Jorge Guzman (24), acquired along with Abreu in the McCann deal, has hit 103 mph and will sit at 99-100, but lacks deception or secondary stuff.
2017 impact: I assume Aaron Judge will get the bulk of the playing time in right field for the Yankees, but beyond him just bullpen spots are probably open to prospects, maybe one for Adams at some point, and perhaps lesser guys like Dietrich Enns or Domingo German.
Sleeper: Fowler has the right mix of ability, some performance and youth to end up squarely in the top 100 next winter. Teenage prospects such outfielder Estevan Florial or shortstop Wilkerman Garcia are probably a year from that kind of status.
The fallen: Tate wasn’t the only ex-first round pick the Yankees acquired last July. Billy McKinney was taken at the end of the 2013 first round by Oakland, traded to the Cubs in the Jeff Samardzija/Addison Russell deal, and then thrown into the Aroldis Chapman trade along with Gleyber Torres. He’s a left fielder with a pretty left-handed swing and an idea of the strike zone, but didn’t hit at all in 2016, and the projections from high school that had him getting to average power aren’t coming to fruition.