2017 end of season Yankee prospect update

[jacksonianmarch]

With the quick rebuild and the progression of Judge, Severino, Sanchez, Montgomery, and Green on the big stage and the deals of Mateo, Kaprielian, Littel, Polo, Fowler, Rutherford, and Clarkin, our top prospects have changed pretty dramatically. But that being said, we had quite possibly the best minor league season I have seen in years. And that is with us losing our top prospect halfway through the season. Either way, here is a nice little update

1. Gleyber Torres, SS- He turns 21 in December and even with his youth and the fact that he had TJS in mid June, he is still far and away our top prospect. He reached AAA at 20 and slashed a ridiculous .287/.383/.480 at both levels. He stole bases, hit homers, made good contact, walked a ton, played good defense, everything. With the recovery from TJS likely done by the time he laces them up for ST, he will be on the short list of callups during the season and should start the year where he left off, in AAA. He will likely be pressuring Headley on the big stage and would be available for Castro or Didi should they get injured. This kid is a superstar in the making.

2. Estevan Florial, CF- He was #14 on pinstripes plus before the season, but after making the BA all minors second team and making the futures game, the prospect hype is rising. He slashed .298/.372/.479 through A and A+ as a 19 year old. He hit 13HRs, 43 EBH's, stole 23 bases, walked a ton and played stellar D. His only bugaboo is his contact rate, which isn't great considering he K'd 148 times in 110 games. He should be on a similar career path to Torres and should start 2018 in AA.

3. Chance Adams, RHP- Chance turned 23 this season and hit AAA, which doesn't sound entirely impressive. When you consider he was drafted in 2015, that makes it far more interesting. Chance hit his innings cap at 150IP and should be able to handle a major league workload. His walk rate predictably rose as he progressed, but 3.58/9IP isn't too bad. His K rate was good at 8/9IP. What was really impressive was his ability to induce out. He had a .193BAA and a decent HR rate. He throws 4 pitches, all of which he can locate well enough and all of which grade out as big league average or plus. He can cut and run his FB and tops out in the mid 90s. He's got the stuff and the capability to be a top of the rotation starter and will likely be in the mix for the #5 spot in the rotation out of ST

4. Clint Frazier, COF- Most people think Frazier is an old prospect because he has been around the prospect radar so long (drafted in 2013). But he just turned 23 4 days ago. Clint showed in the minors that he can be a source of power and speed, capable of hitting 20+HR and stealing 20 bags a season. He showed good plate discipline in the minors as well, averaging a walk every 2 games. He even showed well in his callup to the majors, where he had 15 extra base hits in 28 games. He will need to take his plate discipline to the next level to be a regular. He likely ends up back in AAA next year with Judge, Hicks, and Gardner all under contract. But he will be on the short list to be called up should one of them go down. He has hand speed like I haven't seen before and he'd be quite a prospect to follow

5. Justus Sheffield, LHP- Justus turned 21 during the season and progressed well in his only taste of AA ball. He did miss time with a lower body injury and only accrued 98IP. He is going to the AFL to add more innings to the time he lost. Sheffield was steady in 2017. His ERA was 3.12 and his K rate was really strong (8.1/9IP). His BB rate was passable (3.1/9IP) but his BAA was nearly .260 and his HR rate was high (1.3/9IP). He is a lefty who throws hard (sits mid 90s) and offers two plus potential yet inconsistent offerings in a slider and change. He is still young and left handed and will definitely be groomed as a starter, yet his stuff could play up in the pen should he not progress beyond AA. He has ace ceiling, but more a floor of a mid rotation guy/high end reliever.

6. Domingo Acevedo, RHP- Nobody has a better fastball in this system aside from Chapman. Acevedo will hit and stay near 100 with some pitches topping out at 103mph. He is Betances' sized at 6'7" and has the heat to match. The interesting thing about him is that he has an advanced change up and an improving but still third breaking ball. He saw 3 levels this year and reached as high as AAA for a stint, but did the most work in AA. His season line was strong at 3.25ERA 133IP 1.20WHIP 9.6K/9IP and 2.3BB/9IP. He has impeccable command of the heater and the change, which is rare for someone so large. He turns 24 prior to the start of 2018 and should be in AAA and on the short list for a callup next season. He has ace type ceiling or could be a closer type arm if converted

7. Dillon Tate, RHP- we got Tate for Beltran, and at the time, it seemed like a reclamation project. Drafted 4th overall just a year prior, Tate had fallen on hard times in the Rangers system. He comes to the Yankee system, the Yankees put him in the pen for the last part of the year and like what they see. They make some mechanical adjustments and change his approach and voila, he is coming close to hitting his ceiling as a starter. In 83.1IP, he pitched to a 2.81ERA and a 1.14WHIP. His K rate wasn't spectacular, but he did limit walks and homeruns while really getting a ton of ground balls. He has a mid to high 90s heater with heavy sink with a plus potential breaking ball and change. He finished the year in AA and since he lost innings due to an injury at the beginning of the year, he will head to the AFL to add more to his workload

8. Miguel Andujar, 3B- what a season this 22 year old had. He slashed .315/.352/.498 between AA and AAA. His power progressed, as he slugged 16 homers. His walk rate did drop a bit, but for a power hitter, he makes an insane amount of contact. He will never walk a lot, but he only struck out 71 times in 125 games. He is very similar to Gregorius in that respect. He won't walk a lot, but he will put the ball in play. For a guy with his power potential, that is a good thing. He has the defensive ability to be a plus defender at the hot corner as well. He played well enough to earn a callup, albeit a brief one where he went 3 for 4. He will be pushing Torres for first prospect called up to the bigs in 2018.


9. Freicer Perez, RHP- Many on here may wonder why I have a 21 yr old from low A ball on here, but this guy is a monster. He is listed on milb.com as 6'8", but he is listed in other places as being up to 6'10". He is still skinny and hasn't grown into his body yet. One thing he has grown into is his fastball. When he was signed, he was low 90s, now he sits mid to high 90s and frequently reaches triple digits. He has very good command for someone so massive and has already shown a plus potential breaking ball and a workable change. He had a good statistical year in 2017 at 2.84ERA 1.14WHIP 8.6K/9IP 3.3BB/9IP. But he has the stuff and the talent to rocket through this system. They babied him for a bit this season, we shall see how far he can go once they take off the kid gloves

10. Nick Solak, 2B- Solak was the 2nd rounder for the Yankees in 2016 and since he was signed, he never stopped hitting. He rocketed through the system and finished the year in AA the year after he signed, which is an impressive feat for a 22 yr old non high 1st round prospect. He hits for average, for power and has patience. His triple slash line through A+ and AA was .297/.384/.452. He is a professional hitter who should be a good bet for double digit homers and steals on a yearly basis while playing good D, hitting for a high average, and walking a ton. His only problem in this system is that he is behind Castro and Torres for a spot and in the pecking order, being Thairo Estrada, as well, although I think Solak has more offensive potential than Estrada and hence a higher ceiling