Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the New York Yankees. Scouting reports are compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. For more information on the 20-80 scouting scale by which all of our prospect content is governed, you can click here. For further explanation of the merits and drawbacks of Future Value, read this.

All of the numbered prospects here also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It can be found here.

Top Prospects Team Lists 2020 2019 AL BAL CHW HOU BOS CLE LAA NYY DET OAK TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG AL BAL CHW HOU BOS CLE LAA NYY DET OAK TBR KCR SEA TOR MIN TEX NL ATL CHC ARI MIA CIN COL NYM MIL LAD PHI PIT SDP WSN STL SFG

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C

1B

2B

SS

3B

OF

LF

CF

RF

LHP

RHP

Other Prospects of Note

Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category.

Realistic Bench Pieces

Hoy Jun Park, SS

Kyle Holder, SS

Josh Stowers, CF

Pablo Olivares, CF

Park is 23 and has an average contact/patience profile and 45 raw power. He might be someone’s bench infielder, but the Yankees big league roster is packed. Holder is a plus defensive shortstop who doesn’t do much with the bat. Stowers performed for three years at Lousiville and was red hot leading up to the 2018 draft. The Yankees traded Shed Long Jr. to Seattle for him as part of the Sonny Gray deal with the Reds. He performed last year but I’ve never been on his tools in anything more than a fourth outfielder capacity. Olivares is the contact/defense version of the fourth or fifth outfield profile.

Guys with Big Arm Strength

Justin Wilson, RHP

Braden Bristo, RHP

Elvis Peguero, RHP

Zach Greene, RHP

Wellington Diaz, RHP

Wilson, 23, was at a JUCO and had TJ before his only year at Vanderbilt in 2018. He’s one of the hardest throwers in this system (94-98, touch 99) but has 30 control. Bristo has a 2800 rpm curveball and will touch 95 in relief. Peguero had a huge velo bump last year, sitting 90-93 in 2018 and then 92-96, touch 98 last year. He’s a 6-foot-5 22-year-old with new arm strength, and that’s it right now. Greene was the club’s 2019 ninth rounder from South Alabama and sits just 90-92, but he can really spin it — 2500 rpm with nearly pure backspin. His slider and changeup are both average. Diaz is a hard-throwing sinker guy up to 95.

Pinstriped Thumpers

Jose Martinez, 1B

Isiah Gilliam, LF

Dermis Garcia, 1B

Jacob Sanford, LF

This group is pretty self-explanatory. Martinez, who just turned 21, is playing some third base right now but projects to only to first. He has the best natural feel to hit of this group but he’s pretty filled out for his age and will max out with 55 raw. Gilliam is a switch-hitter with plus raw and some strikeout issues in the outfield; Garcia is that but at first base. Sanford was the team’s 2019 third rounder but I’m not really on him. He’s a stiff lefty outfield bat with plus power and slugged .805 as a junior.

A Total Mess of Other Guys I Like

Enger Castellano, 3B

Jesus Rodriguez, C

Miguel Marte, SS

Nick Paciorek, RHP

Jose Chambuco, RHP

Jhonatan Munoz, RHP

Carlos Narvaez, C

Castellano is a 2019 July 2 signing, one of the few aside from Jasson Dominguez, who occupied most of the bonus pool. Castellano can really rotate, and he’s a relatively positionless bat speed marvel. Rodriguez, 17, had strong DSL numbers in a meaningless 18 games. The carrying tools here are on defense, both the receiving and the arm. Marte has a plus arm, plus speed, and can stick at shortstop, but needs to grow into physicality to hit. Paciorek is a converted catcher up to 97 with an average slider. He might be a relief fit. Chambuco is 17 and just had TJ last week. He’s in the low-90s but has an absolutely vicious curveball. Munoz, 20, is a 6-foot pitchability righty with average stuff. Narvaez, 21, is a slow-twitch catcher with some contact skills and a good frame.

System Overview

In past years, the Yankees System Overview has consisted of a discussion surrounding their Rule 5 losses, their roster equilibrium and 40-man crunch trades, and their deep, multi-roster approach to development in the DSL and GCL. A huge portion of this list was comprised of teenagers last year, a product of player graduations, trades, and the international scouting program’s quality. It’s still a young farm system, with prospects averaging 21 years of age, 0.8 years younger than the rest of the population on The Board.

The dust hasn’t settled on the last couple of international classes nor on the teenage draftees, many of whom have either dealt with injury or poor performance or both. The rate of injury in this system is pretty staggering, actually. How much to weigh poor performance over a small sample, like in the Appy and New York-Penn League, is still unclear; it’s a question I seek to answer with dope from Extended and Instructs. Some of how to handle this issue, not just for me but for actual teams, must be informed by the Yankees’ track record of dev success, which is especially strong for pitchers. Among teams’ full season arms for whom I have TrackMan data, this is the hardest-throwing system (prospects, non-prospects, just dudes in full-season ball all of last year) in all of baseball, with an average fastball velocity of 92.17 mph. Every year guys in this system pop up and throw much harder, which means we really should be looking at players with the traits (beyond the frame) that indicate they’re going to and guess who they might be, but that assumes it’ll happen without whatever magic velo dust the Yanks sprinkle on them.