Matt Ehalt

Staff Writer, @MattEhalt

NEW YORK – The Yankees' emphasis on the future over the present last season by trading away several veterans at the trade deadline has since put the organization's heralded prospects in the spotlight.

The team now possesses one of the best and deepest collections of minor league talent, and fans are awaiting the day when the likes of Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres will in the Bronx.

Those prospects are starting to develop bonds with one another in anticipation of one day wearing the pinstripes, and they are looking forward to contributing.

“It’s really exciting,” Frazier said Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Café in Manhattan. “To be ranked the No. 1 farm system by a few out there is awesome. To know the direction it’s trending right now is going upwards and we have so many people around us right now that we’re almost bound for success. We have so many great pieces to help puzzle us together. I’m glad I’m able to be a part of it.”

Frazier and Torres are considered the team’s top two prospects – in varying order – according to most pundits, and both arrived via midseason trades.

Frazier, an outfielder acquired in the Andrew Miller deal, is likely the next in line to debut among the team’s top-tier prospects, and he is looking forward to a bounce-back season after struggling with his new team.

The 22-year-old posted a .674 OPS with Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He and said Tuesday that he placed too much pressure on himself.

“I went from trying to fill Clint Frazier’s shoes to filling Andrew Miller’s shoes. The guy did what he did because he’s one of the best pitchers in the game and [to] try to live up to the amount of hype he had because I was traded for him was hard,” Frazier said. “He went out there and did what he did and I struggled and I think for the first time in my life I was humbled to a maximum T and I needed that.”

The odds seem against Frazier breaking camp with the team, but he could be in the mix for a late-season call-up. He’s considered one of baseball’s top prospects.

“I try to think in more realistic terms,” Frazier said during the Yankees’ Winter Warm-Up tour. “I don’t think I’m gonna start there Opening Day, but it could happen.”

Torres, an infielder who arrived in the Aroldis Chapman trade, is a few years away, but his stock continues to rise, especially after being named the MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

This trip to New York marks the 20-year-old’s first visit to the Big Apple, and he was excited to visit the Stadium and learn about the team’s history. He's also ranked high among the game's elite.

“There’s no pressure at all,” Torres said through a translator of being part of the highly regarded group of prospects. “The focus is to keep working hard and focus on the future.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said during a question-and-answer session with fans that the hope is these prospects can help return the Yankees to championship contention.

“We feel we have a lot of gold nuggets down there,” Cashman said.

BRIEFS: Cashman considered signing Edwin Encarnacion but said payroll flexibility and the cost of a draft pick prohibited the move. …Starlin Castro has not been approached about playing third base. He said he was happy for his former Cubs teammates after they won the World Series. …2015 first-round pick James Kaprielian said he’s feeling 100 percent and ready for spring training. He missed time this past season due to a flexor tendon strain. …Prospect Chance Adams also participated in the event; he has emerged as one of the organization’s under-the-radar prospects. He has a 2.71 ERA in the minors.