Estevan Florial

New York Yankees: Could Estevan Florial finally make it to the big leagues in 2020?

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New York Yankees, Estevan Florial

Injuries have plagued the young career of New York Yankees prospect Estevan Florial. Thought to have a complete set of tools concerning hitting, base running, and defense, the outfielder has been featured at the top of the Bombers’ list of young stars for quite some time.

However, Florial has been held back by continuous freak injuries, including a broken wrist last spring after a strong start in spring-ball. Giving up on the international prospect would be ludicrous, considering the Yankees signed him back in 2015 for a mere $200K.

With his skill-set and overall potential, Florial still wows coaches and fans, and if it wasn’t for his wrist injury last season, he might have soared through the ranks and reached the big-leagues for the first time in his career. While his potential glistens like a diamond in the rough, the pressure and perfect sequence of events to create the diamond have been elusive.

Florial will have another opportunity this season to prove his worth and remain healthy. Otherwise, he could be on the trading block. The Yankees have dangled his name during the trade deadline on multiple occasions, just to keep him within the organization.

The New York Yankees have seen a glimpse of his potential:

Ever since the 2017 season, the Yankees have been looking for a consistent threat in the outfield. Aaron Judge has filled that role nicely, but injuries took their toll on the 2019 season. Giancarlo Stanton missed virtually all of 2019, and Aaron Hicks required Tommy John surgery after pushing through the postseason. The outfield is stocked full of talent, but having an elite center fielder would give them the final piece to the puzzle. Hicks is a solid switch-hitting player, which increases his value, but his inconsistencies have been troublesome.

Estevan, who in 2017 showed could be the next great outfielder for the Bombers, hit .298 with 13 homers, an OPS of .850, and stole 23 bases, portraying a wide array of ability that could translate to the next level. However, that was the best we had seen from Florial before injuries began to have their way with the young international.

There’s little to justify not giving Florial another chance next spring, and if he can remain healthy, 2020 could be the year he makes it to the MLB, which would make Clint Frazier more expendable.

Who will the New York Yankees protect in the Rule 5 Draft?

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New York Yankees, Michael King

The New York Yankees have several important decisions to make this offseason, one of which depends on the Rule 5 Draft and what young players they must protect. For those who aren’t familiar with the Rule 5 Draft, here’s a short description from the MLB.

A team that selects a player in the Rule 5 Draft pays $50,000 to the team from which he was selected. The receiving team must then keep the player on the Major League 25-man roster for the entirety of the next season, and the selected player must remain active (not on the disabled list) for a minimum of 90 days.

Only specific teams are given the ability to steal players from other organizations (if they cannot fill their 40-man roster). This puts players like Deivi Garcia, Estevan Florial, Michael King, Luis Gil, and Nick Nelson on the block.

The Bombers elevated several players this week, including Garcia, Florial, Gil, Brooks Kriske, Luis Medina, Nick Nelson, and Miguel Yajure to the 40-man roster, while releasing Jacoby Ellsbury and designated Greg Bird and Nestor Cortes Jr. for assignment.

Holding onto those players was expected, especially Garcia, who could feature in a bullpen role next season.

The New York Yankees need to play it safe:

Garcia is the top prospect in the Yankees’ farm system, and his elevation from low-A ball to high-A ball in just three months proves his value to the club. The young pitcher has fantastic stuff (165 K in 111 1/3 innings in 2019). While his pitching numbers are substantial, his 5-foot-9 stature has presented issues for scouts evaluating him from a professional perspective.

Despite his lack of size, there’s no chance the Yankees allow another team a sniff at their top prospect. Keeping him protected is a priority, but it also leaves the door open for the other youngsters to be snatched by lesser teams. Michael King will also likely be added to the 40-man roster, but Florial, who has battled constant injuries, could be a target for opposing teams.

The New York Yankees are losing hope in one of their top prospects

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New York Yankees, Estevan Florial

The Yankees have had significant success developing young talent into starting level players. Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres, Luis Severino, and Gary Sanchez account for a good portion of the team’s overall efficiency.

One of the Bombers’ top prospects, Estevan Florial, was/is expected to develop into a bonafide starter. His elite base-running, speed, defense, and bat make him a well-rounded player, but he has been unable to get out of his own way in recent seasons.

The 21-year-old Dominican born outfielder ranked as the No. 38 prospect in all of baseball in 2018, and last season he was 2nd with the Yankees only behind Deivi Garcia, a player who rose through the minor league system from top to bottom in three months.

The New York Yankees have plenty of youth players to work with:

There’s no question the Yankees have numerous prospects who are destined for greatness in the MLB, but when it comes to Florial, he must find ways to stay healthy if he wants to reach his overall potential.

After suffering a broken wrist in spring ball before the start of the regular season, Florial returned to hit .237 with eight home runs and 38RBIs, stealing nine bases and logging a .680 OPS with High-A Tampa. Those numbers are decent, but his batting average is not high enough to convince the Yankees brass he can perform at the top level. If he was smacking 25 homers per season, they might be able to overlook his lack of consistent hitting, but that’s not the case.

Two freak injuries have undoubtedly hampered his ability to develop and show consistency. If he can remain healthy and begin to work on his craft, Florial can be the player the Yankees expect him to be. His raw tools and attributes scream efficiency. He must now harness them an take full advantage of the resources readily available.

New York Yankees: How is Estevan Florial progressing?

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New York Yankees, Estevan Florial

The New York Yankees have managed to strike gold in several career average players this season, who have helped them succeed beyond a point that most thought was improbable after their starting pitching rotation succumbed to injury. The players that have risen to the occasion have helped the Yankees keep their excellent prospects in the minor-league system and developing. Being forced to pull up young options is never ideal, and they can continue to help their youth progress without interruption in their confidence.

As for 21-year-old centerfielder, Estevan Florial, the challenges of moving up in the minor-league system have begun to hold him back. As of Friday, Florial had played just 143 games over the last two seasons. A broken wrist in 2018 and 2019 limited him exponentially.

The New York Yankees need to unlock Estevan Florial’s potential:

The young outfielder has a unique blend of speed, power, arm strength, and athleticism that makes his ceiling extremely high. Avoiding injuries and getting him consistent at-bats and playing time is essential in his growth and development. However, two broken wrists have set him back the past two seasons, and he is once again facing an uphill battle to return to form.

High-A Tampa Bay head coach Aaron Holbert stated in regards to Florial:

“Just a matter of staying healthy and being able to get his everyday at-bats to put his complete game together so he can show what he can do on a consistent basis,” Holbert said of Florial.

This season, Estevan is hitting just .235 with seven home runs, 33 RBIs, eight stolen bases and .688 OPS with Tampa. He has struck out 81 times in 221 at-bats.

“I know he’s got some swing-and-miss right now but I think he has a lot of development left to do,” said Holbert.

There is plenty of time for him to find his groove and begin to dominate at the level in which he’s capable of. For now, all we can do is wait and keep an eye on the top prospect.

 

New York Yankees: 2 players that should be off limits in pitcher trade

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New York Yankees, Clint Frazier

The New York Yankees have been rumored to be all-in on finding a starting pitcher to add to the rotation before the July 31 trade deadline. Options such as Marcus Stroman, Madison Bumgarner, Tyler Bauer, and more have littered the headlines in a potential deal.

The Yankees, however, have sat idly by while the media progresses forward in what already seems to be a “guarantee,” according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic. If a deal is to develop, there should be some ground rules, starting with two prospects that need to be off-limits.

Teams know the Yankees are looking for reinforcements, so they will attempt to extract the most value, which could include players like Clint Frazier, Deivi Garcia, and Estevan Florial.

While some might be willing to talk with Florial included, he’s the Yankees’ top-ranked prospect and has the potential to be the future in the outfield. Injuries have blanketed the optimism and progression he’s experienced, unfortunately. This doesn’t mean his career is over, but a broken wrist certainly doesn’t help in his journey to the big leagues.

Nonetheless, he’s a five-tool player that can not only hit and field but run the bases extremely well and put a game on its heels. Upon his return, he hit .231/.284/.362.645, with four homers and 17 RBIs in 33 games, mostly at center field. He’s gaining speed and looking like his former self again, so the Yanks should save themselves the trouble of utilizing him as trade bait.

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Garcia, one of the best up and coming prospects, must also be included with Florial in the pot. Averaging 93 MPH fastballs and showing simply incredible break on his curve at 20 years old should make him untouchable. He’s the youngest player in the Yankees’ minor-league system to play at AAA-ball.

The only real trade bait the Bombers should look to prop is Frazier, who’s an elite offensive player but a well-below average defender. His confidence is the driving force behind him, which sees him come off as arrogant at times. The truth is, he’s a special talent that needs a bit more time to develop. We can imagine Yankees don’t necessarily ‘want’ to trade Frazier, but of the three, he’s the most likely to hit the road.

New York Yankees Top Prospect Turning Heads In Spring Training

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New York Yankees, Estevan Florial

When New York Yankees top prospect Estevan Florial was chosen to feature in the Grapefruit League this spring, not many knew what he would bring to the table. His immense athleticism and speed were as apparent as ever, but a string of injuries affected his hitting significantly in 2018.

Thus far, Florial is 7-for-20 at the plate, hitting .350 with five runs scored, two doubles, one homer, four RBIs, two walks, five strikeouts, and four stolen bases. In other words, he’s proven why he belongs on the shortlist to be called up to the majors.

The YEstevan Florial brings a different dynamic to the New York Yankees:

The Yankees don’t have a true base runner than can steal bases and put runners in scoring position. You could make the argument that Brett Gardner is ‘that’ guy, but his role is diminishing with every passing season. Florial brings that aspect to the game, and it could be a huge positive moving forward.

Players are noticing how talented Florial is:

When All-Star’s are noticing talent, you know there’s something to write home about. Slugger Aaron Judge commented on one specific at-bat of Estevan’s:

“The swing he had in Clearwater, an opposite field, middle-in, line drive three-run homer, you don’t see that too often,’’ Judge said.

“We were playing catch the other day,’’ Judge further commented, according to the New York Post, “and he was playing catch with somebody and I was playing catch with [Giancarlo] Stanton, right before we did an infield-outfield.’’

Florial said to Judge, “Let’s throw it over the fence.’’

“From here? All the way out past center field?’ Florial said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, all right, and I crow-hopped and threw it and my ball barely just scraped over the wall. He threw that thing dang near on Dale Mabry out there. It was about 50 feet past mine. It was impressive.’’

If Judge’s gushing optimism for Florial didn’t cut it, maybe legend Willie Randolph can convince you:

“Florial reminds me of a young Bernie Williams,’’ Randolph said. “He glides when he runs, just like Bernie. His game flows. I’m excited for him.’’

Earning more reps and working his way up through the minor leagues will be the goal for Florial in 2019. He’s an extremely talented young player that has as much potential as anybody, but remaining healthy and gaining confidence will be his biggest challenge in the season ahead. Having a good spring at the plate and in the field certainly helps elevate those two factors.

3 Keys to Success for the 2018 New York Yankees

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New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Started From the Bottom Now We’re Here:

Prior to the start of the 2017 season the New York Yankees were a young team in unfamiliar territory; they were supposed to be rebuilding. A team on the verge of competition but not quite yet ready to contend. However, how wrong those “experts” were, the 2017 New York Yankees came within one game of reaching the World Series.

So we turn the page to the 2018 season for the New York Yankees to continue their success from 2017, and go even further in the upcoming 2018 season.

These are the top 3 keys to that success:

  • Consistency

The key to any winning season in baseball does have an element of luck to it. There’s the old idiom that sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. And for the Yankees first baseman Greg Bird, he has been extremely unlucky during his brief Major League tenure.  If Bird can stay consistently healthy in 2018, he will have an opportunity to have a huge impact on the Yankees chance at a World Series win.

Gary Sanchez has done a wonderful job during Spring Training of providing consistent defense, namely blocking balls in the dirt. Blocking balls was the one part of Sanchez’ game that plagued him last season.

Sanchez put in work this off-season to become more flexible to assist him with this defensive lapse from last season. So, if Gary can continue to put the effort toward his journey to improvement, we could see a drastically different catcher behind the plate, defensively.

All rise the honorable Aaron Judge is now presiding over his court!

Aaron had an incredible and historic rookie campaign. He dealt with the peaks that allowed him to dine with Zeus in Olympus and the pits that saw him battle with Hades in Hell.

This season, Aaron looked more determined than before. In the Spring of 2017 Judge came in battling for a job with the inscription of his .179 batting average as motivation. This spring, Judge remains motivated by the six weeks that costed him the opportunity to be not only the unanimous selection for Rookie of the Year, but also MVP, along with his personal desire to not be a one hit wonder.

If Judge can find that happy medium from his highs and lows of 2017, there’s only one thing to say, quoting the retiring Yankees commentator Kenny Singleton “LOOKOUT.”

  • In Cashman We Trust

In following up the 2017 campaign, the Yankees will no longer be sneaking up on teams as a underdog story. The rest of the world is now aware of what the entire Yankee Universe already knew, and that’s that the New York Yankees do everything better than the rest of baseball.

The Yankees “rebuild” lasted all of 6 months (maybe). When the Yankees began to “sell off” players during the trade deadline of 2016, everyone thought that this would be the time the Bombers reset and journey through what the Chicago Cubs or the Houston Astros endured, a full tear down and reset. But the Yankees magical wizard of a General Manager Brian Cashman had other plans.

Cashman stock piled top echelon talent very quickly taking a farm system ranked 21st by Baseball Prospectus back in 2015. Now with having graduated talent to the Major Leagues, the Yankees are still the number six farm system according to MLB Pipeline.

Cashman has also been able to provide the Yankees with real talent for not a real devastating cost. Cash recently acquired Brandon Drury in a deal eerily similar to the deal that brought us Didi Gregorius several years back. Cashman and his lieutenants have been able to bring the organization to a level of real sustainability without overpaying for talent.

Which brings us to the final key point of the Yankees ability to be successful in 2018.

  • Dominance in Development

As previously stated, Cashman and his team have been able to draft and trade for some very high level talent. Talent that will ultimately help the team in one way or another.

There are three camps in the Yankees Universe, there are your “George-ian Candidates” who say trade every prospect to bring in high priced established veterans who can provide consistent year in and year out numbers.

There are the “Prospect Huggers” that don’t want to spend on any free agents that may block the kids. And lastly there are the “Cashman-ites” (credit to Mike Calendrillo of YGY for this name) who believes that the “Cream of the Crop” (using my best Macho Man Randy Savage voice) top prospects will stick and some of the others will be used in trade.

No matter what camp you fall into there’s no denying that the following prospects will have an impact on the Yankees World Series aspirations in 2018 and beyond. (The players below will be ranked based on their MLB Pipeline rankings).

  1. Gleyber Torres
  2. Estevan Florial
  3. Justus Sheffield
  4. Miguel Andújar
  5. Chance Adams (6th overall behind RHP Albert Abreu)

Another guy who is no longer a prospect but who’s development will determine his place on this team in 2018 and going forward is Clint Frazier. Frazier plays will a lot of fire and intensity, some of his behaviors/mannerisms rub people the wrong way, but I believe that if Frazier can stay hungry and humble he can be an incredible player in Pinstripes.