Yankees Prospects

New York Yankees Prospects: Ryder Green

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Back in the 2018 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected an outfielder that was committed to Vanderbilt who wowed scouts with his raw power and ability to drive the ball. That prospect would be the New York Yankees 28th ranked prospect, Ryder Green. Green who is from Knoxville, Tennessee is a powerful outfield prospect. He loves to put on a show for fans with the way he is able to hit the ball before the game even starts. Green has played all around the outfield since making his pro debut in 2018, but he seems to project better as a corner outfielder. Green has really good bat speed, above-average power, and pretty good speed coming out of the corner outfield. Green struggled in his first action of rookie ball back in 2018, but he rebounded to have a solid year in 2019.

Improved 2019

Last year, Green had a pretty good season for the Pulaski Yankees. In 61 games, Green hit .262 and had an OBP of .343. Also in those 61 games, Green hit 8 homers and drove home 28 runs. Green also displayed his aggressiveness on the bases where he stole 10 bases in 2019. In watching Green, he’s got a lot of easy power. However, one of the biggest issues is that he knows he’s got easy power. He seems to attack looking for the long ball almost every time he goes to the plate. When he connects they can go a long way, but this approach is leaving him exposed to a lot of strikeouts. I was very encouraged to see the average and OBP go up last year. I think he showed a lot of great promise in his ability to make adjustments at the pro level. I firmly believe that Green has a lot of solid tools and could become an MLB level outfielder.

Consistent Progression

Green is very young in his professional career at just 20 years old. Yes, he’s behind a few other outfielders in the system, but there is a lot of reason to believe in this kid. He’s got natural power, he’s got an unbelievable arm from the outfield, he’s a good runner, and he plays the game the right way. Green is a prospect that could make some leaps this year due to his natural skill and talent. When the season starts, I want to see Green continue to make consistent contact with the ball as the competition gets stiffer. I want to see him focus on driving the ball more gap to gap as opposed to hitting the ball 400 feet. Green is already showing the ability to make adjustments and improve year to year, and I just want to see him do that again when the 2020 season gets started.

New York Yankees Prospects: Ezequiel Duran

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Back in 2017, the New York Yankees signed a prospect out of the Dominican Republic that has turned out to be one of the more powerful players in their minor league system. Coming in as the 27th ranked prospect in the New York Yankees farm system is second basemen Ezequiel Duran. Duran, a 5’11 second baseman, has demonstrated some strong skills since joining the Yankees professional ranks. Duran has experimented with multiple positions in the infield, but his average arms suit him well at second base. He’s displayed solid defense at that position, and he’s got a very quick trigger relaying double play balls. I would venture to say that Duran is an average to slightly above average defender at this stage in his young career. However, the defense is not what is bringing people to the ballpark to watch Duran. Duran hits the ball to all fields with extremely easy power and he possesses one of the best exit velos in the entire system. Duran’s speed and power make him a dynamic prospect that the Yankees got for a very reasonable price back in 2017.

Power Showing

Last year with Staten Island, Duran had a pretty good season where he showed off some of his tools. He led his league last year with 13 home runs in just 66 games. He also was able to steal 11 bases and had an OBP of .329. Duran currently projects as a guy who could easily be a 20-20 threat as he progresses through the minors. The one thing that stands out about Duran when watching him hit is his use of his lower half. At 20 years old, a lot of hitters are focused more on using their upper body to hit the baseball. Because of this, you can see a lack of power in young prospects. Duran has already figured out his power swing generating extremely easy power from his lower half. He’s got a tremendous approach at the plate and has stated that he’s more focused on driving the ball gap to gap as opposed to out of the ballpark. Duran can get a little trigger happy at times which is one of the drawbacks of him, but that’s nothing abnormal for a guy who is just 20 years old.

Consistent Progression

When the season gets underway, I just want to see more quality at-bats from Duran. He showed so much progress last year after really struggling in the first month. He was hitting below 200 after one month last year but turned it around massively. Obviously struggles are going to happen, but I want to see a season of consistency from Duran. I want to continue to see him drive the ball to all fields, and I want to see his walks go up this year. I would love to see the OBP numbers climb to around 350 or higher. Duran has all of the tools to play at the MLB level, he just needs to continue to work on fine-tuning some of his weapons. Once he cleans a few things up, he definitely will be able to have an impact on MLB games in the next couple of years.

New York Yankees Prospects: Josh Breaux

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

There is one catcher in the New York Yankees minor league system that reminds me of a lot of the Yankees’ current backstop, Gary Sanchez. This prospect resembles Sanchez in so many ways, but the way that stands out the most for a catcher is power. Josh Breaux was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Breaux has displayed his power arm and power bat everywhere he has played in his career so far. In Junior College, Breaux hit 37 home runs and pitched a 100 MPH fastball as a reliever. Those two numbers right there tell you everything that you need to know about Breaux. The dude has unreal power and has powered his way into the Yankees’ top 30 prospects. He has dealt with some elbow issues that have slowed him down a little in his progression so far. He was only able to play 51 games last year in Charleston, but in those 51 games, Breaux definitely opened some eyes.

Raw Power on Display

In 2018, Breaux made his professional debut in rookie ball, and he definitely showed some promise hitting .269 and driving in 13 runs in 30 games. However, the step forward Breaux took last year cannot be ignored. In the 51 games last year, Breaux hit .271, had an OBP of .324, hit 13 homers, and drove home 49 runs. Those numbers would good enough to have an OPS of .842. Breaux did some definite damage last year with the bat in his hand. After hitting no homers in his first 30 games of rookie ball, Breaux really found his power swing last year. In watching him, he has very easy power that goes to all fields. Currently, he could easily develop into a guy who will hit you 30 home runs consistently every single year. One of the areas I saw improvement with Breaux was his ability to layoff pitches. This is still one of the areas he needs to improve, but it was nice to see the walks go up last year.

Repetition

When it comes to Breaux, he just needs to stay on the field and keep progressing. He needs to learn to control the zone a little more as a hitter, and he needs to tighten up a few things on the defensive side of the ball. The raw tools that Breaux does have make him a truly special prospect. With time, his eye is going to continue to develop which will make him even more dangerous at the plate He needs to continue to learn how to hit with pitches instead of pulling off and trying to smoke everything for a home run. Like the New York Yankees current catcher, Breaux needs to continue to work on his ability to block pitches in the dirt. Again, this is something that can be fine-tuned with repetition. I really like Breaux as a prospect, and I think the Yankees definitely have a guy who will crack the MLB roster one day and deliver a few eye-popping home runs.

New York Yankees Prospects: Brandon Lockridge

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Back in the 2018 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected one of the fastest prospects in the entire draft. A standout second baseman from Troy University that has fully transitioned to center field since joining the professional ranks. That prospects are the Yankees 26th ranked prospect in their system, Brandon Lockridge. As mentioned Lockridge was a standout at Troy where he became the second-highest drafted player ever from the school. Lockridge stands out with his ability to put the ball in play, but his speed is what separates him from a lot of prospects. On the 20-80 scale, his ability to run grades out at an astonishing 75. He also has above average grades on his defense which makes him a really solid center field prospect for the Yankees. When thinking of guys who control the middle of the outfield, you want someone who can cover the position well with incredible speed, and Lockridge checks both of those boxes.

Full 2019

After making his rookie ball debut back in 2018, Lockridge had his first full season of pro ball last year. Lockridge spent the entire season with Charleston where he played in 121 games. In those games, Lockridge hit .251, had 12 homers, drove home 56 runs, and stole 22 bases. Very solid numbers all the way around for his first full year in pro ball. One of the things that Lockridge worked on last year was his swing. One of the biggest flaws Lockridge had was dropping his hands which reduced the amount of damage he could do with the bat. Adjustments have been made where now he is staying back on pitches and really driving the ball whenever he makes contact. Lockridge has really good strength and could be a guy who could develop to hit 20-30 home runs just based on his raw power. Combine the power with his speed and you have an extremely dynamic prospect when talking about Brandon Lockridge.

Speed, Power, and Contact

When the 2020 season gets underway, I want to see Lockridge continue to work on making consistent contact at the plate. He has made adjustments and seen good results, but there is still a lot of room to grow there. I want to see him take the ball to all sides of the field and I want to see him continue to learn pitch recognition. If he can get his average and OBP to climb a little more while his power also continues to tick up, he could climb up the rankings rather quickly for the New York Yankees. Lockridge has a tool in his toolbox that you can’t just teach and that’s his speed. I want to see Lockridge make his speed even more of a focus this year. While his stolen base numbers were good, I want to see them improve even more. That is his one tool that stands out from other prospects, and he needs to continue to show why that tool makes him a special prospect.

New York Yankees Prospects: Antonio Gomez

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

The New York Yankees have a pretty deep farm system when it comes to catchers. The Yankees used two of their top draft picks a couple of years ago on a couple of catchers and the Yankees have another prospect in their top thirty that sits behind the plate. This prospect without question has the best arm in the system, and might have one of the better arms in the minors. That prospect is the young Venezuelan catcher Antonio Gomez. The Yankees signed Gomez for $600,000 in 2018. The Yankees scouts saw him demonstrate his incredible arm which grades out at a 70 on the 20-80 scale. Gomez gets rid of the ball extremely quickly and his arm makes a lot of runners very hesitant to test him. He shows great potential defensively as well. Gomez hits from the right side and generates a good amount of power. The issue at this stage in his career is that he does not take the ball to all sides of the filed, but that is an issue that could be ironed out over a couple of years.

Shortened 2019

In 2019, Gomez made his debut in the Yankees organization. After just one game with the DSL Yankees, Gomez was sidelined with an injury. He came back to the Gulf Coast League towards the end of the season and played 14 games. In those 15 games, Gomez hit .288 and drove him 8 runs. While Gomez only hit one home run during that stretch, you can see that the power is there. He could definitely develop into an above average power threat from the catcher position. He’s not going to be a Gary Sanchez, but he can definitely be a threat with the bat in his hands. Again, the only issue I really see in his offensive game right now is the fact that he’s pull happy. I have full confidence that the Yankees will be able to work with him on tweaking his swing to enable him to take the ball to all fields.

Moving Forward

When the season does get started, I just want to see Gomez out there consistently. Again, he was only able to play in 15 games last year. I want to see Gomez stay on the field and stay healthy. 15 games is not a large sample size, so I would like to see what his numbers look like over the course of a season. The season will obviously be shortened with the ongoing pandemic, but I still expect him to play more than 15 games this year. I want to see Gomez make consistent contact and try working on driving the ball to the right side of the field. Gomez is a very solid catching prospect that has an arm that you can’t teach. If he continues to fine-tune his overall defensive ability and his approach at the plate, Gomez could become one of the better prospects in the entire Yankees system.

New York Yankees Prospects: Canaan Smith

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Back in 2017, the New York Yankees drafted a kid out of Texas that was known for his incredible eye at the plate. Canaan Smith was a top prospect coming out of Texas where he drew 57 walks in his senior season for Rockwall-Heath High School. This walk total was good for the ninth-highest total in US history. We all know that the Yankees love guys who grind their way through at-bats, which is why the New York Yankees decided to take Smith in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. Smith has all the potential in the world to be a threat at the plate. Smith has a great eye, good bat speed, and solid strength which makes him a dangerous hitter. He’s a decent runner and average defensively from the outfield. I think he has the potential to develop into a pretty nice left fielder as he continues to progress. 2018 was a struggle for Smith, but 2019 was a huge bounce back season which vaulted Smith to the 21st spot in the Yankees top 30 prospects.

Bounce Back 2019

I mentioned that Smith was dangerous at the plate, well in 2019 he definitely showed it. After batting a pitiful .191 in 2018, Smith found himself in the top three of average, OBP, OPS, and walks last year with Charleston. In 124 games, Smith hit .307 and had an OPS of .871. He drove home 74 runs and walked 74 times. Smith did a fantastic job of driving the ball last year. He showed off his bat speed and his compact swing. One of the impressive things about last year was his ability to drive the ball. Smith is the type of guy who could threaten 25-30 home runs if he progresses down the path he’s currently on. His ability to battle at the plate is why he has such a high OBP. Like he did in high school, he led the South Atlantic League in walks last year. Smith has a great eye for pitch recognition, and it will definitely make him a big time threat moving forward. Smith won’t wow you with his speed, but he did swipe 16 bags in 20 attempts last year.

A little fine tuning

Smith is the type of prospect that is flying under the radar at the moment. I think he definitely has the tools to become an impact player at the MLB level. His eye and his ability to hit the ball will carry him through the minors. I think one of the things that were big for me last year was seeing Smith’s ability to change some things up and rebound after that rough 2018 campaign. Canaan Smith is definitely an interesting prospect and one that fits the mold the Yankees love to see in their minor league guys. He has great plate discipline already which is a huge plus for a guy who is just 20. If Smith continues to progress and clean up some of the other parts of his game, he could become one of the better prospects in the Yankees system.

New York Yankees Prospects: Alexander Vargas

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Coming in as the 20th ranked prospect in the New York Yankees is a smooth shortstop from Cuba. That prospect would be young Alexander Vargas. Vargas who is just 18 years old, is a very good shortstop prospect who defected from Cuba back in 2018. There was a lot of hype behind him due to the fact that he was playing for Cuba’s 18 and under team at just 15 years old. There was smoke around him and the Reds, but the New York Yankees swooped in and gave him $2.5 million which tells you a lot about what the Yankees think of Vargas as a prospect. I’ve seen a lot of the infield prospects in the farm system, and Vargas might just be the best defending prospect the Yankees have. Combine his defensive ability with the fact that he’s a switch hitter and you have yourself a very quality prospect. Did I mention his plus speed as well? That might be his best attribute of all with his running ability grading out at a 65 on the 20-80 scale. There is a lot to like about Vargas who made his rookie ball debut for the Yankees last year.

2019 Debut

2019 was a big year for Vargas as he made his professional debut for the Yankees organization. Vargas played in 48 games in rookie ball for the Yankees. In those 48 games, Vargas batted .233 with an OBP of .313. One of the positives is that Vargas was able to swipe 15 bags in those 48 games. There is a lot of reason to believe that Vargas would be a 40+ steals man over the course of a full season. One of the biggest areas of weakness for Vargas at the moment is in the power department and that showed with Vargas only hitting one home run in 193 at-bats. Vargas needs to add a lot of strength and learn how to hit more with his legs. Right now there is not a lot of movement in his swing, but his swing is all in his upper body. There is no power that is being used from the waist down. Vargas is coming in at 5’11 but only weighing 148 LBS. I think the Yankees will focus on adding some weight to him and tweaking his swing over the next couple of years.

What to work on

Vargas was one of the prospects I really had my eye on going into the 2020 season. He’s such a dynamic prospect with his ability to run and his smoothness at the shortstop position. He makes a ton of contact with the bat and just has a great feel for the game overall. The Yankees need to have him add some strength and work on generating power from his legs. While he might never be a huge power guy, it will be important for him to at least threatening teams with the long ball. Vargas isn’t a prospect that you should expect to see anytime soon, but he will definitely be one to keep an eye on whenever the season kicks off in 2020.

New York Yankees Prospects: T.J. Sikkema

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

The New York Yankees drafted a player last year that checks a lot of boxes for the Yankees. Left-handed starter, T.J. Sikkema was picked by the Yankees in the supplemental first round of last year’s draft. Sikkema who is originally from a small town in Iowa is a stocky lefty that goes right after any hitter that stands sixty feet and six inches away. Sikkema goes right after guys with his fastball, slider, changeup combination. He throws from a number of arm angles which makes his pitches even more deceptive. When Sikkema dials back, his fastball can reach the mid-90s. However, he’s got a great ability to lower the arm angle and add some sink to the pitch with a little less velocity. He’s got a really good changeup and a slider that makes a lot of left-handers look silly. Sikkema dominated at Mizzou and it landed him on broadway getting selected 38th overall by the New York Yankees.

Domination

Last year, Sikkema was incredibly dominant at Mizzou. Known as one of the best pitchers in the SEC, Sikkema went 7-4 with a 1.32 ERA in 17 games. Sikkema caught a lot of scouts attention during the last couple of years. He’s a fierce competitor on the mound that reminds people of another Mizzou pitcher who pitched with a similar ferociousness. Sikkema’s domination didn’t stop at the amateur ranks last year. After getting drafted by the Yankees, Sikkema made four appearances with the Yankees Staten Island affiliate. In those four games, Sikkema posted a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 innings. Sikkema struck out 13 batters in his short work in Staten Island. While Sikkema wasn’t one of the premier picks last year in the draft, there is a lot to like about this kid. Pitchers who try to dance around the corners are not the type of pitchers people want to see. Everyone loves a guy who is going to just go out and give you all of his effort with every single pitch that he throws. T.J. Sikkema is that type of pitcher.

2020 and Beyond

Whenever the 2020 season gets underway, I’m just wanting to see how he continues to do against professional competition. There will probably be some growing pains here and there, but Sikkema has a very high floor, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him knocking on the major league door in a couple of years. For Yankees fans, this is the kind of prospect that you really want to see in the system. A lefty starter that is just going to go right after you.

New York Yankees Prospects: Kevin Alcantara

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

In a few years, New York Yankees fans could be talking about another giant outfielder getting ready to break through into the majors. The prospect that could be the next Yankees outfielder to produce jaw dropping home runs is young Kevin Alcantara. The Yankees signed Alcantara in the 2018 out of the Dominican Republic for $1 million. Alcantara stands a very impressive 6’6 and has plus skills for a prospect so young. Alcantara is just going to turn 18 over the summer and he got his first taste of pro ball last year. Alcantara has very good bat speed and his natural physical projection gives Yankees fans hopes of another 40+ HR outfield threat years down the line. Alcantara has predominately played center field which he covers with ease. Alcantara has plus speed and he just glides in the outfield. Obviously as he continues to get bigger, he will probably be better suited for a corner outfield spot, but either way, Alcantara is a very promising outfield prospect.

First Pro Action

Last year was the first taste of action that Alcantara received as a Yankees. In 41 games in rookie ball last year, Alcantara hit .255 and drove in 19 runs. Alcantara did have a pretty low OBP at only .305, but we are going to chalk that up to his youth and inexperience. The tools are all there for Alcantara to be something special. He currently resides just outside the top ten of all Yankees prospects and it’s very easy to see why. When you look at the tape, Alcantara reminds me a lot of Aaron Judge with the way that he swings the bat. From the stance to the follow-through, it’s easy to see why some draw the comparison. There are a couple of things he will need to tweak in his mechanics as he continues to improve over time. I think he will want to draw back on his extreme leg kick and focus on driving the ball to all fields which is something that Aaron Judge does extremely well. In watching some tape, Alcantara can have the tendency to pull off on the ball just a little. Obviously he has plenty of time to iron out these issues over the next several years.

On Deck

Moving forward, New York Yankees fans should be really excited about Alcantara. He needs to add about 40-50 pounds to reach his full physical potential and he needs to iron out a few things in his game. Again, only being 17 gives Alcantara plenty of time to develop. You’re not going to see this kid turn into something special over the next year or two, but down the line, Alcantara can be something dangerous. When the year gets going, I just want to see Alcantara hit the weights and continue to develop physically. The raw tools are all there, now the body just needs to catch up. I think Alcantara projects to be one of the best prospects in the system and it will not surprise me to see him near the top five in Yankees prospects in the next year or two.

New York Yankees Prospects: Miguel Yajure

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone

Another top pitching prospect that New York Yankees fans should be paying attention to is young Miguel Yajure. Yajure possesses one of the deepest pitching repertoires in the entire farm system and has pitched his way up to being the New York Yankee’s fourteenth ranked prospect. Yajure missed the 2017 season after getting Tommy John surgery, but Yajure has bounced back and then some since the surgery. Yajure features four pitches that are all at or above average. Yajure is the type of pitcher that is going to go right after hitters, but he’s not going to be able to overpower hitters with his fastball. Yajure has a fastball that sits in the 93-95 range, but he complements that pitch with his secondary offerings. He likes to throw his changeup a lot and has a decent 12-6 curveball which can keep hitters honest. The biggest weapon, in my opinion, is a pitch that he just started throwing in the last year and that was his cutter. Entering the 2019 season, Yajure didn’t feature the cutter, but that pitch proved to be one of the keys to a very successful 2019 campaign.

Impressive 2019

2018 was a really good year for Yajure coming off TJ surgery. Yajure was able to go 4-3 with a 3.90 ERA in 14 starts. All of his numbers took a significant jump in 2019. Showing off polished mechanics and a really good feel for all of his pitches, Yajure dominated the minors in 2019. In 24 games against Advanced A and Double-A competition, Yajure went 9-6 with a 2.14 ERA. Yajure was able to strike out just under nine batters per nine innings and had a very good WHIP of 1.07. Yajure has a really good command and goes right after hitters. He is not going to walk a ton of batters, and he’s able to produce a ton of weak contact. That cutter has really changed the whole outlook on Yajure. He loves to throw the pitch when he’s behind in counts because he has such good command of that pitch. When hitters are gearing up for a fastball, he throws his cutter which is able to generate a ton of weak contact which can get him out of jams. Yajure is pitching like a veteran pitcher in the minors and he displays a great feel for the game. While his name isn’t as sexy right now as Clarke Schmidt or Deivi Garica, his name is one to definitely keep your eyes on.

High Floor

While there might be more prospects in the system that have higher ceilings, there might not be as many prospects who have higher floors. MLB Pipeline says that the floor for Yajure at this point would be a 4-5 starter in a major league rotation. However, if he continues to progress down the path he’s heading, it’s not crazy to think he could be a 2-3 starter in a major league rotation. Whenever the season gets underway, I would like to see Yajure continue to develop his offspeed pitches to compliment his fastball and cutter. If he can keep those pitches progressing on the same path as his fastball and cutter, Yajure is the type of pitcher who can rise extremely quickly through the farm system. Definitely a player that New York Yankee fans should be paying attention to when the 2020 season gets underway.