This is the first time I've waited this long into the summer to post my Mid-season prospect rankings. I thought for sure we'd see some of the top 10-15 names be shuttled off to some far flung outposts like San Diego or Cincinnati. Instead, there was very little movement. The only prospects traded away were Ramon Flores and Jose Ramirez, (two Yankees prospect lists staples for the last half-decade), in exchange for Seattle's Dustin Ackley.
Fans who support the idea of promoting your prospects are probably happy with how this week turned out. Conversely fans who want to trade for big names like David Price or Craig Kimbrel are likely not pleased. It's easy for fans to fall on one side or the other of the line that separates the groups, but in reality that line should be straddled. I implore fans to have a healthy understanding of the value of prospects. We won't know for a while whether keeping our prospects paid off or not. And the answer may never be clear, leaving fans to decide for themselves what they think.
First, before the rankings I have a disclosure: I am not a scout. I do not communicate directly with scouts. I do not regularly watch the prospects in person, on television, or on the Internet. My opinions are informed by websites and publications such as Baseball America, Fangraphs, and ESPN.com and interactions with fans and writers on social media. I am simply a fan who is expressing his opinion; take it for what it's worth.
Ok, here are the Yankees' top 30 prospects:
Rank | Name | POS | Born |
1 | Luis Severino | SP | 1994 |
2 | Aaron Judge | RF | 1992 |
3 | Jorge Mateo | SS | 1995 |
4 | Greg Bird | 1B | 1992 |
5 | Gary Sanchez | C | 1992 |
6 | James Kaprielian | SP | 1994 |
7 | Jacob Lindgren | RP | 1993 |
8 | Eric Jagielo | 3B/1B | 1992 |
9 | Ian Clarkin | SP | 1995 |
10 | Rob Refsnyder | 2B/LF | 1991 |
11 | Miguel Andujar | 3B | 1995 |
12 | Tyler Wade | SS | 1994 |
13 | Abiatal Avelino | SS/2B | 1995 |
14 | Rookie Davis | SP | 1993 |
15 | Domingo Acevedo | SP | 1994 |
16 | Luis Torrens | C | 1996 |
17 | Jake Cave | CF | 1992 |
18 | Mason Williams | CF | 1991 |
19 | Brady Lail | SP | 1993 |
20 | Angel Aguilar | SS/3B | 1995 |
21 | Slade Heathcott | CF | 1990 |
22 | Kyle Holder | SS | 1994 |
23 | Drew Finley | SP | 1996 |
24 | Domingo German | SP | 1992 |
25 | Austin DeCarr | SP | 1995 |
26 | Leonardo Molina | CF | 1997 |
27 | Thairo Estrada | SS | 1996 |
28 | Dustin Fowler | CF/RF | 1994 |
29 | Juan de Leon | CF/RF | 1998 |
30 | Dermis Garcia | SS/3B | 1998 |
Let's compare the last list to his one. First, players who were in the previous ranking but not this one, (including previous ranking):
13. Tyler Austin (out of top 30)
14. Bryan Mitchell (graduated)
18. Ty Hensley (out of top 30)
20. Jose Ramirez (traded for Dustin Ackley)
22. Ramon Flores (traded for Dustin Ackley)
24. Jose Pirela (graduated)
26. Chasen Shreve (graduated)
27. Gosuke Katoh (out of top 30)
30. Johnny Barbato (out of top 30)
And now, the players who were not in the previous ranking but in this one, (including current ranking):
6. James Kaprielian (drafted)
14. Rookie Davis
15. Domingo Acevedo
22. Kyle Holder (drafted)
23. Drew Finley (drafted)
27. Thairo Estrada
28. Dustin Fowler
29. Juan de Leon *
30. Dermis Garcia *
* - I do not include July 2 signees until they have started playing GCL or DSL games, which is after pre-season rankings.
For those interested in some true DEEP DIVES, I also do top 30 hitters and pitchers lists. First, the hitters:
Rank | Player | Position | Born |
1 | Aaron Judge | RF | 1992 |
2 | Jorge Mateo | SS | 1995 |
3 | Greg Bird | 1B | 1992 |
4 | Gary Sanchez | C | 1992 |
5 | Eric Jagielo | 3B/1B | 1992 |
6 | Rob Refsnyder | 2B/LF | 1991 |
7 | Miguel Andujar | 3B | 1995 |
8 | Tyler Wade | SS | 1994 |
9 | Abiatal Avelino | SS/2B | 1995 |
10 | Luis Torrens | C | 1996 |
11 | Jake Cave | CF | 1992 |
12 | Mason Williams | CF | 1991 |
13 | Angel Aguilar | SS/3B | 1995 |
14 | Slade Heathcott | CF | 1990 |
15 | Kyle Holder | SS | 1994 |
16 | Leonardo Molina | CF | 1997 |
17 | Thairo Estrada | SS | 1996 |
18 | Dustin Fowler | CF/RF | 1994 |
19 | Juan de Leon | CF/RF | 1998 |
20 | Dermis Garcia | 3B | 1998 |
21 | Tyler Austin | RF/1B | 1991 |
22 | Nelson Gomez | 3B | 1997 |
23 | Wilkerman Garcia | SS/3B | 1998 |
24 | Hyo-Jun Park | SS | 1996 |
25 | Jonathan Amundaray | RF | 1998 |
26 | Alexander Palma | RF | 1995 |
27 | Tony Renda | 2B | 1991 |
28 | Ben Gamel | RF | 1992 |
29 | Gosuke Katoh | 2B | 1994 |
30 | Dante Bichette, Jr. | 3B | 1992 |
Finally the pitchers:
Rank | Player | Position | Born |
1 | Luis Severino | SP | 1994 |
2 | James Kaprielian | SP | 1994 |
3 | Jacob Lindgren | RP | 1993 |
4 | Ian Clarkin | SP | 1995 |
5 | Rookie Davis | SP | 1993 |
6 | Domingo Acevedo | SP | 1994 |
7 | Brady Lail | SP | 1993 |
8 | Drew Finley | SP | 1996 |
9 | Domingo German | SP | 1992 |
10 | Austin DeCarr | SP | 1995 |
11 | Ty Hensley | SP | 1993 |
12 | Vicente Campos | SP/RP | 1992 |
13 | Jordan Montgomery | SP | 1992 |
14 | Jeff Degano | SP | 1992 |
15 | Nick Rumbelow | RP | 1991 |
16 | Tyler Webb | RP | 1990 |
17 | Jonathan Holder | SP | 1993 |
18 | Cale Coshow | SP/RP | 1992 |
19 | Johnny Barbato | RP | 1992 |
20 | Danny Burawa | RP | 1988 |
21 | Branden Pinder | RP | 1989 |
22 | Nick Goody | RP | 1991 |
23 | Luis Cedeno | SP/RP | 1994 |
24 | James Pazos | RP | 1991 |
25 | Simon de la Rosa | SP | 1993 |
26 | Alexander Vargas | SP | 1997 |
27 | Josh Rogers | SP | 1994 |
28 | Jordan Foley | SP/RP | 1993 |
29 | Chance Adams | RP | 1994 |
30 | Miguel Sulbaran | SP/RP | 1994 |
Well, let me know what you think. My Twitter handle is @thebronxempire and my email is bembry24@gmail.com. I'll update the list this fall after the season. Ok, have a good day!
Great post. I love prospect lists. I do have a question though. Ian Clarkin was drafted with Jagielo and Judge. They've progressed to AA and AAA respectively. I know they were both college bats and Clarkin was a high school pitcher, but he has played extremely sparingly due to injury. Why does he continue to be ranked so high? To me, he's just the next Andrew Brackman.
ReplyDeleteObviously this is Ben's list and not mine but I know why I rank him so high. Ranking prospects is part effectiveness on the field and part ceiling/projections. Clarkin projects to be a left-handed ace... which keeps him there.
DeleteDoesn't hurt the Yankees farm is on the weak side when it comes to upper end starting pitching.
Who projects him to be a left handed ace? Keith Law? He's now 20. I'm not going to look up his stats, but he's been rather unimpressive thus far. He has to pitch a little before you rank him in the top 10, right? I don't want to argue, but if he's going to rank that high, he should at least play.
DeleteNo he doesn't have to pitch to be ranked in the Top 10. James Kaprielian is ranked in our Top 10 by a ton of people. Many people who are drafted are immediately ranked highly in the rankings.
DeleteI see what you're saying, and I'm not arguing. I just believe that you have to factor in their proximity to the major leagues and not just their projections. Clarkin may dominate high school hitters. But you have no idea what he can do against advanced hitting because he hasn't done it. Kaprelian has at least faced college level hitters.
ReplyDeleteI like the list, a few were lower/higher than I would have placed them, but the list is his opinion. Everyone has an opinion of which player is better than their favorite player(s), as do I. All in all I'd say "Well Done, Ben!
ReplyDelete