Most Popular Article of the Week: Yankees Leave Several Good Prospects Available for Rule 5 Draft

The New York Yankees finalized their 40 man roster last week by adding six prospects to the 40 man roster and shuffling around a slew of others. Jorge Mateo, Miguel Andujar, Dietrich Enns, Ronald Herrera, Yefrey Ramirez and Giovanny Gallegos were added to the 40 man roster but there are a ton of talented players who were left unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft.


Jake Cave has been left unprotected once again after being taken with the second selection overall in the Rule 5 Draft last season by the Cincinnati Reds. Cave had another good season in Triple-A in 2016 and can play all three outfield positions so expect another team to take a waiver on him as their 4th or 5th outfielder this Rule 5 Draft as well.


Tyler Webb, I thought anyway, would be one of the reasons that James Pazos was traded this offseason but for whatever reason the Yankees have left Webb, another left-handed reliever, available to lose in the draft as well. Webb is 26-years old and has all but mastered Triple-A hitters pitching to a 3.59 ERA in 2016 so expect him to be in someone else’s bullpen in 2017.


The decision to leave Brady Lail out there also surprised me a little since Lail is one of the closest and better Yankees pitching prospects in the system. Lail is just 23-years old but he did struggle in Triple-A a bit this season so he is on the line of whether he will be chosen or not in my opinion.


Cale Coshow is one of the many Yankees pitchers that are drafted as relief pitchers only to be converted into a starting pitcher once in the Yankees system. For that reason Coshow is a bit behind on the curve reaching just Double-A this season. Coshow struggled some with the Trenton Thunder leading me to believe he will be with the Yankees in 2017 as well.





There are others but none of them, again in my opinion, has a shot at being taken and sticking on other roster. This is the list of potential Yankees prospects that could be taken this winter in the draft. Who do you see being taken? Leave it down below in the comments section. Thanks!

Yankees Leave Several Good Prospects Available for Rule 5 Draft

The New York Yankees finalized their 40 man roster last week by adding six prospects to the 40 man roster and shuffling around a slew of others. Jorge Mateo, Miguel Andujar, Dietrich Enns, Ronald Herrera, Yefrey Ramirez and Giovanny Gallegos were added to the 40 man roster but there are a ton of talented players who were left unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft.

Jake Cave has been left unprotected once again after being taken with the second selection overall in the Rule 5 Draft last season by the Cincinnati Reds. Cave had another good season in Triple-A in 2016 and can play all three outfield positions so expect another team to take a waiver on him as their 4^th or 5^th outfielder this Rule 5 Draft as well.

Tyler Webb, I thought anyway, would be one of the reasons that James Pazos was traded this offseason but for whatever reason the Yankees have left Webb, another left-handed reliever, available to lose in the draft as well. Webb is 26-years old and has all but mastered Triple-A hitters pitching to a 3.59 ERA in 2016 so expect him to be in someone else’s bullpen in 2017.

The decision to leave Brady Lail out there also surprised me a little since Lail is one of the closest and better Yankees pitching prospects in the system. Lail is just 23-years old but he did struggle in Triple-A a bit this season so he is on the line of whether he will be chosen or not in my opinion.

Cale Coshow is one of the many Yankees pitchers that are drafted as relief pitchers only to be converted into a starting pitcher once in the Yankees system. For that reason Coshow is a bit behind on the curve reaching just Double-A this season. Coshow struggled some with the Trenton Thunder leading me to believe he will be with the Yankees in 2017 as well.

There are others but none of them, again in my opinion, has a shot at being taken and sticking on other roster. This is the list of potential Yankees prospects that could be taken this winter in the draft. Who do you see being taken? Leave it down below in the comments section. Thanks!

Meet a Prospect: Zack Littell

The New York Yankees finalized their 40 man roster over the weekend designating players like Nick Rumbelow and Nathan Eovaldi for assignment, releasing players like Dustin Ackley and trading players like James Pazos to the Seattle Mariners for new prospects for us to meet like right-handed starter Zack Littell. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Zack Littell Edition.

Littell is a 21-year old right-handed starting pitcher the Seattle Mariners drafted in the 11^th round back in the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft. Littell was drafted out of High School back in 2013 and has progressed to A-Ball as recently as the 2016 season.

Baseball America listed Littell as the owner of the best curveball in the Mariners system at the time of the trade while MLB Pipeline had him ranked as the 14^th best prospect in the Seattle farm system. MLB.com had Littell as the Mariners Prospect of the Year after taking a big step in two Class-A Ball affiliates this season.

Littell owns a low-90’s MPH fastball and as previously stated he has a great curveball to go with it. Littell is also developing a changeup that he hopes to keep batters off-balance with. Not a bad pickup at all for a left-handed reliever with little MLB experience and a marginal stat line in a small sample size, huh?

Littell posted a combined 13-6 record with a 2.66 ERA in 28 games, 27 of them starts, in two stops in Class-A Ball in 2016 striking out 156 batters in 165.2 innings. Just another arm that could potentially reach the Major Leagues in a season or three for New York. These are never bad to have, especially for a pitcher like James Pazos who posted pitched well in stretches in 2015 and 2016 but could easily be replaced in the “Circle of Trust.”

Littell will begin his Yankees career down in Low-A Ball with the Tampa Yankees. Welcome to the family.

Remember the Promise of a 25th Man Revolving Door?

This winter while Brian Cashman was trying to trade everything that wasn’t nailed down to the ground he made a bit of a promise. Well maybe promise isn’t the right word or terminology but he did make a statement that has yet to come to fruition this season. Cashman made the statement this winter that he planned on using the Yankees final bench position, better known as the 25^th man on the roster, as a revolving door much like he has used the last bullpen slot as a means for the Scranton Shuttle the past season and a half. With the injury to Alex Rodriguez you have to wonder if this statement is going to come true or if Cashman even remembers that he said it.  

The Yankees initially called up left-handed relief pitcher James Pazos when the Yankees placed their DH on the 15-day disabled list but with the minor league option already burned for the 2016 season and with his minor league options secure the Yankees could move some pieces around to have a full bench if they wanted to. Who would their most obvious choices be though if they decided to bring up a bench piece and looked to improve the offense? 

Look no farther than Nick Swisher. While technically he may be the hardest player on the list to move up and down this season, his lack of a 40 man roster spot and minor league options complicates things a bit, he may make the most sense for the club. He can play right field and first base and he’s a switch hitter, both things the Yankees seem to love. The problem is when he is sent down he will have to be designated for assignment, clear waivers and then accept a minor league assignment to stay in the organization. Chris Capuano did it 19 times last season, an exaggeration but not by much it felt like, so Swisher could too. I would just hate to bank on that.  

Rob Refsnyder has a 40 man roster spot, unlike Swisher, and has been seen playing second base, third base and most recently right field with the organization. Refsnyder has also played the DH position down in Triple-A making him an ideal candidate for the call up. 

The Yankees are now once again lacking right-handed power in the lineup. Gary Sanchez has right-handed power and he has a 40 man roster spot. The days he isn’t DH’ing he could be giving Brian McCann a half-day off at the DH position or a total day off on the bench keeping him fresh and healthy for the stretch run. 

The final option, although maybe not the most ideal option, would be Aaron Judge. The Yankees are keen on giving Carlos Beltran days at the DH position leaving Aaron Hicks to either play right field or continue to come off the bench while Judge adds a right-handed power bat to the lineup and the outfield. It’s unlikely the Yankees would call up Judge despite putting to bed some of the rumors and fears that he couldn’t handle Triple-A pitching but like the lottery in New York, hey you never know. 

Alex Rodriguez to the DL, James Pazos to the Bullpen

The New York Yankees have lost their every day DH Alex Rodriguez to the 15-day disabled list after Rodriguez tweaked his hamstring in last night's loss to the Orioles. Rodriguez will miss an undisclosed amount of time with the injury and the injury could not have come at a worse time. Alex was finally starting to work out of an early season slump and was finally hitting for power at the time of the injury.

The Yankees used the 25 man roster spot to call up left-handed relief pitcher James Pazos. I'm pretty confused why the Yankees wouldn't call up a position player, especially with all the off days recently keeping the pitching fresh, but they know more than I do.

Help Wanted: Scranton Shuttle Members

So I was walking down the street in front of Yankee Stadium this week when I saw a help wanted poster outside reading "Help Wanted." Me needing a job like I do I immediately checked it out hoping I could snag a job that got me into Yankee Stadium on a nightly basis and I was disappointed to read that the help wanted sign was for new members of the Scranton Shuttle.

Now this is obviously a fictitious story as I have moved to Atlanta, Georgia from the Bronx and I am very much employed but aside from that the rest is pretty accurate. I'm sure the Yankees haven't resorted to posting a sign outside of the stadium for their poor, their tired and their hungry just yet but the Scranton Shuttle is getting awfully thin nowadays.

New York has already lost Branden Pinder, Nick Rumbelow, Bryan Mitchell and Jacob Lindgren to various injuries including a pair of ulnar collateral ligament tears, a serious toe injury and yet another elbow injury for a former 2nd round pick. What's left at the Yankees disposal as far as the Scranton Shuttle goes? More than you would think actually.

The list of available relievers for New York still includes Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Tyler Olson,  and James Pazos on the 40 man roster while Richard Bleier, Tyler Cloyd, Kyle Haynes, Diego Moreno, Vinnie Pestano, Anthony Swarzak and Tyler Webb make up just a few of the options down in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders.

There are plenty of more names that could be options as soon as July and by September as well. Names you may know and names you may not know. Names like James Kaprielian, Brady Lail, Daniel Camarena, Cale Coshow, Ronald Herrera, Mark Montgomery, Evan Rutckyj, Matt Tracy and Miguel Sulbaran to name a few.

Injuries suck but don't sleep on the Yankees, their bullpen and the whole Scranton Shuttle just yet.

If Johnny Barbato Keeps Pitching This Way…

It’s only mid-April and the New York Yankees bullpen has already been on a roller coaster ride this season. The team’s biggest strength took a hit this winter with the trade of Adam Warren only to receive Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds back in a trade. The strength of the bullpen took another hit when Justin Wilson was traded only to see Luis Cessa, at least in spring training, pitch well and lock down a bullpen slot out of spring training. The team thought they had Adam Warren replaced when Bryan Mitchell won a spot in the bullpen out of spring training as a reliever that could start only to take another hit when Mitchell injured his toe and learned he would miss four months of the season at least to fix it after undergoing surgery. The Yankees bullpen was handed another bad card when Nick Rumbelow announced that he needed ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery, better known as Tommy John surgery, but you know what? If Johnny Barbato keeps pitching the way he has I don’t think any of it is going to matter.

The Yankees already have a strong bullpen with Andrew Miller closing out games and Dellin Betances setting up games in the 8^th inning and that core only got better when, albeit in a small sample size again, Chasen Shreve remembered how to get Major League caliber hitters out with his splitter. The Yankees have weathered the storm through seven games now and in another month they get their eventual closer back in Chapman after the lefty got suspended for 30 games due to an altercation this winter but New York may have also found another great arm in Barbato.

The theme of this post, like most posts similar to this in the early parts of the MLB season, is going to be sample size. Stats regress or improve and over 162 games you usually have a much clearer picture than you do after two weeks of the season but you have to crawl before you can walk so stick with me. Barbato, already deemed the Yankees “secret weapon” by that guy that has me blocked because I broke a story before him and wanted some accountability at the New York Post, has pitched extremely well not only this spring but it has carried over into the regular season as well. Barbato seems to be quickly earning his keep and working his way into the Joe Girardi Circle of Trust, trademark pending, this season giving the Yankees another strong 6^th or 7^th inning option out of the pen.

The Yankees pen, as patchwork as it has become in the early portions of this regular season, is still a strength and it’s only going to get better as long as everyone keeps pitching the way that they’re supposed to. When Chapman returns and when the Yankees find the confidence to bring up a Jacob Lindgren or a James Pazos again this pen has all the makings of being unhittable and downright unfair. Hate us now, we live for this. 

What the Latest Roster Cuts Truly Mean

In case you missed it on Saturday afternoon the New York Yankees sent down another group of players to minor league camps. By my unofficial count the Yankees now have 40 players left in spring training camp meaning that 20 more need to be cut before Opening Day 2016. What do these latest rounds of roster cuts mean for the players left and their chances of making the club when the team heads north.

First and foremost it is almost a foregone conclusion that Robert Refsnyder is going to be the team's backup third baseman against the Houston Astros and Dallas Keuchel on Opening Day. Donovan Solano is down and so is Jonathan Diaz leaving little in the way of competition.

Ben Gamel is down so it looks like Aaron Hicks will be the starter if Jacoby Ellsbury is not ready, and he should be just as an FYI after taking a pitch off the wrist, and someone like Slade Heathcott would be the 4th outfielder in this worst case scenario.

Chasen Shreve is also the inside man for one of the open spots in the Yankees bullpen. Bryan Mitchell is another along with the loser of the Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia spring battle. The dark horse for the final spot though? Is it James Pazos? He still has a chance but the Yankees seem completely enamored with a young man named Luis Cessa right now.

What First Rosters Cuts Really Mean

The New York Yankees made their first round of roster cuts from spring training to round out the week over the weekend sending 16 players back to the minor leagues. This happens with every team as we inch closer to Opening Day and as regulars need more playing time and the spring competitions heat up. The Yankees had a business as usual approach to their cuts sending players that had no legit shot at making the team out of spring back to the minor leagues, Jorge Mateo, Aaron Judge and James Kaprielian most notably, but one name really stood out to me. That name was Jacob Lindgren.

The Yankees bullpen is seemingly wide open aside from the “three-headed monster” and even more wide open with the fact that Aroldis Chapman is suspended for the first 30 games of the season. What did it hurt to have Lindgren in camp for another week or more?

You would think after Lindgren made his Major League debut in 2015 that the team would want to give him a shot at the 2016 bullpen but an elbow spur injury ended his season prematurely. Lindgren didn’t do himself any favors this spring struggling with command and effectiveness, but the same can be said for James Pazos who did not get cut just as an FYI, and will likely be the first one up if and when a need and/or an injury occurs.

Looking at the rest of the list no notable players really got cut but Lindgren, the rest are merely procedural. Here is the complete list again in case you missed it over the weekend:

Jacob Lindgren, Domingo German, Chad Green, Kyle Haynes, James Kaprielian, Brady Lail, Santiago Nessy, Tyler Webb, Francisco Diaz, Kyle Higashioka, Sebastian Valle, Jorge Mateo, Deibinson Romero, Tyler Wade, Lane Adams, Aaron Judge and Dustin Fowler.

My Early Spring Predictions of the Bullpen

It’s early, really early in fact, in the season and in the spring but I like to make predictions. With that said I wanted to take the extremely small spring sample size that I have and I wanted to see if I could take a stab at predicting the Yankees bullpen come Opening Day. This post will likely change and be updated before the calendar turns to April but as it stands right now this is what I am coming up with, for better or worse and for right or for wrong.

CP: Aroldis Chapman

SU: Andrew Miller

SU: Dellin Betances

RP: Chasen Shreve

RP: Nick Rumbelow

RP: Bryan Mitchell

RP: Ivan Nova

RP: James Pazos (while Aroldis is suspended)

This is where much of the post and prediction is going to change before Opening Day. Right now both Jacob Lindgren and James Pazos are struggling but the sample size is extremely small. I can see the Yankees, although I will specify that I know no more than you, sending Lindgren down to Triple-A to make sure he’s right and healthy before making him the conductor of the Scranton Shuttle in 2016. Other than that the list is pretty straight forward and should contain little to no surprises or eye-turners. The big three, Shreve Mitchell and Nova are almost locks while a combination of Pazos, Rumbelow, Lindgren, Nick Goody and Branden Pinder lead the way for one of the final spots in the Yankees bullpen.

Check in a little over a month from now to see how my predictions went when the New York Yankees face off with Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros on Opening Day in the Bronx. 

ICYMI: Yankees Broke a 103-Year Old Record in 2015

The New York Yankees broke a Major League record that has stood for 103 seasons in 2015 when they sent catcher rookie catcher Gary Sanchez up to the plate. The first at bat for Sanchez last season was also the first at bat of his MLB career and his Major League debut. Sanchez was the 18th member of the New York Yankees to make his Major League debut which is an MLB record that passed the 1903 New York Highlanders. 

The 2015 season can easily be described as the Year of the Prospect as many top prospects have made their way to the Major Leagues this season. The Cubs seemingly have a new stud rookie starting at every position this season, the Twins called up MLB's top prospect Byron Buxton and the Dodgers called up new MLB top prospect Corey Seager this season and the Yankees even called up their top prospect in Luis Severino. In fact the Yankees have called up a lot of prospects this season and let a slew of them make their Major League debut's with the team, 18 of them to be exact setting a new MLB record that stood for over 100 seasons.


Back in 1912 the New York Highlanders watched as a whopping 17 rookies made their Major League debut's including George Batten, Curt Coleman, Iron Davis, John Dowd, Benny Kauff, Ray Keating, Jack Little, Pat Maloney, Jack Martin, Bill Otis, Del Paddock, Al Schulz, George Shears, Klondike Smith, Dutch Sterrett, Homer Thompson and Tommy Thompson.

The impressive list of Yankees players to make their MLB debut's with the team in 2015 included Matt Tracy, Branden Pinder, Slade Heathcott, Jacob Lindgren, Ramon Flores, Mason Williams, Danny Burawa, Jose De Paula, Diego Moreno, Nick Rumbelow, Robert Refsnyder, Caleb Cotham, Nick Goody, Luis Severino, Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez, James Pazos and Rico Noel.


Any time a team gets this close to breaking a record I sort of hope for it to happen, I can't lie. I am a sucker for history. The main difference between the 1912 New York Highlanders and the 2015 New York Yankees is that the Highlanders only won 50 games while the Yankees would have finished a mere 50 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox had it not been for a September collapse of sorts. The latter may be a slight exaggeration but it goes to show you just how far the Yankees farm system, as underrated as it is, has come in recent seasons.

TGP Prospects Month Top 29 Prospects List - #10 Brady Lail

Ladies and gentleman we have an announcement. We have officially reached the Top 10 of our Top 29 Prospects List here as a part of Prospects Month on The Greedy Pinstripes. We have technically counted down from 30 with James Pazos all the way to #11 Jacob Lindgren and today we enter the best of the best. Everyone talks about the Top 10, everyone releases at least their Top 10 Prospects List. The Top 10 is where it's at and we kick off the Top 10 with one of the best starting pitching prospects in the Yankees system, Brady Lail. Are you hyped yet?

Lail was drafted out of High School by the Yankees in the 18th round of the 2012 Draft and has done nothing but pitch his way all the way to Triple-A and the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders in 2015. Lail now has 37 innings under his belt at the highest minor league level and owns a career 3.13 ERA and 1.168 WHIP with the organization.

Lail is not going to strike out 20 in a game and he's not going to strike out 200 in a season but he is a durable starter that knows how to get advanced hitters out. He reminds me a ton of David Phelps and Adam Warren when they were in the Yankees organization and he reminded me a lot of Rookie Davis as well who was recently traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Aroldis Chapman. Those are not bad comparisons and those comparisons could land Lail in the Major Leagues as soon as 2016. Many don't necessarily know his name yet, he's not the sexy or breakout name like Davis or Luis Severino was, but I have a feeling that by the time we see Prospects Month 2017 you probably will.

10. Brady Lail
11. Jacob Lindgren
12. Bryan Mitchell
13. Drew Finley
14. Mason Williams
15. Slade Heathcott
16. Abi Avelino
17. Hoy-Jun Park
18. Luis Torrens
19. Cale Coshow
20. Chance Adams
21. Miguel Andujar
22. Jonathan Holder
23. Tyler Wade
24. Nick Rumbelow
25.Jordan Montgomery
26.Trey Amburgey
27. Ben Gamel
28. Austin DeCarr
29. Thairo Estrada
30. James Pazos

MLB.com's Pipeline Updated Top 30 Prospects List

Major League Baseball's Pipeline showcases their Top 30 prospects for each and every MLB team across the league and constantly updates the list periodically throughout the season and offseason. Two members of the Yankees Top 30 prospects according to MLB.com's Pipeline were Rookie Davis and Eric Jagielo and both were traded in the deal that brought Aroldis Chapman to the Yankees. MLB.com's Pipeline has updated their Top 30 adding Nick Rumbelow and James Pazos to the list so I figured I would bring you the updated list here in honor of Prospects Month. How does it compare to my list? Hint, it doesn't.


1. Aaron Judge
2. Jorge Mateo
3. James Kaprielian
4. Robert Refsnyder
5. Gary Sanchez
6. Ian Clarkin
7. Jacob Lindgren
8. Tyler Wade
9. Kyle Holder
10. Brady Lail
11. Drew Finley
12. Mason Williams
13. Bryan Mitchell
14. Hoy Jun Park
15. Dustin Fowler
16. Luis Cessa
17. Luis Torrens
18. Miguel Andjuar
19. Juan De Leon
20. Dermis Garcia
21. Abiatal Avelino
22. Slade Heathcott
23. Jordan Montgomery
24. Cale Coshow
25. Domingo Acevedo
26. Leonardo Molina
27. Thairo Estrada
28. Ben Gamel
29. Nick Rumbelow
30. James Pazos

Congrats to both Rumbelow and Pazos. They are two reliable arms that will likely be a big part of the Yankees bullpen in 2016. Stay well fellas.

TGP Prospects Month Top 29 Prospects Lit - #25 Jordan Montgomery

The New York Yankees made left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery their fourth round pick in the 2014 MLB First Year Players Draft after drafting him out of the University of South Carolina. Montgomery is the typical large-framed pitcher the Yankees have seemingly fallen in love with as the southpaw stands at 6'5" and weighs in at 225 lbs.

Montgomery is one of those starting pitchers that may take a couple seasons to get to the Major Leagues but he's taken great strides in Tampa and Charleston. Montgomery is 22-years old now and has thrown 134 innings at the A-Ball level with a sub-three ERA. Montgomery was a polished college pitcher after being drafted as a Junior and could be a quick mover through the Yankees system.

It is not inconceivable that Montgomery could start the season in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder next season and could be in Triple-A by the end of the season giving him a 2017 ETA, or sooner.

25. Jordan Montgomery
26. Trey Amburgey
27. Ben Gamel
28. Austin DeCarr
29. Thairo Estrada
30. James Pazos

Year	Age	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2014	21	A--Rk	1	1	3.79	10	7	19.0	16	10	8	0	6	20	1.158	7.6	0.0	2.8	9.5
2014	21	Rk	0	1	4.76	3	3	5.2	5	4	3	0	2	5	1.235	7.9	0.0	3.2	7.9
2014	21	A-	1	0	3.38	7	4	13.1	11	6	5	0	4	15	1.125	7.4	0.0	2.7	10.1
2015	22	A+-A	10	8	2.95	25	24	134.1	118	51	44	5	36	132	1.146	7.9	0.3	2.4	8.8
2015	22	A	4	3	2.68	9	9	43.2	36	15	13	1	12	55	1.099	7.4	0.2	2.5	11.3
2015	22	A+	6	5	3.08	16	15	90.2	82	36	31	4	24	77	1.169	8.1	0.4	2.4	7.6
All Levels (2 Seasons)			11	9	3.05	35	31	153.1	134	61	52	5	42	152	1.148	7.9	0.3	2.5	8.9

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

TGP Prospects Month Top 29 Prospects List - #28

Yesterday we kicked off Prospect Month and we kicked off our reveal of the Top 29 (or 30 if you read the article) Prospects List like we do every day of Prospects Month. Today will be no different as we take the next step towards the top with the #28 prospect in the Yankees system, Mr. Austin DeCarr. DeCarr was drafted in the 2014 MLB First Year Players Draft out of Salisbury Prep School. DeCarr decided to head to the Prep School rather than college after undergoing a surgery on his elbow to remove bone spurs and thought it would be the best case scenario for himself and his future, seems like it worked out well for him.

DeCarr is another one of those big framed pitchers the Yankees love to draft standing at 6'3" and weighing in at 220 lbs. DeCarr uses that big body to throw in the 92-94 MPH range and can touch 96 when he has to. DeCarr also has a power curveball and a changeup, albeit raw at this point. You have to expect some control and command issues, especially with secondary pitches, with "high school" pitchers though but it was good enough for DeCarr to land on our Top Prospects list at the #28 position.

Austin DeCarr

6' 3" - 220 lbs - RHP 

Year	Lg	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2014	GULF	Rk	2	1	4.63	11	8	23.1	20	13	12	1	7	24	1.157	7.7	0.4	2.7	9.3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

28. Austin DeCarr

29. Thairo Estrada

30. James Pazos

DeCarr was much higher on the list but as you can see by the stat line the righty missed the 2015 season due to injury. DeCarr is finally deemed healthy after having Tommy John surgery in 2014 and should be back sometime in 2016 as he looks to climb back to the top of this list. 

TGP Prospects Month Top 29 Prospects - #29

It’s that time of the year again Yankees family, it’s when I tackle the impossible task of trying to rank the top prospects inside the Yankees organization during our annual Prospects Month. Now normally, either for the sake of simplicity or for the sake of being a little bit different, we release one prospect a day to make up a Top 28 Prospect List but this time around there are 29 days in the month so we’re going with a Top 29 Prospects list. We start at the bottom and build up anticipation so today we bring you the 29^th best prospect in the Yankees organization in my opinion, Thairo Estrada.

Estrada is a shortstop by trade but was recently bumped from the position to give first round draft pick Kyle Holder the innings there in his first professional season. Estrada is not the biggest guy on the field and is what I like to call the Brett Gardner of the infield but he’s athletic enough and has a strong enough arm to make it at second base in the big leagues. Estrada, if he continues on this path of development, has a real shot at reaching the Major Leagues and sticking around for a while.

Thairo Estrada

5'10" 155 lbs. shortstop and second baseman

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2013	17	Rk	49	199	28	49	11	2	17	7	12	30	.278	.350	.432	.782
2014	18	A--Rk	23	90	13	22	3	0	6	8	7	11	.272	.337	.309	.646
2014	18	Rk	6	23	2	6	2	0	4	0	1	4	.273	.304	.364	.668
2014	18	A-	17	67	11	16	1	0	2	8	6	7	.271	.348	.288	.637
2015	19	A-	63	279	37	66	17	2	23	8	23	30	.267	.338	.360	.698

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Also, just for an even number’s sake, if I were to pick a 30^th prospect for a nice, round and even number I would have gone with left-handed relief pitcher James Pazos. Pazos proved last season in a small sample size that he was capable of getting Major League hitters out and especially capable of limiting left-handed batters at the big league level. You don’t get added to the Wild Card Playoff round roster for nothing!

29. Thairo Estrada
30. James Pazos

Check back in tomorrow when we cover our 28^th best prospect in the organization and all month long as we count down to #1. This is Prospects Month 2016.