What Do I Think About The Yankees Youngsters?

When thinking about Yankees prospects I can't help but smile. And I'm not even that big a prospect guy, unlike some of my collegues here. So to help sort things out I made a list, and decided to share it with you.

FYI, I decided to use the Top 30 list created by MLB.com, as well as include players on the big club that are under 27 years old.

Now, I did leave off some players under 27, who I felt simply weren't worth listing. That would be Chasen Shreve, Nick Goody, Johnny Barbato, Tyler Olson, Brandon Pinder, Aaron Hicks, and Ronald Torreyes.

A few notes before you read it below...

1. The number in parenthesis is their ranking on the Top 30.

2. An asterisk next to their name means they have played more than the position they are listed under. That isn't to say some players can't play other positions in the future.

3. There are players on the Top 30 List that have already appeared in the Majors.

4. I didn't split up the starting and relief pitchers. This wasn't supposed to be me trying to guess what role each guy would pitch in. So you can talk about that if you want.

Okay, so without any further ado, here you go...

Catcher - Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez (5), Luis Torrens (16), Donny Sands (28)

First Base - Greg Bird, Chris Parmelee, Rob Refsnyder*

Second Base - Starlin Castro, Jorge Mateo* (3), Tyler Wade* (14), Hoy Jun Park* (22), Kyle Holder* (27), Rob Refsnyder*

Shortstop - Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres (2), Jorge Mateo* (3), Wilkerman Garcia (11), Tyler Wade* (14), Hoy Jun Park* (22), Kyle Holder* (27)

Third Base - Miguel Andujar (8)

Outfield - Rob Refsnyder*, Clint Frazier (1), Aaron Judge (4), Blake Rutherford (6), Dustin Fowler (12), Billy McKinney (15), Mason Williams (23), Ben Gamel (24), Jake Cave (25), Trey Amburgey (29), Leonardo Molina (30)

Pitcher - Masahiro Tanaka, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, Luis Severino, Luis Cessa, Justus Sheffield (7), Domingo Acevedo (9), James Kaprielian (10), Chance Adams (13), Ian Clarkin (17), Drew Finley (18), Jordan Montgomery (19), Jacob Lindgren (20), Chad Green (21), Dietrich Enns (26)

Most Popular Article of the Week: 2015 Midseason Yankees Top 30 Prospects

by: Ben Embry

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!