Offseason Prospect News Roundup

We have reached quite possibly my least favorite time of the year. Not just due to the cold, dark, dampness of Vermont winters, but also because it has been a couple of months since the baseball season ended and while we are getting closer to Spring Training, it still feels like it will never get here. The good news is that Pitchers and Catchers report in less than a month, there will be Spring Training games to watch, and eventually, Opening Day will arrive (and hopefully the snow will have left Vermont by then).

While the news about the Astros cheating scandal and the fact that they will be searching for a new manager, along with the Red Sox and Mets, has dominated the conversation this past week, I figured I’d break from that and take a look at what some of the Yankees’ prospects have been up to during the offseason.

First, the Yankees made a minor move that you may have missed due to Astrosgate (Buzzergate?). The Yankees traded lefty pitcher Stephen Tarpley (along with cash) to the Marlins for third baseman James Nelson. Tarpley had been designated for assignment after making 31 appearances with the Yankees. Nelson is 22 and spent last season with Jupiter in Single-A. Nelson had been on the Marlins Top 30 Prospects lists in the past, but some injury struggles have stalled him a bit.

Top Yankees’ Prospect, Deivi Garcia, attributed his late-season success in part to his experience in the Futures Game last year. He had a stellar outing and was promoted to Scranton right after the game, giving the young hurler a nice confidence boost. Hopefully, he can hang onto that during the spring, as all eyes will certainly be on Garcia.

Baseball America actually has Garcia ranked third on their Prospect list. It is the not quite 17-year-old Jasson Dominguez who they gave the top spot. This might seem strange for a kid who hasn’t seen a single pitch in a professional game, but there is a reason the Yankees dropped over $5 million on the outfielder. He recently joined Twitter and showed off just why he got that payday.

MLB Pipeline has Clarke Schmidt tapped to be the Yankees’ breakout candidate for the upcoming season. Schmidt is a good choice, given that he had Tommy John surgery right before being drafted and had a slow start to his career. Since recovering, however, he’s shown why the Yankees drafted him and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see him make his MLB debut this year.

Those are just a few notes on some of the Yankees’ top prospects. As we get closer to the start of Spring Training, it will be interesting to see who makes an impact down in Florida. What players are you excited to see start to make their move up the ladder this year?