Yankees Prospects on Top 100 Lists:

I’m stealing this post idea from the conversation EJ and I had on Monday on the Bronx Beat Podcast. We had a lengthy conversation about what Yankees prospects are currently on the different Top 100 Prospect lists, among other things. If you missed it, check it out! I’m going to go by player, not list. This is not an exhaustive list, as I focused on MLB.com (MLB), Baseball America (BA), Fangraphs (F), and Baseball Prospectus (BP).

Deivi Garcia: MLB: 92, BA: 65, F: 42, BP: 24 The young pitcher flew through Tampa and Trenton last year, ending up in Scranton. He was the prospect people most seemed enthralled by in 2019. A breaking curve was his signature pitch starting the year, but in Trenton he began adding a slider that sits in the mid-80s.

I would expect him to start the year back with the RailRiders, though the fact that Paxton and German won’t be there for opening day and Severino just went down with an injury, his chances of making the big league roster seem to be increasing.

The interesting thing about Garcia on these lists is the range of his ranking. BP has him at 24, while MLB.com has him all the way back at 92. I think the main reason you see this disparity is due to his slight frame. Despite how he has done in the minors, people are still concerned about his durability as a starter. This will be a key year for him. Garcia is right on the edge of making the majors. He has the talent, but are the questions about his size well-founded or are they BS?

Jasson Dominguez: MLB: 54, BA: 38, F: 46, BP: 49

While Garcia’s rankings have quite the range, Dominguez’s rankings are notable for being surprisingly high for someone few people know much about. Garcia, at this point, is that prospect people feel they know, having watched him shoot through the upper levels last season. Dominguez is the polar opposite. As Fangraphs says, “One director told me Dominguez is impossible to evaluate for a list like this, while a former GM told me he was too low.” No one has seen this young phenom, but baseball is excited to see what he can do.

This year is going to be exciting in the minors as we should finally see him on the field. I would expect them to keep him in the Dominican at first, but the Yankees can’t hide him forever. Dominguez has a 70 rating from BA for both power and running, while he is 60 for hitting, fielding, and arm. I cannot wait to see him on the field, but at the same time, I’m not trying to get caught up in the hype.

Clarke Schmidt: MLB: 88 BA: 62, F: N/A, BP: N/A

Schmidt may appear to have crept up on some people. He seems like a player who may have been around for a while, but he was drafted out of South Carolina in 2017. The Yankees knew he needed Tommy John, but in 2018 he quickly made his way through the lower levels.

Schmidt is likely to start back in Trenton this year, possibly going straight to Scranton, but the main thing is he is a player who could quickly make his way to the majors. Once again, given the early injuries and German’s suspension, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Schmidt in the Bronx by the middle of the season.

The Rest of Fangraphs’ rankings: While most of the lists had some combination of Dominguez, Garcia, and Schmidt, Fangraphs bypassed Schmidt and included three lesser-known players. Kevin Alcantara was ranked 81st. He is similar to Dominguez in the sense that he is an international player who people haven’t seen a ton. He is still quite a ways from the majors, though Fangraphs says he is one of “the higher ceiling teenagers” coming up now. If he can get a better handle of the strike zone he will be terrifying at the plate.

Ezequiel Duran played second base for Charleston this year and was ranked 85th by Fangraphs. He had a horrible 2018 in Staten Island, but a strong 2019 showed off his power. He is a stocky guy who is unlikely to move from second base. He needs to work on his contact, but if he figures that out he could become an everyday player.

Alexander Vargas rounds out the Yankees on the Fangraphs list. He was ranked 90th and is a switch-hitting shortstop from Cuba. He played in the Gulf Coast League last year and still has a long way to go. Vargas is a raw player with some fantastic defensive capabilities and the potential to become an offensive threat. Fangraphs clearly likes him. I wouldn’t necessarily be looking out for him this year, but it’ll be interesting to see how far he has come a couple of years from now.