The Yankees have seven players on the MLB.com top 100 prospect list
Mlb.com announced their 2017 top 100 prospects list on Monday and the Yankees have a five players in the top 50 and seven overall in the top 100.
To land on the top 100 list, a player must still have rookie eligibility. A player must not have exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues, or have accumulated 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the 25-player limit period.
Aaron Judge is the only Yankees of the seven on the list who has had experience in the majors. He is currently rated the 45th best prospect in baseball.
His major accomplishment is that when he made his debut on August 13 against the Tampa Bay Rays he hit his first major league home run in his first at-bat. Tyler Austin was the previous batter and he also hit a homer in his first at-bat. This was the first time that two teammates hit homers in their first at-bats in the same game.
He appeared in 27 games after being called up in the beginning of August this season and had 15 hits in 84 at-bats (.179 average) with four homers, 10 runs scored, 10 RBI and 42 strikeouts and only nine walks. He strikeout rate was his major weakness as he struck out in 42 of his 95 total at-bats, which is 44 percent of his at-bats.
Judge’s stats will likely be much better in the 2017 season than they were in his 27 games last season based on how he performed in the minor leagues.
In 2014, while playing with Single-A Charleston and High-A Tampa, he had a combined .308 average with 17 homers, 24 doubles, 78 RBIs, a .419 on-base percentage and a .486 slugging percentage.
In 2015, after performing well at Double-A Trenton in 63 games he was promoted to Triple-A. He struggled at the highest minor league level with a stat line of a .224 average, eight homers, 10 doubles, 28 RBI, a .308 on-base percentage and a .373 slugging percentage.
However, the massive righty (6'7", 275 pounds) with lots of power who has been compared to Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins, had much more success overall at Triple-A Scranton in 2016. In 93 games, (352 at-bats/410 plate appearances) he had a solid .270 average with 19 homers, 18 doubles, 62 runs scored, 65 RBI, a .366 on-base percentage and a .489 slugging percentage.
Judge is a Rookie of the Year candidate if he can improve at a similar rate as he did in his two stints with the Triple-A RailRiders.
Gleyber Torres
Going to near the top of the rankings, the third ranked prospect is shortstop Gleyber Torres. He was the main part of the package of players that the Yankees received from the Cubs in the Aroldis Chapman trade before the trade deadline. His estimated time of arrival in the majors is 2018.
In 2016, he played 94 games with the Cubs High-A affiliate and 31 games with the Yankees High-A affiliate and at 19 was about two to three years younger than most players at that level. In 125 games last season (478 at-bats) he had a .270 average with 11 homers, 29 doubles, 21 steals, 66 RBI, a .354 on-base percentage and a .421 slugging percentage. He projects as a player who could consistently have 20 homer, 20 steal seasons at the major league level.
In 2015, with Single-A South Bend he had an impressive .293 average in 119 games with five triples, 24 doubles, 22 steals, 53 runs scored and a .386 slugging percentage.
Torres, whose first minor league season was when he was 17, was selected to play in the prestigious Arizona Fall League after the 2016 season and became the youngest MVP and batting champion (.403) in the 25 seasons of the AFL.
Scouts say that: He has exceptionally quick hands that allow him to excel at the dish and in the field. He’s very advanced at the plate, recognizing pitches well, displaying patience and using the entire field. His power projections seem to increase each year as he adds strength and experience, and he now looks like he’ll deliver 20-plus homers on an annual basis in his prime.
Didi Gregorius had a very productive season in 2016, so the team’s plans at the shortstop position will very much depend on how he performs this season. Torres will likely begin the 2017 season at Double-A, which is when the Yankees will really be able to predict his true potential.
Clint Frazier
Frazier is the 24th rated prospect in all of baseball. The Yankees received him in the trade with the Indians for Andrew Miller before the trade deadline. The red head was the fifth overall pick bythe Indians in the 2013 draft.
Frazier, who is from Loganville, Georgia, was the 24th best prospect by MLB.com before the 2016 season. He is known for his unbelievably fast bat speed. He was 24th in the overall rankings, behind Torres who was 3rd, but after the 2016 season he was ranked 1st overall among Yankees prospects.
He projects to be called up to the majors sometime in the 2017 campaign. In 2015, while playing for High-A Lynchburg in the Carolina League he played in 133 games and had a very good .285 average with 15 steals, 16 homers, 36 doubles, 72 RBIs, 88 runs scored and a .465 slugging percentage. He also projects as a player who can have 20 homer and 20 steal seasons.
In 2016, he played at Double-A (89 games) and Triple-A (5 games) in the Indians organization, and then once he was traded he was with the Triple-A RailRiders for the rest of the season. After performing well at Double-A with a .276 average, 13 homers, 13 steals, 25 doubles, 48 RBI and .469 slugging percentage the left fielder earned a promotion to Triple-A.
After a few games at Triple-A with the Indians affiliate he would struggle in his 101 at-bats to end the season with the RailRiders with two doubles, three homers, seven RBI and a low .228 average. However, in the Triple-A playoffs, in his last 12 at-bats he had five hits (.417) with an RBI.
When he was with the RailRiders 30 of his 101 at-bats with the RailRiders ended in a K. On the positive side, earlier in the season with Double-A, he showed he can have a better strikeout rate as 86 of his 341 at-bats ended in a K (25 percent).
“Though he struggled to harness his aggressive approach and recognize spin early in his career, Frazier has developed into a more complete hitter as he’s climbed the Minor League ladder, with strikeout and walk rates that continue to trend in a positive direction,” a scout said on MLB.com.
“Frazier has solid speed and is a capable center fielder. He’s the best equipped of New York’s top outfield prospects to play center, though he also has a strong arm and easily could shift over to right field if needed.” He will start the season at Triple-A and could replace Jacoby Ellsbury or Brett Gardner in the middle of the season if either is injured or traded.
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Blake Rutherford
Rutherford is the 37th ranked overall prospect and was pick number 18 in the first round by the Yankees in the 2016 draft out of Chaminade Prep High in California. In two different levels of rookie league in 2016 (33 games) Rutherford had a .351 average with three homers, 12 RBI and 16 runs scored and a .570 slugging percentage.
He is a highly rated overall prospect for a player who was drafted as recently as 2016. This means he is probably projected to rise relatively quickly through the system.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com thinks that Rutherford has big upside. He thinks that he could be an everyday center fielder, possibly at an elite-level. Rutherford estimated time of arrival in the majors is 2020 and could begin this season with the short season Single-A Staten Island Yankees and then move up to Single-A Charleston.
He was part of the U.S. national 18-and-under team that won the 2015 World Cup in Japan.
“Rutherford is a rare talent who has the chance to hit for plus average and power. He has a smooth left-handed stroke with plenty of bat speed, recognizes pitches well, shows signs of patience and uses the entire field,” a scout said on MLB.com.
“Evaluators grade his arm anywhere from fringy to above average, and he could become the type of athletic left fielder needed at Yankee Stadium. He has drawn comparisons to a more athletic version of David Justice, part of New York’s 2000 World Series championship club.”
Jorge Mateo
Mateo is the 47th ranked prospect going into the 2017 campaign and is the third ranked prospect in the Yankees organization. He was signed as a shortstop out of the Dominican Republic and played shortstop only from 2012 through 2015 but this season he started 40 games at second as well to add some versatility.
It is possible that he should play second base as he moves higher up in the minors since he only had one error in 40 starts at second with High-A Tampa this season but in his other 61 games started at shortstop with Tampa he had 17 errors. Mateo will likely begin the season with Double-A Trenton and his estimated time of arrival in the majors is 2018. If he continues to develop and improves on his weaknesses he could eventually replace Starlin Castro.
He has a lot of speed and is very adept at stealing bases. In 96 games with Single-A Charleston in 2015, Mateo had an impressive 71 steals to go with a .268 average, eight triples, 18 doubles, 33 RBI and a .338 on-base percentage. In 113 games at High-A Tampa in 2016, when he was still about 1.5 years younger than most players at the level, he had a .254 average with 16 doubles, 65 runs scored, 47 RBI and showed his speed with nine triples and 36 steals. This is a downgrade from 2015 but sometimes that happens in the minors.
In 2016, his season was a little up and down as he was suspended for two weeks as a result of insubordination, which prevented him from going to the Futures Game. His scouting grade was an impressive 80 out of 80.
“He can get to the right side of the plate to first base in only 4.0 seconds,” MLB.com said. “While his speed gets the most attention, Mateo has a nice array of tools. His deceptive strength gives him solid raw power and he has an offensive ceiling of a .275 hitter with 15 homers per season. Few players can match his combination of quickness and arm strength.”
James Kaprielian
Kaprielian is rated the 58th best prospect in baseball and MLB.com rates him the 9th best prospect in the Yankees organization. The Yankees drafted the pitcher out of UCLA with the 16th overall pick in 2015. Kaprielian was the highest-drafted college pitcher in franchise history.
He pitched a total of 11 innings professionally in 2015 (2 innings in rookie league and 9 innings with Low-A Staten Island) and had a 1.64 ERA with 14 strikeouts and only two walks. He then had to miss all of the 2016 season except for three games in the beginning of the season with High-A Tampa because of elbow soreness that became a flexor strain.
When he was at UCLA, Kaprielian was arguably the best pitcher in the PAC-12 Conference. He earned All-PAC-12 first team honors in 2015 after going 10–4 with a 2.03 ERA in 17 appearances (16 starts). He led the PAC-12 in strikeouts (114) and wins (10) over 106.2 innings. Adding to his stellar junior season was that he threw nine no-hit innings against Arizona, striking out 11, to combine for a 10-inning no-hitter.
He projects as possible №1 or №2 starter down the road. Kaprielian relies on a fastball, curve ball, slider and changeup, with all of his pitches being above average or better. A positive is that he was able to pitch in the Arizona Fall League in 2016, and very well at that in his first start, which means that he is all the way back from his injury. He will likely begin the season with High-A Tampa and then move up to Double-A Trenton after a month or two and then probably make his debut in 2018.
He will add a high quality home grown starting pitcher when the Yankees should be ready to contend in the 2018 season.
“Kaprielian controls and commands his pitches very well, doing a good job of delivering all of them from the same arm slot. Considered more of a pitchability right-hander with a ceiling of a №3 starter when the Yankees drafted him, he’s now showing frontline stuff. If he can stay healthy, he could bolster New York’s rotation in the very near future.”
Justus Sheffield
Sheffield, who is not the nephew of former All-Star outfielder Gary Sheffield, came to the Yankees before the 2016 trade deadline trade that sent Andrew Miller to the Indians. He is the lowest rated Yankee on the top 100 list since he comes in at number 79. The Yankees number one prospect (Frazier) and their number six rated prospect (Sheffield) both came in the Miller trade to the Indians.
Sheffield threw two no-hitters in high school, including a 17-strikeout game as a senior. He finished his senior season 11–0 with a 0.34 ERA and 131 Ks in 61.2 innings pitched. On the offensive side hit hit .405 with three homers. For his all around performance, he was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.
He would be drafted out of his high school in Tennessee as he was selected by the Indians with the 31st pick of the 1st round in 2014.
Last season, with High-A Lynchburg in the Indians organization and two levels of the Yankees minor league system he had a 10–6 record, 3.09 ERA, 129 strikeouts, 53 walks and a 1.27 WHIP in 125.1 innings. After being traded to the Yankees he made five starts with High-A Tampa and one with Double-A Trenton. With Tampa, he had a very good 1.73 ERA in 26 innings with 27 strikeouts and an excellent 0.923 WHIP. He has mastered the High-A level and will begin 2017 with the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
He throws a fastball, slider and changeup with his fastball and slider being his best and most highly rated pitches. He should also be ready for the majors in 2018 like many of the other prospects on this list.
“Because he’s undersized at 5-foot-10, he has to stay on top of his pitches in order to generate much plane,” an MLB.com scout said. “He still needs time to develop, but he’ll also open 2017 at age 20 and has the upside of a №3 starter.”
“He used to throw a curveball but has replaced it with a harder slider that usually arrives in the mid 80s. While his changeup lags behind his other two offerings for now, it flashes bat-missing potential and he could have three solid-or-better offerings once he’s fully formed.”
The amount of players that the Yankees have in MLB.com’s top 100 list will greatly help the Yankees get closer to their next World Series because they will be able to use these players to help the major league team as well as potentially use them in trades to improve other positions of need. There is no guarantee that all of these players will live up to their high ranking but it is definitely promising that they have so many highly rated ones and that the list includes five position players and two pitchers.
