The New York Yankees have an unbelievable amount of depth in their farm system, leaving them with some studs that have not even turned 20 years of age yet.
We are currently experiencing a certain movement in New York Yankees baseball that has not been witnessed in ages, a youth movement. The club has a surplus of young talent that are already making their mark in the big leagues: Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird and more.
What if I told you that there is much more where they came from? Well, with all of the hype as of late you would probably believe me. However, you would be surprised to hear that some of the club’s top young talent have not even turned 20 years old yet.
New York has been relying on aging vets to produce for years and after that wasn’t working out, they decided to switch it up a bit and raise their own crop of young stars.
It should be evident that most of these guys will most likely touch a major league field for years to come, but that doesn’t mean they have a tremendous ceiling to reach for.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the Yankees top seven prospects who are still not even legally allowed to walk into a casino:
7. Leonardo Molina
In the summer of 2013, the New York Yankees decided to test the international free agent market by signing outfielder Leonardo Molina who was only 16 years old at the time.
Molina has good speed as well a cannon of an arm, he also has the potential for above-average power with his very athletic frame.
One aspect of Molina’s at-bats that scouts have taken note of is that he has great pitch recognition and does not swing and miss at many pitches, showing great discipline.
The right-hander played his first season in the Yankees minor league system in 2016 when he split time between the Pulaski Yankees and the Charleston RiverDogs.
In 85 games, Molina slashed .226/.290/.382 with nine home runs and 36 RBI’s. Clearly, these are numbers are not too impressive, however, don’t forget that the outfielder was just 18 years old for the majority of the season.
As Molina grows throughout the Yankees system, he should be able to reach his maximum potential within the next few years. However, it will be interesting in 2017 to see how he makes adjustments to these new types of pitchers he is seeing.
6. Rony Garcia
On July 2, 2015, the New York Yankees decided to test the international waters once again by signing right-handed pitcher Rony Garcia.
He currently stands at 6-foot-3 while weighing 200 pounds, a solid frame for a pitcher who just recently turned 19 years old. He still has room to grow, but this will most likely remain his build throughout his career.
Garcia has a tool belt that includes a fastball which sits around 93 m.p.h. and has even topped out at 96. He is also still working on his curveball and changeup to make them dominant assets to his repertoire.
Garcia made his debut within the Yankees system in 2016 where he split time between the Gulf Coast League as well as the Dominican Summer League and was very impressive.
In 12 starts, the right-hander sported a 2.25 ERA with a 7.1 K/9 and surrendering only 13 walks. Opposing batters hit just .219 against Garcia in 2016, he showed the Yankees all that they were hoping him to be.
There is no doubt that it will be a while before Garcia is able to make an impact in the big leagues, but it is promising to see his successful start to his career thus far.
The right-hander will most likely spend most of the 2017 season with the Staten Island Yankees where he will aim to continue his path to the New York Yankees’ big league rotation.
5. Nolan Martinez
With their pick in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected right-handed pitcher Nolan Martinez out of Culver City High School in Culver City, California.
Martinez was the definition of lights out in his senior year, which led the Yankees to heavily scout him. He pitched to an 8-2 record with a 0.49 ERA, striking out 81 batters in 56 2/3 innings.
The 18-year old has a fastball that usually sits around 89-92 m.p.h. and can reach 95 as well as a changeup and curveball which he is still working on.
His same fastball had the highest recorded spin rate, of 2685 rpm, at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship in 2015, which is significant because it makes the pitch much tougher to hit.
Martinez was one of the youngest players to be drafted in the 2016 draft, being just 17 years old on draft day and not turning 18 until three weeks after. This prevented the right-hander from competing in the minors for the majority of 2016 due to age restrictions.
In just seven innings pitched spread out through three starts, Martinez sported a 3.86 ERA with just three strikeouts and surrendering four walks with the Gulf Coast League Yankees.
The right-hander is expected to play a full season for the 2017 campaign and hopefully prove to the organization why they made the right decision in selecting him in the third round of last year’s draft.
4. Dermis Garcia
In 2015 the New York Yankees signed international free agent third baseman Dermis Garcia out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 16.
The main skill of Garcia that led the Yankees to hand the 16-year old a $3.2 million contract was his raw power and his ability to effortlessly launch baseballs into orbit with the swing of a bat.
However, when Garcia debuted in 2015 with the Gulf Coast League Yankees, he struggled tremendously. The third baseman sported a weak .159/.256/.188 slash line with not a single home run in 23 games.
This disaster of a debut started to raise questions asking if the right-hander’s power could actually translate against professional pitching. With these questions being asked, Garcia improved greatly in his 2016 campaign.
In 57 games with the Pulaski Yankees, Garcia sported a .206/.326/.454 slash line with 13 home runs and 24 RBI’s. The batting average could still use some work, but these numbers show great improvement from his debut season.
There is no denying the raw power in which the Dominican-native possess, it is just he will have to find a way to improve his contact if he wants to progress throughout the system.
Nonetheless, Dermis Garcia is a stellar third base prospect in the Yankees system with a ridiculous amount of raw power which gives him the ability to launch monster home runs.
3. Wilkerman Garcia
In July of 2014, the New York Yankees signed international free agent Wilkerman Garcia, from Venezuela, who received a signing bonus of $1.35 million.
Fast-forward two seasons and the kid is currently the number 11 prospect in the Yankees farm system, as well as being the third top shortstop in the system.
The 18-year old is an above average defender at shortstop. As a switch-hitter, he does a great job at seeing the ball well and making contact from both sides of the plate.
The key tools scouts admire when looking at Garcia are his lighting fast speed and his amazing arm strength. He also carries a solid bat which does not carry much pop, but he is efficient at putting the ball in play.
In 2015, Garcia split 39 games between the Dominican Summer League Yankees as well as the Gulf Coast Yanks. In those 39 games, he was able to accumulate a slash line of .299/.414/.362, which was more than impressive as a teenager.
However, Garcia would be unable to replicate these numbers as the 2016 season where he experienced a heavy sophomore slump. In 54 games with the Pulaski Yankees, Garcia sported a poor .198/.255/.284 slash line with just one home run and 13 RBI’s.
The belief within the organization is that the struggles Garcia experienced in Pulaski were solely due to him trying to adjust to a new level at such a young age.
The faith in him is still as high as it was before the season and knowing the veteran mindset of Garcia, he will continue to make adjustments that will naturally come to him as he matures.
The ability to bat switch opens up an endless amount of possibilities for the young shortstop. Couple that with his lightning speed and Garcia’s equipped with abilities that are very coveted commodities within the major leagues.
2. Estevan Florial
As a part of their spending spree a few years ago, the New York Yankees signed outfielder Estevan Florial out of Port au Prince, Haiti.
When the left-handed hitter made his debut in the 2015 season, he lived up to all of the hype and expectations that were placed upon him once he was signed.
In 57 games in the Dominican Summer League, Floria sported a great .313/.394/.527 slash line with seven home runs, 53 RBI’s and 15 stolen bases.
Following this remarkable breakout campaign, expectations were tremendously high for Florial heading into the 2016 season. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to replicate his debut year, experiencing some struggles at the plate in 2016.
In 67 games split between three levels, the Haitian-born outfielder slashed .227/.312/.371 with eight home runs and 10 stolen bases. The power was still there, but he was unable to replicate the stellar batting average.
Despite having struggled in 2016, scouts are still high on Florial due to his massive potential to wreak havoc in the big leagues. He has all of the tools necessary to become a key asset for the Yankees one day.
The left-handed hitter will most likely begin the 2017 season in A ball where it will be interesting to see if he is able to make the necessary adjustments to improve from his disappointing campaign the year before.
1. Blake Rutherford
With their selection in the first round of the 2016 MLB June amateur draft, the New York Yankees selected outfielder Blake Rutherford out of West Hills, California.
Rutherford is a left-handed slugger who has all the tools necessary in order to become a five-tool star in the major leagues for the Yankees.
He has a sweet left-handed swing which gives him the ability to hit for contact as well as being able to include some pop in his bat. He also has a very mature approach to the plate, showing great discipline and not taking any hacks at poor pitches.
Rutherford is currently considered a center fielder due to his athletic build, but as he progresses scouts feel he may wind up at a corner spot if his physicality takes a hit.
However, the outfielder absolutely dazzled in his first season in the organization, in 33 games split between the Gulf Coast League and Pulaski Yankees, Rutherford slashed .351/.415/.570 with three home runs and 13 RBI’s.
MLB Pipeline currently ranks Rutherford as the fifth-best prospect in the Yankees system with an estimated big league debut of 2020, so the 19-year old still has some time to go.
It will be a while before Rutherford is spotted in the Bronx doing big things, but judging by his potential, it will all be worth the wait.