2014 Mid-season Yankees Prospect Rankings

by: Ben Embry

The MLB Draft signing deadline is just a few days away, and that's typically when I do my mid-season system rankings. The Yankees only had 2 that would have made this list and they both signed early, so I feel no need to hold off any longer. There are still 1 or 2 draftees still sitting out there that may make the hitters/pitchers rankings so I'll hold off until next weekend to finalize those lists.  Ok, here's the updated top 30 list:

Rank	Name	POS
1	Luis Severino	SP
2	Aaron Judge	RF
3	Gary Sanchez	C
4	J.R. Murphy	C
5	Ian Clarkin	SP
6	Eric Jagielo	3B
7	Greg Bird	1B
8	Rob Refsnyder	2B/LF
9	Mason Williams	CF
10	Slade Heathcott	CF
11	Luis Torrens	C
12	Tyler Austin	RF/1B
13	Gosuke Katoh	2B
14	Abiatal Avelino	SS
15	Jorge Mateo	SS
16	Shane Greene	SP
17	Peter O'Brien	C/3B/1B
18	Manny Banuelos	SP
19	Ty Hensley	SP
20	Jacob Lindgren	RP
21	Jose Ramirez	RP
22	Leonardo Molina	CF
23	Austin DeCarr	SP
24	Jake Cave	CF
25	Rafael de Paula	SP
26	Miguel Andujar	3B
27	Brady Lail	SP
28	Jose Campos	SP
29	Bryan Mitchell	SP
30	Tyler Wade	SS

Well, first thing's first: we have a new number 1 prospect. Luis Severino has jumped from outside of the top 10 to the indisputable number one spot. He's appearing in the Futures Game as I type this. He's got 3 pitches that are plus or have potential to be plus, (I hear the slider may not be there right now but it flashes), with good combination of velocity, (touches 97 regularly), and control. Only knock is size, (Baseball America lists him at 6'1"), but that's minor in my opinion. He made Baseball America's mid-season top 50 overall list, the only Yankee prospect to do so. He was an easy selection for the top spot.

[UPDATE: I had Sanchez #2 over Judge but made the switch after seeing Keith Law's recent prospect rankings.]

Gary Sanchez is still doing his "not really impressing but not falling off a cliff" thing that he did last year. It seems to me he hasn't shown the true offensive ability since going to high A in 2012. Aaron Judge has been beasting A-ball and getting in base at a high-clip, too. He recently made Keith Law's top 50 prospects list, (which Severino did not make, coincidentally).

Boy I was totally flummoxed with what to do with Rob Refsnyder. His stats this season have obviously been terrific and the Yankees have been aggressively pushing him up the system to the point where it appears he'll make it to the big club at some point soon. I know his defense lacks something to be desired at 2B, which gave me pause putting him top 10. So I had to poll some trusted friends and I got enough of a positive to put him at 8. He'll either have to make significant strides or keep producing at a high clip at the plate to maintain top 10 status, though.

Three perennial top prospects are sliding for me, that being Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott, and Tyler Austin. Injuries have plagued the latter two while Williams just seems unable to develop the offensive game to get him to the pros. The defense has always been there, but he's not been good at the plate since moving to high A two years ago. Heathcott is missing another season of developing and I've just gotten to the point with him I don't think he'll ever stay healthy enough to make it. Austin's prospect status is so dependent on his offense and it's not been good since his wrist injury.

I'm excited about what I'm hearing about Luis Torrens. He struggled a bit in low A to start the season and it seemed like putting him there was a mistake. But a shoulder injury that required about a month to heal allowed management to correct that mistake and put him in short season Staton Island where he has flurished thus far.  Defense at catcher, despite only moving there after signing with the team in 2012, is his calling card but he's showing promise at the plate. Baseball America's Ben Badler recently tweeted he thinks Torrens is a top 10 system prospect and if he keeps it up, he'll be there for me by seasons end.

Two other guys that have helped themselves tremendously this year are Shane Greene and Peter O'Brien. Greene has pitched wonderfully for the Yankees since being called up. His splitter is a legit out pitch and touches mid-90s. He clearly wants to stay and I hope he gets the chance. Peter O'Brien has been Hulk-smashing the ball this year and is embroiled in an exciting HR race with Joey Gallo and Kris Bryant.  It's fair to say those 2 are considered much superior prospects; All 3 are in today's Future Game and I hope Pete shows he belongs on the same stage.

Overall the system is looking improved since the beginning of the year. We've got some real talent in the lower levels but we've been saying that for a couple years. Kids will have to start breaking through the way Greene and Dellin Betsnces has, (and the way Refsnyder is about to), if we Yankee fans hope to see the farm system start paying dividends.

Ok, that's all I've for today. I'll have hitters/pitchers rankings next week and updated team draft rankings sometime after that. Hit me up with your thoughts on twitter at @thebronxempire or email me at info@thebronxempire.com. Have a good day!