While top prospects like Jorge Mateo and Aaron Judge are earning reps in major league camp, the Yankees opened up their minor league camp on Monday. Minor leaguers play a few scrimmages, but primarily focus on drills and batting practice to get players in shape for the upcoming season.
The Yankees assign their players to work groups, which serve tentative rosters for their four highest-level minor league clubs. While the first assignments give little idea about who will be assigned to which level, they list everyone who is at camp. They will be worth following as they increasingly begin to become more accurate as camp goes on. The Yankees currently have seventy players in major league camp, so fans should be able to gain a better idea of where prospects will start the season as the Yankees trim their roster.
Chad Jennings over at the LoHud Yankees blog has the full list of work group assignments here, and also has updates about the progress of certain prospects. A few notable bits of news include the fact that multiple Yankees pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery, including Ian Clarkin, are in camp and show no signs of additional problems. Clarkin was ranked 9th on our offseason rankings of the top 30 Yankees prospects.
Another player on our list, 19 year-old catcher Luis Torrens, who we have as the #25 prospect in the system, will start the season in low-A Charleston after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury, Jennings confirmed in a conversation with Yankees Vice President of player development Gary Denbo. Denbo also pointed out first base prospect Chris Gittens, a 22 year-old who hit .363 with eight home runs in just 124 at-bats in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. According to Denbo, Gittens regularly hit home runs over the center field batter’s eye in batting practice.
Again, while early assignments do not give us much indication about player assignments, they still serve as a reminder about the Yankees’ strong minor league system. With the season starting in less than a month, players should become more ready for the season as minor league camp continues.
