Yankees land 5 on Fangraph's top 100 list

A few years ago, the Yankees had one of the best farm systems in Major League Baseball. They had guys who were just on the cusp like Severino, Sanchez, Judge, Andujar, Gleyber. They were all in the system or well on their way to the big leagues.

The Yankees have won a lot of games the last few years, so no one has really noticed that the farm system has kind of taken a step back. That is definitely ok though. The point is to have a strong MLB team while using the farm system to supplement that, either via trade or call up.

However, the farm, as we are hearing about recently, may be making a comeback. Fangraphs just released their top 100 prospects list, and the Yankees landed five players on that list, which is the most they’ve had since Gleyber and Andujar were numbers 12 and 14, respectively.

Guys you already know about

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of these first two players. Deivi Garcia and Jasson Dominguez. Garcia came in at #42 on this list, and Dominguez #49. Fangraphs gave Garcia a future overall grade of 55 (out of the 20-80 scouting scale), which basically means he will more than likely be an above average major leaguer. Garcia’s issue with scouts has always been his size; he is only 5’10”. However, his stuff can’t be ignored. Here are the grades he received:

“Garcia has big stuff. He works 91-95, mostly at the top of the zone when he’s locating, and backs up that pitch with a knee-buckling, old school 12-to-6 curveball that has big depth and bite.” That sounds pretty awesome. Bet on Garcia at least making a spot start for the Yankees this summer, and perhaps even a bullpen arm for the postseason.

Next is Jasson Dominguez, and this guy may be the most exciting player in our system since Aaron Judge. They have dubbed him “The Martian” because for a just turned 17 year old, he doesn’t seem human. He is doing this kinda stuff already:

Impressive. Here are the grades that Fangraphs gave him, AS A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD:

There is no doubt in my mind that Dominguez will be higher on this list come next season. He is only going to get better as he grows into his body and realizes his potential.

The New Guys

There are 3 Yankees farmhands that are exclusively on Fangraph’s list. They grades their prospects a little different than other sites, for instance, they were super high on Miguel Andujar (#14) right before his breakout 2018 campaign. He wasn’t ranked nearly that high anywhere else.

Kevin Alcantara, a center fielder who hasn’t even turned 18 yet, was ranked at #81. Alcantara is a classic high-risk, high-reward guy. He has some loud tools, but has yet to bring them into game-play, hence the large variance between his present/future grades.

You can tell he is a tall and wiry guy from the video below:

Ezequiel Duran, a 20-year-old in A ball, comes in at #85. Duran is a classic infield power masher; except he is agile enough to be able to play second base adequately. He reminds me of a Brian Dozier type of player. A stockier guy, not stellar in the field, but the power will play at that position if he is able to stick there defensively.

Alexander Vargas, an 18 year old shortstop, comes in at #90. Described as “flashy,” Vargas projects to be a plus fielder with an above average arm with great quick twitch ability. His bat, however, is not there quite yet, which isn’t a problem for an 18 year old glove-first guy. As you can tell from his future grades, he is expected to eventually have above average hit and power tools, while also being a fantastic runner.