Yankees announce 2019 minor league assignments

The Yankees celebrated Opening Day yesterday, but the new season doesn’t stop there. Minor League Baseball kicks off their schedule on Thursday, April 4th. With just days to go before the full-season affiliates see in-game action, it’s crunch time for roster decisions. Earlier today, the Yankees released assignments for their various clubs. While these could always change, they provide a useful starting point for anyone following the farm system.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRides (Triple-A)

Manager: Jay Bell

Catchers: Kyle Higashioka, Ryan Lavarnway

Infielders: Thairo Estrada, Gosuke Katoh, Gio Urshela, Mike Ford, Ryan McBroom, Tyler Wade

Outfielders: Clint Frazier, Billy Burns, Matt Lipka, Zack Zehner

Pitchers: Chance Adams, Nestor Cortes Jr., Danny Coulombe, J.P. Feyereisen, David Hale, Drew Hutchison, David Sosebee, Rex Brothers, Cale Coshow, Raynel Espinal, Gio Gonzalez, Joe Harvey, Adonis Rosa

Just as recently as last year, the RailRiders proved a team overflowing with prospects. While the upper-level talent graduated to the big leagues, Triple-A Scranton still has plenty of interesting players. Frazier and Gonzalez stand out as two who could quickly earn a call to the big leagues. Wade also had an electric spring. It should be fun to see if he keeps that going. Jonathan Loaisiga also has his name listed on the site, but not in the graphic. Interesting.

Trenton Thunder (Double-A)

Manager: Pat Osborn

Catchers: Francisco Diaz, Jorge Saez

Infielders: Angel Aguilar, Chris Gittens, Wendell Rijo, Mandy Alvarez, Kyle Holder, Brandon Wagner

Outfielders: Trey Amburgey, Jhalan Jackson, Jeff Hendrix, Ben Ruta

Pitchers: Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, Daniel Alvarez, Will Carter, Nick Green, Brody Koerner, Trevor Lane, Jose Mesa Jr., Nick Nelson, Kaleb Ort, James Reeves, Trevor Stephan, Garrett Whitlock

The Yankees have a farm system defined by pitching prospects. Double-A Trenton shows why with their collection of young arms. Abreu and Acevedo have high-octane stuff, while Stephan and Whitlock took big steps forward last year.

Tampa Tarpons (High-A)

Manager: Aaron Holbert

Catchers: Jason Lopez, Donny Sands

Infielders: Oswaldo Cabrera, Dermis Garcia, Welfrin Mateo, Diego Castillo, Chris Hess, Steven Sensley

Outfielders: Rashad Crawford, Tyler Hill, Isiah Gilliam, Pablo Olivares

Pitchers: Braden Bristo, Deivi Garcia, Rony Garcia, Janson Junk, Brooks Kriske, Dalton Lehnen, Glenn Otto, Clarke Schmidt, Anderson Severino, Jefry Valdez, Greg Weissert, Miguel Yajure, Kyle Zurak

The Tarpons will be cool to keep an eye on because of Schmidt, the team’s first round pick in 2017. He’s fully healthy and ready to pitch a full season. Deivi Garcia also has potential to take on helium and rapidly ascend through the system. That should be fun! Unfortunately Dermis Garcia will no longer proceed as a two-way player. Bummer.

Charleston RiverDogs (Low-A)

Manager: Julio Mosquera

Catchers: Josh Breaux, Eduardo Nevas

Infielders: Max Burt, Mickey Gasper, Nelson Gomez, Kyle Gray, Eduardo Torrealba, Eric Wagaman

Outfielders: Frederick Cuevas, Brandon Lockridge, Isaiah Pasteur, Josh Stowers

Pitchers: Daniel Bies, Roansy Contreras, Adonis De La Cruz, Luis Gil, Dalton Higgins, Rodney Hutchison, Aaron McGarity, Luis Medina, Tanner Myatt, Jio Orozco, Matt Sauer, Shawn Semple, Alexander Viscaino

The RiverDogs have some of the more interesting names in the system. Sauer and Breaux are two second round picks. Stowers joined the Yankees as part of the Sonny Gray trade tree. Plus, Medina has fantastic stuff.

Other players not listed may turn up in the affiliate roster page. For now, how do you feel about these assignments? Let us know in the comment section!