Reviewing MLB Pipeline’s Yankees top 30 prospects update

It’s trade deadline season, and that means the spotlight is a bit brighter on some of the Yankees’ top prospects. Everybody knows the Yankees are in the market for difference makers in the starting rotation, and teams around the league are undoubtedly going to inquire about some of the organization’s most promising young prospects, in addition to players like Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar. MLB Pipeline recently unveiled their midseason update to the Yankees Top 30 Prospects list, and a lot has changed since the beginning of the 2019 season. Here’s how the prospect rankings have changed since the start of the season.

Stock rising

Deivi Garcia

Previous Rank: 4

Current Rank: 1

The Yankees have a new number one overall prospect, and it’s the 20-year-old right-hander drawing comparisons to Pedro Martinez. Garcia began the year as the Yankees’ number four overall prospect, but a 3.38 ERA across three levels and a 13.9 K/9 rate has opened a lot of eyes around the league. At just 20-years-old, Garcia could find himself knocking on the door of the big leagues come September.

Luis Gil

Previous Rank: 13

Current Rank: 4

Garcia isn’t the only right-handed starter making waves in the Yankees system. Gil began the season as the Yankees No. 13 prospect, but a 2.43 ERA in 18 starts and a promotion to High-A Tampa has vaulted the 21-year-old Gil to the No. 4 ranking. Considering Gil was acquired from the Twins in a trade for Jake Cave (a 40-man roster casualty), the Yankees front office has to be excited about his progress.

Yoendrys Gomez

Previous Rank: 27

Current Rank: 8

I recently wrote about Gomez’s rise and speculated that he might flip rankings with Luis Medina from No. 27 to No. 14. The team at MLB.com did him one better, moving the 19-year-old right-hander all the way up to No. 8 overall. Gomez currently owns a 2.78 ERA through 7 starts, after posting a 2.08 ERA in 11 starts last season. That level of consistency and dominance is the reason Gomez is the fastest riser in the system right now.

Stock Falling

Anthony Seigler

Previous Rank: 6

Current Rank: 9

Seigler still has a lot to prove after the Yankees made him their first round draft pick in 2018. He’s still only 20-years-old but his .216/.350/.267 slash line in 54 career minor league games doesn’t jump off the stat sheet. He’s shown an ability to draw walks, but the lack of power has to be concerning, even if he’s only a year removed from high school. Seigler has time to assert himself as a future big league catcher, but his stock is starting to decline.

Trevor Stephan

Previous Rank: 8

Current Rank: 16

Stephan has had a difficult season no matter how you slice it. The former Arkansas Razorback struggled in big league spring training and posted an ugly 6.27 ERA in ten Double-A starts before he was demoted to High-A Tampa. The 23-year-old has struggled there as well, but recently threw seven no-hit innings, proving that he still has the stuff to dominate minor league competition. He still has time to turn things around, but his stock has suffered thus far in 2019.

Luis Medina

Previous Rank: 14

Current Rank: 21

Medina has great pure stuff, but the production simply hasn’t been there. He’s 1-8 with a 6.90 ERA in 17 Class-A starts this season and his 7.14 BB/9 is discouraging for his future outlook. Medina is still only 20-years-old, but as long as he struggles to find the strike zone his prospect stock is going to suffer.

Newcomers

Jasson Dominguez

Current Rank: 3

It’s not every day that a 16-year-old prospect debuts as the No. 3 overall prospect for his team, but Dominguez is a special prospect. Some scouts have called Dominguez one of the best international prospects they’ve ever come across, and the Yankees liked him enough to give him $5.1 million, so it’s not a huge surprise that he’s considered a top prospect upon signing. In fact, MLB Pipeline already has Dominguez ranked as the No. 72 overall prospect in all of baseball.

Anthony Volpe

Current Rank: 11

The Yankees selected Volpe with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft, and he debuts as their No. 11 prospect. Much like Seigler, nobody will expect him to slug .500 straight out of high school, but he’ll have to flash some upside to see his stock rise over the next year. In 25 games for Pulaski, Volpe has posted a .352 OBP and connected for 6 extra-base hits in 87 at-bats.

Alexander Vizcaino

Current Rank: 14

Previously Unranked

Vizcaino not only finds himself on the MLB Pipeline Top 30 for the first time, he jumps all the way to No. 14, ahead of mainstays like Stephan, Nick Nelson, and Mike King. The 22-year-old Dominican right-hander has always had good stuff, but his fastball took a jump this season, touching triple digits, and he’s throwing an improved curveball. In 16 starts at Class-A Charleston, Vizcaino posted a 10.37 K/9, earning him a promotion to High-A Tampa, where he’ll look to build on a strong 2019.