These five Yankees’ prospects could be on top 100 lists in 2021

Prospect ranking season is here, and several top 100 lists have already come out. The Yankees have had three names show up so far: outfielder Jasson Dominguez and right-handed pitchers Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia.

The pitchers have a good chance of seeing the Bronx this season if they are healthy and effective in the minors. The “Martian,” however, is several years away.

Those three are the cream of the crop of the Yankees’ farm system. However, several young players are talented enough to have a great year and jump to next season’s top 100 prospects list with a good season.

Not every prospect qualifies for this exercise. Any player can have an explosive season in the minors in 2020, but he has to have that special pedigree and his numbers should be backed up by scouting traits, tools and abilities to make this list of ballplayers that could be on next year’s round of top 100’s.

Without further ado, here are the five Yankees that missed this year’s list that can be on next year’s:

Estevan Florial

Florial is no stranger to prospect evaluators. In fact, he has been on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list in the past, even as recently as 2019. He missed this year’s edition because he had a very bad season.

Injuries and contact issues have limited his performance and his ceiling. He is, after all, a 22-year old that couldn’t play consistently in High A-Tampa in 2019. But given his athletic ability, speed, improving defense and cannon of an arm, he still has considerable room to grow.

With Florial, it will all depend on whether he can overcome his issues to make solid contact. In 2019, he slashed .237/.297/.383 with eight homers, nine steals and a disappointing .680 OPS in 74 games and 274 plate appearances while striking out 98 times.

If he learns how to cope with advanced hitters and better stuffs in the high minors, he could resurface, save his career, and put his name back in the running.

Anthony Seigler

Seigler was the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2018. He has all the tools to succeed and move up in preseason rankings by this time next year.

Although his stats didn’t quite show it in 2019 — he batted .175/.3287/206 with a .534 OPS in 30 games and 97 plate appearances with Low A-Charleston — he is a very talented batter. Seigler has a smooth, compact swing that doesn’t generate a lot of lift, but offers hope for high averages in the future. He’s learned to read the strike zone as well, nearly walking as much as he struck out.

He has the talent to stick behind the plate, too: he is athletic, his transfer times are unbelievable, he has a very good arm and his framing abilities are promising. 2020 will likely be the season in which we see Seigler’s full potential on display.

Luis Medina

Medina is an exciting prospect, written off for years because of notorious control issues. But something seemed to click at some point in 2019, and his BB% improved significantly. The Yankees are hoping that the improvements stick, and if that’s the case, look out.

Medina is equipped with an 80-grade fastball that can approach triple digits, and a 70-grade curveball that comes at hitters at a little over 80 miles per hour. Those two weapons alone with adequate control and marginal command can help him breeze through some minor league levels.

He would need to hone his command or further develop his changeup/splitter to guarantee a future in the majors, but at this point in his career, he has all the tools to succeed.

His 2019 started in Charleston, and he had a 6.48 BB/9 mark in 93 innings. His last six starts at that level were crucial for his development, as he lowered the BB/9 to 3.09. That improvement alone earned him a promotion to Tampa.

There, he ran a 10.13 K/9, a very impressive 2.53 BB/9 and a 0.84 ERA in two starts. He figures to start 2020 at that level, but is a prime candidate to shoot through the Yankees’ system — and next season’s prospects lists.

Luis Gil

Luis Gil is another power hurler that could stand to benefit from improving his walk rate. He figures to be one of Medina’s rotation mates in Tampa, given that he mastered Charleston — 83.0 IP, 12.14 K/9, 4.23 BB/9, 2.39 ERA, 2.50 FIP in 17 starts — but hasn’t gotten enough work to make it to Double-A Trenton just yet.

The good thing about prospects like Gil and Medina is that, as they earn promotions, they get to receive insights, tips and useful data and information from more experienced, talented coaches. They get other opinions on how to improve their games.

Gil is 21, so his development is far from over. With a good season, Trenton is well within reach. That would mean more attention from prospect evaluators, a natural development caused by being closer to the majors.

Yoendrys Gomez

Gomez is lanky, yet he is still projectable at 20 years old. He can add more muscle and his entire repertoire could stand to improve, but even if it doesn’t, there is enough to make him a more-than-interesting hurler.

His three-quarters arm slot makes him difficult to decipher for hitters, and his mid-90’s fastball is very heavy, with run and sink. The curveball is his best secondary offering, but he also has a good changeup as an improving third pitch.

The control hasn’t been good — 19 walks in 56.1 innings between Pulaski and Charleston in 2019 — but it isn’t horrible either. Any improvements in that area or in his stuff would jump start Gomez’s development, and Gomez could find himself entering the conversation. Before he can accomplish that however, he’ll start his path in Charleston.