It’s been a big year for Yankees minor league outfielders. Tyler Austin finally turned it around, Aaron Judge emerged as a force, and Jake Cave became a household name for prospect enthusiasts. As with any year, there were some regressions, and a few guys who increased their stock. Overall the outfield is becoming a deep position for this farm, as is indicated by the fact that I had to make the list 15 players long. Here’s the list.
1. Aaron Judge – OF, 6-foot-7, 230-pounds, RHB, 22 – Judge came through this year big time. Many people, including myself, had their doubts when he was drafted given his size. He has shown that he can use his size to his advantage. He has a decent amount of swing and miss, but that comes with the territory of being a behemoth. He is surprisingly agile in the field with an excellent arm and good patterns to the ball. The power has been better than expected, and should only improve. He has good plate discipline to go along with everything else. The overall line was .308/.419/.486/.905 with 17 home runs, 24 doubles, four triples, and 131 K : 89 BB in 131 games this year. He was recently ranked the number 15 prospect in the Florida State League. He should start in Double-A next year.
2. Tyler Austin – RF/3B/1B, 6-foot-1, 220-pounds, RHB, 23 – Tyler Austin got off to another bad start this season making everyone concerned that this might be the end of the road for him as a prospect. Then something clicked with him and he began mashing about mid-way through the season. We all know what Austin can do. He can hit for significant power when running on all cylinders. He is a solid defender in RF, and can play third in a pinch. He is more than capable at first base as well. This versatility may help him carve out a role in the majors if all goes well offensively. April through June were tough months for Austin, but he started blasting the ball in July and August. In July and August, he hit .302/.353/.482/.836 with six homeruns. We all know how small sample sizes can cloud judgment, but this is arguably the first time Austin has been fully healthy since 2012. There is reason for hope. If he can duplicate his last two months next year in Triple-A, it could be a renaissance for Austin and he could be on the fast track to the Bronx.
3. Jake Cave – OF, 6-foot-0, 180-pounds, LHB, 21 – Lets start out by throwing some adjectives out there for Jake Cave; explosive, electric, athletic, young, speedy. These are the words that describe some of Cave’s positive attributes. On top of that, he makes consistent hard contact, has improving power, and has above average plate discipline. He uses all fields well, and plays with an aggression comparable to Brett Gardner. This year he hit .294/.351/.414/.764 overall. He played about one-third of his games in Double-A, where he was 3.7 years younger than the average player. He still produced like he belonged there. Cave made great strides this year and will look to improve again in 2014. He is part of a talented group of outfielders who will play in the upper levels this season. Improving his power will be atop his list of goals for next season. I would love to see him in the Bronx, because it is a joy to watch his aggressive style of play.
4. Dustin Fowler – OF, 6-foot-0, 185-pounds, LHB, 19 – Fowler’s numbers aren’t terribly impressive, but as just a 19 year old in Low-A he definitely held his own and then some. He has drawn many comparisons to Jake Cave, and he has two things going for him that Cave didn’t. First of all he has not missed as much time due to injury (although he missed a significant portion of this season). Secondly, he already has shown more power than Cave. Dustin Fowler is another aggressive, athletic kid. He has more to work on than Cave but he has more time to work on it. He needs to work on his contact rate, his line drive rate, taking the ball the other way, and his patience. On the other hand, he already has shown plus power and has been impressive in the field. He was 2.5 years younger than the average player in Low-A this year, and yet he hit a respectable .257/.292/.459/.751 with nine homeruns, 13 doubles, and six triples in just 66 games. Overall it was a successful season for Fowler, who will look to continue to improve next season, where he will likely repeat Low-A with a quick promotion if things go well.
5. Mark Payton – OF, 5-foot-7, 165-pounds, LHB, 22 – When he was drafted, he drew many comparisons to a player already in the Yankees system. That player is Taylor Dugas. The main difference between the two was that Payton has more power and perhaps Dugas has more speed. As it turns out, these projections ended up being deadly accurate. Payton is an uber patient, contact-oriented player much like Dugas. When he sees his pitch, he hits it hard. He hit an impressive .320/.418/.497/.915 in his first professional season. He showed he is extremely polished, even for a college draftee. He also hit four homers, 15 doubles, and two triples in just 48 games. He’ll have to prove himself over and over because of some preconceived notions about his size, but he seems like just the guy to do it. He’ll start in either High-A or Double-A next year, and will make his case to be a quick mover yet again.
6. Taylor Dugas – OF, 5-foot-9, 180-pounds, LHB, 24 – Taylor Dugas didn’t do anything to increase his admittedly low ceiling this year, but he vastly improved his floor. Across the two highest levels this year he hit .299/.399/.390/.789, proving he can do what he’s done his whole career against the best minor league competition. The one thing he has not done is prove that he can hit for power or steal bases at the higher levels. He seems poised to be an excellent fourth outfielder capable of spraying the ball all over the field and playing solid corner defense. Only time will tell what opportunities he is afforded. He’ll likely start in Triple-A again this year and may compete for a spot on the roster before the season is over.
7. Michael O’Neill – OF, 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, RHB, 22 – I always forget that Michael O’Neill is a third round draft pick. I don’t think that changes anything about his prospect stock, but still an interesting fact. Paul O’Neill’s nephew was able to put together a solid season this year. He showed a nice mix of power and speed, with 10 homeruns and 42 SB in 129 games. He struck out a lot and didn’t hit for great average considering he was 0.5 years older than his competition this year. That said, he greatly improved on his strikeout rate compared to last season, and he did reasonably well in his first full minor league season. I’ve seen him play a few times and he has a lot he still needs to work on, but the tools are clearly present. He’s a solid fielder and has above average speed. He has excellent base running instincts which allow him to steal bases frequently. He’ll likely start at High-A Tampa this year and could move up quickly if he again improves his contact rate.
8. Christopher Breen – OF/1B, 6-foot-3, 215-pounds, RHB, 20 – Breen clearly has come a long way in his first two seasons as a pro. He’s a big kid who can apparently hold his own in the outfield. He has burgeoning power which has improved each year in the minors. This season was far and away his best. He hit .281/.376/.504/.881 with eight homeruns, 16 doubles, and five triples in 63 games in Short Season Low-A. He was also one year younger than his average competition. He struck out too much, with 71 K this season. That is more acceptable, however, coming from a big power hitter like he is becoming. He shows good patience at the plate, and will look to strut his stuff in full season Low-A this season.
9. Ramon Flores – OF/1B, 5-foot-10, 170-pounds, LHB, 22 – People (including myself) seem to forget how well Flores was playing this season before he went down with an injury. He had already hit nine home runs in just 68 games, and was hitting .254/.343/.472/.815 while being 4.4 years younger than the average player in Triple-A. Overall I’d say that’s impressive. Look, Ramon Flores is not going to impress anyone with his size, but he has drawn many comparisons with his swing to Robinson Cano. He has more patience than Cano has ever had. It is unlikely he ever reaches Cano’s ceiling, but he took a major step forward this season and he’s still just a baby. His fielding is slightly above average, so if he can improve upon his hitting this season he could be a wildcard to make an impact at the major league level at some point.
10. Alexander Palma – OF, 6-foot-0, 201-pounds, RHB, 19 – Palma spent his first season stateside in 2014, and he did not disappoint. He showed he can hit for average against older competition (1.6 years younger than his league average), and he hit for some power along the way. His quad slash was .305/.318/.451/.769 with just 15 strikeouts in 52 games. He lived up to his reputation as an extreme contact hitter. Now his main assignment will be to improve his patience and continue to work on developing more power. If he does those two things he could be a force in the coming years. His defense is about average. He’ll likely play in either the Appalachian League (Rookie plus), or Short Season Staten Island next year. Charleston is not out of the question though and we’ve seen guys skip a few leagues to get to Charleston before.
11. Slade Heathcott – CF, 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, LHB, 24 – Hard to believe Heathcott turned 24 a few weeks ago. Seems like just yesterday that he had youth on his side. It seems unlikely at this point that Heathcott will ever overcome all of these injuries to make it to the majors. In his six year career he still has yet to stay healthy for a full season. This past season he played in nine games and then succumbed to injury at Double-A. All of this missed time has to have affected his development, and all of the injuries must have affected his tools. There’s really no telling until we see him play a full season, but in the mean time I have to be skeptical about this kid’s chances. He has always had all the potential in the world. In the next two years we’ll find out if all of that potential will go to waste or not.
12. Frank Frias – OF, 6-foot-2, 185-pounds, RHB, 20 – Frias came over to the US this year after spending one year in the DSL. He was a late signing in terms of age (19), but he showed some promise and speed while in the DSL, so the Yankees gave him a shot stateside. Here he was off to a nice start, hitting .316/.385/.391/.776 with 11 stolen bases in 41 games when he succumbed to a severe ankle injury. There’s still no word on the exact injury, but at the time I remember reading comparisons to the David Adams and Ravel Santana injury. I hope it’s not that severe, but we’ll probably find out by the time the short season leagues roll around next year. I anticipate he will be in either Short Season Staten Island or with the Appalachian League and the Pulaski Yankees.
13. Ben Gamel – OF, 5-foot-11, 185-pounds, LHB, 22 – After having one of his best years as a pro in 2013, Gamel regressed a bit in 2014. His OPS dropped from .748 to .648 and his homeruns were cut in half. He came down in every offensive category. That’s what Double-A will do to you sometimes though, and in fairness to him he is 2.7 years younger than the average player in the Eastern League. Next year he will look to improve his offense. He is an excellent defender in the corner outfield spots and can hold his own in CF. Hopefully the bat comes around but at his age and size, the upside isn’t all that high.
14. Adonis Garcia – OF/3B, 5-foot-9, 190-pounds, RHB, 29 – At the age of 29, Adonis Garcia is what he is. He’s relatively versatile, and he’ll hit for average power, and a good contact rate, with average patience. He hit .319/.353/.474/.827 with nine homeruns and 20 doubles in 86 games in Triple-A this season. He is not likely to ever become a starter in the majors, but he could prove to be a useful piece in the near future. He’ll likely start again in Triple-A in 2015.
15. Leonardo Molina – OF, 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, RHB, 17 – He’s the last one on this list but has perhaps the highest ceiling of everyone. One of the few 16 year olds the Yankees ever let play in the GCL, he struggled mightily. For the untrained observer, this season might be seen as a failure for him. Scouts, however, saw a lot of positive signs this season and most feel he will make major improvements in the coming years. He has above average speed and is expected to develop significant power. He also has top notch defense and one of the best outfield arms in the system already. He hit .193/.267/.260/.528 this season with one homer and 10 doubles in 53 games. Next season he’ll probably repeat the GCL much like Miguel Andujar did in a similar situation.
Honorable mention/coming soon: Mason Williams, Jonathan Amundaray Juan De Leon, Carlos Vidal, Antonio Arias, Frederick Cuevas, Raymundo Moreno, Cesar Diaz, Ericson Leonora, Domonic Jose, Jose Figueroa, Dario Unda, Andy Diaz.