After a down year where they missed the playoffs, the Yankees were back in the postseason as the first of two Wild Card teams. And though they lost in the sudden death elimination game against the Houston Astros, Yankees’ fans have to be optimistic about their chances in 2016 after seeing promising youngsters Luis Severino and Aaron Judge make promising steps towards full time Major League action with Severino receiving a brief taste of big league time.

The Yankees’ farm system has been never been very strong because of their typical win-now mentality that sees them trade top prospects for major league ready talent and their tendency to lose first round draft picks after stealing away free agents that are tied to pick compensation. But a more conservative mentality in the past few systems have left them with a farm system that bodes well for their future with a balanced mixture of bats and arms nearing the majors. The recent acquisition of Aroldis Chapman may have sent away two good prospects, but amazingly they managed to attain the flame-throwing lefty without giving up any of their top five prospects.

If you are interested in more MLB prospects columns, head on over to our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. You can find the rest of my team prospect breakdowns, fantasy baseball prospect rankings, tiered positional rankings, keeper values articles, and more - all in one easy place.

 

New York Yankees Top 10 MLB Prospects for Dynasty Leagues

These are the top ten prospects for the New York Yankees in terms of fantasy production for fantasy owners in the next few seasons.

1. Gary Sanchez (C, MLB)

Stats: (from Triple-A) 146 PA, .295/.349/.500, 6 HR, 1 SB, 7.5% BB rate, 19.2% K rate
ETA: 2016
Fantasy owners of Gary Sanchez loved the trade of John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins because that meant that Sanchez is going to be all but assured an Opening Day roster spot with the Yankees. After a long minor league career that started back in 2010, Sanchez finally debuted for the Yankees last September, making only two plate appearances. Scouts know that he has a strong enough arm to stay behind the dish even if his other defensive areas could benefit from some continued work, but the bat is the biggest draw on Sanchez. Sanchez has immense power for a backstop and could very likely be a 20+ home run bat for the Yankees. And unlike Aaron Judge, he has very good plate discipline which keeps the strikeouts to a minimum. He will be Brian McCann’s backup in 2016, but dynasty owners need to grab him because bats behind the dish as strong as his don’t come around too often.

 

2. Aaron Judge (OF, AAA)

Stats: 260 PA, .224/.308/.373, 8 HR, 6 SB, 11.2% BB rate, 28.5% K rate
ETA: 2016
The Yankees have a full outfield with Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks, and the aging Carlos Beltran, but it is getting to the point where Aaron Judge’s name is thrown in the mix. Judge continued his insane rise to the big leagues as in only his second full professional season he went from Double-A to Triple-A. In all likelihood, Judge will see Major League time well before September and will likely inherit right field from Beltran once he retires and/or leaves. For dynasty owners, that means many seasons to come of 20+ home run potential to go along with a decent batting average somewhere above .260. Judge does not have the pop of Miguel Sano, but fantasy owners should be able to expect decent power numbers without quite the ridiculous strikeout totals.

 

3. Rob Refsnyder (2B, MLB)

Stats: (from Triple-A) 522 PA, .271/.359/.402, 9 HR, 12 SB, 10.7% BB rate, 14.0% K rate
ETA: 2016
The acquisition of Starlin Castro certainly brings into question who will be playing the middle of the infield for the Yankees next season. There is no question that Refsnyder’s bat is ready, but Didi Gregorious impressed defensively and proved adequate with the bat. The battle in Spring Training will be very important for fantasy owners to follow as Starlin Castro is the only lock of the three to receive starting time. Refsnyder’s bat should be very intriguing for fantasy owners though as he doesn’t excel at any one offensive aspect, but can contribute effectively in all of them. He has some pop, some speed, and will hit for a decent average. It is likely that even if he isn’t the starter this season, Refsnyder is the Yankees’ second-baseman for the future.

 

4. James Kaprielian (SP, A-)

Stats: 21.1 IP, 1.27 ERA, 2.02 FIP, 9.28 K/9, 1.69 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9
ETA: 2017
Surprised to see someone who was drafted in 2015 have such a quick ETA? Don’t be in the case of Kaprielian. He spent three years at UCLA before deciding to enter the draft so he has quite a bit of time to mature. He made five starts at Low-A this season and exceeded six innings in both of his final two starts and gave up a total of seven hits over both games. Kaprielian will start either at A or High-A next season and could potentially finish the year in Double-A which would set him up for Triple-A and possibly the majors in 2017. Kaprielian does not have the stuff to be a top of the rotation guy, but he has a very high floor and should produce as a solid middle of the rotation starter for many years.

 

5. Jorge Mateo (SS, A+)

Stats: (from A) 409 PA, .268/.338/.378, 2 HR, 71 SB, 8.8% BB rate, 19.6% K rate
ETA: 2018
Jorge Mateo would be much higher on this list if he had been able to move up through the minors a little bit faster, but with him starting his professional career so young it meant that his development will likely take a while. Didi Gregorious is really only the place holder to get the Yankees from Derek Jeter to Jorge Mateo. Mateo has electric speed that saw him steal 82 stolen bases in 500 PA between A and A+. Though his strikeout numbers are a bit high for someone with his speed (I can already hear the naysayers comparing him to Billy Hamilton), he also possesses much more patience than most other speedsters before him and he knows how to take a walk. Because he is so far off, there may not need to be a rush to add him to dynasty rosters just yet, but it will soon come time for dynasty owners to stash him.

 

6. Jacob Lindgren (RP, MLB)

Stats: (from Triple-A) 22.0 IP, 1.23 ERA, 1.88 FIP, 11.86 K/9, 4.09 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9
ETA: 2016
At a time, Jacob Lindgren looked like the future closer for the Yankees. That was of course before they acquired a three-headed monster of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Dellin Betances. And though that figures to be only a temporary trio, Lindgren does not seem likely to be the closer for quite a while. With that said, owners in deep leagues could find use for a reliable relief pitcher. The same people who own pitchers like Kevin Siegrist and Kelvin Herrera could consider adding Lindgren to their fantasy bullpen.

 

7. Ian Clarkin (SP, A+)

Stats: (from rookie league) 24.2 IP, 5.84 ERA, 5.08 FIP, 6.20 K/9, 5.11 BB/9, 0.73 HR/9
ETA: 2018
Ian Clarkin was making great progress until shoulder injuries in 2015 limited him to just 24.2 innings in rookie ball. Previously he had made it all the way to High-A after just two years of being drafted out of high school. Unlike Kaprielian, he has a high ceiling, but a low floor. He is quite a long way away from the majors and is not worth stashing until he can prove that he can stay healthy and can prove that he has the ace potential that scouts have seen in him.

 

8. Tyler Wade (2B, AA)

Stats: 117 PA, .204/.224/.265, 1 HR, 2 SB, 1.7% BB rate, 20.5% K rate
ETA: 2017
Don’t be deceived by the ugly numbers at Double-A, Tyler Wade is not quite that terrible. But unfortunately he is very much blocked at both his primary position of shortstop and second base which does not bode well for his future with New York. He has value because of the lack of offensive depth at second base for fantasy owners, but he will need to find a new home before he can be worth anything for dynasty owners.

 

9. Mason Williams (OF, MLB)

Stats: (from AAA) 91 PA, .321/.382/.432, 0 HR, 2 SB, 8.8% BB rate, 6.6% K rate
ETA: 2016
Mason Williams is about as Major League ready as he will ever be. The most impressive attribute of him offensively is his patience and eye at the plate which allows for very low strikeout rates. However he possesses only moderate speed and very low power which severely limits his fantasy potential. If he has any fantasy future, it will likely necessitate a trade away from the outfield rich Yankees.

 

10. Brady Lail (SP, AAA)

Stats: (from AA) 106.1 IP, 2.45 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 5.33 K/9, 2.20 BB/9, 0.17 HR/9
ETA: 2016
The Yankees version of Mike Wright of the Orioles, Brady Lail projects as a back of the rotation starter with very low fantasy potential other than the fact that he could be in the majors soon. He neither strikes out a lot of batters nor does he possess a great ability for keeping runs off the board. Consider him fantasy irrelevant even if he makes it to the majors.

 

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