Here are the Yankees' 2020 Top 30 Prospects

February 27th, 2020

The Yankees have the cash to land any free agent they covet -- here's looking at you, Gerrit Cole -- but their ability to sign and develop young talent has contributed significantly to their back-to-back 100-win seasons. In the last four years, they've graduated four position players who have finished in the top three in American League Rookie of the Year Award voting (Miguel Andújar, Aaron Judge, Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres), with Judge, Sánchez and Torres also earning multiple All-Star Game berths.

Promotions and trades have thinned out New York's farm system since MLB Pipeline ranked it as baseball's second best in the spring of 2017. Right-handers Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia and Michael King could provide reinforcements for an aging rotation this season, but the majority of the Yankees' most intriguing prospects need at least a couple of years more of development time.

Their most exciting phenom, outfielder Jasson Dominguez, is one of the most hyped international prospects ever. New York does fine work on that market, which produced half of the players on MLB Pipeline's Yankees Top 30. Dominguez and Garcia headline a contingent of high-ceiling international signees that also includes shortstop Oswald Peraza, outfielders Estevan Florial and Kevin Alcantara, and right-handers Alexander Vizcaino and Luis Medina.

While pitchers are the strength of the system, occupying seven of the first 11 spots on the Top 30, the Yankees did upgrade their positional talent in 2019. In addition to Dominguez, who already earns comparisons to the likes of Bo Jackson and Mike Trout, they also grabbed shortstops Anthony Volpe and Josh Smith in the first two rounds of the Draft. Alcantara, shortstop Alexander Vargas and catcher Antonio Gomez also made their U.S. debuts last summer.

Here's a look at the Yankees' top prospects

  1. Jasson Dominguez, OF (No. 54 on Top 100)
  2. Clarke Schmidt, RHP (No. 88)
  3. Deivi Garcia, RHP (No. 92)
  4. Oswald Peraza, SS
  5. Luis Gil, RHP
    Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2019 preseason list to the 2020 preseason list:

Jump: Oswald Peraza, SS (2019: NR | 2020: 4) -- He possesses some of the best all-around tools in the system and held his own as a 19-year-old in Low Class A.
Fall: Antonio Cabello, OF (2019: 10 | 2020: NR) -- Time is on his side because he's still just 19, but the catcher-turned-center fielder regressed last year in terms of his plate discipline and athleticism.

Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 55 -- Canaan Smith (Dominguez, Peraza, Josh Smith, Alexander Vargas, Anthony Volpe)
Power: 60 -- Dominguez
Run: 75 -- Brandon Lockridge
Arm: 70 -- Antonio Gomez
Defense: 60 -- Peraza
Fastball: 75 -- Gil (Luis Medina)
Curveball: 65 -- Garcia (Luis Medina)
Slider: 55 -- Gil (Garcia, T.J. Sikkema)
Changeup: 60 -- Alexander Vizcaino
Control: 60 -- Michael King

How they were built
Draft: 12 | International: 15 | Trade: 3

Breakdown by ETA
2020: 5 | 2021: 3 | 2022: 14 | 2023: 7 | 2024: 1

Breakdown by position
C: 3 | 2B: 1 | SS: 4 | OF: 8 | RHP: 13 | LHP: 1