TAMPA, Fla. -- The first roster cuts of Yankees camp involved several of the organization's top prospects, including outfielder Aaron Judge, infielder Jorge Mateo, right-hander James Kaprielian and left-hander Jacob Lindgren.
The Yankees had strongly indicated that Judge would be ticketed to open the year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though he benefited this spring from having an assigned locker next to veteran Carlos Beltran, who seemed to be grooming the slugger as a potential successor in right field.
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Judge, who turns 24 in April, hit .071 (1-for-14) with a home run and three RBIs in nine spring games. Mateo, 20, is rated as the Yankees' No. 1 prospect by MLBPipeline.com. The speedster batted .200 (3-for-15) with a homer and a steal in nine games.
Kaprielian, the team's No. 4 prospect, posted a 4.91 ERA in 3 2/3 spring innings. Drafted last June out of UCLA, Kaprielian has been said to be on a fast track to the Majors. Lindgren was considered a contender for the big league bullpen but registered a 15.43 ERA in three appearances.
Others reassigned to Minor League camp after Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Phillies were right-handers Domingo German, Chad Green, Kyle Haynes and Brady Lail; left-hander Tyler Webb; catchers Francisco Diaz, Kyle Higashioka, Santiago Nessy and Sebastian Valle; infielders Deibinson Romero and Tyler Wade; and outfielders Lane Adams and Dustin Fowler.