New York Yankees 2021 Midseason Top 50 Prospects

Yankees Top 50 design by @designsbypack on Twitter

The Yankees farm system has lost some pieces over the past year due to the loss of a few players in the Rule 5 Draft and trades that Brian Cashman has made. Between this past off season and during the 2021 season he traded 7 of my top 50 prospects (5 in the top 20) from my January 2021 Yankees Top 50. Frank German, Maikol Escotto, Miguel Yajure, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Roansy Contreras, Jameson Taillon, Antonio Cabello, Josh Stowers. Losing these 7 players leaves a lot changed in my Top 50. I’m not a fan of any of these trades. Michael King has graduated from this list I also expect the graduation of Deivi Garcia and Nick Nelson soon!

I believe the only “untouchable” prospect is Jasson Dominguez. The Yankees have a ton of very young high-upside players in the lower levels that I didn’t include on here but expect to be on my future top 50 list. The bottom of this list is very fluid. Without further ado, here are my midseason Top 50 Yankees prospects, starting with the most obvious one, “The Martian”!


Prospects1500 Tiers:
Tier 1:
 Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years
Tier 2: Players with an above-average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 3: Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 4: Players who have the potential of making the majors, or have high likelihood of making the majors but providing minimal impact (e.g. middle reliever, low-ceiling UT guys)
Tier 5: Players who are worth keeping an eye on, but likely to never make a team’s 40-man roster

Editor note: Updated 8/4 to reflect changes since MLB Trade Deadline and MLB Draft signing deadline, the following 9 players are no longer included in this column:
Alexander Vizcaino was ranked 10th – traded for Anthony Rizzo
Kevin Alcantara was ranked 12th – traded for Anthony Rizzo
Josh Smith was ranked 14th – traded for Joey Gallo and Joely Rodríguez
Ezequiel Duran was ranked 15th – traded for Joey Gallo and Joely Rodríguez
Trevor Hauver was ranked 22nd – traded for Joey Gallo and Joely Rodríguez
Glenn Otto was ranked 23rd – traded for Joey Gallo and Joely Rodríguez
Hoy Jun Park was ranked 33rd – traded for Clay Holmes
Diego Castillo was ranked 42nd – traded for Clay Holmes
Janson Junk was ranked 44th – traded for Andrew Heaney

Tier 1

1. Jasson Dominguez, OF (January rank #1)
Age: 18
Current Level: Low-A
Dominguez is going to be a stud! The Martian started the season with the FCL Yankees, played in the Futures Game, and was promoted to the Low-A Tampa Tarpons in mid-July.

Tier 2

2. Deivi Garcia, RHP (January rank #3)
Age: 22
Current Level: AAA
Garcia has struggled this season seemingly losing the strike zone as he has had issues with being consistent in his delivery and being a bit wild.

3. Clarke Schmidt, RHP (January rank #2)
Age: 25
Current Level: MLB (on IR)
When healthy Schmidt owns a fantastic 4 pitch mix and has the making of an ace, but his career has continued to be derailed by injury, missing part of 2021 after suffering a common extensor tendon strain in late February.

4. Luis Gil, RHP (January rank #4)
Age: 23
Current Level: AAA
Gil is the most electric pitcher in the system, his big arm helps him regularly hit 95-98 mph but he has bouts of wildness.

5. Austin Wells, C (January rank #5)
Age: 21
Current Level: Low A
Wells’ has shown his powerful left-handed swing all season, a Kyle Schwarber type path to the big leagues is a possibility.

6. Luis Medina, RHP (January rank #8)
Age: 22
Current Level: AA
Medina, who impressed in this year’s Futures Game, has the best pure stuff in the Yankees system.


7. Oswald Peraza, SS (January rank #12)
Age: 21
Current Level: AA
Peraza has been an absolute stud this season, having torn up High-A Hudson Valley (one stretch of 4 consecutive AB with a home run and 9 steals in an 8 game stretch) earning a promotion to AA Somerset in early June.

8. Estevan Florial, OF (January rank #6)
Age: 23
Current Level: AAA
Florial put together a nice 9-game hitting streak in late June and into July this season, and The Florial Experience should be back in the Bronx long term before too long.

9. Anthony Volpe, SS (January rank #13)
Age: 20
Current Level: High-A
Volpe has been on a tear this season and was promoted from Low-A Tampa to High-A Hudson Valley in mid-July.

10. Yoendrys Gomez, RHP (January rank #16)
Age: 21
Current Level: Low-A
Gomez missed roughly the first month of the 2021 season with what was labeled “arm soreness” by the Yankees.

11. Alexander Vargas, SS (January rank #10)
Age: 19
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
Vargas gained some weight during the 2020 offseason and has not lost his speed or defensive prowess.

Tier 3

12. Everson Pereira, OF (January rank #21)
Age: 20
Current Level: Low-A
Pereira was promoted to Tampa in early July and had a hot start, going 9-for-18, 2 homers, a triple, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and a stolen base in his first four games.

13. Trey Sweeney, SS (January rank N/A)
Age: 21
Current Level: N/A – 2021 MLB Draft Pick (1st Round, 20th overall) from Eastern Illinois.
The 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year is a bat-first player with excellent raw power and contact ability, and he can hit to all fields with strong plate discipline.

14. Albert Abreu, RHP (January rank #20)
Age: 25
Current Level: MLB
Walks and a bunch of strikeouts are the Abreu way as he rides the Scranton Wilkes-Barre/New York shuttle all season.

15. T.J. Sikkema, LHP (January rank #24)
Age: 22
Current Level: Low A (on IR)
Sikkema began the 2021 season on the IR with a lat injury but has a very safe floor as a back-end starter or long reliever.

16. Ken Waldichuk, LHP (January rank N/A)
Age: 23
Current Level: AA
Waldichuk has had a true breakout campaign in 2021 with 10 games of 7 strikeouts or more, promoted to Double-A Somerset in mid-June after giving up zero earned runs in 30.2 innings for Hudson Valley.

17. Josh Breaux, C (January rank #29)
Age: 23
Current Level: High-A
Extremely aggressive at the plate, Breaux has had multiple multi-home run games in 2021, his best being a 3 home run game vs. Brooklyn on July 9.

Tier 4

18. Anthony Garcia, OF (January rank #23)
Age: 20
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
A switch-hitter with gargantuan raw power, he may have the most power of any player on this list.

19. Antonio Gomez, C (January rank #26)
Age: 19
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
Gomez displays a good approach with easy power to the gaps which should lead to hitting for more power in the future.

20. Anthony Seigler, C (January rank #25)
Age: 22
Current Level: High-A
Seigler is a defense-first, switch-hitting catcher who needs at bats in 2021 after missing time with injury in 2018 and 2019, and no MiLB in 2020.

21. Raimfer Salinas, OF (January rank #27)
Age: 20
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
Salinas has real potential to be a legitimate impact five-tool player with his advanced approach and good bat speed.

22. Ryder Green, OF (January rank #31)
Age: 21
Current Level: Low-A
Green started the season with the FCL Yankees and was promoted to Low-A in mid-July.

23. Brandon Lockridge, OF (January rank #35)
Age: 24
Current Level: AA
Lockridge had four consecutive multiple-hit games from July 4 to July 9 and was promoted to Double-A Somerset in mid-July.

24. Jake Sanford, OF (January rank #44)
Age: 23
Current Level: High-A
Sanford’s impressive bat speed and strength were on display in July and was promoted to High-A in mid-July.

25. Beck Way, RHP (January rank #38)
Age: 21
Current Level: Low-A
Using his 3 pitch mix, Way has been on a pitch count all year, starting 8 of 9 games as of July 18.

26. Matt Sauer, RHP (January rank #36)
Age: 22
Current Level: Low-A
Sauer’s best start of 2021 came on July 2 vs. Jupiter, going 6 innings, giving up only 1 hit, 0 walks and striking out 10.

27. Nick Nelson, RHP (January rank #34)
Age: 25
Current Level: MLB
The swingman is spending 2021 riding the Scranton Wilkes-Barre/New York shuttle with his nice 4 pitch mix.

28. Chris Gittens, 1B (January rank #46)
Age: 27
Current Level: MLB
Gittens struggled in his first call-up (went 0-14 before his first hit, a homer off Hyun Jin Ryu), was opted back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but was called back up as the Yankees dealt with another COVID outbreak. If you want to know more about Gittens, give my Prospect Profile a read!

29. Trey Amburgey, OF (January rank N/A)
Age: 26
Current Level: MLB
Amburgey set a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders team record with a 42-game on-base streak, earning a well-deserved promotion to the Bronx.

Tier 5

30. Hayden Wesneski, RHP (January rank N/A)
Age: 23
Current Level: AA
Wesneski was promoted to Somerset in mid-June after striking out 47 in 36.1 innings and walking just 9 over 7 starts with a 1.49 ERA with the Renegades.

31. Osiel Rodriguez, RHP (January rank #32)
Age: 19
Current Level: Rookie (DOSL)
2019 was an inconclusive introduction to professional ball for Rodriguez as health and working on arm angles looked to be part of his struggles, although he has a huge ceiling with four solid offerings (fastball, curve, slider and changeup).

32. Agustin Ramirez, C (January rank #40)
Age 19
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
Ramirez is one of the names in this range I am most excited about, even with his slow start to 2021 in Rookie ball.

33. Hans Montero, SS (January rank N/A)
Age: 17
Current Level: Rookie (DOSL)
The right-hand hitting shortstop projects to have above-average tools across the board, with quality approach and the ability to make contact to all fields using his gap power and plus speed.

34. Nolan Martinez, RHP (January rank #39)
Age: 23
Current Level: Low-A (on IR)
Martinez has the tools and talent to be a quality mid-rotation starter with his mid-90s heater, curveball and changeup.

35. Brendan Beck, RHP (January rank N/A)
Age: 22
Current Level: N/A – 2021 MLB Draft Pick (2nd Round, 55th Overall) from Stanford University.
Beck struck out a Pac-12-best 143 while walking just 26 over 108.2 innings and limiting the opposition to a .200 average against, and I expect him to be a quick riser through the system (and my rankings).


36. Denny Larrondo, RHP (January rank N/A)
Age: 19
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
With Larrondo’s mid 90s fastball, tight spin curveball, and changeup, he projects nicely as a bullpen arm with high promise but control is a huge issue right now.

37. Fidel Montero, OF (January rank N/A)
Age: 17
Current Level: Rookie (DOSL)
Montero has impressive raw tools and could be a true steal from the 2020 J2 signing period.

38. Roberto Chirinos, 2B/3B/SS (January rank N/A)
Age: 20
Current Level: Low-A
Chirinos, who started the season with the FCL Yankees and was promoted to Low A Tampa in mid-July, makes hard contact to all fields and has good bat speed with his power coming as he grows.

39. Harold Cortijo, RHP (January rank #50)
Age: 22
Current Level: Low-A
Cortijo has a great command of a low 90s fastball, a mid-80s slider, mid-80s changeup and a high 70s 12-6 curveball.

40. Jio Orozco, RHP (January rank #49)
Age: 23
Current Level: High-A
Orozco has potential to be a back-end rotation arm as he brings a mid-90s fastball, a 12-6 curveball and decent changeup.

41. Isiah Gilliam, OF (January rank #48)
Age: 24
Current Level: AA
Gilliam has some of the best raw power in the Yankees system, but he will have to show he can make consistent contact in order to tap into his pop.

42. Oswaldo Cabrera, 2B/3B/SS (January – unranked)
Age: 22
Current Level: AA
The switch-hitting Cabrera is a line-drive hitter with solid power. He profiles as a nice utility infielder.

43. Elijah Dunham, 2B/3B/SS (January – unranked)
Age: 23
Current Level: High-A
Dunham has a knack for hitting and owns great ability to barrel balls with his short left-handed compact swing and decent power he also owns good speed having 4 games of multiple steals this season.to his name.

44. Mitch Spence, RHP (January – unranked)
Age: 23
Current Level: High-A
His nice 4 pitch mix (fastball, curveball, cutter and changeup) make him an interesting name to watch.

45. Randy Vasquez, RHP (January – unranked)
Age: 22
Current Level: High-A
Averages 95 MPH fastball but his spin rate is the real deal on his curveball.

46. Ron Marinaccio, RHP (January – unranked)
Age: 26
Current Level: AA
Marinaccio owns a low to mid 90s fastball with ride to go along with an incredible changeup.

47. Marcos Cabrera, 3B (January – unranked)
Age: 19
Current Level: Rookie (FCL)
Cabrera has high-end offensive tools and has earned praise for his approach, raw power, and cannon arm at third. He’s basically a lottery ticket.

48. Tyrone Yulie, RHP (January – unranked)
Age: 19
Current Level: Low-A
He throws both a 95 MPH fastball and low 80s slider with horizontal break for strikes and gets weak contact.

49. Edgar Barclay, LHP (January unranked)
Age: 23
Current Level: High-A
Fastball/curveball combo. Opponents hitting .153 off of him and he’s got 61 Ks in 42 innings with Tampa.

50. Dermis Garcia, 1B (January rank #43)
Age: 23
Current Level: AA
Garcia has top-of-the-scale raw power but big-time swing and miss.

Here are some players that missed the cut but received consideration.

Brooks Kriske (January rank #41)
Age: 27
Current Level: MLB

Addison Russ, RHP (January rank #42)
Age: 26
Current Level: AA

Jake Agnos, LHP (January rank #47)
Age: 23
Current Level: Low-A (on IR)

Trevor Lane, LHP

Zach Greene, RHP

Justin Wilson, RHP
For more on Greene, Spence and Wilson check out my prospect profiles on them.

Freicer Perez, RHP
Once a top Yankees prospect, can he finally show he’s healthy and stay that way?

Stephen Ridings, RHP
When you are 6-foot-8 and your bread and butter is a 100-mph heater you deserve a mention!

Paul Woodin is a huge sports fan who leads the New York Yankees minor league farm system coverage for the Prospects1500 team. Growing up playing and watching baseball while collecting baseball cards, Paul developed a love for the game. Born and raised in Connecticut between Yankees and Red Sox territory, Paul become a Yankees fan because of Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter. An avid sports card, memorabilia and autograph collector, he participates in redraft, dynasty and prospect-only fantasy baseball formats during each season. Feel free to reach out on Twitter
@PaulWoodin1.




4 Comments

    • Hey Dave he would be under the very young high-upside players in the lower levels that I didn’t include in this article. His first pro season only at high A now. Gotta see more of him only 53 pro games not a huge enough sample size in my opinion in the minors over 1 year.

  1. Hi Jarrett. Rodriguez dropping so much is more to do with others jumping over him and having better season and some to do with Osiel still hasn’t done much in the minors. This season as I type this he has just 7.1 innings and just 17 in his career. We just need to see more. The potential is still there and I’m still a believer but I want to see it.

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