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Yankees Kyle Higashioka Making Brian McCann Expendable

By Evan Halpine-Berger

Feb 21, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka (86) at batting practice during spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka (86) at batting practice during spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Yankees farmhand Kyle Higashioka has established himself as the one of the best-hitting catchers in the minor leagues this season and looks ready to take the next step.

The majority of Chris Mitchell’s Improved KATOH Top 100 List is filled with the usual top prospect suspects. Mitchell’s system attempts to project the major league performance of young players based on their minor league numbers. The top spots go to the guys you might expect like Alex Bregman, Joey Gallo, Jose De Leon, etc. The Yankees prospect who KATOH expects the best career from is recently promoted catcher Gary Sanchez.

Anyone who has watched the show Sanchez has put on since he came up should understand why. The 23-year-old just went 4-for-5 with his first career home run in Wednesday’s 9-4 victory over the Red Sox. KATOH projects Sanchez for 5.7 WAR over his first six MLB seasons.

Triple-A outfielder Ben Gamel ranks second in the system with 4.9 expected WAR. The third ranking player in the Yankees system is a name that might surprise you, although maybe not so much if you’ve been watching the Trenton Thunder or Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders regularly this season. 

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Catcher Kyle Higashioka is projected for 4.8 WAR over the first six seasons of his career. That is the 68th best mark of any player currently in the minor leagues. Ranking one step behind him? 22-year-old phenom Luis Severino with 4.7 WAR.

Higashioka has never been considered anything close to a prospect before this season, but he has been making a lot of noise in the upper-minors at age 26, hitting .293/.355/.509 (136 wRC+) in 256 Double-A plate appearances and .338/.395/.716 (216 wRC+) in 81 Triple-A PAs. He has 18 home runs combined in the minors this year, tied for most with Austin Hedges of an MiLB catcher.

Those numbers against advanced competition will get anyone noticed, but the fact that Higashioka is also universally considered an excellent defensive catcher makes him tremendously valuable.

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At this point, it is almost certain that Higashioka will be added to the 40 man roster before the winter. He would have a strong case for being the first player selected in this year’s Rule 5 draft if he were left unprotected.

Between Higashioka’s performance in the upper minors, Austin Romine‘s emergence as a decent backup option, and Gary Sanchez’s torrid start to his MLB career, it is looking more and more like the Yankees could trade away expensive veteran starting catcher Brian McCann and not miss a step.

At 32, McCann has reached the age where catchers will often begin a sharp decline. The team has already asked him to start working out at first base. With three solid catching options ready to go, it may be smart for the Yankees to find a way of dumping the $34 million owed to Mac over the next two years.

We already know that Brian McCann cleared trade waivers this month, so he can be dealt to any club in August without restriction. The Atlanta Braves were discussing a deal with the Yankees prior to the deadline and would presumably still have interest.

It will be interesting to see how aggressive the Yankees are with promoting and/or playing Higashioka in September. That could be an indicator of how strongly they believe in his emergence this year and whether they consider him a viable big league candidate for 2017.

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