New York Yankees Editorial: Most Disappointing Prospects In 2015?

The New York Yankees have more promising prospects in their system than they have had in years. It comes at a good time being that the Yankees have one of the oldest lineups in the league. Though you hear about promising names like Luis Severino, Rob Refsnyder, and Aaron Judge, the names least talked about on the other hand are those who aren’t performing as well as the organization hoped they would?

The biggest name here would be Gregory Bird, who is currently in Double-A Trenton. Only 22 years-old, he is viewed as a starter in the Bronx once Mark Teixeira reaches the end of his career. He had a stellar end to his 2014 season, won Arizona Fall League MVP, and made his name even more known in spring training. However, in the 2015 season, he has struggled with a bad shoulder injury, limiting him to just 33 games thus far. His stat line on the 2015 season is .246 BA, 4 home runs, and only 20 RBIs. As stated before, this is just from 33 games, but injury or not, the Yankees will be looking for more from Bird in the second half of the season if he wants to move up to Triple-A like Severino, and soon Judge.

Another disappointing player to look at is Tyler Austin, right fielder in Triple-A SWB. This one might affect the Yankees more than Greg Bird right now because of the injuries that have been coming at the outfield positions. Austin, another player who had a great spring, is struggling even more than Bird, yet has played 55 games. Austin was viewed as a player who could break into Pinstripes this season, but instead has seen Mason Williams, Ramon Flores, and Slade Heathcott go before him. Austin is ranked as the Yankees 18th top prospect, and the third outfielder on the list behind Aaron Judge (2nd overall) and Juan De Leon (15th overall). With an injury prone outfield, another chance of a minor leaguer making their way to the Bronx is likely at any time, and Tyler Austin must know that. If he wants to make his way up quickly like Jacob Lindgren, he needs to start hitting like he was last season.

Lastly, we’ll shift down to High-A Tampa, where third baseman Miguel Andujar is struggling beyond recognition. He is the Yankees 11th rated prospect, and second 3B overall prospect behind Eric Jagielo (8th overall). What stands out about Andujar is his arm, but his bat and errors have been what’s holding him back. With that said you wouldn’t think he should be ranked 11th among prospects, but his potential is one of the best in general on that list. Keep in mind he just turned 20 in March, and has a long way to go, but for his level the Yankees are expecting a lot more. It doesn’t help that the Yankees don;t have much to show in terms of third base prospects, they’ll be keeping a close eye on Andujar and Jagielo as well in the next couple of years.

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