Ben Gamel Should Be Next Baby Bomber to Crack Starting Lineup

Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre outfielder Ben Gamel should be the next Yankees prospect in line for a shot in the big league lineup.

At this point, it’s not clear what Triple-A outfielder Ben Gamel would have to do to show the Yankees he’s big league ready. In the midst of an eleven game hitting streak, Gamel has raised his slash line to .310/.369/.416 (126 wRC+) in 494 PA for the Railriders this season.

He has been used as an occasional warm body in the Bronx this season, coming up for five games in May and then another in August, but both times it was clear the assignment was temporary.

The 24-year-old was never considered much of a prospect before his 2015 breakout in which he hit .300/.358/.472 (138 wRC+) in his first go-round in the International League. While his power has come down a tick this year, he’s removed any doubts that last season’s production was a fluke with another strong performance. 

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Ranked the 24th best prospect in the system by MLB Pipeline, Gamel has no standout tools, but does a little bit of everything, which has many scouts convinced he will top out as a fourth outfielder long-term. However, his MLB Pipeline does note that he is “perhaps the most underrated player in New York’s system.”

Gamel is clearly a victim of the Yankees outfield log-jam. Even if he were to get a promotion, which he surely will when rosters expand in September, it’s far from a sure thing that he will receive anything close to regular playing time.

New York is currently juggling Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Aaron Hicks between two outfield spots, with only rightfielder Aaron Judge assured of finding his name in the lineup every day. Triple-A outfielders Mason Williams, Rob Refsnyder, and Jake Cave are all having nice seasons as well, and could siphon September playing time away from Gamel. 

Still, if the Yankees finally trade Brett Gardner this winter as many expect, Ben Gamel would presumably receive serious consideration for an every day job given his strong performance the last two years. None of the other guys he would be competing with have been nearly as successful or as durable as Gamel over that span.

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It’s not clear that Gamel has the bat to play an outfield corner long-term, although it will be interesting to see how his Triple-A production translates to MLB. However, given that Ellsbury is probably firmly entrenched in center for at least another year or two because of his immense contract, winning the leftfield job is probably his best hope of regular playing time at this point.