Previewing the Yankees Upcoming Spring Competition for Right Field

The Longshots: Rob Refsnyder, Clint Frazier, Tyler Austin, Jake Cave

In all reality, there is a very small chance that the Yankees break camp with any of these guys as their starting right fielder. If one of them is out there, then something went very, very wrong during the Grapefruit League.

Still, it’s not impossible, and it at least tells you something about the respect they’ve earned within the organization that Cashman singled out Austin and Refsnyder as possibilities for the job. At the same time, Refsnyder has been passed over so often for starting gigs in the past few years that it seems inevitable he’ll eventually get his shot with another club.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi was also hesitant to give Austin playing time down the stretch, starting scrap-heap pickup Billy Butler and the husk of Mark Teixeira over the promising youngster the majority of September.

In his press conference, Brian Cashman made it pretty clear that top prospect Clint Frazier would be starting in the minors, although he did leave the door open a tiny crack by comparing him to other players like Robinson Cano, Chien-Ming Wang, and Alfonso Soriano who forced their way into the big leagues ahead of schedule with strong performances.

Next: Scouting the Yankees in the Arizona Fall League

Jake Cave probably won’t even be in the organization when March rolls around, but if he is, he will be on the fringes of consideration for a big league job after an OK year in Triple-A. If he isn’t added to the 40-man roster before December he seems like a lock to be selected in the Rule 5 draft for the second straight year.