Which Yankees Prospects will Wear Pinstripes in April?

Gleyber Torres and Jorge Mateo

It might be unfair even to include two players who have never played above Single-A. But Gleyber Torres is a top-five prospect, and Jorge Mateo has top-five talent. If anyone could pull off a long-shot, Rose-style position theft, it is one of these two. There was a scenario in which Torres displayed the overwhelming talent that forced the Yankees hand. And if anyone could run his way into a job, the uber-speedy Mateo is wearing the shoes to do it with.

Bronx Bound

Sadly, neither player will leave with the Yankees.

Not Ready Yet

Torres has made a strong impression. He’s batting .412 with four runs and 3 RBI’s. And he is carrying an impressive 1.127 OPS. What is equally impressive is his fielding and stoic attitude. He can clearly handle the position and do so under any bright lights. His errors ensure he will start at Double-A, but he will see the Yankees again sooner rather than later.

Mateo, on the other hand, is becoming the forgotten man faster than Rob Refsnyder. I am not sure what is worse: that his average is .133 or that his OBP is the same. Working walks to be a big part of any base-stealers repertoire, but Mateo can’t wait to swing. And I mean he cannot wait, which is why he has a .133 average.

But worse for the Yankees is that Mateo just cannot get his attitude together. He belted a deep fly ball to left field the other day that he thought was a home run. And while Ole Pete would have been running out of the box, Mateo decided to show off. He took the time to flip the bat and trot to first…until he saw that the ball stayed in the yard. Jose Bautista can do that because he has already made the Blue Jays; Mateo cannot because he is still trying to make the Trenton Thunder roster.

Gleyber Torres will play for the Yankees soon. I start to wonder if Chicago would still take Mateo in a package for Jose Quintana.