Yankees 2014 international signing class starts coming into view

A Cold Draft

It’s still early, but Nelson Gomez is really distancing himself…as the biggest bust by far. The Dominican third baseman was the number two rated international prospect back in 2014. He was noted for his raw power, which is a theme for several of the prospects. All of that added up to the Yankees giving Gomez $2.25 million as a signing bonus.

I doubt they get any return on the investment.

And that’s because Gomez is reverse developing. Over the last three years, including this one, his batting average has consistently gone down. He batted .243 two years ago and posted ERA’s of .194 and .129 last year and this.

His Slugging and OBP have followed a similar track. Gomez has watched his on-base go from .350 to .267, while his SLG has slipped from .435 to .177. If he is going to turn it around, he will have to start soon. But more than likely Gomez will become a once-promising teenager with 2 million bucks to spend during his soon-to-be free summers; there are worse fates.

Miguel Flames might be joining him.

Flame-Out

The then 25th ranked player has lost 100 points off of his average since 2014, going from .317 to .218. His SLG is down to .327, from a high of .454, and he has hit just one home run this year. The worst part is that his performance is getting worse even though he is repeating the same level from 2015, the Gulf Coast League West.

He only has one million to spend but, unless he turns it on soon, will have a lot of free time to spend it. Rounding out this thankfully short list is Brayan Emery, playing for Pulaski. Unlike the above-mentioned players, Emery has not regressed. Instead, he has been consistently bad since he was signed.

He slashed .192/.330/.308 in 2015 and has a .180/.296/.295 line this year. I’m not sure how he earned a promotion to Pulaski, but he is earning a one-way ticket back to Colombia as we speak. But at least he only cost the Yankees $500,000.

Still, three years in and only three significant players are washing out. That’s pretty good. But that doesn’t mean the draft was successful. Here are the players who might play in the majors, in some capacity, and tip the draft’s ranking one way or the other.