Yankees 2014 international signing class starts coming into view

The Yankees signed 10 of the top 30 international prospects back in 2014. Now the results are starting to show, for better or worse.

The Yankees made an unprecedented move in 2014 when they signed over 30 international prospects. That included ten of the top 30, five of the top nine, and the top two overall. That got even Baseball America’s attention:

"Other teams have broken their bonus pools, and other teams have spent big money on international amateur talent before the bonus pool era, but no team has ever done what the Yankees did last year."

The reason? Predictions and projections are difficult as most of these players were just 16 when signed. The regular player draft is hard enough, and those guys are 18-24.

But that’s what made the New York Yankees strategy so promising. Since there is a lot of throwing darts at the dart board luck to the process, better to get as many darts as possible.

I doubt it has worked as well as the Yankees would have liked, at least so far. That is not to say there are not some successful players beginning to ascend through the system. But any hope for a breakout superstar, ala Mike Trout or Jose Altuve, is years away and a bit unlikely.

That doesn’t mean there are not real stars and everyday regulars in the group. Most are nineteen now and should be just making their way through the lower levels of the system. Plus, there is still time for under performing players to develop.

A History Lesson

For instance, the Yankees once had a prospect named Derek Jeter. When he was nineteen, he committed 56 errors in 128 games at then Class-A Greensboro. He seemed to work out okay.

And when it feels that these players have been in the system a long time, think of Yo Soy Gary. He was drafted in 2009, at 16 years of age, and did not make his debut until 2016. And also remember that he was not a top 100 prospect when that year started.

So this is a progress report, not a final judgment. Well, not for most of them anyway.

I can’t cover all the players signed that year and so will focus on the highs and lows, especially for the then-ranked players. But one player I will not cover is Estevan Florial. First, I have written plenty about this exceptionally talented player. And, second, his delayed signing only technically includes him on this list.

With that in mind, let’s start at the bottom and get the bad news out of the way first.

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.

Too Early to Tell

CF Antonio Arias is a promising curiosity. The native of Venezuela is hitting .340/.450/.420 in the Dominican League. And Arias is slightly younger than most of the others on this list, just turning 19 in the middle of June. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that this is Antonio’s third year at the same level. So, is he a young player starting to take off or the product of three years against the same level of competition? That question is likely to begin to be answered soon as Arias has earned a chance to come stateside.

Things start to get more interesting with Diego Castillo. His stats tell a story whose ending is hard to read. His slash is merely respectable: .262/.303/.317. But he is a true shortstop, a position for which Diego’s numbers are more than good enough.

Two years ago he batted .331 and last year, with similar numbers from this year, he was voted the 19th best prospect in the entire GCL (according to Baseball America). So Castillo already has some positive history.

And more telling is that the Yankees promoted Diego to Charleston before 2017 even began, while most of the 2014 class is scattered throughout lower levels. Being 19 at Low-A is an accomplishment, even if he is not the equal of fellow-teen Estevan Florial. Remember that Blake Rutherford was 20 and also at Charleston, until recently.

Diego has shown some real promise, and we will know more of his story this time next year.

An Amundaray of Hope (Sorry)

RF Jonathan Amundaray was the number seven ranked international prospect in 2014 and signed for $1.5 million. His current numbers, though, are pretty bad: .154/.175/.179. But he makes our maybe list for two reasons.

First, he showed real improvement over his first two years, moving from .111/.346/.167 in 2015 to .269/.321/.394 the next year. And, second, he has only had 39 at-bats this year. That combined is enough to warrant waiting to make any decisions or predictions. But Amundaray has to turn it back on soon.

Coming up Short

Finally, in the could go either way category, is the enigmatic Hoy Jun Park. Park was described by one publication as “the most advanced prospect” the Yankees signed in 2014. His slightly higher skills, commensurate with his slightly higher age when he signed (18), landed Hoy Jun at Low-A Charleston by 2016, climbing higher than any fellow prospect at the time.

The results have been mixed, with perhaps a silver lining. Park only hit .225 last year, although his OBP and SLG were more promising: .336/.339. The Yankees retained him at Charleston this year, and the now-21-year old has improved, slashing .274/.367/.378. Good, but still not overwhelming.

Park’s errors, however, would normally put him squarely in the bust category. He had 25 last year in only 105 games, projecting to almost 40 for the year, and has eighteen this year in only 76 games started. That again projects to roughly 40 per big league season. That’s way too many at any level.

On Second Thought

But there is a ray of hope. Park was signed as a SS but has been splitting time at second base. His stats reveal his issue. Namely, he does not have enough arm to play shortstop.

At short, Hoy Jun has committed 35 errors in 118 games started in the last two years. He would easily blow past the 40 error mark at that position. But at second he has only eight errors in 63 games. That projects to about twenty errors for a season.

While that is still too many, he gives the Yankees hope he can cut down to an acceptable level once he becomes a full-time second baseman. From now on, the only time Park should be at the shortstop position is when he is running past it on his way to third.

There are a few, though, who are showing more than just potential. They will add to the Yankees organization with varying impacts. Here’s one bit of great news: the best looking prospect is a pitcher.

Coming into View

Finally, we get to the unadulterated good news. Well, we have almost gotten there. And that’s because first on this list is someone who was almost on the previous list: Wilkerman Garcia, or Wilky (as I assume Girardi would call him).

SS Wilky was only the 14th ranked prospect before the draft but quickly leap-frogged higher picks such as Amundaray and Park once he flashed his bat, hitting .299/.414/.362 in his first year.

That catapulted him in the rankings. Even though a shoulder injury in last year’s spring training allowed Wilky to hit only .198/.255/.284, the promise he showed still carries him in the minds of the evaluators.

And it affects his listing here. He is currently the fifteenth ranked prospect, only one behind Estevan Florial. Remember that Florial was one of only two Yankees chosen to play in the Futures Game and has many believing he is a better prospect than Blake Rutherford.

And Wilkerman Garcia is considered to be the next best player in the Yankees system.

A Pivotal Season

That positive feedback is better than his numbers deserve. The hope was that he would fully recover from his injury and be the hitter the Yankees saw in 2015; that has not happened so far. Wilky is hitting .248/.291/.294, but he is a streaky hitter and has gone up significantly from his sub-.200 beginning to the season.

Par example, in his last ten games, Wilkerman has only collected eight hits for a .195 average. But five of those hits have come in the last four games, during which time he is batting over .300. He is a player with a lot of talent who might be figuring it out right now. No real judgment can be made until he posts his final numbers for the year.

That would normally land him in the maybe category. But his ranking and stellar write-up are enough to push him to the winner’s circle, that he shares with…

…Juan, From Leon

Juan Deleon is still in the GCL West, but that might change before I can finish typing this sentence. He struggled his first two seasons, batting just .226 most of 2015. That was enough, however, for the Yankees to promote Deleon to the GCL for 2016.

Deleon stepped to the plate just 33 times last year, which was probably good for his psyche, as he batted just .212/.308/.364.

This year has been a different story. He has posted a .321/.455/.472 line in his 53 AB’s. That is still not a lot of AB’s, but those numbers are augmented by his potential. He was ranked as high as second overall by some, although he is listed fifth here, with this as the bulk of his scouting report:

"There’s a belief that DeLeon might have the best all-around combination of tools and body among outfielders in this year’s class from the Dominican Republic. Evaluators often use words like “explosive” and “electric” to describe the outfielder’s skill set, and some view him as a potential five-tool player."

Now, it looks like he is starting to live up to the promise. Deleon will be promoted soon, and we will get a better look at him. That’s something we have already gotten with Freicer Perez, and it’s a good look.

A Pitcher Already in the Pipeline

Freicer Perez can claim to be the best prospect from the entire class. And the best part is that he is a real underdog story. Unlike most of the players mentioned here, Perez was not a top international prospect back in 2014. He was unranked and signed for the relatively small sum of $10,000.

I remind you that complete bust Nelson Gomez signed for 2.25 million.

But Freicer is the reason the Yankees cast a wide net. The 21-year old is at Charleston, where he is playing above the competition. He has an ERA of 2.87, through his 17 starts, with 73 hits in 87.2 innings.

His walks are a bit high, 30 for a more than respectable WHIP of 1.17, but he is still learning how to pitch. He already knows how to strike guys out, however, and has 83 for the season.

Freicer’s fastball sits in the mid-90’s and can hit 99, which might improve as he continues to fill out his 6’8” frame. He has moved from unranked internationally, to the Yankees 30th best prospect last year, to his current ranking as their 24th best player. You’re already getting the picture of a pitcher who might be on his way to the Bronx.

As much as the Yankees might lose money on Gomez, they might cash in on Freicer.

Oh Boy oh Danny Boy

Danienger Perez looks like he has found that all-elusive consistency. The 20-year old SS has shown flashes of ability every year in the system, batting .444 in a brief tryout with Staten Island his first year and .271 for his half season in the GCL last year.

And although he only batted .250 with Staten Island earlier this year, it was enough to get him promoted to Pulaski. Here, at his highest level, he is once again showing his skills.

Perez is batting .333/.435/.462 with thirteen hits, six walks, seven RBI’s, and seven runs scored. Danny is filling up all the columns. Again, it is small sample size, and he has a lot of work just to crack the Yankees top 30, but it’s all we got. And he looks better than most of the other 2014 international prospects.

I doubt he ever becomes an elite prospect, but he might end up a role player or trade piece if he keeps working. The Yankees, though, have higher hopes for the last player on our list.

Insert Your Own Caption; I’m Going with, “I don’t care if you don’t believe me, the fish was this big.”

Dermis Garcia was the consensus number one international prospect in 2014, and now he might be showing the Yankees why. The Yankees targeted D. Garcia first for good reasons:

"“Big” is the operative word when discussing Garcia. The 6-foot-2,182-pound shortstop has a big frame, big raw power and a big arm. Some scouts believe he has the best power and the best arm in the entire class of international prospects this year. Evaluators like Garcia’s bat speed and his easy power. Some believe he’s going to have a plus arm in the future, and he’s been compared to Twins prospect Miguel Sano, a teenage Alex Rodriguez and a young Shawon Dunston. Garcia is not the fastest baserunner, but he’s a smart baseball player and will not run into any outs on the bases."

But, as this scouting report makes clear, Dermis was also raw:

"Garcia has exceptional bat speed and strength that create raw power which earns top-of-the-scale grade from some evaluators. He’s as raw as he is powerful, however, as he has a long way to go with recognizing pitches, handling offspeed offerings and making consistent contact. He topped the Appy League with 79 strikeouts and a 34 percent whiff rate while also ranking second-to-last with a .206 batting average. A classic boom-or-bust type, Garcia will have to deliver on his prodigious power potential to have a big league career."

I Assume We’re all Hoping for Boom, Right?

So the Yankees should not have been dismayed or dissuaded when he hit just .206/.326/.454 last year. It started to look like another lost year when he, like Wilky, started slowly batting just .238 in June. But he started hitting, climbing as high as .278 just two days ago.

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A two-day slump has brought his average down to .258, but his OBP and SLG are still stellar for a nineteen-year-old (.381/.474). That average also comes along with five home runs and a triple. Those are still not overwhelming but remember that Dermis is on a sharp learning curve.

And now it looks like he is just starting to accelerate.

Garcia is rounding into a complete player. He did not have a successful stolen base attempt in his first two years; this year he has five without being caught once. Add all of that, and his 18 RBI’s and 17 runs scored, to his power potential and Dermis looks like a player on the come.

You Might Live in New Jersey

He will probably be coming to a ballpark near you, and soon. How near I can’t tell yet; it’s still too soon for most of them. But Dermis and the gang still have time to show their talents are equal to their potential.

Next: Scranton is Restocked and Ready to Help the Yankees

My money is on Dermis and Freicer to be real players. And there is time for Juan Deleon and Wilkerman Garcia to join them perhaps. Behind them are Diego Castillo and Hoy Jun Park…as long as Park stops playing shortstop. Danienger has a lot to prove, and there is already another international class to contend with.

But, as the parameters for international drafts were changed in the latest CBO, there will never be another draft like the one the Yankees had in 2014. Cashman threw a lot of darts that year. By 2019, we should know which darts will hit the target, and which will hit the wall.