The Yankees farm report: The playoffs and beyond

A Familiar Name

That wasn’t true for Estevan Florial. Florial has been leading the Yankees farm as the best active position player since Gleyber Torres went down, and he only increased his stature in the postseason.

Estevan contributed to the offense consistently. When it was over, he finished the series with two runs while collecting four hits and three walks. But half his hits were for extra bases: one was a triple while another was a homer.

Most importantly, though, was his play in the elimination game. Here, again, Florial showed why he is a true top Yankees prospect. While most of his teammates flailed, Estevan got two hits in the game. One was his only home run of the series and accounted for the only run and RBI of the game for the Yanks.

Estevan couldn’t save the season for the Yankees, but his hardware shows how hard he tried. Remember that unnamed award winner from the Sally? Are you surprised to learn it’s Florial?

Florial Stands Out

It turns out his four months spent in Charleston were good enough to win Most Outstanding Prospect. They have a traditional MVP, but this is a separate award. Florial might have been the only real Charleston All-Star, but at least he picked up some significant hardware. And accolades:

"The South Atlantic League has announced the 2017 Postseason All-Star team, naming former RiverDogs outfielder Estevan Florial as the league’s Most Outstanding Major League Prospect on Tuesday."

"Florial, 19, was one of the most explosive players in the South Atlantic League prior to his August 1 promotion, showcasing an exciting combination of speed, power, and defense. The Dominican teenager left the league batting .297 with 11 home runs, 43 RBI, and swiping 17 bases in 91 games before being called up to Tampa. He was also one of six RiverDogs representatives at the South Atlantic League All-Star game in June."

"“We’re all really, really proud of Estevan,” said RiverDogs manager Patrick Osborn. “You always hear ‘good things happen to good people,’ and I think this is a classic case of that, combined with superb baseball ability. He’s just an A-plus human being. Estevan’s been blessed with all kinds of talent to play this game, and he works his tail off. He’s really started to grow as a baseball player, and develop into a future All-Star.”"

Tampa’s season is over but Florial’s year is not. The Yankees, the real Yankees, have decided to send him to the Arizona Fall League, where we can look forward to more stellar play.