Yankees state of the system: Third Base

Ben Farber

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 28: Miguel Andujar

Chase Headley is gone. Todd Frazier is still unsigned. Will the Yankees hand the hot corner to Miguel Andujar in April? Or is Ronald Torreyes ready to step in full-time until the kids are ready?

The Yankees third base predicament has been debated ad nauseam. By now, it’s clear what the team’s choices are.

They could pick Ronald Torreyes as Toe started 16 games at the position last year and 27 in 2016.

Torreyes is a quality fielder, even though his size suits him better for second base. His instincts are lightning-quick, and I have little doubt he would provide better-than-adequate defense at third base.

He’s also a contact hitter. Torreyes batted .292 in 315 at-bats last season. Torreyes doesn’t walk or hit for power, but he does put the bat on the ball. He’s speedy, even though he doesn’t steal many bases.

At a minimum, he’s a good utility infielder. Toe, 25, has the chops for second, short, and third.

Unless he craters, Torreyes is on this team for good. He occupied the major league roster for the entirety of the 2016 and 2017 seasons. There’s no reason to think he won’t do so again in 2018. He’s more than earned his roster spot.

Tyler Wade started 12 games at third base in Triple-A last summer. Gleyber Torres started 15 games. Both were new to the position. The Yankees were dissatisfied with Chase Headley and may have wanted to give their hotshot infielders a quicker path to the major leagues, hence Headley now playing for the Padres.

At last season’s trade deadline, the Yanks dealt for Todd Frazier. I suppose there’s a chance the club brings Frazier back for 2018. But we’re less than two weeks from pitchers and catchers reporting, and there’s barely been any news on Frazier’s free agency.

If he does return to the Bronx, it will be on the Yankees’ terms. It’s hard to imagine them offering him more than one year, and Frazier is probably good enough to command a multi-year offer.

He’s hit 131 home runs over the last four years, and he has a helluva glove. Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Miami, Atlanta, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, the White Sox and the Mets are all possible fits.

The Yankees are better than any of those teams. If the money is equal, they should be able to retain Fraz. But the team won’t spend limitlessly. The Yanks could make a competitive offer — say, one-year and $10-12 million with a team option for 2019 — but he might be able to do better on the open market.

Miguel Andujar

Whoever starts the year at third base for the Yankees is probably nothing more than a seat-warmer for Miguel Andujar.

That’s not to say that Todd Frazier wouldn’t still have value to the team. He could back up Andujar while also providing a right-handed alternative to Greg Bird over at first.

But Andujar — who was just ranked as baseball’s 59th-best prospect and fourth-best third base prospect by Baseball America — is the team’s future.

He was arguably the team’s most productive minor league hitter last season, at any level.

Splitting the season roughly even between Double-A and Triple-A, Andujar posted a line of .315/.352/.498 with 16 home runs, 36 doubles and 82 RBI.

He struck out just 71 times in 480 at-bats — about once every seven times up.

The Yankees signed Andujar as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic during the 2011-2012 signing period, four months before the team inked Luis Severino. Andujar received a $750k signing bonus, the most of anyone in his class.

A six-foot muscleman, Andujar possesses a rare combination of power and plate coverage. He’s still quite young — 23-years-old come Opening Day. For a young hitter, Andujar is remarkably refined.

He briefly reached the majors in 2017. The team called him up to start at DH in Chicago on June 28th.

During his one opportunity, Andujar went bacon, eggs and ham. In one of the more impressive debuts in recent Yankees’ history, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, four RBI and a walk against White Sox starter Carlos Rodon and four subsequent relievers.

However, Andujar was sent back to Triple-A Scranton after the game.

Andujar re-emerged as a September call-up, joining the Yanks in the middle of the month after the RailRiders’ season ended. He appeared in four contests and collected one hit — another double — in three at-bats.

Though some scouts are concerned about his ability to play third base in the bigs, Andujar’s best defensive tool is his throwing arm. With enough reps, he should be able to handle the position. He may never be Brooks Robinson, but the general belief is that he’ll provide an adequate glove.

Andujar still has some rough edges to smooth out, both offensively and defensively. He doesn’t walk enough. He might not be a Gold Glove defender, but his upside is tremendous.

He will compete for the starting role immediately. Unlike with Torres, the Yankees won’t have to worry about service time with Miguel. They broke that seal last summer.

Even if the Yankees re-sign Todd Frazier, or even if Torreyes wins the Opening Day spot, Andujar has a great chance to assume the hot corner full-time during the 2018 season.

He’s clearly ready. Defensively, his glove is playable. Frazier is still a better fielder, but Andujar’s offensive potential is too high to ignore.

Andujar has the potential to become an All-Star and one of the better third basemen in the league.

Danny Espinosa

Upon Miguel Andujar’s graduation to the big club, the RailRiders will be without a full-time third base prospect. Instead, they have some different candidates who should split time at the position.

For one, there’s the recently-signed Danny Espinosa. The Yankees signed the 30-year-old veteran to a minor league deal earlier this week and invited him to Spring Training. Apparently, Espinosa is competing for the second base job. But if he loses out, he might find himself playing all over the infield at Scranton.

Espinosa broke in with the Washington Nationals back in 2010. He spent seven seasons in DC, appearing in 100 games or more five times. After signing with the Angels last offseason, he bounced between three different clubs.

Once Anaheim cut him loose, he appeared in eight games with Seattle and eight more with Tampa Bay.

Espinosa is a career .221 hitter with pop. Twice, Espinosa topped the 20-homer barrier, including a career-high 24 dingers in 2016. He used to run (37 stolen bases between 2011 and 2012) but doesn’t anymore.

Espinosa strikes out a lot. He led the National League with 189 whiffs in 2012. Six times during his career, he’s K’d over 100 times.

He hasn’t played third base a whole lot (just 10 career starts), but he stands to get some time there in 2018. Historically, Espinosa’s been a terrific defender.

Depending on what happens with Gleyber Torres, Espinosa might be playing behind some extremely talented youngsters in the middle infield.

Espinosa’s chances of breaking camp with the Yankees are probably small.

Triple-A

Next, there’s Jace Peterson, who is also competing for the second base job as well. But if he misses out, Peterson, like Espinosa, might even figure in at third base for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Peterson’s started 15 games at third base over parts of four major league seasons, both with San Diego and Atlanta.

Mike Calendrillo broke down the Yankees’ signing of Peterson for Yanks Go Yard back in January.

Other candidates for the Triple-A third base job are Billy Fleming, who’s started 43 games there over four minor league seasons and Abiatal Avelino, who’s started 20 games across five seasons.

Peterson, Fleming and Avelino are further outlined in the second base preview, posted last week.

One prominent player who wasn’t mentioned in that piece — because of length — was soon-to-be-22-year-old Thairo Estrada.

According to MLB.com, Estrada ranked as the Yankees’ 16th-best prospect at the end of 2017.

He’s a speedy contact hitter with the versatility to play above-average defense at all three infield positions. Across five minor league seasons, Estrada has at least 50 starts at each of second, short and third — though, the majority of his innings have been at shortstop.

Estrada, who played all of 2017 at Double-A, started just three games at third base for the Thunder.

He had an excellent offensive season, posting or matching career highs pretty much across the board. He slapped his way to a .301/.353/.392 batting line with more than a handful of extra-base hits (39) and very few strikeouts (56 in 495 at-bats).

For a full write-up on Estrada, stay tuned for the upcoming shortstop preview.

Double-A

With Thairo Estrada moving up to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Trenton Thunder might also be without a full-time third baseman.

Look for 23-year-old Gosuke Katoh to get plenty of reps there this summer.

The team’s second-round pick in 2013 out of Rancho Bernardo High School in California, Katoh had a quality offensive season in 2017.

After three years in Low-A, Katoh finally earned a promotion to High-A Tampa. There, he batted .293/.376/.440 with six home runs and 11 steals in 84 games.

Katoh started 40 games at third base, by far his most of any position. Originally drafted as a second baseman, the Yankees have begun using Katoh as a utilityman. He also received starts at first base, second base, shortstop and left field in ’17.

With his improving performance, Katoh likely earned himself a promotion to Double-A. The Yankees have a whole host of utility infielders in the upper minors, so Katoh will need to continue hitting if he wants to stand out.

But with a strong ’17, Katoh resurrected his career before the Yankees could write him off. He’s still young with plenty of room to develop his game.

Katoh was also written up in the second and first base previews. The kid from California has a versatility that clubs crave on a 25-man roster. If Katoh comes into his own in ’18, his trade value will be at an all-time high.

Single-A

After Miguel Andujar, 20-year-old Dermis Garcia is the Yankees’ next best third base prospect.

Ranked 20th in the team’s farm system by MLB.com at the end of 2017, Garcia signed for $3 million out of Santo Domingo in 2014.

He’s a burly 6-foot-3 masher with exceptional bat speed and strength.

After struggling at Rookie-level Pulaski in 2016, the Yankees gave Garcia a second go-round in the Appalachian League in 2017. This time, he tore through the competition, earning a promotion to Low-A Charleston for the summer’s second half.

Across both levels, Garcia assembled a .249/.357/.542 batting line with 17 homers and 45 RBI. He fared much better in Pulaski (.270/.397/.565 in 33 games) than in Charleston (.227/.312/.518 in 30 games).

The power plays. Garcia posted one of the highest slugging percentages in the Yankees’ system and 17 home runs in 63 games for a 19-year-old is prodigious.

But he also struck out 81 times and poked just 11 doubles.

The Yankees hoped Garcia could cut down on the Ks after he led the Appy League with 79 of them in 2016. No such luck.

Still, it’s hard to ignore Garcia’s ability to hit the ball a long, long way.

Thus far, he’s been an all-or-nothing type of hitter. Garcia will have to cover the plate better in 2018 if he is to move up to High-A Tampa. At 20, he’s got plenty of time to make adjustments. But if he wants to excel at the highest levels, he will need to cut down on his strikeouts.

Garcia is a mediocre fielder with a strong arm. Long-term, he might end up at first base. But given the Yankees’ dearth of third base talent in the low levels, Garcia should receive more time to prove himself.

If Garcia can capitalize on his incredible power, he could quickly become a top prospect. But if he languishes in A-ball, his future becomes more uncertain.

Either way, 2018 will be a big year for Garcia. His strengths are extreme, but his weaknesses are very weak.

If he can tighten up along the edges of his game, Garcia could quickly become one of the better third base prospects in all of baseball.

The rest

The Yankees signed 5-foot-2 infielder Jose Carrera following his senior year at Manhattan College in the Bronx.

Carrera made his pro debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Yankees East and helped the squad to its first-ever GCL championship.

In 41 games, Carrera excelled. He hit .276 and reached base at a .396 clip. Eight of his 34 hits went for extra bases. He drove in 19 runs, and he went 11-for-14 in stolen base attempts.