Yankees Rumors: Who is their most untouchable prospect?

Last week the Yankees made their first big move of the offseason by trading for James Paxton in a deal headlined by Justus Sheffield going to Seattle. Before being dealt Sheffield was considered to be the organization’s top prospect, but clearly, he wasn’t their most untouchable when it came to trade talks.

Heading into this offseason we all knew the Yankees would be serious players for some of the top starting pitchers on the trading block. However, I don’t think many expected they’d be willing to part with Sheffield to acquire another ace. Well, it turns out that within the organization Sheffield was much more expendable than previously let on.

Buster Olney of ESPN recently reported that before the Yankees traded for Paxton the team was apparently pushing to include Sheffield in a potential deal for D’Backs slugger Paul Goldschmidt. There were also reports that they included Sheffield in a proposal for Cleveland ace Corey Kluber but the Indians were not interested.

Sheffield may have been ranked as the Yankees top prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America prior to the trade, but the organization was obviously losing faith in him. Concerns about his control and how he’d adapt to starting at the big league level were always evident during his time with the Yanks and that definitely contributed to his eventual departure.

Now that Sheffield is gone outfielder Estevan Florial has taken over as the number one ranked prospect in the Yankees system. He’s also without question their most untouchable in trade talks.

Based off of trade rumors dating all the way back to this time last offseason we know that Florial has long been one of the Yankees prospects off-limits in trade talks. The fact that he’s still a Yankee tells you that he’s as untouchable now as Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar were before they made their rookie debuts in 2018.

The Yanks have extremely high hopes for him and for good reason. The 21-year-old who stands at 6’1, 185 lbs is a true five-tool player and projects to be the center fielder of the future in the Bronx. His power, speed, and arm strength are his three best attributes. He bats left-handed with a swing that’s built for Yankee Stadium. He needs to work on his plate discipline and cutting down on his strikeouts but once he figures that out we should see him in the big leagues shortly thereafter.

Aaron Hicks has center field locked down for 2019 but if he leaves as a free agent after the season Florial could take over in 2020. He’ll still have to conquer Double and Triple-A, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t do that this upcoming season with the type of talent he possesses.

I think part of the reason Florial is so untouchable is the fact that there is uncertainty surrounding Hicks future in pinstripes after the 2019 season. There’s a good chance the Yankees won’t be able to pay him all the money he’ll be worth, especially if he puts up another All-Star caliber campaign as he did a season ago.

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The Yankees are also light on position players at the top of their prospect rankings so it makes sense that they would want to hold onto someone with as much potential as Florial. Unless they could get a megastar like Jacob Degrom or Mike Trout in return for him (not gonna happen) there’s no reason to trade him anytime soon.

Sure they could include Florial as the centerpiece in a trade for Kluber but why trade him away when they could just sign another elite level starter such as Patrick Corbin? That way they’re only spending money instead of trading away prospects who project to be a big part of the team’s future once they reach the big leagues.

Florial still has a ways to go before we see him playing in the big leagues, but once he makes it to the show it’s going to be in a Yankee uniform. Opposing teams will continue to ask for him first in trade talks this offseason and next summer around the deadline but he’s not going anywhere. Unlike Justus Sheffield, he’s the true untouchable in the Yankees system.