Yankees Prospects: Will Thairo Estrada make the majors in 2019?

Yankees No. 15 prospect, shortstop Thairo Estrada could see some MLB action in 2019. As a member of the 40-man roster, he also has a chance to fill in for the injured Didi Gregorius.

In November of 2017, the New York Yankees added Thairo Estrada and several other prospects to their 40-man roster. According to the New York Post, they made a series of moves to avoid losing these valuable players in the Rule-5 Draft.

Now the Yanks could use Estrada as a fill-in option at shortstop while Didi Gregorius is recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

Players that were a part of the 40-man roster scramble, along with Estrada included: Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Jonathan Loaisiga, Albert Abreu and Domingo Acevedo. Loaisiga currently sits as the No. 2 overall Yankees prospect while Estrada comes in at No. 15.

During the 2018 season, both Torres and McKinney became major league players, Loaisiga earned a few spot starts — and Abreu, Acevedo, and Estrada all came a step closer to the majors.

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As a member of the current 40-man roster, Estrada joins Tyler Wade and Hanser Alberto as potential internal fillers for the vacant middle infield job. Unlike Wade and Alberto, Estrada has no MLB experience.

Wade failed to deliver on offense when he earned his opportunity for big league playing time in 2018. During Alberto’s career with the Rangers, his .192 average through 89 MLB games proves he’s not much of an offensive threat. Since both Wade and Alberto haven’t shown to be offensive threats, where does that leave Estrada?

Is Thairo Estrada a potential MLB middle infielder in 2019?

The Yankees valued Estrada’s potential enough to promote him to the 40-man roster at the age of 21, last November. Unless the Yanks acquire a new player, the Venezuelan prospect will have a good chance to fight for a major league roster spot during Spring Training. If that’s the case, what kind of player is manager Aaron Boone going to have on his active roster?

Estrada is similar to Ronald Torreyes. He is not a power hitter but does hit for contact. He also doesn’t walk much, but he can draw out long at-bats. As a baserunner, while Estrada does have some speed, he isn’t aggressiveness on the basepaths.

Like Torreyes, he’s a solid fielder with plus arm strength, and he’s athletic enough to play the outfield. The resemblance between Estrada and Torreyes’ abilities is what likely led recent Toe’s departure.

One member of the Yankee organization that knows Estrada well is his manager Bobby Mitchell. The young shortstop played 122 games for Mitchell in 2017 for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. In a 2017 interview, NJ.com reported that Mitchell praised Estrada’s ability to hit the ball to the opposite field, among other things.

"“He has a good approach,” Mitchell said. “He hits the ball a lot the other way on a line. Guys like that, that lead off, if you hit the ball on the line that way, you are not going to hit too many fly-ball outs to the opposite field.“…He wears right-center out a lot. That approach on fastballs keeps him on breaking balls. He might be a little bit out in front of a breaking ball, but not enough to roll over all the time. So he pulls it to left field.“He is definitely a line drive hitter, who can do a lot of things with the bat. When there is a guy on third, with less than two outs, I don’t think there is anyone else on the team I would rather have up; he puts the ball in play.”"

Estrada’s line drive hitting ability earned him a 2017 Eastern League All-Star appearance. After winning an invitation to the 2017 Arizona Fall League, he joined the All-Prospect Team and received enough votes to be named a Rising Star. MiLB.com also honored him as an Organizational All-Star in 2016 and 2017.

Unfortunately, 2018 did not go as expected. In February, MiLB.com reported that Estrada was shot in the hip and leg by some teens who attempted to rob him while in his native-Venezuela.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed the media he did not expect the injury to be a long-term issue, and after treatment, the 22-year-old was doing well mentally and physically. The horrible occurrence caused Estrada to miss most of the season.

Why would Thairo Estrada not appear in the majors in 2019?

Most people with baseball circles expect the Yankees will acquire a veteran middle infielder this offseason. If that indeed happens, Estrada would be buried in the minors for at least another year — although another season in the minors might not be the worst thing for the prospect.

It’s a smart move to let Estrada gain more experience at Triple-A with manager Bobby Mitchell because he didn’t play much in 2018. If Estrada proves to Mitchell and Boone that he is ready for the call-up, maybe the Yankees will give him a chance.

One would imagine that Tyler Wade is ahead of Estrada on the organizational depth chart. If Wade doesn’t provide much offense again, the reserve utility player job may be up for grabs. Since Estrada is athletic enough to play any position, that could be his calling for the 2019 season.