Yankees Prospect Profile: Corner outfielder Isiah Gilliam

The Yankees’ farm system is well stocked with young and talented pitching, but a bit thin on recognizable position players. However, one corner-outfielder is starting to establish himself this spring: Isiah Gilliam.

On March 3, the Yankees dominated the Detroit Tigers in a meaningless Spring Training game, winning by a 7-1 margin. Three outfielders combined to hit five home runs in the contest. Notable names like Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner swatted two-a-piece.

However, the most impressive longball of the day came off the bat of Isiah Gilliam, a relatively unknown prospect in New York’s system. In his only at-bat, the switch-hitter (batting from the right side) got a hold of one and shot it towards right-center field, clearing the wall with ease.

While Gilliam is not making the major league roster out of Spring Training, it was indeed impressive to see the 22-year-old use that advanced of an approach at the plate and demonstrate his power towards the opposite field.

The 6-foot-3 Gilliam was initially drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of Parkview High School (Lilburn, GA) in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB Draft. The outfielder declined the Cubs’ offer and played collegiately at Chipola College in Marianna, FL.

Just one year later, the Yankees selected Gilliam in the 20th round of the 2015 Draft, signing the switch-hitter for $550,000.

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Soon after, Gilliam began his professional career in Rookie Ball with the Gulf Coast League Yankees. Although he hit .296 (still a career-high) in 42 games, only one ball left the ballpark that season.

However, something clicked for Gilliam in 2016 with the Pulaski Yankees. In 57 contests, the switch-hitter smashed 10 homers.

Gilliam again improved his power at the plate with Single-A Charleston in 2017, as he hit a career-high 15 homers in his first full minor league season. The Georgia native then added 13 longballs this past season at High-A Tampa. Gilliam certainly had a productive 2018 season, but it was a bit of a downgrade versus greater competition.

2017: 125 G, 80 R, 122 H, 33 2B, 15 HR, 85 RBI, 55 BB, 111 K, .275/.356/.468
2018: 125 G, 59 R, 123 H, 22 2B, 13 HR, 71 RBI, 36 BB, 151 K, .259/.313/.397

What’s most notable is Gilliam’s decreasing walk rate and increasing strikeout rate, as well as a decline in every category besides hits. He was simply a more productive player in 2017, posting career-highs in hits, doubles, home runs, runs scored, walks, and slugging percentage.

However, Gilliam was still productive from both sides of the plate in 2018, even though the sample size was larger when batting from the left side. These were his splits:

Left-handed: 348 PA, .267 BA, 84 H, 17 2B, 8 HR, 44 RBI, 27 BB, 103 K,
Right-handed: 172 PA, .244 BA, 39 H, 5 2B, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 9 BB, 48 K

Lastly, Gilliam profiles as a corner outfielder, as he played 39 games in left field and 65 games in right field in ’18. However, he does have experience playing first base as well, playing 10 games at the position in ’17 with Charleston.

Gilliam ranks as the Yankees 25th overall prospect in their farm system, according to MLB.com.

With other noticeable outfield prospects like Estevan Florial, Everson Pereira, Ryder Green, Josh Stowers, Antonio Cabello, and even the prospect-graduated Clint Frazier garnering more attention, Gilliam has a lot of competition in the minors.

The 22-year-old still hasn’t been given a destination to begin his 2019 season, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him start the year back at High-A Tampa. The switch-hitter needs to continue to show consistent power at the plate, but also increase his walk rate and cut down on the strikeouts.

He may be no more than a fourth outfielder when it’s all said and done, but it will be interesting to watch Gilliam’s progress throughout New York’s system.

The Yankees’ farm system is well stocked with young and talented pitching, but a bit thin on recognizable position players. However, one corner-outfielder is starting to establish himself this spring: Isiah Gilliam.

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