Yankees Prospect Profile: Middle-infielder Thairo Estrada

The Yankees middle infield seems secured for the next couple of years with a combination of Gleyber Torres, Didi Gregorius (hopefully with a new contract), DJ LeMahieu, and Tyler Wade. However, 23-year old Thairo Estrada has been garnering attention the past couple of seasons in the Yankees system.

Estrada was signed by the Yankees in August 2012 for just $49,000 as a 16-year old out of Venezuela. After a few seasons bouncing around Rookie and A-Ball, Estrada finally began his first full season in 2016 with Charleston and Tampa. Between these two leagues, the Venezuela native played in 118 games, slashing .290/.346/.391 with 132 hits, eight HR and 49 RBI.

The Venezuela native was assigned to AA-Trenton in 2017 and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. After his outstanding season with the Thunder, Estrada scorched the competition in the Arizona Fall League. These were his overall numbers:

• AA: 122 G, 149 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 72 R, .301/.353/.392
• AFL: 20 G, 27 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 13 R, .342/.381/.430

After such an outstanding 2017, Estrada’s luck turned for the worse in the offseason. While home in Venezuela in January 2018, Estrada suffered a gunshot wound to his right hip in an attempted robbery.

While he was hurt, his injuries weren’t career-threatening. However, the incident would be the start of a lost season for the development of Estrada.

After starting the season with Tampa and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the 23-year old Estrada was placed on the (then) disabled list in early May. Although he returned in September, it was practically a lost year for the middle infielder. Estrada played in the Arizona Fall League again in 2018, but with uninspiring results:

• A+/AAA: 18 G, 15 H, 3 2B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, .192/.201/.231
• AFL: 19 G, 19 H, 2 2B, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R, .238/.282/.263

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Estrada has the most experience playing second base and shortstop in the minors but is also capable of manning the hot corner if needed. Additionally, the 23-year old is currently ranked as the Yankees’ 19th best prospect according to MLB.com. Estrada played with the big league club in Spring Training and was slated to begin the year with AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

However, after SS Troy Tulowitzki suffered a calf injury in Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers, Estrada was called up to replace the veteran, according to Mark Feinsand. This was the most logical transaction as Estrada was the only infielder remaining on the Yankees 40-man roster.

Although we don’t know how long his stay will be in the Bronx, Estrada brings the ability to hit for average and versatility around the infield.