Yankees top prospect goes crazy after walk-off and gets trolled by teammates

The New York Yankees have been crushing it at every minor-league level this year, unleashing a wave of positive energy from Somerset to Scranton.

We’re not sure any celebration will top what happened Wednesday night in New Jersey, though.

24-year-old slugger Isiah Gilliam has struggled a bit with the bat thus far at Double-A Somerset, but he’s still got light-tower power and a good amount of potential. This week, he had the type of moment that will hopefully help him wake up, notching a walk-off single in a 5-4 victory.

Based on the way he released his bat after the ball hit the turf, Gilliam clearly had a lot of pent-up emotions.

The slugger sent the Reading Fightin’ Phils packing in style Wednesday night, and tossed his bat 15 feet down the right field line Roger Clemens-style as the game ended.

The force of the celebration was so hard that it almost sent him spilling to the ground, which would’ve put a damper on the power of this highlight a little bit.

Yankees top prospect Isiah Gilliam went crazy on a walk-off.

Gilliam’s best season came in 2017 with the Charleston RiverDogs when he hit .275 with 15 bombs and 85 RBI. Since then, his average has dipped to .259 and .234, while the power output remained essentially the same (13 and 17 bombs before the 2020 season was wiped out).

In 2021, Gilliam has struggled to adjust to the Double-A level, continuing his trend from 2019, when he hit .180 there in a 47-game sample. This season, that mark is up to .190 (with a .320 OBP), but the biggest moment embedded in those numbers no doubt came on Wednesday.

After facing a 4-0 deficit early, Somerset rallied back before Gilliam finished things in the 10th, hucking his bat, nearly tripping, and then sending his helmet back from whence it came, too.

Don’t think his ex-teammates missed the slip-and-slide, though. Canaan Smith-Njigba, a former Yankees farmhand who was dealt in the Jameson Taillon trade, couldn’t help but giggle, and Hard Hittin’ Chris Gittens joined him.

Hopefully, this hit is the momentum Gilliam needs to get back in stride.

Hopefully, it’s not the kind of momentum that sends him tumbling to the ground.

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