Yankees: Estevan Florial proved he could be the spark this team needs

The New York Yankees spent their week getting pounded into the dirt by the rival Boston Red Sox on Thursday and Friday. Despite some young prospects like Estevan Florial doing everything they could to keep the Yankees in the hunt, some disappointing from some of the few regulars still in the lineup once again led to some disappointing finishes.

Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu have struggled to hit, for the most part, Chad Green blew a close game in order to tie things up late, and the immortal Brooks Kriske pitched one of the worst half-innings you will ever see at the major league level.

At least they were able to rally in the eighth inning and pull off a 4-3 victory against their arch-rivals in Saturday’s contest, temporarily stopping the bleeding.

One of the biggest positives was the performance of the recently promoted Florial, who hit his first big league home run against the Phillies earlier in the week and showed off some of the traits that made him such a hyped prospect.

With the Yankees in need of some spark to wake this team out of whatever slumber they are in, Florial might be the guy to get the job done, even when everyone else is healthy. It’s time for him to graduate from prospect to major league player.

Florial picked up two hits in this game, including an eighth-inning knock that started the four-run rally which put New York up at Fenway.

Estevan Florial needs to be in the Yankees lineup everyday.

The Yankees have been hesitant to pull off some insane trade deadline or offseason swaps over the last few years, and teams potentially asking for a top prospect in Florial could be a huge reason why. If they value him to that degree, what better time for him to show the Yankees what he can do?

While Florial has started to slide down the Yankees’ top prospects list, plenty of what made him attractive is still on display. Florial still has a rocket arm in the outfield, a sweet power stroke that could be perfect for Yankee Stadium’s short porch, and plus speed to both be a demon on the basepaths and cover ground in the field.

Stanton is out of wack, Aaron Judge, Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier are still not healthy, and Brett Gardner is a net negative on offense. At the very least, Florial should be able to park a few meatballs in the seats and make some web gems in center field.

His play in this game alone provided a crystal clear example that his bat warrants some closer examination in the lineup. If he provides more performances like this, the Yankees will be forced to get No. 90 some extra at-bats instead of sending him down to Triple-A to spin his tires in Scranton.

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