4 Rule 5-eligible Yankees prospects who could be traded at 2022 deadline

3. Matt Sauer

Matt Sauer, the toolsy right-hander from the second round of the 2017 draft, has been around so long that it’s easy to forget he’s still just 23, he’s now healthy, and he’s putting up the type of numbers prospect huggers long ago envisioned at High-A Hudson Valley.

Sauer’s a beneficiary of the 2021 Rule 5 Draft being axed, not a victim. If the proceedings had gone on as scheduled, he likely wouldn’t have been selected, though there’s a chance the Yankees would’ve lost him; he posted a 4.69 ERA across 111.1 innings with 127 Ks last season, split between Tampa and Hudson Valley.

Now? Sauer’s a high priority, dominating High-A in his second crack at the level. He sports a 3.39 ERA in 14 starts (71.2 innings) along with a 1.10 WHIP and 85 strikeouts. Known for his big, bending breaking ball, he’s managed to pull the whole arsenal together ahead of this year’s deadline, leaving the Yankees with a (you won’t believe this) decision to make!

Do they trust Sauer’s 2022 adjustments enough to give him a roster spot at year’s end? Or would they rather bank on their depth yet again and attach the injury-prone breakout arm to one of many deals that are sure to go down?

They already survived one chance at losing Sauer for nothing when the 2021 festivities got canceled. Do they want to risk the Rule 5 Reaper arriving for him this winter?

2. Jhony Brito

Jhony Brito is another in a long line of excelling Yankees arms. He also belongs to Sauer’s club: “Pitchers Who Could’ve Been Swiped in 2021, and Can Now Be Swiped Again.”

The 24-year-old reportedly tops out at 98, and across two levels of play this season (Double-A and Triple-A), he’s maintained a steady 2.44 ERA (2.36 in Somerset, 2.54 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre). The strikeouts have slowed down (8.14 per nine innings at Double-A, 5.37 at Triple-A), but the results remain in place.

Brito is less ballyhooed than his Triple-A rotation mates, and while we’d typically end that sentence by saying, “But he’s outperforming them!!” that’s not entirely true in Ken Waldichuk’s case. He has had a difficult time getting his greatness to stand out, though, surrounded by Waldichuk, Hayden Wesneski, JP Sears, Matt Krook, and Clarke Schmidt.

He’s also contended with bigger names like Luis Gil (struggled/injured), Deivi Garcia (struggled/highly questionable), and a rehabbing Domingo German. While the Yankees may have to eventually cut bait on a few of those bigger names, too, one might wonder if Brito has worked his way onto his opponents’ radars. After all, he’s the closest to the bigs of anyone we’ve named yet, and he’s got high-pedigree stuff. He could certainly stick as a bullpen arm somewhere next year if the Yankees don’t deal him first.

1. Anthony Seigler

Finally, four years after the Yankees selected the catcher/pitcher hybrid off Team USA with their first-round selection, Anthony Seigler is living up to the billing.

So are second-round catcher Josh Breaux and 2020 first-rounder Austin Wells, however.

Good news: the race to replace Gary Sánchez is over, and Jose Trevino won. Bad news: there still can’t be too many Yankees catchers of the future, and the powerful Breaux and resurgent Seigler still fall in line behind Wells for the honor (who might be a future first baseman … nobody’s sure).

With Breaux AND Seigler both eligible to be swiped after this season, it’s likely fans see some movement soon, like the way the Bombers treated Donny Sands last year and shipped him off the Philadelphia after popping him on the 40-man.

The 24-year-old Breaux has finally reached Triple-A, mashing a hilarious .750 in his first three games at the level after hitting .204 with 13 bombs in 53 games with Somerset. He hasn’t quite broken out the way Sands did, but the pop remains obvious. Seigler, just 23, is further away from the bigs, but has put together more sustained dominance in 2022. After being promoted to High-A Hudson Valley, he’s hit .272 with a remarkable .442 OBP and .889 OPS.

Trading Breaux might be prudent, considering he’s closer to the bigs and likelier to be stolen, but Seigler is finally providing power and patience after years of being entirely absent from the discourse. Trading him now would be the definition of selling high, and merits monitoring.

3 biggest Yankees draft mistakes of the past decade

The New York Yankees would be in a much better place right now if they hadn't made these significant draft whiffs from 2012-present.