Yankees 2018 Pre-Spring Training Prospect Ranking: 26-30

Brendan Kuty

Matt Linder

The NFL season concluded on Sunday, meaning it is officially baseball season!  Yankees pitchers and catchers report in less than a week.  To kick off the new season, I will release my ranking of the top 30 prospects within their organization.  Even after all of the trades at last season’s deadline and the graduation of top prospects to the major leagues, the farm system is still loaded with talent.  The current and future are both bright!  The plan for this “series” is to release my full ranking in groups of five, starting with 30-26.

As a general disclaimer, the numerical ranking assigned to each player is less important than the accompanying scouting reports.  There is not a whole lot separating the 24th ranked prospect from the 30th or the 13th ranked prospect from the 18th.  It is a highly subjective process, in which no two rankings are the same.  That does not mean one is right and one is wrong; the difference in opinions is what makes the process interesting and fun!

Robert Pimpsner

30. Juan De Paula – SP       Age: 20
-2017 Performance: De Paula was impressive in his first season with the Yankees after coming over from Seattle in the Ben Gamel trade.  In Short Season Staten Island, he logged 62.0 innings with a 2.90 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 53/25.  Also, he posted these strong statistics despite being one of the youngest pitchers in the league.

-Strengths:  Juan’s best pitch is his fastball which sits in the low-90s, but regularly reaches 95mph.  He features two promising off-speed pitches, a curveball and a changeup.  De Paula has a quick arm and he does a good job of ‘getting over’ his front side, both of which allow him to have a solid fastball despite his slender build.  Another one of the Juan’s strengths is his projectability.  He is listed at 6’3” 165lbs, so there is a lot of room to fill out and add velocity.  He does a good job of mixing his pitches and demonstrates a plan to attack hitters.  Lastly, De Paula hides the ball well by slightly turning his back to the batter, allowing his fastball to jump on the batter.

-Weaknesses/Concerns:  Like most young pitchers, De Paula needs to improve the consistency of his off-speed pitches.  From game-to-game his curveball and changeup alternate being the superior offering.  Juan also needs to refine his control.  He has an aggressive delivery, which can lead to him over-throwing and losing the plate.

-2018 Outlook: De Paula will probably begin the season in Staten Island before an eventual promotion to Low-A Charleston.  Sending him back to Short Season will allow him to work on his control and secondary pitches.

Martin Griff

29. Brian Keller – SP          Age: 23
-2017 Performance: Keller began the year in Low-A with Charleston, where he had a 3.29 ERA and an impressive K/BB ratio of 90/17 across 82.0 innings.  This strong performance earned him a promotion to High-A, where his success continued.  In 62.0 innings in Tampa, he pitched to a 2.90 ERA, while striking out 67 batters and walking only 11.

-Strengths: Keller attacks hitters with four pitches: fastball, curveball, slider and changeup.  His heater sits in the low 90s with natural two-seam action moving in on righties.  He is able to control the pitch to both sides of the plate.  Brian has confidence in all three of his secondary pitches and one does not stand out as superior to the others.  He has good feel for two different breaking balls, which is rare for a minor leaguer.  Keller’s curveball shows more sweeping, right to left action, while his slider does not break as much as the curveball, but the break is sharper.  It seems as though he drops the slider in for strikes and uses the curveball to put batters away.  The last of Brian’s off-speed pitches is a changeup, which demonstrates nice downward action as opposed to moving left to right.  Keller also coils/hunches in his delivery which may allow him to hide the ball and cause his fastball play up a bit.

-Weaknesses/Concerns: Since Keller does not posses electric stuff, he relies upon movement, control and unpredictably to get batters out.  Although pitchers have been successful doing so, it simply limits their margin of error.  None of his off-speed offerings project to be swing-and-miss pitches.  Neither the curveball nor the slider is particularly tight and as a result, they can morph together.  Brian has been able to put up impressive statistics, but is important to note that he was a full year older than the average player in Low-A.  His finesse style of pitching can pick apart inexperienced hitters, but I look forward to seeing how he fares as he moves through the system.

-2018 Outlook: Keller figures to begin to season in High-A with Charleston, but I expect him to spend a large portion of 2018 in Double-A Trenton’s rotation.  If the Yankees are able to add some velocity to Brian’s arsenal (as they have been able to do with other young pitchers), he could shift from being a low-ceiling prospect to somebody to monitor closely.

Robert Pimpsner

28. Jonathan Loaisiga – SP     Age: 23
-2017 Performance: Coming off Tommy John surgery, Loaisiga began the season in Rookie Ball.  With the Gulf Coast Yankees he made seven starts (15.2 innings) and pitched to a 2.30 ERA with 15 punch-outs and only 2 walks.  The Yankees bumped him up to Short Season Staten Island in August as a late-season promotion.  In 17 innings with Staten Island, Jonathan had a 0.53 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 18/1.  Although he only pitched around 40 innings in 2017, the Yankees saw enough promise in Loaisiga to add him to the 40-man Roster (protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft).

-Strengths: Jonathan has a three-pitch arsenal of a low to mid-90s fastball, a plus curveball and a promising changeup.  It is rare for a prospect who has never pitched above Short Season to have three reliable offerings, especially considering he has missed extended periods of development due to injury.  Loaisiga is undersized – listed at 5’11” and 160 lbs – but his arm speed allows him to generate plus fastball velocity and sharp break on his curveball.  As he continues to add muscle to his slender frame, I would not be surprised to see his fastball velocity tick up in 2018.  Although the changeup is Loaisiga’s third pitch, he exhibits an advanced feel for the pitch and could become a reliable weapon as he fine-tunes it.  Due to his athleticism and ability to repeat his delivery, Jonathan posted impressively low walk totals last season.

-Weaknesses/Concerns: The biggest red flag surrounding Loaisiga is his injury history.  He missed close to three full seasons from 2013-2016 due to various ailments including elbow surgery.  Whenever a player, especially a pitcher, misses significant time due to injury, it is something to monitor closely.  Also, because of these problems, Jonathan is slightly, but not terribly, behind developmental schedule.  As a 23 year old, he has never pitched in a full-season league.  Although he is able to consistently repeat his delivery, I have some concerns with his motion.  Loaisiga lands to the third base side of the rubber, which allows him to create cross-fire deception, but can also put stress on a pitcher’s arm.

-2018 Outlook: I expect Jonathan to begin the year in Low-A Charleston in order to get his first taste of full-season baseball.  The Yankees will keep close track of his innings since he is only a year and a half removed from Tommy John surgery.  Loaisiga has all the tools to move quickly through the system and up prospect rankings… health permitting.

IPL Baseball

27. Everson Pereira – OF       Age: 16
-2017 Performance: Pereira was signed out of Venezuela for $1.5MM this past signing period.  As the fourth rated international player in 2017, his signing bonus was the largest of any Yankees signee.  He did not play for a Yankees affiliate last season.

-Strengths: Everson, like every other 16 year old, is extremely raw, but his tools are promising.  He has a quiet set-up and his fluid swing produces solid line-drive contact.  As he physically matures, I expect him to add some home run power because of the good extension his smooth, one-handed follow-through produces.  Defensively, all of the reports say he can remain in centerfield thanks to plus speed and a strong arm.

-Weaknesses/Concerns: Whenever a team signs a teenager, there is inherent risk.  It will take years to develop the ‘toolsy’ 16 year old into a potential major leaguer.

-2018 Outlook: Pereira will likely spend all of next season in the Dominican Summer League at the Yankees facility.

Mark Lomoglio

26. Taylor Widener – SP      Age: 23
-2017 Performance: The Yankees drafted Widener in 2016 as a relief pitcher.  He was so successful in his first year of pro ball that the Yankees decided to experiment with him as a starter going into 2017.  He exceeded expectations in his first season in the rotation, logging 119.1 innings with an ERA of 3.39 and a K/BB ratio of 129/50 for High-A Tampa.  This strong showing earned him a promotion to Trenton for the Double-A playoffs.

-Strengths: Taylor has strong two-pitch mix.  He couples a mid-90s fastball with a sharp slider.  Widener’s athleticism allows him to repeat his delivery and command his fastball.  He is able to produce deception by driving off the back leg and jumping at the batter.

-Weaknesses/Concerns: Despite a strong 2017 season, I think Widener is destine to end up back in the bullpen.  Currently, he lacks a third pitch although he is working on a changeup.  His slider is electric, but according to reports, lack consistency.  Taylor’s delivery is a bit herky-jerky, which I believe lends itself to the bullpen.  Also, he suffered injuries to his knee, back and elbow in college, so it is fair to question his ability to hold up as a starting pitcher.

-2018 Outlook: Widener will almost certainly start the year in Double-A after his impressive 2017 with Tampa.  The development of his changeup as a third pitch will be key this season; it will likely determine his future role as a starter or reliever.

So that rounds out prospects 26-30.  Check back in a few days to see which players I ranked 21 - 25 in the Yankees system.

If you have any questions, comments or criticisms feel free to reach out to me at mattlinder2@gmail.com