By Greg Corcoran

Now that the Yankees have finally moved on from the Josh Donaldson fiasco, we can finally take a deep breath of fresh air and watch third basemen who don’t admire their non-homeruns and proceed to get thrown out at second base. Glad that’s off my chest. Read on as we discuss the third base depth in New York for 2024.

Aaron Boone has made it quite clear that DJ LeMahiue will be the opening day third baseman for the New York Yankees. LeMahiue is apparently healthier than he has been in years and has arrived to camp with a chip on his shoulder. Among others, he is pissed off about last year’s results. If he can bring back some of the magic from his first few seasons with the Yankees it will go a long way towards lengthening an already dangerous lineup. Defensively, “Le Machine” has handled the hot corner admirably over the years, and there’s no reason that should change in 2024.

Behind DJ, Jose Rojas, Jordan Groshans, Oswald Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera will compete in Spring Training for the backup role. Oswald and Oswaldo likely have a leg up in the competition, as they can play shortstop and second base as well. This would allow Aaron Boone to give rest days to the whole infield and play with matchups, which we know he likes to do. Cabrera can also play outfield and is out of options, so he is the most likely to make the roster out of the bunch.

Peraza struggled in his first taste of the majors last year. If he can learn to replicate his minor league success against major league pitching he could earn a spot on the roster and compete for playing time. Defensively, Peraza is a whiz. He might be the best shortstop on the roster and is just as good at third and second base.

Jose Rojas has been around for a while. Rojas brings two seasons of success in limited major league action with him followed by a successful season in the KBO, Korea’s professional baseball league. Though he does not play shortstop, he does bring defensive versatility to the table. He can also play second, first, and corner outfield. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the major leagues at some point during the season. He’s an excellent depth piece to stash in Triple-A in case of injury.

Jordan Groshans is the perfect project for the Yankees hitting development team. He was drafted 12^th 2018 draft, and scouts always felt he would develop power. As of yet, this is the one piece of his game that has not come around. If the Yankees can pull that out of him, Groshans could sneak onto the roster at some point this season.

Jeter Downs and Kevin Smith, both shortstops by trade, are dark horse candidates to make the roster out of spring training. It is more likely they both start in Triple-A as depth for the major league roster, but both are quality players to have around in case of injuries.

Further down in Double-A, the Yankees have Tyler Hardman. Though not considered a plus defensive third baseman, Hardman played there most of last season. He hit 26 homeruns in 77 games and had a .237/.332/.558/.891 quad slash. Hardman has work to do in cutting down on strikeouts and improving his average. The power is tantalizing though, and that could end up being his ticket to the Bronx someday.

Beau Brewer will compete for a spot at third base in High-A. We recently highlighted him in an interview with NYYU. Brewer is a quality contact hitter working to improve his power numbers. If so, we could hear a lot more about him in the coming years.

The future of third base may be sitting in Low-A this year. The Yankees have 4-5 middle infielders at the level who could find their home at third base long term. Roderick Arias, George Lombard Jr., Keiner Delgado, Enmanuel Tejeda, and Hans Montero all have the skills to play third. They also have a strong track record in the hitting department. With good development, some injury luck, age, and maturity any of these guys could find their way to New York in a couple of years.

This is perhaps the most exciting part about the third base depth in the Yankees’ organization. The depth at shortstop is added to the mix at third base, and the Yankees have done a great job of bringing in middle infield prospects recently.

The Yankees also have an exciting two-way player in the rookie leagues this year. Josh Tiedemann was drafted as both a pitcher and a third baseman in 2023. He has big power from the right side and could play his way up the ladder. He is of course a few years away from competing for a major league job, but the sky is the limit for this high school draftee.

The Yankees will get a fresh start at third base in 2024. The team has to be excited to move on from what was one of the most disputed trades of the last 20 years. With LeMahiue and the depth behind him, there will be no shortage of solid options for the next few years in the Bronx.

The post Yankees organizational depth: third base appeared first on NYY UNDERGROUND.

by Greg Corcoran

6-foot-1

215-pounds

Third baseman, first baseman, second baseman

Right-handed

22-years-old

The Yankees have found a few niches when it comes to the types of players they’ve been able to develop well. They seem to target players with certain profiles given their success with developing them. Beau Brewer, picked in the 19th round of the 2022 draft, falls into the category of guys who are superior contact hitters without much power but could grow into it.

The Yankees found Brewer in Paris Junior College in Texas, where he struck out just 10 times in 42 games. Brewer plays all over the infield and has already shown he can make contact in the minor leagues as well. In 2023, he hit .280/.410/.293/.703 with 12 K : 35 BB in 50 games for Tampa. The catch? He had just two extra base hits in those 50 games.

As you can see, Beau is a patient, contact oriented hitter. Any time you can have a .410 OBP and strike out just 6% of the time, you’re doing something right. Clearly, something has to give with Brewer on the power side to advance his career. He has the size, athleticism, and hand-eye coordination to maximize that power as he develops.

While his range is good at third base, he still needs work at the hot corner. He made seven errors in just 20 games there in 2023. What he lacks in consistency he makes up for in versatility. He logged 19 games at first base and 10 games at second base in 2023.

The Yankees have had success developing players with Brewer’s profile in recent years. Caleb Durbin has emerged as a legitimate prospect, and Jared Serna has increased his power potential every year. TJ Rumfield went from a contact oriented first baseman to an upper-level power hitter. If the Yankees can do something similar with Brewer, he could be next in line for a similar bump in production.

Another aspect of Brewer’s game that has yet to be tapped into is his speed. He stole just three bases in 50 games in Low-A but was a legitimate base-stealing threat in juco and summer League ball before he was drafted. Given the Yankees’ recent predilection for stealing bases in the minor leagues, I’d expect him to become more aggressive in 2024.

While Brewer is one of the lesser-known Yankees prospects, he could begin to change that narrative as soon as 2024 if he has a strong offseason. It’s tough to measure the ceiling of a prospect who is still not close to a finished product, but as it stands Brewer’s would be in the realm of a high average, high on base percentage utility player. That ceiling could change in the coming years if 2024 brings more extra base hits.

It would be easy to write Brewer off as a later round pick with little fanfare, but in recent years the Yankees have been doing a nice job of getting the most out of players like Beau. While most players this late in the draft will not make it to the majors, Brewer has a chance to buck that trend if he works hard and makes the right adjustments.

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11/6/2023

Here’s the last ten prospects in the Beyond the top 30 series. There are also some bonus rankings at the end. Some of these guys could be top 30 by next year.

61. Blane Abeyta – 6-foot-3, 220-pounds, SP, RHP, 25-years-old – Abeyta is another prospect who took a step back in a few categories this year. His ERA ballooned to 5.67 and he let up 18 homeruns compared to six the year prior. Paradoxically, his strikeout and walk rate both improved this season despite the increase in ERA. He had the same average against, and he threw a career-high 127 innings. Abeyta was an undrafted free agent, but it was in 2020. He likely would have been drafted in the top 10 rounds otherwise. His fastball, which once sat 91-94, now sits 92-96 mph. His best secondary offering is his slider which is above average to plus. He also throws a changeup and curveball which are still in the development stages. The Yankees keep trotting him out as a starter which tells me there is something more there. He’ll likely start back in Somerset in 2024 and if he has made some improvements could be in Triple-A before the end of the season. A move to the bullpen could speed along his development as well.
62. Will Brian – 5-foot-11, 220-pounds, SP, LHP, 24-years-old – Brian likely would have been a breakout player if he had been able to stay healthy in 2023. Alas, he only managed to throw 6.1 innings before succumbing to Tommy John Surgery. We will be lucky to see him at all next season, but there’s a silver lining. He came to camp in 2023 with a velocity increase to low-90’s topping out at 94.2. That fastball averages 12-18 inches of run and 18 inches of induced vertical drop. His curveball, meanwhile, has an insanely good movement profile with 53-60 inches of vertical break and 12 inches of horizontal break. In his second start he introduced a slider with nasty movement. He even threw a changeup which has tail and break. He had difficulty controlling these offerings in the early going, but when he finally does come back, he could really break out.
63. Hans Montero – 5-foot-9, 160-pounds, SS, RHB, 19-years-old – One of the more hyped international signings, Montero finally began to show some of his potential this year in the FCL. He hit .257/.419/.404/.823 with five homeruns, six doubles, three triples, and 17 SB in 53 games. He also had 48 K : 44 BB. Compared to his previous two seasons, this was a drastic improvement. One thing is for sure, Hans can play a solid shortstop. He can play all around the diamond, with 22 games at third and three games at second this season. He has a long way to go, but if he can continue making strides offensively the Yankees may have a good one on their hands. He’ll likely get some time in Low-A next season once some of the bigger names either move up, get hurt, or prove they’re not ready for Low-A.
64. Baron Stuart – 6-foot-4, 209-pounds, SP, RHP, 24-years-old – It’s impressive when your system can develop undrafted free agents as effectively as draft prospects. The Yankees deployed Stuart as a starter in Low-A this year and then promoted him to High-A despite some bigger names, high ceiling arms being options. Baron didn’t have a great statistical season, but he was effective and showed promising stuff. He finished with a 4.47 ERA and 85 K : 46 BB in 100.2 innings. He had a .237 average against. Stuarts bugaboo this season was the walks. If he can rein that in, Stuart could really break out in 2024. Stuart throws a two-seam fastball which sits in the low-90’s and touches 95. He has a slider and a changeup which he uses effectively. The two-seamer has an excellent movement profile, as does the changeup. His slider has mostly vertical break but can be above average at times. The Yankees’ development team will look to get a bit more velocity out of him and help him with his control. He’s pitching in the AFL this offseason working on his stuff. His first stop next season will be High-A. Depending on his offseason work, we may be hearing his name a lot more often soon.
65. Beau Brewer – 6-foot-1, 215-pounds, 3B, RHB, 21-years-old – Brewer was taken in the 19th round in the 2022 draft and was known at that time as a very good contact hitter. Those skills translated to the minors well, as he hit .280/.410/.293/.703. What also translated, however, was the lack of power. This season was a nice building block for Brewer going forward, and he is still young enough that the extra base hits could come later. I’m sure this will be priority #1 and 1a in the offseason. His offseason priority will be to gain strength and retool his swing for more loft. He’ll likely spend most of the year in High-A.
66. Jerson Alejandro – 6-foot-6, 255-pounds, SP, RHP, 17-years-old – It’s hard to imagine a 255-pound 17-year-old, but Alejandro is that guy. He’s a physical beast and was a high-profile pitching sign out of the Dominican Republic. Jerson had a decent first season in the DSL, with a 4.5 ERA and 36 K : 17 BB in 36 innings. Alejandro has a fastball that has already peaked at 98 mph that he pairs with a top-notch changeup and a curveball. He should break camp with the FCL next year and will hope to follow the same trajectory as Carlos Lagrange and Henry Lalane, getting some innings in the USA while learning to master his craft.
67. Omar Gonzalez – 6-foot-4, 175-pounds, SP, RHP, 18-years-old – Gonzalez had a fantastic debut season in 2022, with a 0.44 ERA and 36 K : 9 BB in 20.1 innings in the DSL. Unfortunately, he succumbed to Tommy John Surgery shortly after the start of the 2023 DSL season. Gonzalez is a strikeout machine and has a low-90’s fastball that has touched 93 with high spin rates and movement. He also throws a slider and a changeup which could both be above average. The early news in camp in 2023 was that his stuff had improved across the board, including velocity. Now we will have to wait until he comes back from injury to see if he can sustain those improvements. When he comes back, he should be in the United States, but that may not happen until 2025.
68. Angel Benitez – 6-foot-7, 204-pounds, SP, RHP, 20-years-old – Benitez missed all of 2023 after getting Tommy John Surgery following the 2022 season. In 2022, he threw 17 innings and had 24 K : 7 BB and a 1.06 ERA. Before the injury, Benitez sat in the mid-90’s and topped out at 97 mph with a fastball that has cutting action and ride. He also possesses a plus changeup and a sweeper that is already above average. He has a low arm slot with good extension. Many are excited about Carlos Lagrange and Henry Lalane, but what most don’t realize is that Angel Benitez might be the best of the bunch. Benitez will make the journey to the United States next season but mark my words, he will not do it quietly. He should be one of the most talked about players in the FCL next season.
69. Danny Flatt – 6-foot-4, 190-pounds, SP, RHP, 19-years-old – Flatt has a low-90’s fastball that got up to 95 mph during his senior season. He also has a high spin curveball and slider. He even throws a changeup. That’s four pitches for a high school level pitcher. To get that kind of package in the 14th round was impressive for the Yankees. Like most high school pitchers, the Yankees have a lot of work to do on the development side with Flatt, but he has an immense ceiling that could be tapped. He’s already a spin-rate darling, as the fastball has 2300 rpm, the changeup 2100 rpm, the curveball 3036 rpm, and the slider at 2924. A hard worker and a big kid, the Yankees should be able to get more velocity and movement on his pitches. They’ll have plenty of time to develop him since he’s a high school draftee. They haven’t drafted a guy quite like Flatt in the past, but he has a profile that I have confidence the Yankees can develop. They’ve had success with Sean Hermann and Brock Selvidge out of high school recently, and Flatt could be the next exciting guy with a big ceiling.
70. Sebastian Keane – 6-foot-3, 187-pounds, SP/RP, RHP, 23-years-old – The Yankees took it slow with Keane in 2023, who spent most of the season in the FCL despite being 23. The 2022 18^th round pick was clearly overqualified for the level, with 35 K : 16 BB, a 1.71 ERA, and a .126 average against. He dominated inferior competition. He was finally promoted to Low-A at the end of the season where he made two starts. He finished the year with a 2.56 ERA and 43 K : 19 BB in 31.2 innings. Keane throws three pitches, all of which have excellent movement. He has a sinker that ranges from 91-94 mph and has 12 inches of horizontal movement and 18 inches of vertical break. His changeup has 12-18 inches of horizontal movement with 30 inches of drop. His curveball has 45 inches of break and 6-12 inches of sweep. Keane didn’t get a chance to pitch in the long season leagues this year, but I’ll bet he will next year. Given the competition he faces, he’ll likely be a reliever unless he has a significant uptick this offseason. He’s a sleeper going into 2024.

Bonus ranks:

Luis Arejula – 6-foot-1, 170-pounds, RP, RHP, 21-years-old – On the surface, Arejula’s numbers do not jump off the page. That’s not where you’ll find his appeal. Arejula has a fastball with excellent movement, as well as a nasty changeup and a slider that has good vertical and horizontal break. He sits in the low-90’s and tops out at 95.4 mph with the fastball. In 2023, he had a 4.96 ERA and 17 K : 10 BB in 16.1 innings. Arujela could have a Harrison Cohen/Mason Vinyard-like breakout next year if he gets more innings and can figure it out.

Tanner Myatt – 6-foot-7, 245-pounds, RP, RHP, 25-years-old – Myatt has managed to continue to keep a low profile despite his massive size because of the giants surrounding him (both figuratively and literally). The fact of the matter is that he had a good season in his own right. He had a 2.78 ERA and 72 K : 40 BB in 58.1 innings for Somerset. Batters hit just .160 against him, which is in line with his career numbers. The challenge for Myatt comes with his control, which is understandable given his long levers. If he can find that, he could be a high-leverage reliever in the major leagues. He’s older, but it’s not too late. Some players don’t find their command until their mid to late 20’s. He throws an upper-90’s fastball, changeup, cutter, and slider. He has done some work to simplify his pitches and delivery to attempt to make everything more repeatable. So far it has not resulted in a significant decrease in the walks. He’ll likely start in Triple-A with all the other high ceiling relievers in the system and could help the big-league team if the above improvements are made. Myatt might be a minor league free agent after this year. If so, all bets are off.

Christian Zazueta – 6-foot-3, 163-pounds, SP, RHP, 19-years-old – Zazueta throws four pitches and has good command. This year in the DSL, he threw 52 innings and had a 3.29 ERA with 50 K : 16 BB. He had a .211 average against. He appears ready to take the next step in his career and make the leap to the FCL. Rail thin, with some weight gain and strength training Christian is expected to gain 5-6 mph on his fastball as he develops. The FCL rotation is going to be loaded next year.

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