Whoa, Dustin who?
MLB.com has already released their list of the top 20 prospects in the Yankees system, but what about the players after that? Jim Callis has announced his list of the team's top 21-25 prospects, and while many of them are expected, there were still some surprises.
No. 21 RHP Bryan Mitchell: While Mitchell has struggled for awhile now, he still has a lot of potential and Callis believes he still has the stuff to be successful. "He's still just 23, he still owns a mid-90s fastball, power curveball and hard cutter." The Yankees have called him up for the third time this year and hopefully this is when he finally gets into a game for them.
No. 22 SS Abiatal Avelino: Likely the organization's top shortstop, Avelino "is a solid defender with a very strong arm at shortstop, and he also shows fine instincts for hitting and stealing a few bases." He missed a good portion of the season to injury, however he's back in Low-A now and will hopefully start hitting like he was back in May.
No. 23 3B Miguel Andujar: While his overall numbers don't look great, he's hit incredibly well since the beginning of July. Callis sees that he "fits the third-base profile with plus power potential and a rocket arm. Andujar controls the strike zone reasonably well and has good agility too."
No. 24 OF Dustin Fowler: Now here's the surprise ranking. Drafted just last year, Fowler hasn't got much attention, but Callis believes "he's quickly establishing himself as one of the toolsiest players in the system. Fowler has plus speed, projects as an above-average defender in center field and also possesses some power potential." While he has been an interesting player to follow so far, it would be nice to see him get on base more often and show his speed on the bases.
No. 25 RHP Ty Hensley: Finally, the big right-hander is healthy and pitching again, but how can he go about restoring his former prospect status? Callis believes that "at his best, Hensley has a mid-90s fastball and a curveball that grades as an even better pitch, but he must show he can stay healthy." He's been feasting on lesser competition so far, but hopefully he'll show solid overall numbers at State Island by the end of the year.
Aside from those five, he also notes that recent international signing, shortstop Dermis Garcia, should be making a name for himself very soon. According to Callis "scouts rave about Garcia's power and arm strength, which have earned him comparisons to the likes of Shawon Dunston, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Sano."