This imbalance poses a problem for me because I find pitching prospects incredibly boring. Half of them will end up injured. Of the other half, it’s difficult to tell which mid-90s fastball guy with a plus breaking ball, decent command and a developing changeup is going to be a good major league pitcher. It’s harder still when most of them are in A-ball. Thus, my daily habit of checking minor league box scores is quite boring right now.

After years of familiar hitting prospects graduating, it’s time to learn a little more about the obscure ones. Who are the most interesting Yankee hitting prospects currently playing in games?

The Top Prospect: Thairo Estrada, 22, SS 

He’s in Triple-A. He’s a middle infielder. He kind of hits well, putting up wRC+s above 107 at every full-season minor league level despite being younger than his competition. However, no one thinks Thairo Estrada is going to be a great major league hitter. If he is successful long-term, Estrada is going to be a Freddy Galvis, Brandon Crawford, or pre-power Didi Gregorius type. Other than missing most of Spring Training with a bullet wound, Estrada is a snoozefest. Next.

The Probably Terrible But Maybe Decent Prospect: Dermis Garcia, 20, 3b

Way back in the more innocent days of 2014, the Yankees decided to exploit a hole in Major League Baseball’s international free agency spending caps and spend tens of millions of dollars all at once. The cream of the crop was Dermis Garcia. The third baseman has a low-average, maxed power slugger scouting report, with nothing special coming out of the other tools. He had a successful and age-appropriate 2017 season, hitting .249/.357/.542 with a 30% strikeout rate. The power was on display, but not much else. The current trend in MLB prospects has been to follow athletic guys with strong hitting skills learn to hit for 25 home runs (see Torres, Gleyber), not to try and teach power sell outs to hit singles.

Garcia is fine. He’s almost certainly going to bust at this point, but the power is interesting. He could be Mark Trumbo, Danny Valencia, or, in the best possible world, Khris Davis. Even in that timeline, which I’m pretty sure if crazy optimistic, Garcia won’t sniff even the high minor leagues until we’re knee-deep in the 2020 primaries. He didn’t even break camp to full-season ball right away. Next.

My pick: Tyler Wade, 23 Everywhere

Tyler Wade still exists. After an excellent Spring Training, Tyler Wade looked to be the next great Yankee utility guy. Then he hit below .100 in 38 MLB plate appearances. Wade hasn’t been much better since he was demoted, hitting .231/.293/.286. Not good.

That said, I still think Tyler Wade is super interesting. He can credibly play every non-catcher position pretty well. A year ago, at just 22 years old, he hit .310/.382/.460 at Triple-A. He runs and steals bases. Tyler Wade could still become an enormously valuable utility player. In one scenario, he’s Brock Holt or Eduardo Nunez. In another, he’s Chris Taylor or even a poor man’s Jose Ramirez. And he could continue his journey to the major leagues as soon as later this year. The pickings in the Yankee farm system are slim, but Tyler Wade could still be a very fun player.

Top Performers

Scranton: Rob Refsnyder (5-15, 4 R, 2 HR, 2B) Ref’s recent hot streak earned him another cup of coffee in the Bronx and a chance to supplant Ronald Torreyes as utility infielder.

Trenton: Dustin Fowler (9-25, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B, 3B, SB) Fowler is beginning to recover after a slow start in Double-A.

Tampa: Ian Clarkin (14.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K) His strong performance merited a write-up in Baseball America’s Prospect Report. They mentioned his stuff is undiminished by last season’s elbow the injury, which is an encouraging sign despite his mixed results this year.

Charleston: Thairo Estrada- (9-21, 3 HR, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI) The 5’10 155 lb Estrada has clubbed five home runs in his first 30 games of 2016. He had just four in his previous 135 professional games.  

Notes

• Gary Sanchez, New York’s number three prospect according to BP, received his first career start Friday against Chris Sale and the White Sox. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and was subsequently demoted.
• 24-year-old Chad Green also earned his first big league start this week, a rocky outing Monday against the Diamondbacks in place of the injured Luis Severino. He was optioned back to Triple-A following the 12-2 loss.
• Rob Refsnyder’s 16 game hitting streak ended Friday against the Indianapolis Indians.
• RailRiders beat writer Shane Hennigan tweeted that although Mason Williams is “progressing well,” there is no timetable for his return at the moment. Williams underwent season ending shoulder surgery last August and is currently on the 60-day DL.
• On Wednesday, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reported that there was finally an official timetable for James Kaprielian’s recovery from elbow inflammation. No less a source than Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner estimated it would be 4-6 weeks until he was back in action.
• Starting pitchers Dietrich Enns and Eric Ruth were promoted to Triple-A Scranton. Enns went six scoreless innings in his RailRiders’ debut.
• The Yankees traded for 25-year-old Twins righthander J.R. Graham on Saturday. Rated the 63rd best prospect in baseball before the 2013 season, Graham has struggled with injuries and command issues. This kind of high-upside/low-risk pickup has been Cashman’s bread and butter the past few years. Lots still to like here.

The Quote

“He’s still got 80 speed, but he can’t just get away with it anymore.” – A scout cited by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports discussing the base-stealing prowess of top prospect Jorge Mateo.

After swiping 82 bags in 97 chances (84.5%) to lead all minor leaguers last season, Mateo has been caught eight times in 21 attempts (61.9%) in 2016.

The Highlight

It would be hard to find a less likely candidate for a two homer game in the Yankee system than the diminutive Thairo Estrada. There are more toolsy and physically impressive shortstops in the organization, but the scrappy Estrada continues to hold his own against increasingly advanced competition.

Photo: Noah K. Murray / USATSI