Prospect Pipeline

As I highlighted in my ranking of the New York Yankees’ top 10 prospects, the organization has numerous young, projectable players on the rise, but very few capable of contributing in the major leagues during the 2013 season.

The market for Cuban prospect Aledmys Diaz should begin to unfold this week in the wake of the shortstop’s 23rd birthday on Tuesday. He was officially declared a free agent last month after establishing residency (in Mexico) during the previous month.

Now, under Major League Baseball’s latest collective bargaining agreement, the team that signs Diaz will not be subject to international signing restrictions. Similarly, he is free to command a higher contract.

The playoffs are underway in all four factions of the offseason winter Leagues, with the winner of the Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan leagues to represent their country in February’s Caribbean Series.

Since there’s a small sample size for this installment given the recent start of the playoffs, my focus will once again be on each league’s hottest position prospects. This week features several notable prospects in Oswaldo Arcia (Twins), Jesus Aguilar (Indians), and the red-hot Leury Garcia (Rangers).

Each year, there are lower-level pitching prospects who narrow the gap between their present abilities and future potential, and as a result emerge as a highly projected prospect.

Usually, it’s someone who has battled injuries early in his career or simply a young, unrefined pitcher who suddenly puts everything together (stuff, command, consistency).

With the spring season edging closer every day, draft talk is beginning to heat up as each organization quietly evaluates the top talent in the 2013 class. However, the format has already endured a significant change, as the qualifying offer system under the new collective bargaining agreement will deprive two teams of a first-round pick.

After posting a .435 OPS in 34 games with the Tampa Bay Rays last season, Hideki Matsui has decided to retire.

As I mentioned in last week’s installment, it’s become increasingly difficult to compose a list of the winter league’s best pitching prospects. While the Dominican league’s regular season ended last week, the Mexican and Venezuelan leagues will both play their last regular-season contests on Sunday.

Although the Milwaukee Brewers have a relatively deep farm system, they lack a true impact prospect. On the other hand, most of their top talent is ready to contribute in the major leagues in either 2013 or 2014.

The organization’s prospect pool is highlighted by a slew of right-handed pitchers in Wily Peralta, Tyler Thornburg, John Hellweg and Taylor Jungmann. After the graduation of Jean Segura to the major leagues late last season, the Brewers also lack a legitimate position prospect.

2012 was a banner year for rookies. Not only did it mark the arrival of two players with the potential to be generational superstars in Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, it also saw the graduation of other high-level prospects such as Manny Machado, Will Middlebrooks and Matt Harvey.

Although the 2013 season won’t feature anything close to what Harper and Trout did last year, there’s a new wave of elite prospects on the verge of becoming big-league regulars.

In each previous installment of this series, I highlighted both the hottest and coldest pitching prospects in the Caribbean Winter Leagues. However, with so few legitimate arms still active in the Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan leagues, it was impossible to find enough ice-cold prospects to fill out the category.