Hot Stove Report: New York Yankees Fans Receive An Early Glimpse Of The Future

This post was originally published on Outside Pitch MLB

Although Spring Training isn’t even a week old, the New York Yankees fans have already received great news. The organization’s top prospects – most notably Aaron JudgeJorge Mateo and James Kaprielian – have displayed their talent on the main stage in the early going.

Out of the three, it was Judge who had people wowed from the start.

Sure, many could attribute that to the sheer size of the outfielder. Built more like a linebacker than a baseball player, the 6’7, 275 pound 23-year old has simply looked like a man amongst boys while in the batting cage. However, it was Judge’s obvious power that had everyone talking. Even Alex Rodriguez chimed in on the action.

That practice paid off in a game situation on Saturday, as Judge sent an opposite field three run home run over the right field wall, extending the Yankees lead to five. And while that was expected from Judge, it was the power surge from Mateo that was a pleasant surprise.

Like power is with Judge, it is speed that is synonymous with the Yankees number one overall prospect, according to Baseball America. Mateo led all of baseball in stolen bases in 2015, as he swiped an eye-popping 82 bags in 99 tries.

His first big Spring Training moment displayed said speed. Leading off the ninth inning of game one, Mateo hit a ball that he believed was over the left field wall, as he jogged to first base. However, when he realized it was in play, he absolutely flew around the bases, and his triple ended up helping his team tie the game.

On Saturday, it was a different story; but it looked as though the 20-year old learned his lesson. While the ball was clearly on its way out of play, Mateo ran around the diamond, to the point where his helmet fell off.

And although he didn’t appear in Saturday’s game, Kaprielian, too, was the subject of conversation.

Making his Spring Training debut, Kaprielian – who many believe is on the fast track to the major leagues – furthered that sentiment. Facing everyday players for the Detroit Tigers on Friday, the 22-year old went six up and six down, including to strikeouts to Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler.

While the two strikeouts were a positive, it was Kaprielian’s makeup that was most impressive. With his fastball now sitting at up to 95 miles per hour, it has developed into a plus pitch. On top of that, his maturity, calmness and confidence in his secondary pitches have many speculating that he could be in the Bronx at some point in 2016.

Sure, it’s a very small sample size. And sure, Spring Training has just begun. But the fact that Judge, Mateo and Kaprielian have lived up to the hype thus far should be a great sign for the future of the Yankees.

Dan Federico is the Managing Editor and Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. You can follow and interact with him on Twitter or contact him via email here

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