In this Unhinged Yankees prospect profile, we take a look at New York’s new top prospect, Estevan Florial, who has been making quite the name for himself.
On March 19, 2015, the Yankees signed 17-year old, Estevan Florial. Out of the gates, Florial had an impressive scouting profile. He had above average grades in raw power, speed and arm strength.
Fast forward to today and Florial is the No. 38 ranked prospect (according to MLB.com) in all of baseball and will soon be the Yankees No. 1 prospect once Gleyber Torres exceeds 130 at-bats (rookie limits) this weekend.
So what has Estevan Florial done from 2015 to today that has improved his stock price?
He began by posting a .921 OPS in 2015 when he played in the Dominican summer league. Florial collected 11 doubles, eight triples, and seven home runs in just 57 games. He also went on to steal 15 bases that season.
In 2016, Florial burst into the Appalachian League where he recorded 10 doubles, one triple, and seven homers in 60 games. However, he finished with a subpar .225/.315/.364 slash Line.
Take a look at highly regarded #Yankees prospect Estevan Florial's first time taking BP in Tampa pic.twitter.com/BVsskvc7Bf
— Dan Federico (@DanJFederico) February 19, 2018
In 2017, at age 19, Florial played a combined 110 games between Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa. Collectively, he batted .298, had an OBP of .372 and recorded an OPS of .850 while swiping 23 bags on 31 attempts. Once the year concluded, he took part in the Arizona Fall League where he thrived while being the second youngest player in the AFL behind Ronald Acuna.
Back in March, Brett Gardner had this to say about Florial to the New York Post,
“You look at a guy like Florial who is 20 years old, he’s just a really really impressive kid, I’m probably more impressed being around him this last week than I am anybody else I’ve been around.”
Based on the amount of talent that was in Tampa during spring training this year, these are remarks you do not take lightly.
Gardner would go on to discuss Florial’s desire to get better and how he admires that he speaks very good English at such a young age.
While Florial is currently playing in High-A to begin the 2018 season but he is currently suffering from a wrist injury. However, it is just a matter of time before he gets the call-up to Double-A Trenton. It is the next step in his development and puts him yet another step closer to finding a way into the Yankees outfield, perhaps in between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
Estevan Florial has more of an impact on this 2018 Yankees team than you might think. Don’t be surprised if Clint Frazier is traded for a “win now” type player because Florial lines up better from a timeline standpoint.
Based on what I am seeing from Florial, I would be okay with that.