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Every Monday, we'll be taking a look at how the Yankees' top prospects (their MLB.com Yankees Top-30 rankings are in parenthesis) are faring.
Jonathan Loaisiga, RHP, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (No. 2) - 2019
Loaisiga, who is ranked No. 64 among all MLB prospects per MLB Pipeline, just returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after a brief stint with the Yankees. The 24-year-old made two starts with the Yanks, allowing two runs in 7.0 innings. With the Yankees' multiple health issues in the rotation, it will not be surprising to see Loaisiga once again in the Bronx. Until then, he will work with SWB with the concentration being to build up innings -- something he has yet to do in a professional season (68.2 innings is a career high that he set back in 2013).
Albert Abreu, RHP, Double-A Trenton (No. 3) -- ETA 2020
Abreu came on in relief in his last appearance, hurling 4.0 innings of two-run ball. He allowed five hits, walked three and struck out five. Abreu continues to be less than economical with his pitches (88), something that will need to be remedied before being able to take the next step in what has become an already long progression in the minors.
Deivi Garcia, RHP, High-A Tampa (No. 4) -- ETA 2020
Garcia made his second start of the season, allowing two unearned runs on four hits. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six. Garcia, who is just 19, has great strikeout potential, having recorded 15 punchouts this season in 7.1 innings. His immense upside could produce quick steps up the minor league ladder this season.
Clarke Schmidt, RHP, High-A Tampa (No. 5) -- ETA 2020
Schmidt, the Yankees' first round draft pick (No. 16 overall) in the 2017 MLB Draft, stumbled in his second start of the season. After 5.0 scoreless innings in his first effort, Schmidt was quite erratic, walking five batters and coughing up five hits. The 23-year-old lasted just 3.2 innings in the outing, tossing 66 pitches, only half of which were strikes. Schmidt's production this season could vary, considering it is just his second year back from Tommy John surgery.
Roansy Contreras, RHP, Low-A Charleston (No. 10) -- ETA 2022
Contreras, 19, picked up his second win in as many starts with a 5.0 inning, two-run effort. He scattered six hits, walked two and struck out three.
Nick Nelson, RHP, Double-A Trenton (No. 11) -- ETA 2020
Nelson is looking to build off a fine 2018 season in which he pitched at three levels, recording a 3.55 ERA in 121.1 innings with 144 strikeouts. He has made two starts in 2019 in which he has allowed a total of two runs. Nelson has worked around a good deal of trouble, with batters racking up 10 hits and drawing nine walks over the span. But he has survived the outings by generating strikeouts --12 in total.
Luis Gil, RHP, Low-A Charleston (No. 13) -- ETA 2022
Gil, 20, begins his year with Charleston hoping to build off his 2018 campaign (1.37 ERA in 39.1 innings at Pulaski). Gil, like others in the Yankees system, is a hard-throwing righty who has to learn how to better command his pitches. He owns a 70-grade four-seam fastball, which he's thrown 101 mph, though he sits in the mid to upper 90s. The high velocity combined with an above average curveball allows Gil to miss bats. He has made two starts for the RiverDogs, in which he has a 2.45 ERA in 7.1 innings. The strikeouts are there (nine), but so are the walks (seven), indicating Gil still has plenty of work to do.
Luis Medina, RHP, Low-A Charleston (No. 14) -- ETA 2022
Medina, 19, grades out exactly like Gil in terms of fastball (70) and curveball (60), but his command is even more of an issue. Unlike Gil, Medina was unable to find success with Pulaski last season, tossing 36 innings to the tune of a 6.25 ERA. He walked 46 batters and struck out 47, a ratio that is virtually impossible to generate positive results with. Medina is not off to a great start with Charleston, having thrown 5.0 innings while allowing 13 hits and seven walks leading to 12 runs (11 earned) across two starts.