Three more Yankees in Law's top 30 with Torres still to come, looks like Mateo did indeed drop out of his top 100, but love seeing Rutherford and Kaprielian this high:
28. James Kaprielian, RHP, New York Yankees
Age: 23 (3/2/94) | B/T: R/R
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 200
Top level: High-A | 2016: 87
Kaprielian came to spring training throwing fire, touching 97 mph regularly, a whole level of arm speed beyond what he had shown at UCLA. Then he carried it through four regular-season starts before his elbow barked and the Yankees shut him down -- for the entire season, as it turned out, only bringing him back for the Arizona Fall League. In his first outing there, he was throwing 94-97 in three dominant innings with a hard slider clocked anywhere from 82-89 mph, complemented with a string-puller changeup in the mid-80s. That’s three plus pitches from a guy who is now built like a brick house.
There’s a little effort to his delivery, although less than you’d expect given that stuff, and just a minimal leg kick to get his rhythm going, but I can’t see changing a thing now that he’s completely recovered from the injury. Had he done this all season last year, he’d be in the top 20. I’ve got him ranked here to reflect the greater risk of a catastrophic injury that I think he has compared to pitchers who have never missed this kind of time. But do not mistake the ranking for a lack of faith in Kaprielian the pitcher, who has ace probability commensurate with those near the top of the 100.
27. Clint Frazier, OF, New York Yankees
Age: 22 (9/6/94) | B/T: R/R
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 190
Top level: Triple-A | 2016: 72
Frazier was the headliner in the package of prospects going to the Bronx for Andrew Miller, having reached Triple-A as a 21-year-old after a year and a half of raking his way up from A-ball. He has absolutely electric bat speed that produces above-average power, probably never in the 30-homer range but certainly 15-20 on a consistent basis with high batting averages and a lot of doubles.
Frazier has also boosted his contact rates since a rough go of things in his first full year in pro ball, although I think his swing is so fast and hard that he can be overconfident and chase offspeed stuff, when he needs to learn to lay off. Frazier has played all over the outfield in pro ball, but he’s going to be pushed to a corner, more likely left, by faster and rangier players in center. Given how he’s hit to date, with consistently high BABIPs because he makes hard contact, he’s one of the best bets in the minors to hit .300+, and with moderate power and 50-60 walks a year that would make him at least an above-average regular.
22. Blake Rutherford, OF, New York Yankees
Age: 20 (5/2/97) | B/T: L/R
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 195
Top level: Rookie | 2016: NE
Rutherford was a top five talent in the 2016 draft, but concerns about his age (he turned 19 a month before draft day), position (he’s going to be a corner outfielder) and signability dropped him to the Yankees’ pick at 18th overall, making him one of the biggest steals of the first round. Rutherford can flat-out hit, and he already has some power with a reasonable chance to be plus in the future. He spent most of his summer in the Appy League before an injury ended his season, hitting .382/.440/.618 in 100 plate appearances and posting the highest average and OBP of any teenager in the league.
Rutherford has a mature approach at the plate and a very clean swing, although he can roll over his front foot too often, which may make him vulnerable to lefties with better breaking stuff as he moves up the ladder. He’ll play center for now, but he’s not a major-league center fielder and I think he’ll ultimately end up in right. He’s so likely to hit that I have him stuffed on this list despite the positional concerns, and I think he’ll move quickly through the low minors so that draft-day concerns about his age disappear before this year is out.