Fansided

5 prospects who can help the Yankees in 2019

By Rucker Haringey

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 19: Justus Sheffield #61 of the New York Yankees in his MLB debut pitches in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 19, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 10-1. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 19: Justus Sheffield #61 of the New York Yankees in his MLB debut pitches in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 19, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 10-1. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 20: Jonathan Loaisiga #38 pitches in his second start for the New York Yankees against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 20: Jonathan Loaisiga #38 pitches in his second start for the New York Yankees against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

2. Jonathan Loaisiga

When both Jordan Montgomery and Domingo German failed to hold a spot in the rotation last year the organization was forced to put their hopes in Loaisiga. To put it mildly, he exceeded expectations. He couldn’t handle a full season’s worth of work due to his youth, but his time in the Bronx catapulted him to the No. 3 spot in the organization’s prospect rankings.

The challenge for the 23-year-old right hander will be to take an important step forward from intriguing young player to dependable major leaguer this year. He’s certainly going to get an opportunity to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. Again, free agency signings will figure into the mix, but unless Cashman brings in multiple new arms there still should be an open spot for a young pitcher.

Even if Loaisiga can’t nail down a starting spot in Spring Training, he could start the year with the Yankees as a long reliever. A.J. Cole almost certainly won’t be retained in the offseason. Loaisiga could slot into his place in the bullpen and provide the Yankees’ superior production.

That shouldn’t be Loaisiga’s goal, but it does represent a pretty nice floor for a player who wasn’t that highly regarded just 12 months ago. It’s still unclear whether he can develop into a quality starter for a team with legitimate World Series aspirations.

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