As the trade deadline approaches, Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees will look to fill their various pressing needs and roster holes while ideally not sacrificing too much of their future in the process.
It's true that it costs something to get something, but if the Yankees are smart, they'll ride the wave of the hot hand to move otherwise flawed prospects, hoping that their prospective trade partners will overlook the warts and dive in headfirst on the potential breakout.
Of course, this isn't without risk either. Cashman will have to hope that regression is incoming and that he's selling high on a prospect, instead of missing an obvious breakout that is happening right before his eyes. Such is the life for a major league general manager.
The Yankees have some prime sell-high candidates whose hot streaks might not be enough to hide their flaws, but could have rival general managers salivating over their potential.
4 prospects the Yankees would be wise to sell high on at the July 31 trade deadline
Outfielder Spencer Jones
There might not be a hotter hitter in the minor leagues than Spencer Jones right now. The towering 24-year-old began his season by finally tapping into his immense power at Double-A Somerset, rocketing 16 homers while posting a .274/.389/.594 line in 49 games.
Jones was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 27, and since reaching the minors' highest level has gone on an otherworldly tear. In just 14 games, Jones has already crushed seven dingers while slashing an eye-popping .362/.426/.776.
Standing at six-foot-seven, many fans envision the uber-athletic Jones as the left-handed version of Aaron Judge, and this breakout highlighted by his current sizzling hot streak might put him off-limits in their minds.
There's one huge red flag, however: the swing-and-miss. With Somerset, Jones was going down on strikes 33.7% of the time. In his short stint in Scranton, that number has come down a hair, but still resides at an unacceptable 29.4%. Big league pitchers will feast on a hitter with that many holes in his swing, so until Jones can figure that out (which is questionable), his tremendous gifts are likely neutralized in the bigs, regardless of his current hot streak.
Pitcher Carlos Lagrange
Carlos Lagrange is a towering six-foot-seven right-hander with boom-or-bust potential who possesses a 70 grade fastball and was a surprise addition to High-A Hudson Valley's roster before earning a promotion to Double-A Somerset earlier in the year.
With that sensational triple-digit velocity fastball and an array of tantalizing secondary stuff, Lagrange might seem like a keeper for the long haul. There's just one problem, however. He struggles to hit the strike zone.
Last year at Single-A Tampa, the youngster walked a super concerning 8.16 batters per nine. His work with Hudson Valley seemed to ease some of those concerns, with a 2.59 BB/9 over eight starts and 41 2/3 innings, but they've cropped up again in Somerset with a 5.55 BB/9 mark in 35 2/3 innings.
The 22-year-old is currently riding a hot streak with a 2.61 ERA and 34:15 K-BB ratio over his last four starts, putting him in the spotlight at the absolute best possible moment.
There's one other issue with Lagrange: he's struggled to stay healthy over the course of his young career. With another six-foot-seven monster in the currently injured Henry Lalane, as well as a plethora of other talented arms led by recent call-up Cam Schlittler, the Yankees can afford to let someone else roll the dice on Lagrange's health and potential.
Outfielder Everson Pereira
Depending on where a team is in their life cycle, they may prefer major league-ready prospects over higher ceiling but less seasoned youngsters. At 24 years old, with an extensive track record at Triple-A and 27 big league games under his belt, outfielder Everson Pereira can provide just that.
In many ways, Pereira has been overshadowed by other outfield youngsters such as rookie Jasson Dominguez and the top-ranked Jones, but he's been a top prospect in his own right, with some believing he has five-tool potential.
Pereira has been great in many facets of his offensive game at the plate for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year, slashing .262/.364/.507 with 15 long balls. This year's performance is a near-mirror image of his .265/.346/.512 Triple-A line from last season, indicating some level of consistency.
Unfortunately, his strikeout rate has also come in consistently over 30%, with a 31.1% clip this year, which follows up the 32.4% rate he posted last year. During his 2023 big league cup of coffee, he whiffed a ghastly 38.8% of the time while hitting a powerless .151.
He'll be attractive to some team due to his perceived big league viability, and the Yankees would be wise to sell high before he can thoroughly prove to teams that he, in fact, cannot keep his K's in check.
Catcher/Third baseman Jesus Rodriguez
The Yankees' No. 30 prospect according the MLB.com, Jesus Rodriguez might not be enough on his own to carry a trade package, but he is an intriguing enough secondary piece that could entice a rival enough to get a deal across the finish line.
Rodriguez has tremendous bat-to-ball skills, which make him very intriguing despite an overly aggressive approach. It initially looked like he might flame out offensively at the upper levels with a .226/.278/.417 line in 23 games down the stretch for Double-A Somerset last year.
This year has been a different story, with the 23-year-old hitting .310/.410/.410 with a healthy 13.7% walk rate and stellar 15.5% strikeout rate for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre over 70 games. The bat, despite the lack of home run pop, seems to play and present as an interesting contact-first juxtaposition to the high strikeout sluggers prevalent in today's game.
The problem with Rodriguez is that he doesn't have a real position. As a catcher he's dreadful behind the plate. The Yankees have also tried him out in left field and second base where his athleticism was far too limited. He's logged time at the hot corner, but also doesn't have the quick twitch reactions to excel there. Finally, he's played some first base, which might be the best fit for his glove and the worst fit for his bat.
The Yankees have another catcher/first base type coming up behind him in Rafael Flores, who was the organization's minor league player of the year last season (and who has crushed 15 homers while posting an .838 OPS for Double-A Somerset). In that light, Rodriguez could be seen as expendable, but his bat is intriguing enough for another club to see if they can mold him into their own version of Luis Arráez.
