Yankees minor league baseball begins today with a prospect preview

And He has Great Taste in Shoes

The 6’3” righty was never considered a real prospect; 2016 saw him post a 4.63 ERA/1.30 WHIP with 65 SO in 70 innings. But Raynel had a great 2017 season, as Lou Dipietro makes clear for the YES Network:

"A Baby Bomber since signing as a minor-league free agent in 2012, Espinal had a breakout year in 2017, posting a 1.09 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings across three levels; he began the year at Class-A Charleston, moved up to Class-A Advanced Tampa in mid-June, and then a month later advanced to Double-A Trenton, where he finished the season by posting a 0.46 ERA in 19 2/3 innings."

That was good enough to be voted Reliever of the Year by fans, via MiLB.

Still, he’s raw and unproven, but the Yankees can already see they might need additional relievers. Plus, there are two things they love about Espinal: His thin frame coupled with a great downward plane. Together it makes it seem as if he is finishing right on top of the hitter.

Throw and Repeat

One thing he was working on quite a bit in the spring was finishing with consistency. That’s not unusual for tall somewhat gangly pitchers. It seemed as if he was trying to coordinate his back, right arm, and right leg. If he can find a coordinated motion and consistent release point, he could become a powerful weapon out of the pen.

If he does, he will be a good find among the lower ranked prospects, like so many at this level. After the enigmatic Adams, the Yankees sixth-ranked prospect, the next highest rated pitcher is German at 18; Raynel is unrated.

Three of the position players, however, are among the cream of the crop.