One year ago at this time, the New York Yankees had no clear heir apparent to Derek Jeter to speak of. A year later, the Yankees are feeling comfortable with Didi Gregorius up the middle and there's a quartet of prospects -- Tyler Wade, Jorge Mateo, Hoy Jun Park and Kyle Holder -- who could be tabbed as the team's future at the position.
“The bottom line is any scout would turn in [a report on] each guy as a legit guy to be an everyday guy in the big leagues,” general manager Brian Cashman said, via the New York Post. “Will that happen? Time will tell.”
Jorge Mateo, a 20-year-old first-year standout, has arguably emerged as the Yankees' top prospect and could be the guy who emerges as the long-term replacement for Jeter.
“Mateo is awesome,” one scout texted the Post's Joel Sherman recently. “He’s going to be an All-Star player going forward. He’s an 80 runner [top of the scouting scale], a plus fielder right now at 20. His bat projects as a plus. He has natural tools across the board.”
For now, the Yankees will go with Gregorius who has improved significantly both at the plate and in the field and remains an intriguing option going forward being only 25 and one of the more athletic guys on New York's current roster.
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