The Yankees have one prospect listed on Keith Law of ESPN's midseason Top 50 prospects list, and it should come as no surprise that it's Deivi Garcia -- the diminutive strikeout machine who is now just one step away from the majors.
Law writes that Garcia, who is just 5'9", has been featuring a fastball that sits between 90 and 96 MPH but that hitters "cut through his fastball like he's throwing 105 with spin."
While Law is somewhat bearish on the ceiling of Garcia due to his small stature, he still heaps high praise on the 20-year-old.
"There's a ton of deception in his delivery -- from behind the plate, I can't pick the ball up until the last possible second from his hand -- and he pitches in the strike zone with the confidence of a big leaguer," Law writes. "I can't put a huge ceiling on a kid this small, but I like him as much as I can like a pitcher this size and weight.
Garcia, who was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after tossing a scoreless inning in the Futures Game during All-Star week, has a 3.01 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with a ridiculous 114 strikeouts (14.9 per 9) in 68.2 innings this season split with High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.
He has a career 2.87 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 13.1 K/9 during his four-year minor league career.
The Yankees are scouring the trade market for a starting pitcher with high-end stuff, and it might have been tempting for them to turn to Garcia later this season to give the rotation a shot in the arm. However, with him likely to reach his innings limit by early September, it will be surprising if he's called upon to start in the bigs in 2019.
However, the Yanks might want to consider calling Garcia up later this season and using him in the bullpen. It would be a way to potentially shorten games even more while getting Garcia's feet wet in advance of a potential role in the rotation in 2020.