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First Posted: 4/2/2014 Here are the New York Yankees top-15 prospects according to Baseball America, with expected and current RailRiders players in italics.
1. Gary Sanchez, Catcher
* 2013 minor league stats with Tampa/Trenton: .253 BA; 15 HR; 71 RBI; .324 OBP;
* 2014 minor league team: The 21-year-old backstop will start the season in Double-A and will likely stay there most of the season due to the outstanding depth at the position in the organization.
* Profile: He is lauded as the organization&#8217;s best hitter in the minors. He gets criticized for his defense and is compared to former top prospect Jesus Montero for that reason. While playing for High-A Tampa last season, he led the Florida State League with 11 passed balls before being promoted to Trenton.
2. Slade Heathcott, outfielder
* 2013 minor league stats with Trenton: .261 BA; 8 HR; 49 RBI; 15 SB; .327 OBP; 7 triples; 22 doubles
* 2014 minor league team: Currently dealing with an injury, he&#8217;s expected to join the RailRiders when he&#8217;s fully recovered from his ankle ailment.
* Profile: At age 23, Heathcott has had plenty of success in the minors no matter what level he&#8217;s been at. The drawback is that he&#8217;s had trouble staying healthy, having never played a full season. But he&#8217;s an all-out player that hustles in every situation.
3. Mason Williams, outfielder
* 2013 minor league stats with Tampa/Trenton: .245 BA; 4 HR; 28 RBI; 15 SB; .304 OBP; 24 doubles
* 2014 minor league team: He got a taste of Double-A last year, helping Trenton win the Eastern League, and will start there again this season.
* Profile: The 22-year-old was the top-rated prospect in the organization entering 2013, but his stats dropped dramatically from 2012. Getting to see Double-A pitching at the end of last season could help him rebound as 2014 begins.
4. John Ryan Murphy, catcher
* 2013 minor league stats with Trenton and RailRiders: .269 BA; 12 HR; 46 RBI; .347 OBP; 29 doubles
* 2014 minor league team: Barring a promotion, he will be with the RailRiders.
* Profile: He made a dramatic leap up this list from last year, when he was No. 15 and even played in 16 games with New York at the end of last season. Murphy was the backstop for Mariano Rivera&#8217;s final pitch thrown in his career. Rated as the best defensive catcher in the organization, he will play a lot with the RailRiders. But he and recently promoted Austin Romine &#8212; a former highly-rated prospect who spent the majority of 2013 in New York &#8212; are expected to split time behind the plate and at DH if/when Romine returns.
5. Eric Jagiello, third base
* 2013 minor league stats in Gulf Coast League and Staten Island: .264 BA; 6 HR; 27 RBI; .376 OBP; 55 games
* 2014 minor league team: He will most likely be with Staten Island in the New York-Penn League or with Low-A Charleston.
* Profile: Drafted last year in the first round out of Notre Dame, he turns 22 in May and debuts on this list very high due to his patience at the plate and ability to make contact. He&#8217;s not going to win games with his feet or defense, but will with the longball.
6. Aaron Judge, outfielder
* 2013 minor league stats: Did not play
* 2014 minor league team: He&#8217;s headed for Low-A Charleston.
* Profile: Another first round draft pick by the Yankees last year just like Jagiello, Judge was taken out of Fresno State, where he put up exceptional numbers in his senior season. He hit a combined .346 in his three seasons and stole at least 11 bases each season.
7. Ian Clarkin, LHP
* 2013 minor league stats in Gulf Coast League: 0-2, 10.81 ERA; 3 starts; 5 IP; 4BB; 4K
* 2014 minor league team: He will likely stay in extended spring training in Tampa and then either head to the Gulf Coast League once again or to Staten Island.
* Profile: The third of the Yankees&#8217; first round draft picks from 2013, he turned 19 in February and has a bright upside after helping USA Baseball&#8217;s U18 team win a gold medal at the 2012 IBAF World Championship in South Korea. He gained publicity for saying &#8220;he couldn&#8217;t stand the Yankees while growing up.&#8221; But he ended up with more than a million reasons after being drafted last year to feel differently about the organization.
8. Greg Bird, first base
* 2013 minor league stats with Charleston: .288 BA; 20 HR; 84 RBI; .428 OBP; 107 BB; 36 doubles
* 2014 minor league team: Bird will start the season with High-A Tampa.
* Profile: Playing in his first full season professionally, the 21-year-old entered in grand fashion by leading all of the minor leagues in walks in 2013. When he blasted 20 home runs for the RiverDogs last year, he was the first left-hander to do so for the team since it became affiliated with the Yankees in 2005.
9. Luis Severino, RHP
* 2013 minor league stats in Gulf Coast League and with Charleston: 4-2, 2.45 ERA; 53 K, 10 BB, 44 IP
* 2014 minor league team: He&#8217;s back at Charleston to begin this season after getting four starts there last year.
* Profile: Only 20, Severino dominated with the Gulf Coast League Yankees last season, giving up four earned runs and 16 hits in 26 1/3 innings. He&#8217;s got a good slider and uses it to his advantage, while his fastball has tops out in the upper 90s.
10. Gosuke Katoh, second base
* 2013 minor league stats in Gulf Coast League: .310 BA; 6 HR; 25 RBI; .402 OBP; 11 doubles; 5 triples in 50 games
* 2014 minor league team: He will be getting his first taste of full-season ball starting out with Charleston.
* Profile: Selected by the Yankees in the second round last year out of Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, he led all Yankee minor leaguers in batting average and tied for the GCL lead in home runs. The 19-year-old is a five-tool prospect and could be the middle infielder of the future.
11. Manny Banuelos, LHP
* 2013 minor league stats: Did not play
* 2014 minor league team: He&#8217;s currently starting the season with Tampa to stay in the warm weather after having elbow surgery nearly two years ago. He&#8217;s expected to join the RailRiders once the weather heats up.
* Profile: Once one of the elite prospects in the organization, he&#8217;s still only 23 and has time to rekindle his outlook. He needs to stay healthy, having not pitched a full season since 2011 &#8212; and even then he was limited. He will likely be watched closely this season as well. He still has all the pitches and tools that made him coveted &#8212; he&#8217;s a strike-thrower and that&#8217;s a good start to rebuilding.
12. Abiatal Avelino, shortstop
* 2013 minor league stats in the Gulf Coast League and with Staten Island: .303 BA; 0HR; 23 RBI; .381 OBP; 5 triples; 28 SB in 51 games
* 2014 minor league team: He&#8217;s headed to Low-A Charleston for his first professional full-season.
* Profile: Signed as a non-drafted free agent in December 2011, the 19-year-old has only played in 108 games professionally but has shown he can handle the bat, posting a .302 batting average in that span. He also has good speed, piling up 48 steals.
13. Jose Ramirez, RHP
* 2013 minor league stats with Trenton/RailRiders: 2-6, 3.67 ERA; 78 K, 36 BB; 73 2/3 IP
* 2014 minor league team: He will eventually make to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after a little time in extended spring training recovering from an injury.
* Profile: Ramirez has a blasting fastball that has been clocked in the upper 90s. Combining the best fastball in the organization and the best changeup &#8212; both according to Baseball America &#8212; he has what it takes to be a dominant closer in the majors if he can adjust to the upper levels.
14. Jose Campos, RHP
* 2013 minor league stats with Charleston: 4-2, 3.41 ERA; 2 saves; 77K; 16BB; 87 IP
* 2014 minor league team: He&#8217;s moving up to High-A Tampa this season.
* Profile: Arrived to the Yankees in the same trade that sent Jesus Montero to Seattle and brought Michael Pineda to New York, Campos missed most of the 2012 season, then pitched a full season last year. He pitched as both a reliever and a starter last year. Being only 21-years-old, there&#8217;s still time for him to develop into either role.
15. Rafael DePaula, RHP
* 2013 minor league stats: 7-5, 4.29 ERA; 146 K; 53BB; 113 1/3 IP
* 2014 minor league team: Like Campos, he will start the season with Tampa.
* Profile: The 23-year-old led all Yankees prospects in strikeouts in 2013 and has a career number of 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Most of his domination came with Charleston last season and in 11 games with Tampa, he posted a 6.06 ERA but still fanned 146 in 113 1/3 innings.

Baseball America’s Yankees top prospects