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New York Yankees News: Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo Invited To Camp

By Kenneth Teape

Mar 5, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) looks on from the dugout during the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at a spring training baseball game at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2015; Bradenton, FL, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) looks on from the dugout during the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at a spring training baseball game at McKechnie Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Yankees News: The Yankees have some intriguing names being invited to camp in top prospects Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo and James Kaprielian.

The New York Yankees have had a quiet offseason by their standards. They landed some solid players via trades, acquiring Aaron Hicks, Aroldis Chapman and Starlin Castro. But, they have been nonexistent on the free agent market, being the only team to spend no money on free agents this offseason.

There are some people that believe the reasoning behind that is because the Yankees have so many overpaid veterans on their roster, so there is no playing time available to entice free agents with. The Yankees would prefer to see those contracts come off the books and then reload at some point; maybe by signing Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in a couple of seasons once he is a free agent.

Another reason for the quiet offseason is because the Yankees have some top prospects in their farm system that are close to breaking into the major leagues and ready for prominent roles. We will see a couple of those prospects in action in a couple of weeks when camp opens up, as the Yankees have extended invites to a number of them.

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The one that will catch everyone’s eye is outfielder Aaron Judge. His size alone will have people looking his way, as he stands an imposing 6-feet-7 inches tall and weighs 275 pounds. But, his talent is also worth going to the ballpark to see. Judge has immense raw power and is an excellent athlete. That potential is what landed Judge on MLB.com’s Top-10 List for outfield prospects, as he came in at number eight.

There is a chance that we see Judge in the major leagues at some point this season, as the Yankees outfield has lacking in youth and durability. He will not be the only top Yankees prospect that will be at camp this year, as top shortstop prospect Jorge Mateo will also be invited.

Mateo is one of the top prospects not only in the Yankees system, but in baseball in general. At only 20-years old, Mateo has loads of potential. He is the 30th ranked prospect in all of baseball, and the 11th ranked shortstop. He was named the fastest runner among prospects on MLB.com’s Best Tools of Top 100 Prospects.

This is what Jim Callis of MLB.com, who made the list, had to say about Mateo:

"Mateo has outstanding raw speed — he can go from the right side of the plate to first base in less than four seconds — but he’s more than just a raw speedster. He has succeeded on 83 percent of his steal attempts as a pro and led the Minors with 82 in 2015, his first year in full-season ball. Mateo’s quickness gives him plenty of range at shortstop, and he also exhibits some surprising power potential during batting practice."

In addition to Judge and Mateo, the Yankees will be having their 2015 first round pick, James Kaprielian, will be invited to camp as well. There is a chance that Kaprielian, despite being the least seasoned of the three prospects, sees major league action first as the Yankees’ starting rotation is a huge question mark.

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These three are the next wave of youngsters the Yankees will use as a core, as we saw the beginnings of it last season with Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder in 2015.

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