The highest-rated player of that elite group since those moves were made is 20-year-old Venezuelan infielder Gleyber Torres, a player who made his way to the Bronx from the Chicago Cubs in return for Aroldis Chapman.
Now, not only is Torres considered the top Yankees prospect, but the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball.
MiLB.com recently reset their rankings to account for players who have subsequently made the jump full-time to the Majors, and in doing so, a path was cleared for Torres - whose 2017 season came to an abrupt end when he injured his elbow in a freak sliding injury into home plate, later requiring Tommy John surgery - to take over the pole position.
New York Mets infielder Amed Rosario "graduated" out of the Top-100 prospect rankings list, and in moved Torres, who sits above other highly regarded farmhands like Victor Robles of the Nationals, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays, Eloy Jimenez of the White Sox and Ronald Acuna of the Braves.
After becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Arizona Fall League MVP Award last year, Torres entered spring training 2017 with high hopes of potentially playing his way onto the Major League club despite his youthful inexperience at just 20 years old. He appeared to be on that exact path too, until injuring his non-throwing elbow while sliding home and ending his year on June 17.
In Grapefruit League action, Torres wowed over 19 games. He finished the spring with a .448 batting average, two homers, six doubles, one triple, nine RBI and eight runs scored in 32 trips to the plate.
Torres played 55 games in the minor leagues this season - 32 in Double-A and 23 in Triple-A - and the higher he rose in the farm system, the more impressive his play was on the field. Torres slashed .273/.367/.496 with five homers, 18 RBI, 22 runs, five stolen bases and 16 extra-base hits for the Double-A Trenton Thunder, then he brought his game to another level upon his promotion to Triple-A.
For the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Torres continued to show off the skill set that made him one of baseball's most mouth-watering prospects, slashing .309/.406/.457 with two home runs, 16 RBI, nine runs and two stolen bases against the stiffer competition. Torres had been playing High-A ball just a year prior, but appeared perfectly comfortable playing against ex-big leaguers and other top prospects knocking on the door to the Majors.
"He knows how to play the game," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Torres back in May. "That's the bottom line. Whether it's offensively, defensively, running the bases ... he knows how to play the game."
"He's shown some power, he's played some exceptional defense for us, his throwing has been accurate and he's getting better and better on the basepaths," said Yankees VP of Player Development Gary Denbo. "So all the things that we want him to check off on the way to major league player, he's been doing it for us."
Torres won't turn 21 until December 13 of this year, but his talents and maturity are that of a far more experienced player. The Yankees will be hoping he can resume his rapid ascension to the Majors starting in Spring 2017, but this time, he'll be preparing for a new season with the title of baseball's No. 1 prospect.
