Estevan Florial

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #10 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: From an identification issue that complicated his initial signing, to his rise through the system and ascent to its No. 1 prospect in 2019, to two years marred by injuries before his big league debut during the pandemic season of 2020, Florial's career has gone through more peaks and valleys than most. He's been healthy the last two seasons and has made up for lost time and development while getting sporadic callups in the past three seasons to supplement the big league roster. He appeared in 17 games in 2022, just nine of them starts.
  
  Scouting Report: The biggest problem in Florial's game has long revolved around the frequency at which he swings and misses at pitches in the strike zone. He reduced that total to 25% in 2022, while similarly dropping his chase rate to 21%. Both those figures are improvements of 4% year over year. The result is more contact--often hard contact. More than half of the balls Florial hit in 2022 resulted in exit velocities of 95 mph or better, and his 90th percentile exit velocity of 107.2 mph was among the best in the entire system. While the Yankees are encouraged by Florial's improvement, they believe there is still more to come. He also needs to improve his output against lefthanded pitchers, against whom he hit just .222 in the minors. He sharpened his left-on-left skills by taking rounds of batting practice against Scranton coach Raul Dominguez, who is lefthanded. Florial is arguably the best defender in the system, earning plus grades for his work in center field as well as his throwing arm. He's an above-average runner.
  
  The Future: Despite his long career in the minor leagues, Florial is still relatively young in terms of on-field reps. The 2022 season was the first time since 2017 that he played more than 100 games.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 40. Power: 55. Speed: 55. Fielding: 60. Arm: 60.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #15 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: After a 2017 season in which he was the system’s most ballyhooed prospect, Florial’s progress came to a screeching halt thanks to a series of injuries to his hands and wrists in the next two seasons. He was limited to 149 non-rehab games over those seasons, then spent 2020 at the team’s alternate training site. He got off to a hot start in 2021 at Double-A, then looked completely overmatched after a promotion to Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Report: As ever, Florial has plenty of strong tools. Internal evaluators rate his defense and throwing arm as the best among the system’s outfielders, and his athleticism also grades out as the organization’s best. He still is capable of hitting the ball plenty hard—his exit velocities in the minors maxed out at 111 mph—but he still swings and misses far too often, particularly at pitches in the strike zone, and he struck out at a nearly 31% clip in Triple-A. To that end, the Yankees have been working with Florial to find a bat path that keeps his barrel in the zone for a longer amount of time. They’ve seen some month-over-month results, but he still needs plenty of seasoning. His speed and athleticism will give him plenty of chances to stick in center field, but his bat will determine how often his name is written into the lineup.
  
  The Future: Florial made a few cameos in New York and hit his first big league home run, but overall still showed he had plenty of holes to close if he is to ever live up to his potential.
  
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #10 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Off limits in the 2017 trade that brought Sonny Gray to New York, Florial had his career sidetracked by a pair of broken bones in his hands in 2018 and 2019. The injuries limited Florial to just 158 games in two seasons, costing him valuable development time. He made a big league cameo in 2020 and collected his first MLB hit on Aug. 28.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Because he is on the 40-man roster, Florial was at the team's alternate training site all summer. There, he faced a mixture of wily, high-level arms he hadn't been exposed to outside of big league spring training. His goal has long been to improve his command of the strike zone, and he made strides in that department at the ATS while also using his potentially plus power to swat 12 home runs and produce an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph. His plus speed and instincts will allow him to profile in center field, and his plus arm gives him an extra defensive weapon.
  
  THE FUTURE: After a summer facing veteran arms, Florial might be ready to move to Triple-A in 2021 for more polish. He still has a ceiling of a regular with impact offensively and defensively.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #14 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Florial's path to accessing his considerable talent has been littered with roadblocks. There was an identification snafu that led to a suspension and a lowered bonus, followed by two seasons lost to broken bones in his right wrist. The injuries have cost him half of the regular season each year, valuable developmental time for a player whose tools need a fair amount of polish.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: The development of Florial's hit tool has been the most impacted by his injuries. He needed to control the strike zone better before the first injury, and all the time rehabbing has cost him chances to make improvements. The need was particularly glaring in 2019, when Florial whiffed at a 32.8 percent rate in the FSL. He's got above-average bat speed and enough leverage in his swing to hit for at least above-average power, but he's unlikely to reach that mark without better plate discipline and cutting down on swings and misses on pitches in the zone. Florial still has plus speed and enough instincts and athleticism to stick in center field, as well as a strong enough throwing arm to negate runners trying to take extra bases.
  
  THE FUTURE: Despite another year lost to injury, the Yankees protected Florial on the 40-man roster to avoid certain selection in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The raw tools are still there, and he'll try once again to access them, likely at Double-A Trenton.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #1 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: The Yankees wanted to sign Florial well before they did, but an identification issue scuttled their plans. Once the details got sorted out and Florial had served a suspension, New York inked him for $300,000 and watched as he rose through the ranks to near the top of a very deep system. After a breakout season at the lower levels in 2017 that vaulted him to the top of the Yankees’ ranking and made him a top trade target, Florial endured what essentially was a lost season in 2018. He broke the hamate bone in his right wrist, which sidelined him for two months at high Class A Tampa. In all, Florial was limited to just 84 games. He made up for lost time in the Arizona Fall League, though his numbers suggested a player still struggling to regain his timing and pitch recognition.
  
  Scouting Report: Florial remains a tantalizing but risky combination of outstanding tools and limited refinement. He generates above-average power thanks to quick hands and above-average bat speed. He can drive the ball to left field and center nearly as easily as he yanks it over a right-field fence, but he needs to make solid contact more consistently. Florial is relatively patient and is not prone to chase, but his bat has a long path to the strike zone thanks to high handset he uses to start his swing. Evaluators noticed improved angles and routes in center field. He’s also got a plus throwing arm that would help him profile in right field if that becomes necessary. Florial is a plus runner who is faster than that once he gets going, though he needs to refine his instincts on the basepaths to become a bigger threat to steal. Evaluators inside and outside the organization also point to outstanding makeup that they believe will help him turn his tools into skills.
  
  The Future: Florial is likely to head back to the Florida State League to try to reclaim his 2017 magic. A strong first half should get him to Double-A Trenton. His future will depend on the development of his offense. If he can make more consistent contact and start turning his raw power into home runs, then he’ll go a long way toward reaching his ceiling as a center fielder with all-star potential. If not, his defense will allow him to at least serve as a fourth outfielder.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #2 prospect in 2018
  The Yankees signed Florial out of Haiti for $200,000 when he was 17. They would have signed him a year earlier had he not been suspended by Major League Baseball after they discovered a discrepancy with his identification. He advanced from the Dominican Summer League to Rookie-level Pulaski in his first two pro seasons, showing hints of five-tool potential, before breaking out at low Class A Charleston and high Class A Tampa in 2017. Florial swings and misses frequently and racked up a 31 percent strikeout rate in 2017, but he impacts the ball when he connects. That's about the only ding on his card, however. Florial hit .298 and drew 50 walks in 2017 and projects to stick in center field, where he has a well above-average arm. He's got well above-average raw power that is beginning to play in games. A plus-plus runner, he regularly gets down the line to first base in fewer than four seconds. Florial got a taste of Double-A Trenton during the Eastern League playoffs and could return there to begin 2018 after six weeks in the Arizona Fall League. If he develops as the Yankees believe he will, Florial could be an all-star-caliber center fielder in the mold of early career Curtis Granderson.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #14 prospect in 2017
  The owner of the perhaps the most complex background in the Yankees' system, Florial has already earned a considerable amount of fame in prospect circles. An identity snafu as an amateur led to a suspension and led to a signing bonus of just $200,000 instead of the seven-figures he could have received without complications. By any name, Florial is still among the system's most tooled-up prospects. His power, arm and speed earn 70 grades on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, and evaluators who saw him in 2016 believe he has the potential to stick in center field. Florial spent most of his time with Rookie-level Pulaski in center field, although he occasionally slid to a corner or DH to accommodate 2016 first-rounder Blake Rutherford. The biggest knock on Florial is the amount of swing-and-miss to his game. He struck out 78 times in 236 at-bats with Pulaski, one less than league leader and teammate Dermis Garcia. As one of five Pulaski players age 18 or younger, however, strikeouts were to be expected. Florial made cameos at both low Class A Charleston and high Class A Tampa during the season, and he is likely to begin the season back with Charleston.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked South Atlantic League #2 prospect in 2017
  A clever pitcher with a plan could get Florial out, as he can be induced to expand his strike zone to chase. But there was no more feared hitter in the league, because if the pitcher left anything hittable in the strike zone, no one in the league could do more to punish him. He could line a single, smash a double or crank a home run. And with his plus-plus speed, he could do damage on the basepaths as well. Before being promoted to high Class A Tampa, Florial excelled long enough to finish fourth in the league in batting, third in slugging and third in on-base percentage. Florial has excellent bat speed with the power to be a 20-plus home run hitter in the big leagues. He is a 70 runner and provides above-average defense in center field. He's a higher-risk, high ceiling prospect who has further refinement to come, but special tools.
• 
  Ranked American League #3 prospect in 2016
  Signed for $200,000 after a one-year suspension stemming from his Haitian birth certificate, Florial wowed evaluators with his raw tools this summer and earned a late-season promotion to low Class A Charleston. Florial shows plus bat speed from a wide-shouldered, long-levered frame, giving him plus-plus raw power in batting practice. He has plus arm strength in the outfield, where his plus speed pairs well with his impressive routes, though he doesn't run as well out of the batter's box. In spite of his pure bat speed and raw power, Florial is far from his offensive ceiling. He does show some aptitude in recognizing pitches, but he has an aggressive swing and can sometimes sacrifice balance. Multiple scouts noted he was prone to swinging and missing at pitches down and away, and he ranked second in the league in strikeouts. When he does connect, however, the ball explodes off his bat. He has impact tools if he can make the necessary hitting adjustments.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #38 prospect in 2018

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: From an identification issue that complicated his initial signing, to his rise through the system and ascent to its No. 1 prospect in 2019, to two years marred by injuries before his big league debut during the pandemic season of 2020, Florial's career has gone through more peaks and valleys than most. He's been healthy the last two seasons and has made up for lost time and development while getting sporadic callups in the past three seasons to supplement the big league roster. He appeared in 17 games in 2022, just nine of them starts.
  
  Scouting Report: The biggest problem in Florial's game has long revolved around the frequency at which he swings and misses at pitches in the strike zone. He reduced that total to 25% in 2022, while similarly dropping his chase rate to 21%. Both those figures are improvements of 4% year over year. The result is more contact--often hard contact. More than half of the balls Florial hit in 2022 resulted in exit velocities of 95 mph or better, and his 90th percentile exit velocity of 107.2 mph was among the best in the entire system. While the Yankees are encouraged by Florial's improvement, they believe there is still more to come. He also needs to improve his output against lefthanded pitchers, against whom he hit just .222 in the minors. He sharpened his left-on-left skills by taking rounds of batting practice against Scranton coach Raul Dominguez, who is lefthanded. Florial is arguably the best defender in the system, earning plus grades for his work in center field as well as his throwing arm. He's an above-average runner.
  
  The Future: Despite his long career in the minor leagues, Florial is still relatively young in terms of on-field reps. The 2022 season was the first time since 2017 that he played more than 100 games.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 40. Power: 55. Speed: 55. Fielding: 60. Arm: 60.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/Medium
  
  Track Record: From an identification issue that complicated his initial signing, to his rise through the system and ascent to its No. 1 prospect in 2019, to two years marred by injuries before his big league debut during the pandemic season of 2020, Florial's career has gone through more peaks and valleys than most. He's been healthy the last two seasons and has made up for lost time and development while getting sporadic callups in the past three seasons to supplement the big league roster. He appeared in 17 games in 2022, just nine of them starts.
  
  Scouting Report: The biggest problem in Florial's game has long revolved around the frequency at which he swings and misses at pitches in the strike zone. He reduced that total to 25% in 2022, while similarly dropping his chase rate to 21%. Both those figures are improvements of 4% year over year. The result is more contact--often hard contact. More than half of the balls Florial hit in 2022 resulted in exit velocities of 95 mph or better, and his 90th percentile exit velocity of 107.2 mph was among the best in the entire system. While the Yankees are encouraged by Florial's improvement, they believe there is still more to come. He also needs to improve his output against lefthanded pitchers, against whom he hit just .222 in the minors. He sharpened his left-on-left skills by taking rounds of batting practice against Scranton coach Raul Dominguez, who is lefthanded. Florial is arguably the best defender in the system, earning plus grades for his work in center field as well as his throwing arm. He's an above-average runner.
  
  The Future: Despite his long career in the minor leagues, Florial is still relatively young in terms of on-field reps. The 2022 season was the first time since 2017 that he played more than 100 games.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 40. Power: 55. Speed: 55. Fielding: 60. Arm: 60.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 45/Medium
  
  Midseason Update: The biggest impediments to Florial&#39s success in recent years have revolved around a simple lack of development time. He played just 149 games from 2018 through 2020 because of injuries and the pandemic and as a result was largely unable to get on track, though he did make his big league debut in 2020. The other area keeping Florial from reaching his ceiling was his plate discipline. He&#39s made great strides in that department this year and is seeing big-time gains, both in terms of pure performance and analytically, as a result. Track Record: After a 2017 season in which he was the system&#39s most ballyhooed prospect, Florial&#39s progress came to a screeching halt thanks to a series of injuries to his hands and wrists in the next two seasons. He was limited to 149 non-rehab games over those seasons, then spent 2020 at the team&#39s alternate training site. He got off to a hot start in 2021 at Double-A, then looked completely overmatched after a promotion to Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Report: As ever, Florial has plenty of strong tools. Internal evaluators rate his defense and throwing arm as the best among the system&#39s outfielders, and his athleticism also grades out as the organization&#39s best. He still is capable of hitting the ball plenty hard—his exit velocities in the minors maxed out at 111 mph—but he still swings and misses far too often, particularly at pitches in the strike zone, and he struck out at a nearly 31% clip in Triple-A. To that end, the Yankees have been working with Florial to find a bat path that keeps his barrel in the zone for a longer amount of time. They&#39ve seen some month-over-month results, but he still needs plenty of seasoning. His speed and athleticism will give him plenty of chances to stick in center field, but his bat will determine how often his name is written into the lineup.
  
  The Future: Florial made a few cameos in New York and hit his first big league home run, but overall still showed he had plenty of holes to close if he is to ever live up to his potential.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: After a 2017 season in which he was the system’s most ballyhooed prospect, Florial’s progress came to a screeching halt thanks to a series of injuries to his hands and wrists in the next two seasons. He was limited to 149 non-rehab games over those seasons, then spent 2020 at the team’s alternate training site. He got off to a hot start in 2021 at Double-A, then looked completely overmatched after a promotion to Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Report: As ever, Florial has plenty of strong tools. Internal evaluators rate his defense and throwing arm as the best among the system’s outfielders, and his athleticism also grades out as the organization’s best. He still is capable of hitting the ball plenty hard—his exit velocities in the minors maxed out at 111 mph—but he still swings and misses far too often, particularly at pitches in the strike zone, and he struck out at a nearly 31% clip in Triple-A. To that end, the Yankees have been working with Florial to find a bat path that keeps his barrel in the zone for a longer amount of time. They’ve seen some month-over-month results, but he still needs plenty of seasoning. His speed and athleticism will give him plenty of chances to stick in center field, but his bat will determine how often his name is written into the lineup.
  
  The Future: Florial made a few cameos in New York and hit his first big league home run, but overall still showed he had plenty of holes to close if he is to ever live up to his potential.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Off limits in the 2017 trade that brought Sonny Gray to New York, Florial had his career sidetracked by a pair of broken bones in his hands in 2018 and 2019. The injuries limited Florial to just 158 games in two seasons, costing him valuable development time. He made a big league cameo in 2020 and collected his first MLB hit on Aug. 28.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Because he is on the 40-man roster, Florial was at the team's alternate training site all summer. There, he faced a mixture of wily, high-level arms he hadn't been exposed to outside of big league spring training. His goal has long been to improve his command of the strike zone, and he made strides in that department at the ATS while also using his potentially plus power to swat 12 home runs and produce an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph. His plus speed and instincts will allow him to profile in center field, and his plus arm gives him an extra defensive weapon.
  
  THE FUTURE: After a summer facing veteran arms, Florial might be ready to move to Triple-A in 2021 for more polish. He still has a ceiling of a regular with impact offensively and defensively.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Off limits in the 2017 trade that brought Sonny Gray to New York, Florial had his career sidetracked by a pair of broken bones in his hands in 2018 and 2019. The injuries limited Florial to just 158 games in two seasons, costing him valuable development time. He made a big league cameo in 2020 and collected his first MLB hit on Aug. 28.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Because he is on the 40-man roster, Florial was at the team's alternate training site all summer. There, he faced a mixture of wily, high-level arms he hadn't been exposed to outside of big league spring training. His goal has long been to improve his command of the strike zone, and he made strides in that department at the ATS while also using his potentially plus power to swat 12 home runs and produce an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph. His plus speed and instincts will allow him to profile in center field, and his plus arm gives him an extra defensive weapon.
  
  THE FUTURE: After a summer facing veteran arms, Florial might be ready to move to Triple-A in 2021 for more polish. He still has a ceiling of a regular with impact offensively and defensively.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Off limits in the 2017 trade that brought Sonny Gray to New York, Florial had his career sidetracked by a pair of broken bones in his hands in 2018 and 2019. The injuries limited Florial to just 158 games in two seasons, costing him valuable development time. He made a big league cameo in 2020 and collected his first MLB hit on Aug. 28.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Because he is on the 40-man roster, Florial was at the team's alternate training site all summer. There, he faced a mixture of wily, high-level arms he hadn't been exposed to outside of big league spring training. His goal has long been to improve his command of the strike zone, and he made strides in that department at the ATS while also using his potentially plus power to swat 12 home runs and produce an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph. His plus speed and instincts will allow him to profile in center field, and his plus arm gives him an extra defensive weapon.
  
  THE FUTURE: After a summer facing veteran arms, Florial might be ready to move to Triple-A in 2021 for more polish. He still has a ceiling of a regular with impact offensively and defensively.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Florial’s path to accessing his considerable talent has been littered with roadblocks. There was an identification snafu that led to a suspension and a lowered bonus, followed by two seasons lost to broken bones in his right wrist. The injuries have cost him half of the regular season each year, valuable developmental time for a player whose tools need a fair amount of polish.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: The development of Florial’s hit tool has been the most impacted by his injuries. BA GRADE 50 Risk: High BA GRADE 45 Risk: Medium BA GRADE 50 Risk: High He needed to control the strike zone better before the first injury, and all the time rehabbing has cost him chances to make improvements. The need was particularly glaring in 2019, when Florial whiffed at a 32.8 percent rate in the FSL. He’s got above-average bat speed and enough leverage in his swing to hit for at least above-average power, but he’s unlikely to reach that mark without better plate discipline and cutting down on swings and misses on pitches in the zone. Florial still has plus speed and enough instincts and athleticism to stick in center field, as well as a strong enough throwing arm to negate runners trying to take extra bases.
  
  THE FUTURE: Despite another year lost to injury, the Yankees protected Florial on the 40-man roster to avoid certain selection in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The raw tools are still there, and he’ll try once again to access them, likely at Double-A Trenton.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Florial's path to accessing his considerable talent has been littered with roadblocks. There was an identification snafu that led to a suspension and a lowered bonus, followed by two seasons lost to broken bones in his right wrist. The injuries have cost him half of the regular season each year, valuable developmental time for a player whose tools need a fair amount of polish.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: The development of Florial's hit tool has been the most impacted by his injuries. He needed to control the strike zone better before the first injury, and all the time rehabbing has cost him chances to make improvements. The need was particularly glaring in 2019, when Florial whiffed at a 32.8 percent rate in the FSL. He's got above-average bat speed and enough leverage in his swing to hit for at least above-average power, but he's unlikely to reach that mark without better plate discipline and cutting down on swings and misses on pitches in the zone. Florial still has plus speed and enough instincts and athleticism to stick in center field, as well as a strong enough throwing arm to negate runners trying to take extra bases.
  
  THE FUTURE: Despite another year lost to injury, the Yankees protected Florial on the 40-man roster to avoid certain selection in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The raw tools are still there, and he'll try once again to access them, likely at Double-A Trenton.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Although he’s still stocked with plenty of tools, Florial struggled with his plate discipline this year before breaking a bone in his wrist. Chasing pitches isn’t necessarily his problem, but rather swinging and missing as a whole. He’s still just 20, however, and he’s still one of the highest-ceiling prospects. He’s currently rehabbing in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.