3 Top Prospects Yankees Must Protect as Rule 5 Draft Approaches

The 2019 edition of the Rule 5 Draft is still about four weeks away, but the deadline to protect players is on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.

Essentially, players who reach four or five seasons of playing in the minor league ranks (depending on the circumstances of their signing) must be added to the 40-man big league roster, or else they will be deemed eligible for the draft, where any other team can select them. The catch? Players who are chosen then have to spend all season long on the active 25-man roster, lest they be offered back to their original team.

The New York Yankees, of course, still flaunt one of the strongest farm systems in MLB and it would behoove Brian Cashman and Co. to protect some of their promising young talents who might be stashable on a big league roster next season. But, who should they elect to save?

3. Estevan Florial

Yankees fans freaking out over the fact that Florial was ranked outside of the club's top-10 prospect rankings need to get a grip. Yes, he hasn't been able to elude the injury bug, but we're talking about a 21-year-old with the potential to be one of the best center fielders in the league as soon as he takes the stage. Florial's consistency at the plate and bat control need to improve -- he hit 237/.297/.383 with eight home runs and 38 RBI in 2019 -- but the Pinstripes would absolutely regret permitting him to enter the Rule 5 Draft.

2. Luis Gil

Gil is just another one of the plethora of young right-handers in New York's farm system. The 21-year-old was electric for Charleston and Tampa in 2019, compiling a 2.72 ERA and striking out 123 batters across 96 innings (11.5 K/9). We like to think that Gil's promotion to the 40-man roster is considered a no-brainer by the Yankees braintrust. He's too good to risk losing, and could easily be hidden in a rebuilding team's bullpen for an entire 162-game season.

1. Deivi Garcia

Garcia came in at No.3 in the Bombers' latest prospect rankings as their second-highest rated pitcher. Though he struggled with allowing runs to cross the plate late in 2019 -- he logged a 4.28 ERA with Tampa, Trenton, and Scranton, scuffling at Triple-A -- Garcia averaged 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His potential is palpable and he's predicted to play a role for the Yanks in 2020. It would be staggering if he isn't added to the 40-man roster this week.