Chapman is scheduled to throw to hitters again on Friday and then could be activated. Pitching coach Matt Blake said that Chapman's fastball velocity was clocked between 96 and 99 mph on Tuesday. Having opened the year on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive early in Summer Camp, Chapman said that he experienced only mild symptoms, losing his senses of smell and taste. Thus, he was able to continue working out in his Manhattan apartment. "Luckily, I felt good throughout the whole time," Chapman said. "I had to get creative. I had to purchase some equipment and move some stuff around the apartment to try to get as close as I could to my regular workout routine. One of the things that helped me out was a pitching sock that you can use to simulate throwing a baseball Joe DiMaggio Jersey. You've just got to find ways to get the work in and not lose too much of the rhythm." After the 2019 season, it was easy to peg Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela's breakout as a one-year wonder. Urshela was never a highly ranked prospect, and he had a .225/.274/.315 slash line with eight homers over 499 plate appearances with the Indians and Blue Jays before arriving in New York in a trade that sent nothing but cash back to Toronto. Then, suddenly, at age 27, he started mashing, becoming a key cog on an injury-riddled Yankees club and finishing 2019 with a .314 average, 21 homers and an .889 OPS (133 OPS+) over 132 games. Urshela didn't close out the year on the best of notes, however, recording a .655 OPS after returning from an injured-list stint due to a groin strain in September, then going just 8-for-33 (.242) in the postseason, which added to the list of reasons to doubt him entering 2020. Well, early on in this season, Urshela is proving the doubters wrong. In fact, he appears to be getting better than he was a year ago. Urshela explained that, when he arrived in the Yankees organization in August 2018, he worked with Phil Plantier, the team's Triple-A hitting coach, to generate more power from his lower body. His work yielded positive results last season Jorge Posada Jersey, as he hit the ball with more authority, especially on balls in the air, while continuing to make as much contact as he had previously. MLB Pipeline's midseason updates for every team's Top 30 Prospects list are now out for your perusal. But unlike previous years, when we did a full reshuffling of the preseason Top 30 order while also adding Draft picks and international signees to our lists, the unusual circumstances surrounding the 2020 season led us to take a different approach to this year's midseason re-rank process, with the additions of 2020 Draft picks representing the extent of our updates. Going 30 deep for every team does have its limitations, though, because no matter if a farm system is loaded or light with talent, we still agonize over which guys make the end of a list and which just miss out. In many cases, those players who fall short of making a team's Top 30 are either young, intriguing prospects or future big leaguers. If we were to extend our midseason Top 30 lists further, the below list of players would be the next-up prospects for each organization. AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST Blue Jays: Nick Frasso, RHP After a standout baseball and basketball Lou Gehrig Jersey career as a California prepster, Frasso focused on the former exclusively at Loyola Marymount and began to realize his upside on the mound, notching 10 saves as a sophomore. He moved into the rotation this past spring only to suffer an elbow injury that prevented scouts from getting a true look at him as a starter. When healthy, though, the athletic 6-foot-5 righty has shown the makings of a three-pitch mix, headlined by a fastball that's been up to 97 mph. Orioles: Darrel Hernaiz, SS The Orioles' fifth-round pick out of an El Paso, Texas high school in 2019, Hernaiz had a solid pro debut in the Gulf Coast League last summer. He has good bat speed with surprising pop, though he'll probably be hit over power. He has the chance to stick at shortstop with good energy, a very good internal clock and enough arm, though he could outgrow the position and need to move to second or third. Rays: Esteban Quiroz, 2B Quiroz made his pro debut for Tigres de Quintana Roo in the Mexican League in 2011, and he spent seven seasons as one of the best players in Mexico, batting .287 with a .397 on-base percentage during that time. He signed with the Red Sox in 2018 and saw time in Double-A that year before joining the Padres in an offseason trade, then slashed .271/.384/.539 as a 27-year-old with Triple-A El Paso in 2019. Intrigued by his high-contact left-handed bat, advanced approach and overall track record at the plate Luke Voit Jersey, the Rays acquired the diminutive second baseman from San Diego in late March. Red Sox: Yoan Aybar, LHP The Red Sox signed Aybar for $450,000 as a potential five-tool center fielder out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, but he hit just .241/.279/.345 in the Minors before moving to the mound in 2018. He has yet to advance past high Class A and is purely a reliever, but he owns a mid-90s fastball that peaks at 99 mph and can flash a plus power slider. Yankees: Beck Way, RHP One of the top junior college prospects in the 2020 Draft, Way signed for $600,000 as a fourth-rounder from Northwest Florida State JC. He broke out as a reliever in the Cape Cod League last summer and dealt as a starter this spring, showing a 92-96 mph fastball, lively changeup and decent slider Mariano Rivera Jersey. Yankees draft RHP Way No. 129 Indians: Jean Carlos Mejia, RHP Mejia needed innings this season after missing six weeks in 2018 with a sore elbow and much of last year with an abdominal strain. Signed for $45,000 in the Dominican Republic in 2013, he throws strikes with four pitches, the best of which is a 91-96 mph sinker that has helped him post a 1.7 groundout/airout ratio in six pro seasons. Royals: Nick Heath, OF The Royals made Heath their 16th-round pick in the 2016 Draft, after he had totaled 75 steals in three seasons at Northwestern State. He swiped at least 35 bags in three of his first four pro seasons and led the Minors with 60 stolen bases in 2019, batting .255/.345/.387 between Double- and Triple-A. That performance earned the speedy outfielder a spot on Kansas City's 40-man roster after the season and opened the door for his big league debut on July 30. He appeared in five games with the Royals, going 2-for-6 with a double, two RBIs and two steals, before landing on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain on Aug. 8. White Sox: Bryan Ramos, 3B A Cuban defector who signed for $300,000 in 2018, Ramos made his pro debut last summer and hit .277/.353/.415 in the Rookie-level Arizona League as a 17-year-old. He exhibits feel for hitting and at least solid raw power, and the White Sox plan on seeing if he can handle second base. Tigers: Paul Richan, RHP A polish-over-stuff starter whom Detroit acquired from the Cubs in the 2019 Trade Deadline deal for Nicholas Castellanos, Richan posted solid numbers at the Class A Advanced level in his first full season, going 12-7 with a 4.00 ERA and 115/20 K/BB in 123 2/3 innings (22 starts). While the 23-year-old righty doesn't overpower hitters with his four-pitch mix, he does miss his share of bats, generates a healthy number of groundballs and throws lots of strikes. Twins: Gabriel Maciel, OF Maciel was part of the return the Twins got from the D-backs in the 2018 Eduardo Escobar deal that also brought right-hander Jhoan Duran to the system. The 21-year-old Brazilian has always shown the ability to make consistent contact, hitting his way to the Florida State League in 2019 and now has a .288 average and .357 on-base percentage in his career, albeit without much power to date. His plus speed is an asset on the basepaths and in the outfield.
