New York Yankees 2023 Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Edgar Barclay

Edgar Barclay got his first taste of pitching at the Triple-A level during his latest season in the New York Yankees' organization.

InsideThePinstripes.com will review each of the New York Yankees’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2023 season.

No. 28: LHP Edgar Barclay, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A), Somerset (Double-A)

Statistics for 2023: Went 4-4, 3.91 ERA, 21 games (10 starts). Pitched 78.1 innings, allowing 70 hits, 39 runs (34 earned) and 12 home runs. Struck out 100 and walked 44, with a .236 opponent batting average and a 1.46 WHIP.

With SWB: Went 1-3, 5.89 ERA, 10 games (all starts). Pitched 44.1 innings, allowing 44 hits, 32 runs (29 earned) and 11 home runs. Struck out 49 and walked 13, with a .253 opponent batting average and a 1.74 WHIP.

With Somerset: Went 3-1, 1.32 ERA, 11 games (no starts). Pitched 34 innings, allowing 26 hits, seven runs (five earned) and one home run. Struck out 51 and walked 11, with a .213 opponent batting average and a 1.09 WHIP.

Season Transactions: Barclay started the season on the Hudson Valley 7-day injured list. On May 30 he was assigned to Somerset. On Aug. 1, he was promoted to SWB.

Season Summary: Barclay put himself in position to be promoted to Triple-A after a quality two months at Somerset, where he excelled in a relief role and held hitters to a .213 batting average. With the RailRiders, he was moved into a starting role exclusively and saw his ERA shoot up by more than four points. His opponent batting average only went up to .253. It would be only natural for him to see his numbers go up in a starting role after excelling at the Double-A level.

Path Through the Organization: Barclay used the transfer portal before it was hip. He threw at three different colleges — including a pair of Arizona jucos — before the Yankees drafted him I the 15th round in 2019 out of Cal State Bakersfield. His career got derailed a bit by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, but there was a lot of that going around in minor league baseball. His 2022 at High-A Hudson Valley (7-4, 1.74) was an eye-opener for the Yankees and it accelerated his movement up the organizational ladder. His fastball only tops out at 94, but he has a change-up and slider that both boast quality movement, per MLB.com.

What’s next: He projects as a multi-inning reliever and he was humbled a bit at Triple-A. But he excelled at Double-A and that may be where the Yankees start him in 2024, unless he shows improvement in Spring Training. His pitching repertoire limits his ceiling a bit, but his ability to change speeds and move the ball makes him an attractive option if he makes serious progress in 2024.

2023 New York Yankees Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30 Elijah Dunham | No. 29 Danny Watson