Yankees prospects enduring disappointed seasons

In the past week, fans at Yankee Stadium got a look at a couple of stellar young outfielders. Too bad they weren't Yankees.

The buzz about Dodgers phenom in Yasiel Puig and Rays super-prospect Wil Myers, who made visits to The Bronx last week, has been high. But word from the farm doesn't bode nearly as well for the Yankees' trio of outfield prospects.

Center fielder Mason Williams (Baseball America's No. 32 prospect entering this year), fellow center fielder Slade Heathcott (No. 63) and right fielder Tyler Austin (No. 77) perhaps constitute the organization's outfield of the future. But the group is not faring well in the present.

Heathcott and Austin are in Double-A Trenton, and Williams is in High-A Tampa. With Curtis Granderson a free agent-to-be and Ichiro Suzuki turning 40 in October, the Yankees will be craving 2014 outfield support. But barring significant second-half growth and improvement in the minors, it is difficult to see the support emerging from any of the Yankees' top outfield prospects.

Entering yesterday, Heathcott was batting .245 with four homers, 32 RBIs, seven steals and a .676 OPS while striking out a whopping 80 times in 269 at-bats. Austin was a bit better, hitting .263 with six homers, 39 RBIs and a .735 OPS. Williams was enduring the toughest season: a .256 average, three homers, 17 RBIs, 10 steals and a .690 OPS — and that's in A-ball.

"They own those statistics," general manager Brian Cashman said. "But in all [these] players' cases, they have gotten out of the gate slow adjusting to their new leagues, but they've gotten better over time."

Here's a closer look:

SLADE HEATHCOTT

His season is perhaps the most troubling. In the Arizona Fall League last year, Heathcott, a 2009 first-round pick who turns 23 in September, finished third with a .388 batting average. The Yankees did not dismiss the possibility he could earn a trip to the majors this season.

But The Post spoke to multiple scouts last week who cast questions about Heathcott's long-term future.

"At best right now, he looks like an extra outfielder, if he doesn't hit," one scout said, cautioning Heathcott has missed substantial time in his career because of injuries, saying he essentially is willing to let this year slide. "His numbers are poor, and I know that. ... They concern me, but they don't, because I know he's missing time and at-bats and they're having him [attempt] to catch up," he said. "I would be more concerned if the numbers stayed the same [in 2014]."

A second scout was even less enthusiastic.