For many materials, the Minimum UTS and Yield are what the mill could comfortably guarantee with milling technology available when the material was developed, often in the 1980's or earlier.
Milling techniques and QA have come along way over the years, reducing the variation in material properties at the mill, meaning that the UTS or yield on old material grades now have a lot of strength to spare. For some people this spare strength allows them to sleep better. For others, it is a waste of resources. Some older material specs could have additional grades added such as perhaps SA-516 Grade 80.
For ASME materials, the yield and UTS often reflect the guaranteed properties of a 200mm thick plate, which is then applied to all thicknesses. In reality, 10mm plate has strength properties which are 30-40% higher than 200mm thick plate. I can only assume politics is involved to produce such waste.
The EU material codes specify properties for different thicknesses. Does anyone know why ASTM doesn't do the same?