MLB pipeline has three Yankees prospects in their top 100. Here is what they have to say as well as their ranking, and a little about each one from me.
Yankees (3)
54. Jasson Dominguez (ETA: 2024)
88. Clarke Schmidt (2020)
92. Deivi Garcia (2020)Homegrown talent has helped fuel back-to-back 100-win seasons for the Yankees, though promotions and trades have thinned out their farm system somewhat since MLB Pipeline ranked it as baseball’s second-best three years ago. Dominguez has an immense ceiling and is drawing athletic comparisons to Bo Jackson and Mickey Mantle before making his pro debut, while Schmidt and Garcia could bolster the big league rotation in 2020.
It’s important to note that Dominguez was just signed to a deal (international signing) last year at the age of 16(!). Already #54. He hasn’t even played a minor league game yet (too young for it last year) but look at those comparisons—and before even making his pro debut.
Schmidt, RHP, turns 24 next month. He was the Yanks’ 1st round pick in 2017 out of the University of South Carolina. He spent most of 2019 at High A Tampa, ending up in AA Trenton. I’d expect him to start at AA Trenton, but won’t be surprised if he actually starts the year at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (abbreviated as SWB to make things easier). In a total of 18 starts and one relief appearance, Schmidt was 6-5, 3.47 in 2019 and struck out 102 in 90 2/3 IP. You have to wonder what his innings limit would be this year, though. 125? An injury cost him a lot of 2017 and 2018. He only has 114 minor league innings under his belt, going 6-8, 3.39 with 132 K in 114 IP. In his college career, he was 15-9, 3.21 in 45 games (36 starts) with 254 K in 229 2/3 IP. I wonder if he may actually be a year away, needing more time and innings in the minors, and ETA more likely 2021.
Garcia, RHP, is slight, 5′ 9″, 163 lbs., as opposed to Schmidt’s 6’1″, 200 lb frame. Garcia is still 20, turns 21 in May. He rose quickly, starting 2019 at High A Tampa and finishing at AAA SWB. He’ll probably start the year at SWB. His 2019 combined record was 5-9, 4.28, (21 starts, 5 relief appearances) with 165 K in 111 1/3 IP. The record wasn’t great, but he is only 20 and look at the number of K’s to IP. I wonder about his innings limit for this year, but if around 140-150, he seems more likely for a 2020 arrival than Schmidt. I could be wrong, we’ll see, but he did pitch some 20 innings more than Schmidt did last year. In his whole minor league career so far, Garcia is 17-20, 3.37 with a whopping 416 K in 293.2 IP. In 2018, between A to AA (three levels), Garcia was 5-4, 2.55 in 14 starts, with 105 K in 74 IP. Young, still learning, but already, with that K to IP ratio, showing a very high ceiling.
There is a resolution approved by L.A.’s City Council calling for the 2017 World Series title to be stripped from the Astros and awarded to the Dodgers. We know is won’t happen, even though the Astros should probably now be called the Asterisks for what they did.
However, isn’t it presumptuous of L.A.’s City Council to think the Dodgers would have won the WS? Let’s say Houston’s cheating kept the Yankees from the AL Pennant and that the Yankees would have and should have played the Dodgers in the World Series that year. Who’s to say that the Yankees wouldn’t have won that World Series? Sorry, L.A. City council, but we’ll never know what might have happened if the Yankees, not the Astros were your opponent in the WS in 2017. If you think Houston screwed you over in the 2017 WS, well, the Yankees think the same as far as the 2017 ALCS.
