As if the New York Yankees' season couldn't be worse, their prospect pipeline took a dip in the MLB.com rankings.
The New York Yankees were in a weird position. Even though they were playing bad baseball and sitting in last place in the AL East heading into the trade deadline, they were still in contention for a Wild Card spot. General manager Brian Cashman had to choose a lane — buy to help the team's postseason odds, or sell impending free agents and players of value to build up their farm system. Cashman did neither. With the lone exception of acquiring relief pitcher Keynan Middleton from the Chicago White Sox, Cashman kept the struggling team as is, putting the onus on the players to turn things around.
As it turns out, the team could have really used an influx of prospects. MLB Pipeline unveiled its latest prospect rankings after the trade deadline, and the Yankees farm system took a hit.
Outfielder Jasson Dominguez remains the No. 2 prospect in the Yankees' pipeline, but fell from the No. 47 overall ranking at the start of the year to No. 80. There is a new top prospect in the Yankees' pipeline to replace Anthony Volpe in outfielder Spencer Jones. The thing is, he isn't ranked No. 5 like Volpe was earlier in the year. Instead, Jones ranks 79th in the league. Finally, outfielder Everson Pereira does crack the Top 100 for the first time, ranking 81st.
Yankees now have no prospects ranked in the Top 50 of MLB Pipeline
Not one prospect ranked in the Top 50 of the MLB Pipeline rankings. It certainly paints a bleak picture. For Yankees fans, they sure do hope that Jones, Dominguez, and Pereira develop into quality starting outfielders.
Jones was drafted 25th overall by the Yankees in 2022 out of Vanderbilt. With Aaron Judge set to hit free agency that winter, it was ironic that the team drafted a 6-foot-6 outfielder. But thus far, Jones has put up strong numbers in High-A.
In 89 games, Jones recorded a .263 batting average, a .333 on-base percentage, a .452 slugging percentage, 12 home runs, 51 RBI, 52 runs, 96 hits, 121 strikeouts, and 37 walks in 365 at-bats.
Dominguez was a much-hyped prospect since he was signed as an international free agent. He had ridiculous power that had Yankees fans salivating at the thought of him crushing home runs at Yankee Stadium. Dominguez struggled early on this season at Double-A Somerset but has played much better in July and early on in August.
Through 100 games, Dominguez slashed .247/.365/.396 while recording 13 home runs, 58 RBI, 73 runs, 95 hits, 118 strikeouts, and 72 walks in 384 at-bats.
As for Pereira, he has risen up the rankings after playing well in Double-A and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. In fact, Cashman name-dropped Pereira as a potential minor league player to get reps at left field in the majors, considering the massive void they have at that position. Of course, Yankees fans are taking that with a grain of salt, considering the team tends to call up top prospects and sit them on the bench (i.e. Oswald Peraza).
Through 73 games, Pereira recorded a .304 batting average, a .366 on-base percentage, a .551 slugging percentage, 16 home runs, 46 runs, 61 RBI, 84 hits, 86 strikeouts, and 24 walks in 276 at-bats.
Sure, there is going to be debate as to what is the worthy prospect ranking system between MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. But for those Yankees fans who trust MLB Pipeline, they may not be pleased seeing the drop in their top prospects rankings.