This off-season we set off to write our first book. Changes and challenges arose, so we've pivoted to releasing our top prospect lists & reports through the site and our Patreon. We're excited to finally show you the hard work of our evaluating team the last few months.
Below you'll find the top 10 players in the system with full reports of the top 5. The full rankings and reports on all top 30 prospects per team will be available on our Patreon at the 55-tier ($5 level) as we publish them. If you're into fantasy baseball, this tier also gets you the dynasty show, the FYPD list and the MiLB Daily Sheet in season. We plan to add all the reports to player pages on the site shortly after the season begins.
Top 10 Team Rank at First 5 Reports for Free Below
1. Anthony Volpe, SS - 60 OFP
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
Pre-Season Rank: 5 Pre-Season OFP: 50
| Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 55 | 55 | 50 | 50 | Moderate |
PHYSICAL Smaller frame, athletic body, explosive athlete given size, strength throughout entire frame. Muscular shoulders and forearms. Room to continue adding 5-10 pounds of muscle as he continues to mature physically. Even stance with both knees bent, slight bat waggle preload, modified leg kick during load as timing mechanism. Finishes with great extension on swing.
STRENGTHS Above average bat to ball skills and consistently barrels the baseball. Hits to all fields with power, speaks to his strength. Disciplined hitter, strong understanding of strike zone, works counts and takes walks. Swings at strikes consistently and does damage on pitches in the strike zone. Threat to steal bases despite average run times.
WEAKNESSES Reverse splits, struggles against left-hand pitching, albeit a small sample size from his professional career. Will chase with two strikes, an uptick in strikeouts after promotion to High-A. Not too much of a concern long term given his strike zone awareness. Average throwing arm across the diamond, profiles as second baseman long term.
SUMMARY Volpe is a bat-first middle infield prospect who had a breakout year in his first full season of pro-ball. The offensive adjustments Volpe made during the missed 2020 Covid season are substantial. Aside from his physical maturity, he added a significant amount of strength which made an impact on his ability to become a more explosive athlete in the batter's box. He also made significant improvements in regard to his pitch recognition and swing decisions. Given his success in 2021, it seems logical that the Yankees will start Volpe Double-A Somerset to begin the 2022 season.
EVALUATOR Brandon Smith
2. Oswald Peraza, SS - 55 OFP
Age: 22 Highest Level: AAA
Pre-Season Rank: 8 Pre-Season OFP: 50
| Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 50 | 55 | 55 | 60 | Moderate |
PHYSICAL Not physically imposing but the body does have room for some physical projection. He’s a nimble player with good athleticism and instincts and solidified himself as one of the better bats in this system.
STRENGTHS Everything Peraza does in the box is outstanding. A contact-oriented approach, but his bat speed and optimized bat path has led to a lot of barrels. He sprays line drives from line to line. Made a significant launch angle adjustment that only came with a marginal rise in his strikeouts. His power is plus to the pull-side, and this type of profile adds power. He’s only 21 and has reached Triple-A already. He’s also an above-average defender with an above-average arm. His instincts and feel for the game shine bright on the defensive side.
WEAKNESSES Has some issues with spin, but it’s nothing I am overly concerned about. He’s also not the typical quick-twitch athlete you normally see at shortstop so he relies on the positioning. Nitpicking again, but Peraza only has average present power, but I think that will continue to tick upwards.
SUMMARY Forced his way up prospect lists with a fantastic showing last season in a bit of a coming-out party for the middle infield prospect. I think he will end up shifting to second base long term, not because he can’t play shortstop but there’s also the presence of Anthony Volpe and also the swirling rumors about the Yankees potentially (possibly?) adding a big-ticket shortstop. Peraza is the real deal though and gets overshadowed a bit by the presence of Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez. This is a future everyday player on the dirt.
EVALUATOR Sam Hale
3. Jasson Dominguez, OF - 55 OFP
Age: 19 Highest Level: A
Pre-Season Rank: 1 Pre-Season OFP: 55
| Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 60 | 55 | 50 | 60 | High |
PHYSICAL Thick, physical build on medium frame; borderline stocky. Body is mostly maxed out, little room for projection, if any. Conditioning is not an issue at present, but will likely need monitoring throughout career. Very twitchy and explosive; body oozes power.
STRENGTHS Great bat speed from both sides of the plate; impacts the ball and does damage. Likely gets to double-plus raw at maturity. Can pull the ball with authority and has the pop for easy all fields power at maturity. Good knowledge of the zone and has learned to take his walks with opponents already pitching around him frequently. Good instincts and first step give him a shot to stick in center long term if he maintains his speed. Much faster than he looks, an explosive straight-line runner. Held his own as an 18-year old in full season ball.
WEAKNESSES Hit tool is raw; Has some swing and miss in the zone and will expand when frustrated or fooled. Aggressive approach but not out of character for a hyped-up teenager. Heavy tendency to pull the ball on the ground or shoot a flare the other way; will need to drive the ball in the air more to maximize in-game power. Not a lock for center field, any loss of athleticism likely pushes him to a corner with the bat isn’t as special.
SUMMARY The most famous prospect in baseball came back to earth during his pro debut. The hit tool wasn’t as polished as it was hyped to be when he signed and the body isn’t in the mold of the typical super prospect. That said, he is very talented and oozes power — holding your own in full season ball at 18 is no small feat. Unlikely to be the next Mike Trout, but he projects to be an offensive force at a premium position and potential All-Star. The floor is a second-division regular as a corner outfielder with a clear power over hit profile.
EVALUATOR Joe Drake
4. Luis Gil, RHP - 50 OFP
Age: 24 Highest Level: MLB
Pre-Season Rank: 7 Pre-Season OFP: 50
| Fastball | Slider | Changeup | Command | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 50 | 45 | 40 | High |
| 94-96 mph | 84-86 mph | 90-92 mph |
PHYSICAL Slender frame with projection, and it looks like he’s added to the frame a bit over the last year or so. High-waisted pitcher with long levers. Strong lower half, has some room to add strength in the top half. Had shoulder surgery back in 2015 with the Twins, and was traded to the Yankees for Jake Cave prior to 2018. Mechanically he pitches from the third base side of the rubber. Starts with a high leg kick and throws from a low ¾ arm slot. Long arm action, but fast arm. Gets over seven feet of extension on his delivery.
STRENGTHS Fastball sat 95 and topped 99 at Triple-A. He’s focused solely on a four-seamer now. Averaged over 18 inches of vertical break and the pitch is difficult to square up at the top of the zone. It’s a plus-plus offering with elite characteristics. Slider replaced the curveball as his only breaking ball sitting mid-80s. Lastly is a firm changeup around 90 mph with good shape and spin characteristics.
WEAKNESSES His slider lacks consistency. He’s displayed good feel but he will also struggle with locating it at times. It’s also a slow breaking ball, and would play much better if it was more firm. His command of the secondaries is poor, especially his change. Both secondaries will end up as average or so offerings but the fastball will always have to do most of the heavy lifting here. His overall command is below average. He can just flat out struggle to find the zone at times. The long arm action and inability to repeat catch up to him here.
SUMMARY A strong major league debut for the Yankees down the stretch in 2021. Future role will depend on his command, and ceiling ranges anywhere from a mid-rotation arm to a late-inning pen arm. We’re betting on him ending up as a solid backend starter.
EVALUATOR Matthew Thompson
5. Hayden Wesneski, RHP - 50 OFP
Age: 24 Highest Level: AAA
Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
| Fastball | Curveball | Slider | Changeup | Command | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 45 | 60 | 50 | 55 | Low |
| 92-96 mph | 81-84 mph | 82-87 mph | 84-87 mph |
PHYSICAL Average frame, compact build with minimal room for physical projectability. Does not jump off the page as a freak athlete. Works first base side of the rubber, modified windup, low 3/4 arm slot with little crossfire delivery. Quick, repeatable delivery.
STRENGTHS Deep pitch mix; four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, slider, curveball, changeup. Bread and butter is a sinker/slider mix. Creates deception on both pitches with a low 3/4 release. Possesses a fastball and sinker ranging from 90 and topping at 99. Sinker has plus horizontal movement and depth. Slider has plus two-plane movement with sweep, go to offering with two strikes to lefties and righties. Curveball is a big breaker with 12-6 shape. Changeup has late fading action, used primarily against lefties. Commands all pitches and has shown the ability to throw strikes in all counts with entire arsenal. Keeps the ball on the ground and induces soft contact.
WEAKNESSES Average four-seam fastball profile, increase overall sinker usage and focus more on developing an elite turbo sinker. Would not recommend ditching the four-seamer all together as it keeps hitters honest at the top of the zone and allows Wesneski to be more of a hybrid pitcher.
SUMMARY Quality pitch mix with two plus offerings and plus command gives Wesneski the chance to be a quality back of the rotation major league starter. After the missed 2020 Covid season, he was one of the many breakout Yankees prospects who shot up through the system. Dominating across all three levels (A+, AA, AAA). Moving forward, Wesneski will look to continue building off his 2021 breakout season by continuing to refine his arsenal and pitch mix.
EVALUATOR Brandon Smith
6. Trey Sweeney, 2B - 50 OFP
Age: 22 Highest Level: A
2021 MLB Draft Rank: 30
7. Austin Wells, C - 50 OFP
Age: 22 Highest Level: A+
Pre-Season Rank: 4 Pre-Season OFP: 50
8. Luis Medina, RHP - 50 OFP
Age: 23 Highest Level: AA
Pre-Season Rank: 10 Pre-Season OFP: 45
9. Randy Vasquez, RHP - 50 OFP
Age: 23 Highest Level: AA
Pre-Season Rank: 20 Pre-Season OFP: 40
10. Antonio Gomez, C - 50 OFP
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
Pre-Season Rank: 19 Pre-Season OFP: 45