Jasson Dominguez headlines these Yankees prospects to watch at Double-A Somerset in 2023
Headlined by Jasson Dominguez, the Somerset Patriots will have seven of Baseball America’s Top 30 New York Yankees prospects on the roster when they start their third season as their Double-A affiliate at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater Thursday night.
Raul Dominguez, no relation to Jasson, is set for his first season managing the club, taking over for Dan Fiorito, who remains with the Yankees organization as a roving instructor.
The 20-year-old “Martian,” who turned in a memorable performance to help deliver the Eastern League championship to Bridgewater for the first time last year, returns after a strong showing in big league spring training. He went 10-for-22 with four homers and nine RBI in the Grapefruit League, and may have further accelerated his timeline to wearing pinstripes in doing so.
In the meantime, however, he helps anchor an extremely strong group of outfielders, and is joined by the club’s fourth overall prospect, Everson Pereira, as well as Jeisson Rosario and fellow playoff hero Brandon Lockridge.
Returnees Tyler Hardman and Trey Sweeney headline the group of infielders to start the season in Somerset this year, with the latter looking for a big showing in his second full professional season after being selected with the No. 20 overall pick by the Yankees back in 2021.
Another first-rounder, Anthony Seigler, who was taken 23rd overall in 2018, is likely to share backstop duties with Carlos Narvaez, in what will be the Double-A debut for both. For Seigler, who had his first fully injury-free season last year, this is a promotion he’s been looking forward to for quite some time.
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“Everybody wants that call to get to Somerset and a higher level, who wouldn’t?” Seigler told MyCentralJersey.com last year in High-A Hudson Valley.
“But all I want to do, even if it was in Tampa the whole year or here or Somerset, wherever, I’m just looking to stay healthy and take it one day at a time.”
Under new pitching coach Grayson Crawford, this year’s staff is an interesting mix of newcomers and returnees, led by Will Warren, Clayton Beeter and Richard Fitts, who will take the ball Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. when the team hosts the Harrisburg Senators in an abbreviated three-game series.
That Fitts, 23, was named Opening Day starter is somewhat surprising, but speaks to how far he’s come as he’s set to begin just his second full professional season after being taken by the Yankees in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
After struggling out of the gate in Low-A Tampa, things finally started to click for him in mid-June, and he strung together a strong stretch before earning an early-August promotion to High-A Hudson Valley, where he excelled to the tune of a 4-0 record and 0.55 ERA in only five starts.
“Some of the big changes I made from Tampa were just to add some (velocity) and really just learn who I was as a pitcher,” Fitts said at the team’s media day Wednesday.
“I really figured out what pitches I need to throw whenever in certain counts, and really figured out that I need to pitch more to my strengths than worrying about the hitters so much. (The Opening Day start) means a ton. Being in this organization for two years now, it’s a really big deal, and I’m really excited to show everybody here up north who I am.”
Warren skyrocketed up prospect charts last season, making 18 starts in Double-A to finish the year in his first professional year following being taken in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Beeter, ranked 22nd in the system by Baseball America, was the Yankees return from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Joey Gallo deal, and impressed in something of an “opener” role with the Patriots last year, striking out 41 batters in just 25 1/3 innings.
Somerset Patriots expected 2023 Opening Day roster
Pitchers: Blane Abeyta, Clayton Beeter (22nd ranked by Baseball America), Blas Castano, Indigo Diaz, Gray Fenter, Richard Fitts (19th), Michael Giacone, Steven Jennings, Barrett Loseke, Justin Maese, Alex Mauricio, Anderson Munoz, Tanner Myatt, Lisandro Santos, Will Warren (7th), Justin Wilson.
Catchers: Juan Crisp, Carlos Narvaez, Anthony Seigler.
Infielders: Max Burt, Tyler Hardman (18th), Delvin Perez, T.J. Rumfield, Trey Sweeney (15th), Eduardo Torrealba, Eric Wagaman.
Outfielders: Jasson Dominguez (3rd), Brandon Lockridge, Everson Pereira (4th), Jeisson Rosario.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New York Yankees prospects to watch at Double-A Somerset Patriots
