NYY News: Domínguez reigns as Yankees' top prospect
01/28/2025 12:00 AM
Domínguez, Lombard Jr. crack Law's top 100 list; the Yankees' options at backup catcher; previewing the next five Hall ballots; a banner year for MLB
The Athletic | Keith Law: ($) Law's annual preseason ranking of MLB's top 100 prospects includes two Yankees. Jasson Domínguez slots in at number 22, with Law projecting 30/30 upside and strong center field defense from the 22-year-old. One potential cause for concern is his struggles against lefties; the switch-hitter has struck out 29.3 percent of the time over the past two seasons while batting from the right side of the plate. George Lombard Jr. sneaks in at number 98, with Law encouraged by his ability to make hard contact last year as a 19-year-old despite unremarkable outcomes. Law projects Lombard to move off shortstop but likes his defense at second or third as well as his speed.
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Hoch documents the rapid ascent of Yankees catcher Austin Wells, including his exceptional fielding metrics which helped him wrestle the starting job to himself last season. Wells' manager Aaron Boone explains away his dismal postseason performance at the plate, noting that "being a catcher in October, that's a given, you're probably going to be worn down a little bit." With backup Jose Trevino and third-stringer Carlos Narváez both traded away this offseason, opportunities behind Wells are up for grabs. Leading internal candidates include Alex Jackson, who came over from Cincinnati in the Trevino trade and excelled behind the plate with the Rays last season, though he struggled offensively. Incumbents J.C. Escarra and Ben Rice could be in the mix as well.
FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: A preliminary look at the next five Hall of Fame ballots. The only ex-Yankees Jaffe expects to make the cut in that span are Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones, who he expects to reach the 75 percent threshold in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Brett Gardner seems likely to go one-and-done when he shows up on 2027's ballot. Andy Pettitte will fall off the ballot in 2028 without a massive surge, the same year that the PED-tainted Robinson Canó begins what will likely be a long, fruitless tenure on the ballot.
Forbes | Maury Brown: Finally, another reminder that tales of baseball's demise have been greatly exaggerated. MLB raked in $12.1 billion last year, the most in league history. Concurrently, franchise values have surged by the greatest margin since 2015, with the average club being worth $378 million. This banner year was fueled in part by the proliferation of sponsorships, increased attendance, and media rights.
