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Yankees: 4 surprise prospects whose hot starts we’re watching

By Adam Weinrib |
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Luis Medina #80 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers in a spring training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 05, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 05: Luis Medina #80 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers in a spring training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 05, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
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The minor-league season is officially underway for the first time since Sept. 2019 (!), which is both insanely joyful and a disgusting reminder of how strange and difficult the past year has been.

With the resumption of the “new” Minor-League Baseball (under MLB control), Yankees fans have four new squads to keep an eye on, while also monitoring Jasson Dominguez at extended spring training.

Kind of annoying he’s not on a roster! Whew … anyway …

So far, so good for a number of top prospects, fringe top 30 guys, and players you’ve probably never heard of who spent all of 2020 in the “Gas Station” honing their pitching mechanics.

Now, before we move forward, we’ll detail the systemic changes this year.

Instead of Trenton, this year’s Double-A affiliate is in Somerset, NJ, as the Somerset Patriots, an independent team for their entire existence, have now been elevated to affiliated ball. The Blue Jays’ Triple-A team will play in Trenton temporarily, as will a league of MLB Draft prospects. Confusing? Absolutely.

Gone, too, are the Charleston Riverdogs, who we handed back to the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as the Staten Island Yankees, a relationship that ended acrimoniously. Staten Island’s short-season level has been eliminated, and the Yankees’ new High-A affiliate is the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Got it? Good. We barely do.

With an entire level eliminated, the lowest this thing goes is Single-A Tampa. After a few contests at that level, HV, Somerset, and SWB, we’ve got our eyes on these three potential breakouts.

These 4 surprise prospects have had hot starts in the minor leagues.

Luis Medina #80 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Luis Medina #80 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

3. Luis Medina

Remember Luis Medina from spring training 2021? He brought an incredible hook to the mound, couldn’t exactly locate it, and got lit up by the Detroit Tigers, a team that isn’t good.

Not ready. Needs a little more time to cook. No worries.

Luckily, Medina did not let that little setback throw off his progress whatsoever, and he took to the mound at High-A Hudson Valley looking to decimate some unprepared, lower-level hitters.

The result? Four innings, one hit and eight strikeouts in his first organized start in years.

Medina’s always had top-grade stuff, but he’s never really managed to put it all together, striking out 127 men in 103.2 in his most recent full season while still sporting an unsightly 5.47 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. The curveball, in some cases, curves so much that hitters traditionally haven’t bothered with it, letting Medina instead bend them all the way to first base for the walk.

We’ll be watching him closely in Hudson Valley — not because he’ll be “ready” this year, but because his stuff is too good not to eventually come together. So far, so great.

Carter Aldrete #21 of the Arizona State Sun Devils (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Carter Aldrete #21 of the Arizona State Sun Devils (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

2. Trevor Hauver

The Yankees selected Trevor Hauver in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Arizona State as a roving infielder/outfielder, someone who could theoretically fill in at second, third and the outfield.

We understand if you didn’t notice. There was a lot going on in 2020, after all.

Hauver has arrived on the scene in Tampa for his first pro season and immediately started raking, though, which certainly merits your attention. Paired atop the 2020 class with Austin Wells, another college bat and supposed fast-riser, Hauver’s first two games featured a 5-for-6 effort with three dingers and five walks, a two-game output that’s almost ludicrous in its dominance. Congratulations to the one guy who retired Hauver, and no congratulations to whoever worked together to give him 11 plate appearances in two games.

Guess what? In Hauver’s third game? He homered again, walked again, and ended 8-for-10.

This is a large-scale professional stadium Hauver’s been cracking baseballs out of, too. It’s where the Yankees played their spring training games. Certainly not a bandbox.

As Views From 314 Ft. wrote when Hauver was drafted, this is a collegiate player who shook off a bad freshman season and raked as a sophomore and junior, leading off ahead of No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson.

His freshman slump didn’t carry over to his sophomore season. Hauver spent most of the season in the leadoff spot and recorded an impressive .339/.433/.574 triple-slash along with 13 dingers in 289 plate appearances. Then, in his brief junior year, the left-handed hitter socked 5 homers in 83 trips to the dish while hitting .339/.494/.695.

Needless to say, after trading Mike Tauchman and watching the twilight of Brett Gardner’s career, the Yankees could absolutely use a versatile bench bat who can play multiple positions and isn’t Tyler Wade. Watch this space.

Somerset Patriots
Somerset Patriots /

1. Ron Marinaccio (And Stephen Ridings?)

OK, something’s going on in Somerset, so we’d recommend you get to the ballpark.

The Yankees know better than we do which pitchers are worth monitoring, but I can guarantee these two potential flamethrowers were not on your radar before the campaign kicked off.

Ron Marinaccio, a 25-year-old hurler from Toms River, NJ (who we assume hung out with Todd Frazier), was selected in the 19th round out of Delaware back in 2017. He showed up to Double-A this year with 3.1 shutout innings of relief on Opening Day, matched with seven strikeouts.

During the extended break, Marinaccio claims he got really into the available analytics meant to maximize his changeup (“Join the club,” said Corey Kluber) and … it certainly worked in his debut.  The last time we saw him, the righty struggled in the Sally League, walking 18 in 32.1 innings pitched (though he did pile up 40 strikeouts).

On Tuesday, it was nearly all swings and misses on chase off-speed pitches, which is certainly a welcome development.

As for Stephen Ridings? We doubt most Yankees fans gave it a second thought when he was signed to a minor-league deal this offseason after being jettisoned by the Royals, but … did you know he was 6-foot-8 and could top 100?! Neither did we.

Ridings debuted with a scoreless singular inning, and could rise as quickly as any minor-league bullpen piece if this keeps up.

The 40-man roster doesn’t have many weak spots, but needless to say, Albert Abreu and Brooks Kriske at the fringes should be on somewhat high alert.

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