3 surprise Yankees prospects you should be paying attention to
![Mar 28, 2022; Lakeland, Florida, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Cooper Bowman (74) is congratulated by infielder Philip Evans (39) after hitting a three run home run in the sixth inning during spring training at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2022-2F04-2F17982483-850x560-addae37fe5e36ae8c2ab6dfa815025bb.jpg)
![New York Yankees Blake Perkins poses for a 2022 MLB portrait. Mandatory Credit: MLB photos via USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2022-2F04-2F18075141-192aeb214d218f8fd6e2cf2dad0e90e2.jpg)
While the big-league New York Yankees have found their footing in recent days, the minor-league system as a whole isn’t off to quite the same sterling start they were in 2021.
That’s to be expected, of course. It will be difficult to top whatever organization-wide heater the four feeder teams opened on last season. Thanks to a stunningly potent April, prospects like Trevor Hauver turned themselves from 2020 unknowns to legitimate trade chips (sent away for Joey Gallo), pitchers like Ken Waldichuk sprinted up the team’s top 30, and an “unknown” first-rounder named Anthony Volpe sent shockwaves through the minor-league landscape.
For the sequel … there’s still plenty of heat to be found, but a lot of the Yankees system’s top names haven’t hit the ground running. Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera have struggled at Triple-A, and at the very least aren’t forcing the issue of their promotion. Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez has broken every exit velocity reader in Tampa, but has struck out 22 times in 58 at-bats with his new swing.
Even Volpe himself, though he’s been affable and has shown a flair for the dramatic in his first taste of Double-A with a key grand slam, is hitting .163 with two bombs and six steals in limited action. Nothing to scream about, but won’t get you going.
So, until the upper echelon names decide to join the party, it’s Yanks Go Yard’s job to assure you there are still plenty of great performances simmering below the surface from names you haven’t heard of or thought about.
The staff has already done an excellent job of making you aware of Elijah Dunham (still just 23, still hitting bombs and bringing attitude to Double-A), who just hit the IL for a hopefully-short stint. TJ Rumfield, the infielder swiped from Philadelphia in the Nick Nelson trade, was also covered in full this past week (and is likely the top-performing unheralded name in the minor-league ranks so far).
Though the following three players flew under the radar all winter, they’re similarly blowing the doors off thus far.
3 surprise Yankees prospects you should be paying attention to
3. Blake Perkins
Is Blake Perkins on your “prospect radar”? Likely not, and there’s an easy explanation behind your blind spot: he wasn’t drafted and developed by the Yankees, but rather snuck into the system this offseason in an under-the-radar minor-league deal.
Perkins, not to be confused with Blake Rutherford (traded for D-Rob and Todd Frazier), was the Washington Nationals’ 2015 second-round pick. Still just 25, he might be unlocking his athleticism for the first time in years with the Double-A Somerset Patriots.
In an outfield with fellow studs Dunham and Brandon Lockridge, Perkins has already blown expectations out of the water. In 41 at-bats, he’s notched 15 hits, five bombs, and four steals, hitting .366 with a small-sample-size 1.324 OPS. His recent production was enough to make him the reigning Eastern League Player of the Week, owing the honor to a six-game stretch where he hit a cool .473.
It’s obviously far too early to make any sort of judgment on Perkins, a former highly-touted 69th overall pick (nice) who’s never hit above .255 in a full season at any level. This level of production has astounded prospect watchers thus far, and ideally, Perkins can at least somewhat keep up the pace to turn himself into a major-league option or an asset.
![A New York Yankees baseball hat (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2022-2F01-2F1325999446-33a5dfba67d0f83c820289a893436457.jpg)
2. Will Warren
Will Warren’s emergence isn’t necessarily a surprise, if you listened to the Yankees executives and development folks extolling his virtues this spring. To see his raw stuff translate from the draft’s middle rounds to the mid-minors, though, has been very impressive.
2021’s eighth-round pick out of baseball hotbed Southeastern Louisiana (sorry, misread that, that says “hot and bad”), Warren’s legitimate stuff features a high-quality breaking ball, mid-90s fastball velocity, and significant run. Unsurprisingly, this arsenal comes with an intimidating mound presence and an advanced feel for swings and misses.
Thus far, Warren’s pro debut has consisted of three starts at High-A Hudson Valley, featuring a sparkling 3.46 ERA, 19 whiffs in 13 innings pitched, and a 1.08 WHIP. So far, no one’s getting on base, and Warren’s allowed very little hard contact (just nine base hits).
Much like in 2020, when Hudson Valley’s rotation featured breakouts Waldichuk, Randy Vasquez and Hayden Wesneski, the Renegades are loaded with arms once again. Warren’s been joined atop the leaderboard by Matt Sauer, Edgar Barclay and Beck Way, a favored potential breakout arm from the 2020 draft. 2019 top pick TJ Sikkema’s long-awaited return also looms in the coming weeks.
So far, Warren has taken the crown, though, as the scouts foretold this spring. His rise may be as swift as Wesneski’s and Waldichuk’s, and he could be making the trek to Double-A Somerset by midsummer.
![New York Yankees second baseman Cooper Bowman (74) Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fyanksgoyard-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2022-2F04-2F17982485-ac96f5d304dc1de0717a1c8d17d93201.jpg)
1. Cooper Bowman
While plenty of attention was paid to 2021 first-round shortstop Trey Sweeney’s arrival in Hudson Valley — and that attention was justified by his thunderous bat — fellow 2021-drafted infielder Cooper Bowman, selected in the fourth round, flew a bit under the radar.
Chosen out of Louisville, home of recent standouts Will Smith of the Dodgers and Nick Solak, selected by the Yankees, Bowman posted an .835 OPS and earned a quick promotion to Low-A Tampa out of rookie ball in his 2021 debut. Though he only made a three at-bat cameo at big-league spring training this winter, people noticed; he drilled two hits, one of them a three-run homer to the opposite field against the Detroit Tigers.
So far, that power and poise has translated to High-A action, as Bowman has remained rock steady in an infield that’s also included Rumfield and Sweeney (when healthy). In 13 games, he’s bumped that OPS to .857, pounding a pair of homers, knocking in 10 runs, and walking 11 times.
Bowman profiles as a potential future MLB second baseman/utility asset, and already seems proficient at attacking the zone, while taking the bases that are handed to him. Another infielder in the Yankees’ preferred mold who just might be able to echo Josh Smith’s path after he was traded to the Rangers in the Gallo deal? The Yankees will take all the potential reinforcements they can get.