Where Yankees’ Top Prospects With Non-Roster Invitation Stand Entering Camp
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The Yankees invited 29 non-roster players to major league spring training on Tuesday, including five of their top 30 prospects.
Shortstop Anthony Volpe, the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline, and outfielder Jasson Domínguez, another top-100 farmhand, headlined New York’s list of NRIs. But they won’t be the Yankees’ only top prospects in camp.
Catchers Austin Wells and Josh Breaux and outfielder Elijah Dunham also received invitations, as did a handful of veteran minor league signings. The entire guest list can be seen below:
We’ve already looked at some veteran NRIs with a shot at impacting the Yankees this season. Now, let’s look at where the top prospect invitees stand as spring training nears.
(Note: this list excludes top prospects on the 40-man roster, such as Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira. Such players will still be at big league camp.)
SS Anthony Volpe
Age: 21
Organizational Ranking: No. 1
Overall Ranking: No. 5
Highest Level Reached: AAA
All eyes will be on Volpe this spring, as he will have a chance to win the Yankees’ starting shortstop gig in a competition with Peraza and veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Manager Aaron Boone has already said that Volpe will get “a lot of reps” in camp, but he faces an uphill battle with only 22 Triple-A games on his résumé.
Volpe spent most of 2022 with Double-A Somerset. He slashed .249/.342/.460 over 132 total games, adding 35 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs, 65 RBI and 50 stolen bases. He became the first minor leaguer with at least 20 homers and 50 steals in a season since Andruw Jones in 1995, though he scuffled a bit at Triple-A, hitting just .236/.313/.405.
OF Jasson Domínguez
Age: 20
Organizational Ranking: No. 2
Overall Ranking: No. 47
Highest Level Reached: AA
Domínguez isn’t heading to Tampa to compete for a big league roster spot. But the opportunity to face major league pitching will aid his development after he spent time at three different levels in 2022, his first full campaign as a pro.
Domínguez made stops at Single-A, High-A and Double-A last season and slashed .273/.376/.461 with 23 doubles, seven triples, 16 longballs, 59 RBI and 37 stolen bases over 120 games. He struggled over just five regular-season games with Double-A Somerset, but he made a major impact in just as many playoff games, hitting .450 with three homers and 10 RBI.
C Austin Wells
Age: 23
Organizational Ranking: No. 4
Highest Level Reached: AA
Wells, the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2020, made all the same stops that Domínguez made in 2022, though the former spent 55 games at Double-A. Wells held his own with Somerset, slashing .261/.360/.479 with 12 homers and 43 RBI. All in all, he hit .277/.385/.512 with 20 dingers, 65 RBI and 16 stolen bases over 92 games.
There have been some questions about Wells’ future behind the plate, and those looking for creative solutions to the Yankees’ uncertainty in left field have wondered about a position change. Perhaps Wells gets some practice in the outfield this spring in an effort to accelerate his MLB ETA, but the lefty swinger recently told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner that he plans on being a big league backstop. Either way, Wells will likely start the year in the minors.
OF Elijah Dunham
Age: 24
Organizational Ranking: No. 19
Highest Level Reached: AA
Dunham turned some heads in 2021, his first professional season, when he hit .263/.362/.463 with 25 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 57 RBI and 28 stolen bases between Single- and High-A. He was just as good, if not better, last season, when he spent the entire year at Double-A. Dunham slashed .248/.349/.448 with 26 doubles, three triples, 17 longballs, 63 RBI and 37 stolen bases.
Like Domínguez, Dunham is not competing for a big league job in camp. But some at-bats against MLB pitching will let the Yankees gauge if he’s ready for another promotion.
C Josh Breaux
Age: 25
Organizational Ranking: No. 20
Highest Level Reached: AAA
Like Wells, Breaux comes with some defensive questions. He also had a hard time at the plate in 2022, slashing .219/.283/.422 between Double- and Triple-A.
However, Breaux has power – he hit 19 homers last year and 23 in 2021 – and the Yankees don’t have cemented catching depth immediately behind the big league tandem of Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka. Ben Rortvedt is on the 40-man roster and currently figures to be the next man up in the event of an emergency, but Breaux could make a case for himself with a strong spring and improved results at Triple-A.
MORE:
- Which Non-Roster Invitees Are Most Likely to Play For Yankees This Season
- Yankees Add Righty With Limited MLB Experience
- Ex-Yankee Joey Gallo Will Have New Role With Twins This Season
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