Bridgewater, New Jersey – With two consecutive playoff appearances under his belt, manager Raul Dominguez feels back at home in Somerset where he hopes to guide the 2025 club to their first championship since the 2022 campaign. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has publicly praised the Patriots operation for their ability to develop major league players and Dominguez has played an integral part in that process. In the past year alone, 17 different players that have suited up for the Patriots have gone on to make their Major League debuts, including nine featured on the Bronx Bombers season opening roster last week. Dominguez is hoping not only to win an elusive title as skipper but also to keep sending his guys to the Bronx.

“I feel so proud just to be part of their development in the minor leagues,” Dominguez said. “I have been talking a lot to the group just using some of those guys as examples. Two years ago, there were four players that started the season here in Somerset and ended in the big leagues. I know for sure there is going to be some guys that start the season here and end this season in the big leagues.”

Dominguez added, “You have to keep working because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. That’s baseball. If you respect baseball and you work hard, the doors are going to be open for you and I use all of those guys up there as examples for the young guys.”

At one point in time, it was fairly common to see managers and coaches have extended tenures with the same minor league affiliate, but as the game has evolved and player development structures have advanced, the familiar faces have become somewhat of a rarity. While he enters this season with essentially an entirely new support staff, Dominguez is now the Yankees’ longest tenured manager at the Double-A level in over a decade - it is a responsibility that he doesn’t take lightly.

“I am blessed and happy with the organization to give me another opportunity to come here to Double-A for the third year in a row,” said Dominguez. “It’s a new year – we’re going to try to have the same challenges and same goals for the players. I feel like I am home again – I’m happy to be back in Somerset.”

Hitting coach Mike Fransoso comes to Bridgewater after five years in the Seattle Mariners organization, most recently as the hitting coach and interim manager for Double-A Arkansas, but he is certainly no stranger to the friendly confines of TD Bank Ballpark… They just look a little bit different than he recalls. Fransoso, who is entering his fifth season as a coach, wrapped up his days as an active player as a member of the Patriots during their time as an independent club in 2018-2019.

“It’s obviously great,” said Fransoso. “First of all, being close to home, having a baby and my wife close, so it’s going to be different after being on the west coast for the last five years. To come back here is special – the opportunity arose and obviously I was ecstatic, and my wife was ecstatic. Just to be back here with the great people in the organization – when I was here in 2018 and 2019 those were two of the best years that I had playing. I am really happy to be back.”

Fransoso added, “It’s pretty special what’s going on here and what they have done for the players. The amenities that the players have to get better to become the best versions of themselves are second to none here. There’s no excuse for not putting in the work here and that’s what we’re going to do. The guys are getting after it and the success and track record the last few years from the Patriots speaks for itself and I think that this place has a lot to do with that.”

Fransoso will oversee a unit of offensive weapons that is highlighted by Spencer Jones, the organization’s third ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline. Jones is coming off a strong spring and is looking forward to a clean slate after a 2024 season that he categorized as inconsistent. The 2022 first-round draft selection blasted 17 homers and drove home 78 runs to go with 25 stolen bases, but Jones realizes that he needs to cut down on the strikeout numbers and avoid up-and-down performances on a per-month basis – consistency for him is somewhere in the middle, according to Jones.

“Stay healthy and play as many games as possible,” Jones said when reflecting on his personal goals for this season. “From there I just want to be more consistent; I don’t want to have months where I absolutely suck. Obviously, tough times are going to come, but it’s just like smooth sailing, look ahead and try to be a good leader for the guys here.”

“He talked about how he felt like there was some extra moving parts in his swing that he was trying to get rid of, and so far, he has, and it’s looked really good,” said Fransoso. “We’re going to continue to make him be the best version of himself and get him ready to play in the big leagues.”

While there is no shortage of external pressure and scrutiny placed on Jones, the speedy outfielder is keeping his feet where they are rather than paying mind to what the outside perception of his development and ultimate trajectory may look like.

“Timetables are different for everybody,” explained Jones. “I know that when I get my stuff down and I am clicking in the right spots, I am a good player who knows where I am. It’s just going to be about getting to that point because I would rather be two months late than two months early. I don’t want to get exposed, and I want to be in a really good spot.”

“My goal is just to send him to Scranton as soon as possible,” said Dominguez.

Also returning alongside Jones as an early season lineup anchor is catcher Rafael Flores. The backstop was a relative unknown entering action last season after the organization inked him as a non-drafted free agent in 2022, but a torrid 2024 stanza has catapulted Flores up to 17^th on the team’s MLB Pipeline rankings and brought him honors as the Yankees Kevin Lawn Award winner as the organization’s minor league “Position Player of the Year” and Baseball America’s “Yankees Minor League Player of the Year.” Flores might not be under the radar any longer, but the chip on his shoulder is still as heavy as ever.

“I think that my game has gotten me this far and there’s no reason to put any added pressure on myself,” said Flores. “There’s no reason to kind of think that I need to do more – my game has gotten me this far, so I’ve just got to trust it and keep the same path. You’ve heard me say ‘chip on my shoulder’ many times and I’m just going to keep that the whole way.”

Much like Fransoso, new Pitching Coach Peter Larson is in his first year with the Yankees organization, after spending the last six seasons with the Minnesota Twins, including the last two with Triple-A Saint Paul.

Larson will deploy a pitching staff led by 12^th ranked prospect Cam Schlittler, who is slated to take the ball for the Patriots in their season opener on Friday night in Hartford. The right-hander made 25 starts across three levels last season which culminated in being named the South Atlantic League “Pitcher of the Year” and he was honored as the Kevin Lawn Award winner for the Yankees’ minor league “Pitcher of the Year.” Schlittler fanned 154 batters (which led all qualified Yankees minor leaguers) in 120.2 innings last season, while pitching to a 3.36 cumulative ERA. The Northeastern product says he added 10 lbs. of muscle this offseason and has added a splitter into his five-pitch mix to hopefully propel him to the next level of his development.

“Obviously I’ve got some things to work on,” admitted Schlittler. “I think I have made a lot of improvements, whether it was from the beginning or the end of last year to now. The experience that I’ve gained in big league camp definitely allowed me to make some great adjustments and I think I have gotten better. I’m excited to see how it goes Friday and the rest of the season.”

“I see an animal on the mound,” said Dominguez. “I expect him to stay healthy and to keep moving up. I know he’s got the velo and I know he can go long in the games – he’s one of the pitchers that I am excited to see.”

Following Schlittler in the rotation according to Dominguez will be Edgar Barclay, who is slated to start on Saturday after spending all of 2024 in the Triple-A SWB rotation. In his first season as a full-time starter, Barclay tossed a career-high 143 innings over 29 starts while pitching to a 5.98 ERA. The 26-year-old southpaw opened 2025 with Scranton and allowed just one hit in three shutout innings for the RailRiders against Lehigh Valley last Sunday.

Right-hander Trent Sellers is slated to start and make his Double-A debut in the series finale in Hartford on Sunday after pitching in 32 games last season--all but one for High-A Hudson Valley. The 25-year-old Oregon State alum was signed as a free agent in 2023 and opened his first season in pro ball as a reliever before ending the 2024 campaign as a starter. Sellers pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 23 appearances out of the bullpen. In his first month after moving into the rotation during mid-July, Sellers pitched to a 0.55 ERA and fanned 39 batters in 33 innings while holding the opposition to a .095 batting average.

Right-hander Bailey Dees is also slated to return to Somerset after a strong 2024 campaign as a full-time starter. Dees went 7-7 with a 4.25 ERA and a team-high 145 strikeouts in 137 strikeouts last season after transitioning in the spring from a relief role.

After a few days of workouts in Bridgewater, the Patriots will pack their bags and trek north to Hartford on Friday for a quick season-opening three-game slate with the Yard Goats before coming home and welcoming in the Reading Fightin Phils on Tuesday night at TD Bank Ballpark. At last, baseball season is here.

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 13th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.