Arizona Fall League: Somerset Patriots Update

Rolling updates from former and future Somerset Patriots who are partaking in the 2022 Arizona Fall League season.

Wednesday, October 12

Jasson Dominguez - OF

Coming off his playoff rampage with the Somerset Patriots (.450/.560./.950 slash line with 10 RBI, 7 R, 3 HR in 5 postseason games), Yankees No. 2 prospect Jasson Dominguez has had a respectable start to his first Arizona Fall League campaign. After a modest beginning in Mesa, "the Martian" appears to be heating up. On October 10, Dominguez picked up his first AFL multi-hit game and his first extra-base hit, reaching base four times by going 2-for-3 with 2 R, 2 BB, a double and a stolen base.

Tyler Hardman - INF

The Yankees' 2022 minor league leader in home runs with 22, Tyler Hardman has gotten off to a blazing start in his first Arizona Fall League campaign. Through his first five AFL games, Hardman is batting .400, which ranks 11th in the league and his 1.028 OPS ranks 18th among all players. He has also scored seven runs, ranking sixth in the AFL. In his third AFL game on October 5, Hardman put together a 4-for-5 day with 5 R, 3 RBI, a BB and his first AFL home run.

Other Yankees Notes

On Monday, October 10, Yankees infield prospect T.J. Rumfield went 3-for-3 with three doubles for the Solar Sox. He now enters play on Wednesday, October 12 tied for the AFL lead in BA (.500) and ranks 3rd in OBP (.579), 4th in OPS (1.293) and 7th in SLG (.714). After working through an injury in the first half of the 2022 regular season, Rumfield spent the entire second half (52 games) playing in High-A Hudson Valley, where he slashed .284/.381/.411 with 4 HR, 34 RBI and 27 R. Based on his current career trajectory, the next level of Rumfield's professional development will likely include a stop in Somerset.

Jasson Dominguez slams his first extra-base hit in a multi-hit effort while Joe Mack and Ronny Simon go back-to-back! Make sure to catch all of your #AFL22 highlights from yesterday’s action every morning here on Twitter!@Yankees_Beisbol @Marlins @raysbeisbol pic.twitter.com/IWBcAalBBN

— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) October 11, 2022

Yankees in the AFL (2022)

The Yankees' representatives play for the Mesa Solar Sox at Sloan Park, which is the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs. The Solar Sox are also made up of prospects from the Cubs, A's, Marlins and Rays organizations. The Yankees' 2022 AFL representatives include OF Jasson Dominguez, INF T.J. Rumfield, INF Tyler Hardman, RHP Nelson Alvarez, RHP Yorlin Calderon, RHP Shaine McNeely and RHP Leam Mendez.

Of the Yankees' six players in the AFL, two are former members of the 2022 Somerset Patriots: outfielder Jasson Dominguez and infielder Tyler Hardman. Both Dominguez and Hardman only spent two weeks in Somerset during 2022, as they were both promoted to Double-A on September 13, following the conclusion of the High-A South Atlantic League season.

Somerset Patriots in the AFL (2021)

Four members of this year's 2022 Eastern League Champion Somerset Patriots team partook in the AFL in 2021: Andres Chaparro, Elijah Dunham, Tanner Myatt and Austin Wells. Dunham and Wells were named AFL Rising Stars (All-Stars), while Dunham was named the AFL Breakout Player of the Year.

Dunham hit .357 (ranked 6th in AFL) with a .465 OBP (5th), 2 HR, 14 RBI, 11 SB (1st), 6 2B and 30 H (3rd) in 23 games, before going on to spend the entire 2022 season in Somerset and leading the Patriots in RBI (63).

Wells played 18 games and ranked 6th in the AFL with a 1.034 OPS, adding 2 HR and 14 R. His 18 RBI were tied for the most of any catcher in the AFL. After earning a mid-season call-up to Somerset in 2022, Wells led all Patriots in RBI (55) from the time he joined the team.

Chaparro played 20 games and slashed .275/.363/.522 with 3 HR, 15 RBI and 13 R, before proceeding to lead the 2022 Somerset Patriots in home runs with 19.

Myatt appeared in eight AFL games in 2021, earning a save over 6.0 combined innings of work, where he compiled a 13.50 ERA and 9 K.

About the Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League is a six-team, six-week exhibition league that takes place in Arizona, featuring some of baseball's top ranked prospects. Each Major League Baseball team sends six top prospects to the Arizona Fall League, resulting in a total of 180 players. The games are played in the Spring Training stadiums used by the Mariners, Padres, Cubs, A's, D-backs and Rockies.

There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros. These club names were picked by Major League Baseball as reflective of the Southwestern desert traditions in the state.

The Arizona Fall League season began on October 3 and will conclude with the Championship Game on Saturday, November 12. The Fall Stars Game will take place the prior weekend on Saturday, November 5.