Seven Patriots Named 2023 Yankees Organization All-Stars
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Minor League Baseball has named seven prospects that played for the Double-A Somerset Patriots during the 2023 season as New York Yankees Organization All-Stars.
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Minor League Baseball has named seven prospects that played for the Double-A Somerset Patriots during the 2023 season as New York Yankees Organization All-Stars.
Seven members of the 2023 Somerset Patriots have been named @MiLB Yankees Organization All-Stars!🌟 pic.twitter.com/5k8J7iwQnR
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) October 18, 2023
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Minor League Baseball has named seven prospects that played for the Double-A Somerset Patriots during the 2023 season as New York Yankees Organization All-Stars.
C: Ben Rice (NYY No. 23)
A/A+/AA: .324/.434/.615, 73 G, 20 HR, 68 RBI, 62 R, 44 BB, 11 SB
Since his promotion to Somerset on 7/18, Rice was the Eastern League leader in HR (16), RBI (48), SLG (.651), OPS (1.054), XBH (30), TB (127) and R (40), while ranking third with a .328 BA. Among all players with 300 plate appearances, Rice ranked first in wRC+ (183) while batting .324/.434/.615 with 20 homers in 73 combined games between Single-A, High-A and Double-A.
2B: Caleb Durbin
A+/AA: .304/.395/.427, 69 G, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 46 R, 26 BB, 36 SB
An ankle injury sidelined Durbin for two months, but he was back to his old self after returning in August. The 23-year-old hit .333 with an .870 OPS and seven steals in the final 20 games with Somerset. Durbin, who was traded from the Braves last offseason, had more walks than strikeouts (18) in the regular season. He’s currently making up for lost time with Mesa in the Arizona Fall League.
OF: Spencer Jones (NYY No. 1, MLB No. 73)
A+/AA: .267/.336/.444, 117 G, 16 HR, 66 RBI, 71 R, 49 BB, 43 SB
Jones set himself apart with his speed this season, leading the organization in stolen bases. The 6-foot-6 slugger became the Yankees No. 1 prospect midway through the 2023 season. He showed that he could hit the ball with authority, leading the system with 29 doubles.
OF: Jasson Domínguez (NYY No. 2, MLB No. 74)
AA/AAA: .265/.377/.425, 118 G, 15 HR, 76 RBI, 89 R, 83 BB, 40 SB
Dominguez was previously named the Eastern League’s Top MLB Prospect. At the time of his promotion from Somerset to Triple-A Scranton on August 22, “The Martian” was among the Eastern League leaders in R (1st, 83), BB (1st, 77), H (2nd, 108), SB (2nd, 37), RBI (4th, 66), TB (4th, 176), and OBP (8th, .367). He spent just nine games at Triple-A before making his MLB debut for the Yankees on September 1. He finished the season as Somerset’s team leader in AVG, R, H, RBI and SB.
OF: Everson Pereira (NYY No. 3, MLB No. 75)
AA/AAA: .300/.373/.548, 81 G, 18 HR, 64 RBI, 53 R, 32 BB, 11 SB
In Somerset, Pereira slashed .291/.362/.545 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI. He found another gear at Triple-A, batting .312/.386/.551 with eight homers in 35 games with Scranton before earning his first promotion to New York. The 22-year-old records extra-base hits at an impressive rate with consistent hard contact. Out of his 96 batted balls at Triple-A, 44 exceeded 95 mph. He even reached Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton territory with a max exit velocity of 114.5 mph.
RHP: Drew Thorpe (NYY No. 5, MLB No. 99)
A+/AA: 14-2, 2.52 ERA, 139.1 IP, 182 K, 38 BB, .200 BAA, 0.98 WHIP
Thorpe was previously named the Pitching Prospect of the Year by MLB in the inaugural MiLB Awards Show on October 2. He finished the 2023 season 14-2 with a 2.52 ERA, 182 K, 0.98 WHIP, .200 AVG over 139.1 IP in 23 games started. He topped all of MiLB in strikeouts and ranked among the leaders in W (T-2nd), WHIP (2nd), ERA (4th) and AVG (6th ). In his first professional season, the Yankees No. 5 ranked prospect split time with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. He dominated for the Renegades with a 10-2 record, a 2.81 ERA, 138 K, 1.07 WHIP and a .215 AVG in 109 IP in 18 games started. He continued to impress during his promotion to the Patriots where he went an undefeated 4-0 with a 1.48 ERA, 44 K, 0.66 WHIP and .144 AVG over 30.1 IP in five starts. In his Double-A debut on 8/11, Thorpe struck out nine over eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball.
RP: Jack Neely
A+/AA: 6-5, 7 SV, 2.17 ERA, 66.1 IP, 100 K, 20 BB, .166 BAA, 0.89 WHIP
The towering 6-foot-8 right-hander dominated at two levels, attacking the strike zone with a powerful fastball-slider combination. No other pitcher in the Minors completed at least 60 innings with a K/9 greater than 13 and a walk rate lower than 8 percent. The 2021 11th-rounder was one of only seven pitchers to complete fewer than 70 innings and record at least 100 strikeouts this season.