Here's the final Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week
Being compared to the likes of Mickey Mantle, Bo Jackson and Mike Trout -- before you even take the field in a professional game -- are lofty expectations. Lofty may even be underselling it. But, that's exactly what the case was for Jasson Domínguez, who signed for a record-setting $5.1 million as an international free agent in 2019 as a 16-year-old.
It was also a delayed curtain up for "The Martian" after the coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 Minor League season. So, when Domínguez finally made his pro debut last year, and got off to a slow start, well, it didn't take long for the "bust" people to spread their jeer.
However, this season has been more along the lines of what the Yankees thought they were getting when they signed the native of Esperanza, Dominican Republic, to the richest international signing bonus in team history. Especially since being promoted to High-A Hudson Valley, the numbers for Domínguez have really begun to take shape: he's slashing .306/.397/.510 over 40 games. New York's second-ranked prospect is coming off of his first multihomer game of his career, where he finished with four knocks and three RBIs. This also marks his first time as a member of the Prospect Team of the Week.
To be eligible for the Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week, Minor League players must be ranked among their club's Top 30 prospects on Pipeline's lists. (Those in the Majors do not qualify.)
This is the Prospect Team of the Week for Sept. 5-11:
Catcher: Logan O'Hoppe, Rocket City Trash Pandas (Double-A)
Angels No. 1, MLB No. 67
.467/.529/.933, 4 G, 7-for-15, 2 HR, 1 2B, 9 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 2 K
O'Hoppe makes his fourth appearance on the Team of the Week for the season, and his first since Week 17. The top Angels prospect has not missed a step since switching organizations from the Phillies at the Trade Deadline. In fact, he's looked even better since joining Double-A Rocket City. O'Hoppe not only hit safely in all four games he played in last week, but he also posted three multihit performances and drove in at least two runs in all four games. He is riding a five-game hitting streak, with eight knocks over that span, and his two dingers last week gave him 10 since joining the Trash Pandas. The 22-year-old has posted a .309/.482/.704 slash line with 30 RBIs and 22 runs scored over 24 games with his new organization. O'Hoppe looks to keep this going as the Trash Pandas will begin the postseason next week.
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1B: Robert Perez Jr., Everett AquaSox (High-A)
Mariners No. 21
.450/.577/.1.050, 6 G, 9-for-20, 3 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 8 RBI, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP
It was a big week for Perez Jr., whose effort not only landed him his first Pipeline Prospect Team of the Week appearance, but he was named the Northwest League Player of the Week as well. The 22-year-old out of Venezuela hit safely in all six games last week while posting a multihomer performance on Saturday as part of a three-hit, five-RBI game. He has really come into his own since being promoted to High-A Everett on Aug. 2. In 35 games with the AquaSox, Perez is batting .342/.477/.583 with seven homers, one triple, six doubles, 23 walks, 27 RBIs and 22 runs scored.
2B: Adrian Placencia, Inland Empire 66ers (Single-A)
Angels No. 8
.438/.500/1.063, 4 G, 7-for-16, 3 HR, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP
The 66ers clinched the California League South Division second-half title on Tuesday night after an extra-innings victory and Placencia was a big reason why. The 19-year-old clubbed a two-run dinger to open the scoring in the title-clinching game and later added a single. Placencia homered in three straight games from there, while posting three consecutive multihit efforts. He has found some consistency of late, posting a .259/.444/.630 slash line over eight games in September, and he will look to keep his power stroke going as Inland Empire opens the playoffs against Lake Elsinore tomorrow.
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3B: Werner Blakely, Inland Empire 66ers (Single-A)
Angels No. 15
.304/.407/.609, 6 G, 7-for-23, 2 HR, 1 2B, 7 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 11 K, 3 SB
Blakely missed nearly two months after suffering an injury on July 7 and not returning to action for the 66ers until Aug. 31, but he appeared to be right back on track last week. The 20-year-old not only homered in Inland Empire's postseason-clinching victory on Tuesday, but he hit safely in five of six games while posting one of his best performances of the year on Friday, collecting three knocks, including his fifth dinger, while driving in four runs. Blakely is batting .295/.447/.470 with 20 extra-base hits, 45 walks, 40 RBIs, 36 runs scored and 24 stolen bases over 55 games with the 66ers this season.
SS: Jacob Amaya, Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A)
Dodgers No. 15
.471/.571/.765, 5 G, 8-for-17, 1 HR, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP
Amaya has become a familiar name as he makes his third appearance on Team of the Week. The 24-year-old continued his strong campaign with arguably his best week of the year, and fittingly, capped it off with an exclamation point yesterday, hammering a grand slam for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Amaya hit safely in all five games he played in last week, falling a triple shy of a cycle with a three-hit effort on Sunday. After a rocky August, the California native has been red-hot this month, batting .419/.472/.645 in nine September contests.
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OF: Cade Marlowe, Arkansas Travelers (Double-A)
Mariners No. 22
.480/.552/1.280, 6 G, 12-for-25, 6 HR, 2 2B, 11 RBI, 11 R, 4 BB, 2 K
Few players have been as hot as Marlowe at the plate of late, and that's why he makes his second straight appearance on the Team of the Week. Marlowe had a 13-game hitting streak snapped yesterday, but that hardly did anything to affect his batting average as he posted three consecutive three-knocks games before that. He also went deep in every game during that three-game span, clubbing a pair of jacks twice. He ended the season on the best run of his career, posting a .548/.596/1.214 slash line with seven taters, one triple, five doubles, 17 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 10 September games.
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OF: Jasson Domínguez, Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A)
Yankees No. 2, MLB No. 42
.400/.500/.950, 5 G, 8-for-20, 3 HR, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 SB
It's not about how you start, but how you finish that will stay in people's minds, and Domínguez will certainly leave a favorable memory among the Yankees and their fans. As previously mentioned above, this week was the kind of performance that finally provided a glimmer of the expectations that surrounded "The Martian" since his signing three years ago. Still, only 19, Domínguez provided some hope that the future in the Bronx outfield is bright. The switch-hitting center fielder not only posted his first multihomer game on Saturday, but did it in style, flexing from both sides of the plate as part of a four-hit night. His effort also earned him South Atlantic League Player of the Week honors. Domínguez is batting .357/.424/.786 with three homers, one triple, one double, four walks, seven RBIs, seven runs scored and two stolen bases over his past nine games.
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OF: Brock Jones, Charleston RiverDogs (Single-A)
Rays No. 12
.400/.520/.850, 5 G, 8-for-20, 2 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 5 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 7 K, 3 SB
Single-A Charleston clinched the Carolina League South Division second-half crown on Wednesday and Jones was a pivotal reason why. The 21-year-old reached base four times -- collecting three hits and a walk, including a solo jack in extra innings to help seal the victory. After opening the year in the Florida Complex League, the 2022 second-round Draft selection made an immediate impact since joining the RiverDogs on Aug. 23. In 13 games with Charleston, Jones has posted a .286/.419/.653 slash line with 4 home runs, one triple, four doubles, 15 runs scored, 12 RBIs and is 9-for-12 in stolen base attempts.
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LHP: Andrew Abbott, Chattanooga Lookouts (Double-A)
Reds No. 10
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 K, 0.70 WHIP
After a rocky few months, Abbott appeared to right the ship last week. The southpaw turned in consecutive scoreless starts, tossing a rain-shortened five-inning complete game effort on Tuesday -- working around three hits without issuing a walk while fanning four -- before twirling five more scoreless frames with two hits and a pair of walks while whiffing nine. After posting a .256 average against in five August starts, the Virginia product sports a .161 average against this month.
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RHP: Christian Roa, Chattanooga Lookouts (Double-A)
Reds No. 30
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.33 WHIP
It will go down as a memorable week for the 23-year-old, who not only makes his first appearance on the Team of the Week, but also earned Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors. Roa was lights out over six scoreless frames, yielding one hit and one walk while punching out eight at Birmingham. It's only the second start at the Double-A level for the righty, who also turned in a quality outing in his first start with the Lookouts: allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out six over five frames against Pensacola. The Texas A&M product posted a 4.14 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP and a .218 average against with 83 strikeouts over 74 innings (17 starts) with Single-A Dayton to open the season.
RP: Mason Barnett, Columbia Fireflies (Single-A)
Royals No. 25
0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 0.20 WHIP
Talk about making a lasting first impression. The Royals' third-round selection in the 2022 Draft has made three appearances with Single-A Columbia this season and has yet to yield a hit. After tossing one inning in the Arizona Complex League, Barnett joined the Fireflies on Aug. 31. The 21-year-old right-hander nearly tossed two perfect frames in his debut on Sept. 2, his lone blemish being a hit batsman. But, he followed that up with two more dominating appearances last week. On Tuesday, Barnett was perfect over two frames with four strikeouts, and on Saturday he worked around one walk and fanned five over three innings. He is sporting a 0.14 WHIP with 11 punchouts and one walk in seven Carolina League frames.