New York Yankees 2023 Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Matt Sauer

Matt Sauer, a former New York Yankees 2017 draft pick has taken a long time to develop, but his progress is starting to come to pick up speed.

InsideThePinstripes.com will review each of the New York Yankees’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2023 season.

No. 25: RHP Matt Sauer, Somerset Patriots (Double-A), Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A), Gulf Coast League Yankees (Rookie)

Statistics for 2023: All affiliates) 6-5, 3.41 ERA, 17 games (16 starts), 74.0 innings, 51 hits allowed, 32 runs (28 earned), 12 home runs allowed. Struck out 93, walked 34. Opponent batting average of .189, 1.15 WHIP.

(With Gulf Coast Yankees) 0-1, 4.91 ERA, two games (two starts), 3.2 innings, two hits allowed, five runs (two earned), one home runs allowed. Struck out five, walked two. Opponent batting average of .143, 1.09 WHIP.

(With Hudson Valley) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, one game (one start), 2.0 innings, no hits allowed, no runs (none earned), no home runs allowed. Struck out five, walked three. Opponent batting average of .000, 1.50 WHIP.

(With Somerset) 6-4, 3.42 ERA, 14 games (13 starts), 68.1 innings, 49 hits allowed, 27 runs (26 earned), 11 home runs allowed. Struck out 83, walked 29. Opponent batting average of .196, 1.14 WHIP.

Season Transactions: Sauer started the season on Somerset’s 7-day injured list. He was sent to the FCL Yankees for a rehab assignment on June 5 and was activated by Somerset on June 23. On Sept. 25 he was assigned to the Arizona Fall League.

Season Summary: Sauer didn’t allow his start to the season derail him from having one of his best years in the minors. His ERA was the lowest it had been since 2019 (2.91). His WHIP was a career low. His opponent batting average was one point above his career low. He maintained the 3-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio he enjoyed his previous two seasons. The Yankees are seeing something out of the former second-round pick, who has been a pro since 2017. That’s probably why he earned the invite to the Arizona Fall League.

Road Through the Organization: The Yankees snagged Sauer in the second round of the 2017 Draft, right after they took current Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt in the first round. Schmidt’s Tommy John surgery allowed the Yankees to save a bit of money and go over-slot (nearly $2.5 million) to sign Sauer out of Righetti High in Santa Maria, Calif. Unfortunately, Sauer needed elbow reconstruction shortly after his full-season pro debut in 2019 and that pushed his true development to 2021. Since 2021, he’s played in at least two organizations in the Yankees’ system each year, showing steady progress. He really popped on the organization’s radar after striking out 17 players with 95 pitches in a game late last season.

What’s next: Sauer should have a chance to complete for a spot at Triple-A next spring, with an eye on making his MLB debut in 2025. An invitation to the Arizona Fall League should help that along. Per MLB.com he’s working with a fastball that can hit 95 miles per hour and a low-80s slider that creates swing-and-miss and chase. He’s a more efficient pitcher than he was pre-injury, but he needs a third consistent quality pitch to get the Yankees interested in a call-up.

2023 New York Yankees Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30 Elijah Dunham | No. 29 Danny Watson | No. 28 Edgar Barclay | No. 27 Justin Lange | No. 26 Yoendrys Gomez |