New York Yankees Youngsters Propelling Team in Latest Surge

Since the New York Yankees fully committed to their youth movement, they have been on a roll. Coincidence? Probably not.

​On Sept. 2, the New York Yankees, after waiving Harrison Bader and releasing Josh Donaldson and shutting down Anthony Rizzo, made the decision to call up top prospects Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells to join Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira on the Major League roster and form one of the youngest lineups in the league. 

Not to mention, the Yankee’s youngsters were thrown into the fire against one of the best teams in the league and a club notorious for dominating the bombers, the Houston Astros.

​A lot of fans expected this to be a sign that the front office was punting on the 2023 season. How did they respond to the pressure? By ripping off a five-game winning streak since that day, tied for the longest such streak of the entire campaign for New York. There’s no doubt the infusion of youth has given the pinstripes a spark, but when you look deeper, there is a lot to be excited about in this stretch for the future of the franchise.

​Most notably, Jasson Dominguez has taken the league by storm and has captivated Yankee fans everywhere. His first at-bat was against Houston’s Cy Young-winner, Justin Verlander. Dominguez showed no fear against the 40-year-old right-hander, crushing the second pitch of his Major League career for a home run and becoming the youngest Yankee ever to do so in his first career at-bat. In the five games that Dominguez has been with New York, he’s slapped three homers for five RBI with a staggering 1.143 OPS. While those numbers are unsustainable, at just 20-years-old, Dominguez looks every bit of the part of a future superstar.

​Wells has also impressed manager Aaron Boone since arriving with the team, catching all three nights against Houston and logging two hits with an RBI at the plate. Boone felt Wells’ instant connection with the pitching staff was what stood out the most during that stretch.

​“He showed us a lot,” Boone said on the Talkin’ Yanks podcast. “It was so impressive to see his connection with the starters and our relievers even. We are really excited to see him grow.”

​Peraza and Pereira have both been around a little longer, with the duo being called up in August. It has taken the pair a bit to settle in, but both were huge parts of the Yankees’ success against the Astros and even in the last two victories against the Detroit Tigers.

In the five-game win streak, Peraza has had two three-hit games, one against Houston and one against Detroit, collecting Player of the Game recognition in both. He logged two vital RBIs in those performances as well, with both contests finishing as one-run victories for New York. Peraza has now logged six RBI since the August call-up and has nine for the season, showing promise as a potential infielder of the future in the Bronx.

Pereira, despite his fair share of struggles at the plate, also came through in Houston, earning the go-ahead run in Game 2 of the series and showing off an impressive glove in left field. These four, on top of the 22-year-old Anthony Volpe, who has been largely impressive in his first campaign (20 HR, 57 RBI, 22 stolen bases), are making a noticeable impact on a Yankee team that was yet to inspire a lot of hope to this point.

With the front office ready to hit the reset button on the roster, and Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole appearing to be the only locks within the Yankee core, there will be plenty of opportunity going forward for these young prospects to earn a consistent spot in the lineup and, as long as they keep winning, the praise for the “Baby Bombers” will continue to poor in. Yankees fans can at least be comfortable in knowing that they have potentially unlocked a core for the future this season.