With beloved names like Derek Jeter, Bucky Dent, Gene Michael and Phil Rizzuto having held down the shortstop position through the years, Jorge Mateo has a lot to live up to. Even more so now that he is MLB.com’s 30th best prospect in the league. Baseball America also named him the best in the Yankees farm, edging out Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge. He has been considered untouchable by Brian Cashman this offseason when talking trades.
The 20 year old Dominican Republic native flew through the Minors last season, literally. He stole a baseball’s best 82 bags between Single-A Charleston and High-A Tampa while hitting to a .279/.345/.392 line. He spoke with Yankees on Demand recently and said he’s been working to improve his strength and consistency on defense.
“My days in the offseason are tough,” Mateo said. “I wake up and go to the weight room because I know it’s going to help me reach my goals. My goals for this year are to get stronger and to ultimately play in the big leagues.”
He turned 48 double plays in the field with a .929 fielding percentage. His 30 errors, however, are something he’s working on this offseason in the Dominican Republic.
“My defense has improved a lot. My mentality has changed and the support of everyone here has really helped me get better. I have been practicing the routine play so that I can be more consistent because I know that it will pay off.”
He is likely to start the year in High-A with a possibility of making the jump to Double-A Trenton. We’ll have to wait and see if he can sustain his threat level on the bags now that he will face tougher catchers, but if he can his future in New York is bright.
“My goal has always been to play professionally,” Mateo said. “But when you get on the field, that’s where you really demonstrate who you really are as a player, and that is what I plan to do.”
