The New York Yankees were very excited when they landed one of the Miami Marlins’ top pitching prospects in Domingo German this winter in the deal that brought Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Jones to the Bronx. That’s why Sunday’s news is very disappointing.
Yankees News: Domingo German Headed for Tommy John Surgery:http://t.co/ilA7YnB41Z@MLBRT @MLBlogRT @SportsArticleRT @SportsBlogRT
— Yanks Go Yard (@YanksGoYardFS) March 30, 2015
The Yankees have not immediately confirmed the report. German shared a photo on his Instagram page that read “Me van a operar mi loco de Tommy yonn”, or basically he needs the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Dan Pfeiffer of MLBlogs Rolling Thunder, a top authority on the Trenton Thunder, also reported that German was headed for the knife.
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It is disappointing because the 22-year old righty instantly became a top Yankees’ prospect upon his arrival. He was the No. 12 prospect in the Yankees’ organization according to MLB Pipeline. German, signed by the Marlins out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, became a star in 2014. He went 9-3 in the Low-A South Atlantic League with a 2.48 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 123.1 innings. He was selected to the MLB Futures Game, where he struck out Kris Bryant and Joey Gallo, the top two sluggers in the Minor Leagues.
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German’s go to pitch is his sinking fastball which sits in the mid-90s, but tops out at 97. He adds a curving slider and a changeup to his repertoire, both of which still need some work. Both pitches are effective, but lack the consistency one needs for Major League command. Unfortunately it appears he won’t get to work on that until 2016.
Although the New York Yankees have yet to officially confirm the report, all signs point to it being true. German was expected to start 2015 in the High-A Florida State League with the Tampa Yankees. He is a big part of the new look Yankees, whose once barren farm system suddenly has a brighter future.
The Yankees were hoping to one day have German join top prospect Luis Severino and their top left handed prospect Ian Clarkin in the rotation soon. It looks like that may take a little bit longer than expected.