The Yankees kicked off international signing season by adding 17-year-old Cuban outfield prospect Brandon Mayea, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
Mayea’s signing bonus is for $4.35 million and also includes a $100,000 “scholarship.”
Per Kirschner, Mayea is MLB Pipeline’s No. 9 prospect and Fangraphs’ No. 2. He has also trained in the Dominican Republic and seems built for speed at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds. Of course, he’s obviously expected to bulk up and fill out some more.
What’s interesting is Mayea is considered a “lockdown center fielder” by Yankees international amateur scouting director Donny Rowland. This despite No. 2 prospect Jasson Dominguez also coming into his own at the position and expected to be MLB ready by 2024.
“You watch him in center field, and you know it’s really good,” Rowland says. “You watch him run, you know he can fly. Then you watch him hit and it’s like, wow, the bat might be the best of his tools. That’s what impressed me the most.”
And of course with every young prospect come ridiculous pro comparison. MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez spoke to one evaluator who calls Mayea a “mini Gary Sheffield.”
One of Mayea’s trainers, Angelo Ramos, went a step further and compared him to Mookie Betts. Not bad company at all for a young five-tool player.
It’s still way too soon to determine just what Brandon Mayea will be for the Yankees. He’s looking at a minimum three years of minor league development to get stronger and fine tune his game accordingly. Remember, he’s still just 17 and too young to compare to Mike Trout, let alone Sheffield and Betts.
If anything, Mayea is more comparable to his fellow prospect Dominguez, who signed with the Yankees at 16 for $5.1 million in 2019. He’s young, full of potential, but nobody’s quite sure what kid of player he’ll be.
Thus, once Dominguez debuts in the next couple of years, perhaps he’ll be the Litmus test for Brandon Mayea.
