Just two years ago, Jorge Mateo was the crown jewel of the
Yankees system. He swiped 82 bases, showed some pop with the bat, and played a
premium position.
There were high expectations for him in 2016, and for the
most part, had a lackluster season in A+ ball, where he spent all season. Then
the Yankees system acquired guys like Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier in trades and
Blake Rutherford via the Draft, and he quickly slid down top prospect lists and seemed to
fall a bit out of favor within the organization.
He’s repeating High-A ball again this year, and isn’t quite lighting
the world on fire. Still, he’s swiped 20 bags and has been working out in CF,
so perhaps he’ll take to the OF and help the Yanks in that way. Plus, he’s on
the 40-man roster, and I fully expect him to be called up in September to serve as a
pinch running extraordinaire, assuming that the Yankees are still firmly in a
Pennant race. Instead of going out an getting a Rico Noel or Eric Young Jr, they'll have their own, homegrown version.
His cards have cooled down as well, and I actually think
this is a great time to buy. I snagged this Bowman insert for $.75 shipped, and
I look forward to stocking up on a few autos that will be harder to get when he
swipes a bag that helps set up the winning World Series run later this fall.
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