The next prospect in our series might be the most powerful prospect in the entire New York Yankees farm system. That prospect would be the guy that the Yankees shelled out $3 million to in the international signing period in 2014, Dermis Garcia. Garcia has incredible power at the plate which will instantly draw attention. When you see him connect on a pitch, it’s going to be hard to find the ball because it will leave the park quickly. Garcia is one of the more interesting prospects in the system given that the Yankees tried a Ohtani style experiment with Garcia. Garcia has thrown some bullpen sessions where he’s flashed a fastball above 90. However, the first basemen loves to hit and that is where he sees his future. His power was on full display during his 2019 season.
Impressive Power
In 75 games for the Tampa Tarpons, Garcia really showed off his power hitting 17 home runs and driving in 54 runs. Between 2017 and 2019 Garcia appeared in 226 games and smashed 49 bombs in that stretch. There is one thing for sure about Garcia and that’s the fact that he is going to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Last year, Garcia transitioned over to first base from third. With talking about his pitching ability above, it should be noted that he was not moved due to a lack of arm strength. Garcia is not the most mobile of prospects which holds him back in the field and on the bases. Garcia showed average fielding skills at first and I really don’t see him ever getting above the average defender grade. The power was on full display but his average and OBP did leave much to be desired coming in at .247 and .296 which was almost a 30 point drop from the year before. Garcia is one of the most powerful prospects the Yankees have, but he’s not the most consistent.
Areas to Improve
Dermis Garcia is a fun prospect to watch, but he’s a prospect that must improve in a few areas if he’s going to make an impact at the MLB level. Garcia has a bad tendency to chase really bad pitches and expand his zone. He has a very high strikeout rate and doesn’t walk nearly enough. He needs to learn how to sit back on pitches and wait. At times he can seem a little anxious at the plate. The raw power is there and if he can improve the average, he’s going to be a batter that nobody wants to go after. In terms of his fielding, I don’t think you’re ever going to see Dermis Garcia winning a Gold Glove. However, he can definitely be serviceable and I think that is where he needs to focus. If his defensive mechanics improve, he can definitely become an average defender which would add to his prospect stock.