The next prospect in the New York Yankees farm system that we will be taking a look at will remind you a lot of the Yankees current superstar right-fielder. The prospect that I’m referring to is the big Dominican right-fielder, Mauro Bonifacio. Bonifacio, at just 18-years-old is very impressive from a physical standpoint. He stands 6’7 and he weighs about 230 pounds. He has very long strides when he runs, and he has a very good arm in the outfield. As you can probably imagine, he is a very strong prospect, and when he connects on a pitch, the pitch will go a long ways. From a distance, you could see a lot of things that would remind you of Aaron Judge. Of course, Bonifacio is extremely green, and he just got his first taste of pro-ball last year after being signed by the Yankees in March of last year. In his first year, Bonifacio showed some big gaps where he needs to improve, but his natural physical gifts allowed him to shine as well.
Bonifacio’s first taste of pro-ball
Last year in the Dominican Summer League, Bonifacio played in 42 games. In those 42 games, there were not a ton of positives to draw from as Bonifacio hit .196 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. There was a positive number that I took away and that was that his OBP was .319. Bonifacio is very intimidating at the plate which causes pitchers to be very careful with him. There were a lot of times where pitchers would go ahead and surrender ball four before throwing him a fastball down the middle in a hitters count. At this stage of his career, Bonifacio does struggle with pitch recognition and hitting offspeed pitches. He has a very long swing which generates a lot of loft, but can also generate a lot of misses. Bonifacio is still getting the hang of things, and he’s going to need a few years to really develop before he’s even close to being ready for major league action.
The Yankees Plan for Bonifacio
As Bonifacio continues to develop in the Yankees system, the Yankees just need to keep working with him on being more patient at the plate. Being so young and strong, Bonifacio loves to attack pitches, but he doesn’t sit back on anything yet. That will come with a lot more age and experience. I can tell you now, he’s always going to be a player that is going to strikeout a lot. Bigger guys who have very big strike zones are always going to strike out, just ask Aaron Judge. Bonifacio just needs to continue to work on making solid contact and maturing his approach at the plate. I really like the way he looks in the corner outfield. He seems extremely comfortable, and I think he will develop nicely in right field. Again, it’s going to take some time for him to be even close to being major league ready, but this is definitely a kid that you want to keep your eyes on if you’re a Yankee fan.