Ryan Falla
Reynaldo Yean is another great example of the Dodgers having no shortage of talent in their system. There is continuing evidence within the Dodgers system of the ability to draw talent from every level of their minor league system. In fact, many of the players on the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes playoff roster in 2023 came from early season callups out of Rookie League, including future stars such as Josue De Paula, Wilman Diaz, and pitching prospect Reynaldo Yean among others.
The right-handed fireballer Yean may have just made his Single-A debut this past season, but with the promise he’s shown in his short time, there is almost no limit to the heights he can achieve as he matures within the system. The 19-year-old relief pitcher spent the season regularly abusing hitters with his high-octane repertoire that already features a triple-digit fastball, the young star posting a ridiculous K/9 rate of 15.8 with the Single-A Quakes.
Overall Yean managed 44 strikeouts across 22 innings pitched across Rookie League and Single-A, and while you might think strikeouts are easy to come by this deep in the Minors it should be noted that Yean’s numbers across the year were of the league-leading type. His understanding of the strikeout mentality on the mound is already beyond phenomenal, and with a bit of polish and patience, there will be a real opportunity for the young star to blossom in Major League superstar form.
Reynaldo Yean’s Rapid Advancement
Yean was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent out of Sabana Grande de Boya in the Dominican Republic during the 2021 off-season. His Rookie League debut came in 2022 wherein Yean established an incredibly high-ceiling potential after striking out 41 hitters across 24.1 plate appearances while posting a 2.96 ERA. While the rookie league is notorious for being a difficult landscape to truly judge talent levels given the low level of competition Yean would continue his blazing path with a similar showing in 2023.
Yean caught our eye in Spring Training of 2023. The talk of his 102 MPH fastball was worth listening to. We wrote an initial article about him seven months earlier.
His Cal League debut came just 7 games into the 2023 season after Yean mangled opposing rookie league hitters with an 18 K/9 over the span. His prowess would continue to shine with the Quakes as he logged a 15.8 K/9 through his 16 innings of work in Single-A, overall amounting to 28 strikeouts across 16 innings of work. Yean absolutely excels at producing the strikeout, though here are a couple of kinks that require developmental attention going forward, namely limiting the walk. However, considering his age and very recent exposure to higher competition levels this is par for the course.
Room For Improvement
Reynaldo Yean very much has the toolset to mature into the next great Dodgers reliever as long as he gets the required time and patience to blossom into the star he is meant to be. His big-bodied nature (6-4, 190lbs) bodes well for his ability to maintain his velocity and quality over the course of a 162-game season. Over the 105 plate appearances against Yean in 2023 hitters managed a measly .640 OPS on the year while slugging just a few ticks north of .300. His ability to limit contact was devastating for opposing offenses as hitters stayed minimized with a paltry .163 batting average versus Yean on the year. It’s one thing to manage strikeouts at such a mythical rate, but to keep hitters making the weakest forms of contact when they do find the ball is truly what sets the stage for Yean’s future progression into superstar form.
Most of the damage done against Yean on the year came not off the bat, but off the walk, meaning that once Yean begins to exercise a more dominant control of the strike zone he will easily rank as the most dangerous young reliever across the minor leagues en route to a dominating career in the Majors.
Projecting The Future Of Reynaldo Yean
Reynaldo Yean’s MLB arrival should place him in line to pick up behind Brusdar Graterol as the incumbent hard-throwing monster baller in the pen. With the quick turnaround on prospects nowadays I wouldn’t be surprised to see Yean hitting the Majors by 2025/2026, it really depends on how well he can strengthen his handle on the strike zone.
Graterol’s 2027 free-agent date just about lines up with Yean’s timeline to establish himself as a full-time big-league mainstay with the Dodgers. Yean may give shades of Felix Bautista and his ability to strike out twice as many hitters as innings pitched, but the fact is that Bautista was not nearly as tapped into his strikeout ability at 19 as Reynaldo Yean has proven to be. This is not to compare the two at all as Bautista is a Cy Young caliber reliever, but it should attest to the incredible ceiling possessed by the young star Yean.
Final Thoughts
The Dodgers have an incredible pipeline feeding into the big league team and with all the young talent across the board making their way to LA you can assure yourself the state of the team will only continue to improve going forward. Reynaldo Yean may be one of the many great prospects soon to make their way to LA, but with his talent and ability, he will soon find himself heading the class he only recently joined as a young signee out of the Dominican Republic. Superstardom doesn’t come easy, but when you have the toolset of Reynaldo Yean you certainly make a case for yourself and your future track as one of the biggest arms in the game.
