Yasser Mercedes

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #19 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: The Twins’ top target in the 2021 international class, Mercedes had an excellent debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2022 but a promotion to the Florida Complex League exposed some rawness to his approach. He has some of the best tools in the organization, but he’s going to have to develop a better understanding of the strike zone for it to matter. He didn’t have a day in the Florida Complex League season where he had a batting average above .225.
  
  Scouting Report: Mercedes is going to require some patience, but he’s one of the few players in the system who could have three plus tools. He shows flashes of becoming a plus defender in center and he has plus speed. He once had an above-average arm as well, but that’s a tool that has backed up in pro ball. With his above-average bat speed, he has plus raw power that could help him develop into a competent power hitter as well. But Mercedes’ below-average bat-to-ball skills are a detriment for now. He expands out of the zone and makes poor contact on pitches he probably shouldn’t be swinging at.
  
  The Future: The Twins face a tough call. Mercedes may need to return to the Florida Complex League, as it’s hard to say he mastered the level in any way, but there’s always a worry that players grow stale if they have to repeat the complex leagues where games are played in front of almost no fans on a never-ending routine of Groundhog Days. It has often been described as the level almost designed to sap the love of baseball.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Field: 60 | Arm: 45
• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #13 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Mercedes was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in the Dominican Republic. He was a long-time target of the Twins who signed for $1.7 million. He immediately demonstrated the kind of power and speed that Minnesota had seen as an amateur, but combined with a more advanced understanding of the strike zone than could have been expected.
  
  Scouting Report: Mercedes has a chance to be a center fielder who can hit for power and average. Mercedes' 87 mph average exit velocity in 2022 was significantly higher than the average DSL player. He consistently barrels the ball. He will chase breaking balls away and sometimes gets a little pull happy, but the building blocks are there to be an above-average hitter. When he wants to, he can also be a very contact-oriented pest of a hitter. He's an above-average athlete with plus speed and shows the routes and reads to stick in center field. His arm is at least average as well and he's shown an above-average arm in the past as an amateur.
  
  The Future: Mercedes will come to the U.S. to play in the Florida Complex League in 2023. He's far from Minnesota, but it would not be surprising to see him leap up into the Twins top 10 before long. He has one of the more well-rounded tool sets in the organization and seems to be quickly adding baseball skills as well.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 55. Field: 55. Run: 60. Arm: 50.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Mercedes was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in the Dominican Republic. He was a long-time target of the Twins who signed for $1.7 million. He immediately demonstrated the kind of power and speed that Minnesota had seen as an amateur, but combined with a more advanced understanding of the strike zone than could have been expected.
  
  Scouting Report: Mercedes has a chance to be a center fielder who can hit for power and average. Mercedes' 87 mph average exit velocity in 2022 was significantly higher than the average DSL player. He consistently barrels the ball. He will chase breaking balls away and sometimes gets a little pull happy, but the building blocks are there to be an above-average hitter. When he wants to, he can also be a very contact-oriented pest of a hitter. He's an above-average athlete with plus speed and shows the routes and reads to stick in center field. His arm is at least average as well and he's shown an above-average arm in the past as an amateur.
  
  The Future: Mercedes will come to the U.S. to play in the Florida Complex League in 2023. He's far from Minnesota, but it would not be surprising to see him leap up into the Twins top 10 before long. He has one of the more well-rounded tool sets in the organization and seems to be quickly adding baseball skills as well.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 55. Field: 55. Run: 60. Arm: 50.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Mercedes was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in the Dominican Republic. He was a long-time target of the Twins who signed for $1.7 million. He immediately demonstrated the kind of power and speed that Minnesota had seen as an amateur, but combined with a more advanced understanding of the strike zone than could have been expected.
  
  Scouting Report: Mercedes has a chance to be a center fielder who can hit for power and average. Mercedes' 87 mph average exit velocity in 2022 was significantly higher than the average DSL player. He consistently barrels the ball. He will chase breaking balls away and sometimes gets a little pull happy, but the building blocks are there to be an above-average hitter. When he wants to, he can also be a very contact-oriented pest of a hitter. He's an above-average athlete with plus speed and shows the routes and reads to stick in center field. His arm is at least average as well and he's shown an above-average arm in the past as an amateur.
  
  The Future: Mercedes will come to the U.S. to play in the Florida Complex League in 2023. He's far from Minnesota, but it would not be surprising to see him leap up into the Twins top 10 before long. He has one of the more well-rounded tool sets in the organization and seems to be quickly adding baseball skills as well.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 55. Field: 55. Run: 60. Arm: 50.
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Dominican Republic, Mercedes became an early standout in the 2021-22 international class thanks to his combination of size, athleticism and tools at a premium position. He became the headliner of Minnesota&#39s international class when the signing period opened on Jan. 15, 2022, signing for $1.7 million.
  
  Scouting Report: Mercedes has a chance to be a power/speed threat in center field. He&#39s a plus runner with some of the better raw power in his class, showing flashes of future plus raw power that should continue to climb as he fills out his lean, well-proportioned 6-foot-3 frame. While Mercedes has big power and has shown it in games at times, that power does come with some strikeouts that he will have to keep in check. Depending how he develops physically, there&#39s a chance Mercedes could end up outgrowing the middle of the field and end up in a corner, but if he can maintain his speed and athleticism he could stick in center, where he has an above-average arm.
  
  The Future: Mercedes is a high-risk, high-reward player with some of best upside in the lower levels of the Twins system. His pro debut will come this year in the Dominican Summer League.