Names To Watch In The FCL

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The FCL season is here and with that will be plenty of players from the DSL making their stateside debuts. I wanted to highlight three players that I am intrigued about who’ll be among those playing in the complex league and could have strong 2026 campaigns.

Richard Matic 3B

After his first year of pro ball at the DSL in 2024 went horribly with a .582 OPS, Matic came back the next year with a vengeance in his age 17 season. He posted a slash line of .336/.487/.566 for a 1.053 OPS with 20 XBH in 46 games, while nearly walking as much as he struck out at 20.9%, thanks to his 16% chase rate. The Dominican infielder made significant improvements in power, jumping over 6 mph in 90th percentile exit velocity to 103.8 mph, having a barrel rate over 18% and having his ISO jump from .054 to .231. This didn’t come at the expense of contact either, where he made vast improvements (over 13% leap in contact), also cutting down on swing and miss too. The righty slugger is the most highly anticipated name coming over stateside and could further cement himself with a strong showing.

Queni Pineda C

Touted as a defensive first catcher, Pineda comes over stateside after putting up .259/.442/.420 slash with a .842 OPS over the last two seasons. The Dominican catcher has displayed an elite eye at the plate, walking more than he’s struck out with walk rates over 20% both years at the DSL. He also improved upon his bat to ball skills significantly, jumping over 20% in contact%. As a catcher, Pineda nearly threw out a third of runners and has great receiving skills, and projects long term to stick at the position. The next step for Pineda will be to find the raw power he was displaying in 2024, as he saw a decrease in ISO from .185 to .111. The Yankees have churned out numerous catching prospects over the last few years and Pineda could add himself to that list in his age 19 season.

Francisco Vilorio - OF

The top IFA bonus for the Yankees in the 2024 signing period, Vilorio has had an interesting pro career thus far. In his debut season, Vilorio struggled making contact, batting under the Mendoza line while striking out 33% of the time, while registering a .653 OPS. Vilorio would then come back next year making significant strides in contact, while dropping his strikeout rate to 25% and posting a .753 OPS. However, this came at the expense of his power as he went from a .149 ISO to a .087 ISO and not hitting any HR after hitting 4 the previous season. Standing 6 '4 with a big frame, Vilorio has already displayed great power, having had a 90th percentile exit velocity of 104.6 mph. The hope for Vilorio in his age 19 season will be to combine his previous power, while maintaining the contact leaps he made. 

The FCL season is always an exciting time as we see players who come stateside who look to continue their baseball careers and cement themselves within their organization and the prospect world.

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Every Prospect. Every Level. Every Day.