Yankees DSL Prospects Who Demanded Attention This Season

Anashe Mapuranga
5 days ago
5 min read

After an offseason where the International signing pool was much maligned, it has been the perfect punch-back season for the Yankees in the Dominican Summer League.

The organization has seen a wide crop of players catch the eyes of many this season. With the regular season over, I wanted to take the time to highlight some of the top performers at the level.

OF Isaias Castillo

The second year outfielder out of the DR made big waves this season, finishing as one of the best power bats at the DSL. After hitting for a .730 OPS last season, the righty outfielder is slashing .294/.408/.629 for a 1.038 OPS. The improvement is notable as Castillo started the season at 17, only turning 18 midway through June. Castillo has shown a fantastic eye at the plate, walking 13.8% of the time, but his calling has been his power. He’s got a gargantuan .335 ISO, in large part to 35 of his 58 hits going for XBH, including a league leading 14 HR, one of the highest single season marks ever at the DSL level. There are some concerns with his contact, as his strikeout rate only dropped half a percent to 30% from last year. Still, the tantalizing game power has Castillo as one of the top prospects to watch for his stateside debut in 2027.

2B Juan Torres

The Dominican middle infielder has been nothing short of a hitting machine at the level. Despite having a .922 OPS in his first pro season last year, Torres repeated the level and has found even more success at the plate this season. He’s slashing .385/.470/.644 for a 1.114 OPS, while leading the league in hits and RBIs, and ranking third in batting average. The most impressive part about the 18 year-old has been the progression he’s seen from last year in both hit and power. On top of improving his overall slash line, the righty batter decreased his K rate from 11.8% to 7.2%, while increasing his BB rate from 3.5% to 11.3%, his ISO from .157 to .259 and doubling his HR total from 4 to 8. Torres already flashed signs of a pesky contact hitter, but the meaningful improvements in power and plate discipline give some hope he can be a well rounded offensive threat. HIs defense will be the thing to watch, as he is already somewhat limited to 2nd base.

SS Stiven Marinez

The slick fielding SS was one of the top IFA signees to debut in 2025, where he posted a respectable .275/.424/.375 slash for a .799 OPS, showing an ability to hit for average and get on base, albeit without much slug. Now 18, Marinez has been another standout bat at the level, slashing .315/.444/.545 for a .989 OPS, while ranking top 10 in hits. Like Torres, the lefty SS has improved in his hit, while adding tons of power to his game. Marinez decreased his K rate from 22.4% to 12.4%, while maintaining a 16.4% BB rate, increasing his HR total from only 1 last season to 8 this year, and his overall ISO from a low .100 to an excellent .229. While others may have had flashier campaigns, I’m not sure any of the prospects, outside of Yostin Pena, have as much potential as Marinez. His tools are raw but loud. Continued positive momentum in improving those tools could see him become a top 15 prospect within the organization.

OF Ruben Castillo

Another top IFA signee in 2025, Ruben Castillo missed a large majority of this season due to injury, however he more than made up for that time with his performance. After hitting .220/.338/.366 for a .704 OPS last season, the righty slugger is now hitting .269/.437/.449 for a .886 OPS this season at 18. Castillo is walking as much as he’s striking out at 12.6% apiece, having dropped the K rate by over 10%, increased his ISO from .147 to .180, while also tying his HR total from last season despite 27 less games played. The injury, as well as strong performances from others, may have pushed Castillo to the background, but this is very much a prospect worth keeping an eye on.

C Poly Ojeda

The 2026 class is marred by the loss of Wandy Asignen after the departure of Donny Rowland. Still, there were quite a few impressive names who joined the class. One of those is Poly Ojeda. The 17 year-old backstop has turned a lot of heads with his play at the plate. The Venezuelan catcher in his first pro season .313/.466/.536 for a 1.002 OPS with 5 HR, walking more than he’s striking out (18.9% to 13.5%) and having a .223 ISO. Ojeda has shown somewhat of an atypical approach at the plate. Many DSL batters are free swingers, but Ojeda has a swing rate less than 40%. Some of it may be passivity, but it is still likely a positive indication of some pitch recognition skill. Ojeda’s play has been so strong he could make a push to go stateside with all the previously mentioned names next season, while still only being 18.

OF Yostin Pena

The name that’s made the most waves out of the DSL, Pena has turned the heads of many with his freakish tools, despite being an older signee at 18 in his first pro season. The 6 '4 slugger slashed .375/.457/.646 with 8 HR for a 1.103 OPS (ranking 4th in the DSL) in 37 games. He had a fantastic .271 ISO, while walking as much as he struck out at 13.7% apiece and going 27/30 on stolen bases. Pena’s season was so strong, the Yankees made a widely unprecedented move for them aggressively pushing him not just stateside but to affiliated baseball, where he’s putting up a .310/.333/.476 slash line for a .810 OPS in 10 games at Low-A. In his brief appearances in Tampa, Pena has shown the power is not a fluke, registering multiple batted balls over 110 MPH and showing a decent ability to make contact, especially given the large jump in competition. The Yankees actions will tell you how they feel about a prospect, and this move tells us one thing: this kid could be special.

As illustrated above, Pena possesses immense power, having a 90th% EV of 109.3 MPH and having a reported max EV of 115 MPH at just 18, while taking advantage of said power by lifting it in the air a good bit. This is coupled with having contact tools that should be right around average as he doesn’t strike out a ton, while only whiffing around a slightly below average rate. What Pena will need to continue working on is pitch recognition as he’s chasing nearly half the time, while only working one walk in Low-A. However, it is incredibly impressive to be hitting well, despite such a big jump in levels and competition at such a young age.

It has been a fantastic year for the Yankees at the DSL level, particularly with the position players. And with the regular DSL season over, it is great to look back on who performed well and could continue the next journey of their careers stateside in the upcoming season.

Every Prospect. Every Level. Every Day.