After signing for $225,000 out of the Dominican Republic in January 2012, Jorge Mateo made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Yankees when he as 17 years old. In his first season he played in just 14 games where he had 14 hits in 55 at bats with two doubles, a triple, homerun and 8 RBIs while walking 12 times. A hairline fracture in his left arm caused him to miss significant time.
Bouncing back from injury Jorge returned to the Dominican Summer League in 2013 where in 64 games he hit .287 with 74 hits in 258 at bats. That season he hit 9 doubles, 6 triples and 7 homeruns while driving in 26 runs and walking 34 times. He earned the promotion to the Gulf Coast League in 2014 where he made his United States debut at age 19. In his first season in the US he hit .276 but was limited to just 15 games after he suffered a broken left wrist. In 58 at bats he had 16 hits, 5 doubles, a triple and 1 RBI.
The Yankees wanted to push Mateo and give him a challenge in 2015 when they assigned him to the Charleston RiverDogs to start the season. He did not disappoint, showing off his tremendous speed has he stole 71 bases for the RiverDogs in 96 games, including 18 games where he had multiple stolen bases. With Charleston Mateo hit .268 with 18 doubles, 8 triples and 2 homeruns while driving home 33 runs. When batting first Jorge hit .310.
On August 5, 2015 Mateo earned a promotion to High-A Tampa. In 21 games with the Tampa Yankees he hit .321 with 5 doubles and 3 triples, driving in 7 runs and stealing an additional 11 bases to bring his season total 82, leading all of professional baseball.
He possesses some of the best raw tools in the system. He is a topline runner with speed that was rated at 80 on the 80-point scouting scale. Combine that with average power and strong understanding of the strike zone he could develop into one of the better hitters in the farm system. He has shown good range at short with a plus arm and is one of the top prospects in all of baseball.
Mateo will return to the Tampa Yankees to begin the 2016 season but do not be surprised when you see him on the roster of the Trenton Thunder by the end of the season.
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