by “I’m glad he’s my center fielder,” that is what Staten Island Yankees reliever Mike Recchia had to say when asked about his thoughts on Eduardo Sosa.
Eduardo Sosa was one of several international free agent players that the New York Yankees signed on July 2, 2007. He along with fellow 2010 Staten Island Yankees Kelvin De Leon and Jose Mojica were considered some of the top players eligible for that signing class and made his professional debut the following season with the Dominican Summer League Yankees2 team.
In 2008 Sosa batted .315 with 18 doubles, 5 triples and 4 homeruns for in the Dominican Summer League. He finished the season tied for third in the league with 80 hits and recorded at least one hit in 25 of his first 27 games. He was best against right-handers as he was 68 for 213 against them (.319 average) and had 25 of his extra base hits against righties.
Eduardo made his United States debut last year with the Gulf Coast League Yankees where he struggled in 49 games. In 165 at bats he had only a .200 batting average. He had just 33 base hits, 7 of them doubles with a 1 triple and 2 homeruns.
Sosa has a very high ceiling, projecting as a possible major league regular in the future. He was compared favorable to Johnny Damon when first signed except with an average to an above-average arm. Eduardo is expected to be a solid hitter throughout his career and posses great speed running a 6.6 second 60-yard dash. He does not project to have much power as he matures but will be a threat on the base paths.
“It seems like he’s always on base and then he can steel on u so if u walk him it’s like giving up a double,” said Staten Island Yankees pitcher Nik Turley.
Coming into the 2010 season BaseballDigest.com ranked Eduardo Sosa as the 26th best prospect in the New York Yankees farm system and was projected to spend the 2010 season with the Staten Island Yankees. Come June 18 he was on the roster and in the starting lineup for the Baby Bombers batting ninth against the Brooklyn Cyclones. In the first series of the season he hit just .250 and continued to struggle through the first few series but started coming alive at the plate hitting .304 in his last ten games raising his season average to .283. So far in 2010 he has hit eight doubles, a triple and a homerun.
Left-handed pitchers have not been a problem for the young Eduardo Sosa as he is hitting .313 against them with four doubles and four walks. Five of his nine stolen bases came with left-handers on the hill. Sosa has had success in front of the home crowd, hitting .302 at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
Sosa has not only been impressive at the plate lately but has been one of the top defenders on the Staten Island Yankees this season. “He gets after it in the outfield,” said Turley. “He always plays hard and he covers a lot of ground. You know when the ball gets hit out there there’s a good chance it’ll be caught.”
“I’d say he reminds of a left-handed Shane Victorino because he always plays hard and gets after it; either him or Jacoby Ellsburry, a solid outfielder and leadoff guy,” Turley added.
He has demonstrated excellent range and the ability to make some amazing plays in centerfield for Staten Island. His play prevented many possible extra base hits from happening and saved many runs from scoring.
When you have a player like that in the outfielder it gives the pitching staff some reassurance out there. “It makes pitching a lot easier knowing you have that much speed and a good glove in center,” said starter Zachary Varce.
“He covers a lot of ground and he takes a lot of stress off us pitchers when there’s a deep ball hit,” said Recchia. “He takes great routes to balls and has good knowledge of what to do quickly with the ball when runners on base.”
Recchia’s comment seems to sum up the feelings the Staten Island Yankees pitching staff has about Sosa. Zachary Varce added, “He covers an incredible amount of ground and tracks down everything. If something is hit hard in the air that there is a good chance that it will be caught.”
With it being only the second month of the 2010 season it seems likely that Eduardo Sosa will continue to impress those in attendance at Staten Island Yankees games both in the dugouts and in the stands.
Really nice piece, Robert. Sosa’s defense and speed definitely appear like they’ll play at the ML level. Seems like he has good contact skills as well, though the power will likely never come. If his on-base skills really develop, he could potentially be a very valuable player down the line. Definitely among the most intriguing prospects down in the lower levels.
I def see him jumping up on my prospect rankings now that I have had a long look at him. I was going to wait to post this until I talked with the coaches about his offense but decided to do it now since it would have been a lot longer.