The New York Yankees signed Brandon Mayea, a talented Cuba-born hitter, on Sunday, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The 17-year-old outfielder, who is known for having a premium bat speed, strength, agility, and advanced approach at plate, ranks No. 9 among the international prospects by MLB.com. His signing indicates the Yankees are out to get hold of the best available international talent.
While Jasson Dominguez is on his way to the MLB roster, the Yankees invested in outfielder Brandon Mayea. Considered an elite hitter of the current J-15 international signing class, the 6-foot outfielder will get $4.35 million, which is most of the Yankees’ $5.2 million international pool.
The agreement has not been confirmed by the Yankees and the deal is on hold until a physical is done.
Brandon Mayea was born in Cuba but now lives and trains at the Jaime Ramos Baseball Academy in the Dominican Republic. He will be 18 in September and could have waited until later in 2022 to sign, but he would have had to accept a reduced bonus due to the fact that teams around the league had already allocated larger sums of money to other players in the class. Instead, Brandon Mayea decided to wait until 2023 to fulfill his Yankees contract and collect the maximum possible compensation.
Brandon Mayea adds to the team’s depth in the minor leagues, which already had Dominguez and Roderick Arias, who was signed last year. The right-handed hitter used to play at shortstop before he moved to center field.
Despite the fact that YouTube and Instagram are the only means to see Brandon Mayea playing till date, the scouting reports have been highly encouraging. His raw hitting talent, especially his power to the pull side, has made the 170-pound hitter a household name already.
Brandon Mayea is one of the most exciting players in his class because he is a great athlete with advanced skills for his age. Some people think Mayea is one of the top 10 international talents, while others think he is one of the top two, along with Ethan Salas, who the Padres signed as a catcher.
Scouts call Brandon Mayea ‘electric’
Scouts like his arm at shortstop and how powerful he looks at the plate and call him “electric.” Brandon Mayea’s bat speed and power are unusual. One evaluator called him a “mini Gary Sheffield.” The outfielder has a mature body but has a lot of room to grow because he is strong and quick. On defense, Brandon Mayea might stay in center field, but his size and athleticism make it possible that he could move to the corner.
One of this year’s shining stars, the international prospect trains in the Dominican Republic with Jaime Ramos, who is part of the MLB Trainer Partnership Program. He is very aggressive in the batter’s box and getting a better idea of where the strikes are.
According to FanGraphs, “Brandon Mayea simply has a great feel for contact and swings with rotational verve, and the combination is enough to punish the baseball.”
A player from another country can sign with a MLB team between January 15 and December 15 if his age is above 16. Before they can sign up with a team, players have to sign up with the Major League Baseball. From January 15, teams can trade money from the international bonus pool.
Ben Badler of Baseball America claimed, “Brandon Mayea has a simple, efficient swing from the right side and a mature approach, using the whole field with good plate coverage and frequent hard contact.”
In 2024, Mayea played in the Dominican Summer League for the Yankees organization during his first full professional season. He appeared regularly in the outfield and accumulated a full DSL workload. The Yankees evaluated him on contact quality, athleticism, and defensive actions rather than headline production. I don’t know his finalized 2024 DSL slash line with certainty, and no complete, official stat table was published by the organization for public reference.
In 2025, Mayea moved to U.S.-based Low-A ball, marking his first season stateside. He played exclusively in the outfield and remained one of the youngest players at his level. His season focused on exposure to advanced pitching and defensive reps rather than output benchmarks. I don’t know his full 2025 stat line, including games played or slash figures, and there is no verified public record consolidating his regular-season numbers through December 2025.
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