Yankees Third Baseman Andres Chaparro Shows Glimpse Of Big Power

Andres Chaparro wasn’t one of the Yankees’ most hyped prospects. He didn’t come with the pedigree of Jasson Dominguez. He didn’t have an Anthony Volpe-type breakout.

But his profile took a big leap when he hammered a ball off the wall at 117 mph during the Arizona Fall League in 2021.

“That one caught a lot of people’s eyes,” said Dillon Lawson, the Yankees’ primary big league hitting coach.

That’s not all.

“Honestly,” Lawson said, “it kind of validated what we had been seeing, too.”

Chaparro, a 22-year-old third baseman, had a breakout season at the plate, and it carried into the AFL and Venezuelan League this offseason. And the Yankees believe his bat has the potential to bring big power to the majors.

“He’s a corner infielder who actually has the power to stay and hold his own at the corners,” Lawson said.

Chaparro, who signed in 2015 out of Venezuela, spent most of 2021 at Low-A Tampa before joining High-A Hudson Valley for 36 games. Overall he hit .267/.381/.468 with 15 home runs in 101 games.

In the AFL, where Austin Wells and Elijah Dunham shone the brightest for the Yankees, Chaparro held his own, hitting .275 with three homers and an .884 OPS in 20 games.

Lawson said the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Chaparro, whose exit velocity averaged 90.7 mph between the AFL and Venezuela, is more than capable of hitting 20-plus homers a year.

“He’s a strong guy,” Lawson said. “He took advantage of (the 2020 shutdown), adding weight. He’s always been someone—again, a lot of the same story where it’s a guy who made a ton of contact, especially on the fastball. He’s a guy where it’s tough to get a fastball by him.

“If he decides to swing at it, he most likely is going to connect with it. “

Chaparro also adjusted well to seeing more breaking balls at High-A (34 strikeouts in 155 plate appearances), Lawson said.

“Now it’s about resetting the bar,” Lawson said. “This was more of a breakout season. Now he’s got to set the bar even higher.”