Jeter Downs

Jeter Deion Downs Mitchell

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Monsignor Edward Pace High School
• Debut June 22, 2022

• Born July 27, 1998 in Isla San Andrés, San Andrés Colombia

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Jeter Downs was born in Colombia but moved to the United States as a young man, going to high school in the Miami, FL area. His father was a pitcher in Colombia and his parents named him after Derek Jeter and Deion Sanders. His brother Jerry Downs played a number of years in the minor leagues. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the supplemental 1st round of the 2017 amateur draft. He began his career that year with the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League, hitting .267/.370/.424 with 6 homers in 50 games. In 2018, he moved up to the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League, where he again was significantly younger than the average player in the circuit. He hit .257/.351/.402 in 120 games. He hit 23 doubles and 13 homers and also scored 63 runs. After the season, in an article identifying one likely break-out prospect for each major league team in 2019, Downs was selected as the one most likely to do so for the Reds. However, one day after the article came out, on December 21st, he was one of two prospects, along with Josiah Gray, to be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with P Homer Bailey - or more properly, his contractual obligations, given the Dodgers released him within an hour of the deal - in return for four major leaguers: OFs Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, P Alex Wood and C-3B Kyle Farmer.

He split his first season in the Dodgers' organization, 2019, between the Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the AA Tulsa Drillers, with most of his spent in the Class A California League. Combined, he hit .276/.362/.526 with 35 doubles and 24 homers, outstanding numbers for a player well below the average age for the two leagues in which he appeared. On February 9, 2020, he was included in another major deal, as he was one of two prospects sent by the Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox in return for P Brusdar Graterol, in a move to keep the earlier blockbuster deal for Mookie Betts from collapsing due to concerns over Graterol's health. Joining Jeter in moving to Boston was Connor Wong.

The 2020 minor league season was wiped out by COVID-19. He was rated the #39 prospect in baseball by Major League Baseball. He started with the AAA Worcester Red Sox and was at .239/.333/.394 after 19 games (7-for-8 in steals) when he joined the Colombian national team for the 2021 Americas Olympic Qualifier along with his brother Jerry. He batted second and played short in the opener, against Canada. He was their first batter to reach, when he was plunked by an Andrew Albers pitch in the 1st; Albers then retired the next 20 batters in succession as Colombia got no-hit, Downs going 0-for-3. The next day was also rough, as he was 0 for 4 and made a crucial two-run error in a 3-2 loss to Venezuela. In the minors, he played for the Worcester Red Sox, Boston's new AAA affiliate, but hit just .191 in 99 games, although he did hit 14 homers. He then played in the Arizona Fall League.

He was called up to Fenway Park for the first time on June 20, 2022 with a couple of position players unavailable for the Red Sox in Kiké Hernandez and Christian Arroyo. He still had not solved AAA pitching, as his batting average stood at .180 in 53 games, but he did have 11 homers. He made his debut on June 22nd, starting at third base and batting 9th against the Detroit Tigers. He went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts in a 6-2 Boston win. Interestingly, it was the first time he had played third base as a professional (he had been almost exclusively a shortstop in his last couple of seasons in the minors, with a few appearances at second base), but the Sox were not going to displace Xander Bogaerts to accommodate him when it was 3B Rafael Devers who needed a rest. He received a tweet of encouragement from his namesake, Derek Jeter, before the game. In all, he hit .154 in 14 games with 1 homer and 4 RBIs. His first hit came against the New York Yankees on July 9th, and his homer was also against the Yankees, on July 17th. In the minors, he hit .197 in 81 games for the AAA Worcester Red Sox.

On December 22, 2022, he was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals and spent most of the 2023 season in their minor league system, with 51 games with the Rochester Red Wings, and 9 more at lower levels on rehabilitation assignments with two other teams. In all, he hit .222 with 3 homers and 20 RBIs in the 60 games. He also appeared in 6 games in the majors, when he went 2 for 5 with 4 walks and 2 stolen bases. On December 19, 2023, he was placed on waivers again, and this time was claimed by the team he was surely destined to play it from the start, the New York Yankees.

Further Reading

• Ian Browne: "Jeter Downs gets first callup on 'surreal' day", mlb.com, June 20, 2022. [1]
• Ian Browne: "Downs soaks up Fenway buzz in MLB debut", mlb.com, June 23, 2033. [2]
• Bryan Hoch: "Yanks add former top prospect named after Jeter, traded for Betts", mlb.com, December 19, 2023. [3]

Related Sites

• Jeter Downs on mlb.com
• BR Minors page