This past season was one full of injuries for the Yankees‘ farm system and that will be reflected in a lot of stagnant or regressing rankings for guys who were on the upswing last season. The Yankees are going to need their recent import of prospects to perform in 2025 to restore a farm system that went from universally ranked in the top 10 to universally ranked in the bottom half of the league. Health will also play a critical role in bringing this farm system back to where it was entering the 2024 season, but here are my top 30 prospects in the Yankees’ organization entering 2025.
#30: Brando Mayea | OF | Age: 19 | B/T: R/R
Brando Mayea had a very disappointing 2024 season that saw him drop from a potential top-100 prospect to someone who barely made this list. He had a 54.3% GB% with a 27.9% K%, hitting zero home runs and failing to display much power in his age-18 season. As a teenager, there’s still time for him to grow, but he is starting to go from a projectable outfielder with good bat-to-ball abilities that could pair with improving power to a complete dud. His inability to make contact is bad, but it’s worse because he has no game power to speak of.
He slugged .326 with a .044 ISO last season, and the only reason he hit well was because he posted a .413 BABIP in 35 games at the Complex League level. Time is starting to run out for Brando Mayea, who is in year 3 of his pro career and has to make a monumental leap in order to stay on this list. It’s not going to take a decent year with a 110 wRC+ in Single-A and mediocre underlying numbers to remain a consensus top-30 guy, it’ll take some eye-popping changes and mouth-watering data to stave off prospects on the rise who could jump into the top-30.
#29: Jesus Rodriguez | C/UTL | Age: 22 | B/T: R/R
Between High-A and Double-A, Jesus Rodriguez put up a 144 wRC+ with a .302/.375/.481 slashline as he displayed both solid game power and excellent bat-to-ball skills. An aggressive hitter who will swing at anything he can hit, Rodriguez is an interesting prospect to evaluate due to lacking a clear defensive home. He’s come up as a catcher and is on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, but he’s also played the outfield, third base, and first base this past season. The Yankees may not be confident he can stick behind the plate but could also move him around to give him ABs due to their catcher logjam.
Jesus Rodriguez doesn’t crush the ball, but he’s going to spray line drives around the baseball diamond and we did see strides in the game power department. He posted a .140 ISO in 2021 and that improved to .180 in 2024, and that was despite playing a ton of games in Hudson Valley where the run environment isn’t very kind for hitters. Furthermore, his .332 BABIP was high, but it wasn’t unsustainably high, and I’m excited to see how his age-23 season plays out in Somerset. Injuries derailed him once he got to Double-A, but if he hits there, he’ll be on the big-league fast track.
#28: Ben Shields | SP | Age: 26 | B/T: R/L
This is one of the most stunning stories in the Yankees’ farm system in quite some time, and the story could get even crazier if he continues his meteoric rise. Ben Shields was a 25-year-old undrafted free agent who burst onto the scene with the Hudson Valley Renegades before being moved up to Double-A and remaining brilliant.In High-A and Double-A, Shields posted a 2.93 ERA while having a 48% GB% and 32.1% K%, using a 92-93 MPH four-seamer that plays up due to its tailing action and Shields’ low release height.
His slider and curveball both generate good lateral movement, with his slider prioritizing sweeping action and his curveball prioritizing vertical drop. With a low and wide release point, Ben Shields is able to keep hitters off-balance, and if he can continue developing his fastball velocity and sharpening his movement profiles we could be looking at a 2025 MLB Debut. If he does make it to the Bronx, the Yankees will have turned an undrafted free agent who no one thought anything of into a big-leaguer in just two years.
Since he’s entering his age-26 season, Ben Shields is already in his physical prime so getting him to the Majors fast is the best way to maximize his value.
#27: Griffin Herring | SP | Age: 21 | B/T: R/L
Griffin Herring is the first representative of the 2024 MLB Draft on this list, and the left-hander was a long-relief arm with LSU and posted a 1.79 ERA with 67 strikeouts to just 13 walks in 50.1 innings. Those are some impressive numbers given how run-heavy the SEC is, but the Yankees need to figure out how to build up his fastball velocity and expand his repertoire. Herring was a fastball-slider guy last year, with his four-seamer generating tons of extension and vertical movement at 91-92 MPH, adding about a MPH or two could make this a plus pitch thanks to those traits.
As for his slider, it’s a sharp gyro slider with good vertical drop that will allow it to work against right-handed and left-handed batters really well. Batters whiffed 42.3% of the time against his slider and chased 36.5% of the time against it, and if the Yankees can expand the repertoire to include weapons such as a cutter or curveball could allow him to stick as a starting pitcher. I think the Yankees are going to give him the chance to start, but this is a pitcher who has some room to make serious leaps in 2025.
#26: Roc Riggio | 2B | Age: 22 | B/T: L/R
With a .221 AVG and .397 SLG% in his age-22 season with the Hudson Valley Renegades, people would likely write off Roc Riggio as a college bat who doesn’t have the thump to do much in the pros. The problem with that analysis is that it doesn’t account for an awful run environment in the South Atlantic League, which led to Riggio posting a 117 wRC+, as his SLG% and ISO were actually better than the league average. With 43 XBHs in 106 games, the Yankees are hoping that the game power can continue to improve while maintaining great walk rates and low strikeout rates.
Roc Riggio has a good left-handed swing that fits the Bronx extremely well, as he generates tons of loft with his swing and gets the ball out to right field often. It comes down to making strides in what could be Riggio’s debut season in Double-A, where his swing and plate discipline will be further tested. If he can turn some of those doubles into homers and keep swiping bases, Riggio could be a utility infielder for the Yankees in the future. They should begin getting him work at third base to expand his versatility, because he could be a fun bench piece with starting upside.
#25: Francisco Vilorio | OF | Age: 18 | B/T: R/R
Francisco Vilorio was awful in his debut season, posting a 76 wRC+ with a 32.9% K% in 42 games, but that was his age-17 season and he had apparently been battling injury. One of the Yankees’ better IFA prospects from last year’s signing period, I’m holding out hope that his age-18 season is both healthy and productive. He’s got tons of power and if he can make some more contact this season I believe we could see it shine in the DSL, making himself an easy top-30 prospect. That being said, this is a big year for Vilorio because prospect stocks change fast and he could fall off this list quickly.
If we don’t see the 6’4 outfielder put it together in 2025 convincingly, there’s not going to be much faith in an eventual breakout season and other IFA prospects will outshine him. These spots in the backend of this list are tough because it requires sifting between players with marginal differences in value and determining which guys have just a little more juice than the other, and Vilorio was one of the toughest players to rank on this list. I ultimately sided with his upside, but potential isn’t going to keep Francisco Vilorio on this list forever.
#24: Cade Smith | SP | Age: 22 | B/T: L/R
The Yankees selected Cade Smith in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and it could end up being one of their best selections of that class. He has a lower release height than most right-handers, allowing his 93 MPH fastball to play at the top of the zone with good riding action. It only had a 21.2% Whiff%, but it sets up a nasty slider that served as his signature pitch, as batters whiffed 46.9% Whiff% of the time against it as it has death ball movement. That just means it is right around the zero line in terms of IVB and HB, and batters had a .197 wOBA against that breaking ball in Single-A.
His curveball is also very good with tons of vertical drop, as batters whiffed 52.3% of the time against it, but the development of some other weapons could make Smith even better. Cade Smith started throwing a sweeper late in the year, experimenting with a two-slider approach, and his changeup is a pitch that could become a great weapon thanks to the natural ride on his four-seamer. After posting a 3.65 ERA and 30.6% K% in 93.2 innings last year, Cade Smith could really benefit from finding a fourth pitch and honing his command a bit more.
#23: Eric Reyzelman | RP | Age: 23 | B/T: R/R
As a reliever, Eric Reyzelman is tough to rank highly on this list, but he deserves his flowers in the top-30 after a dominant 2024 season. Across 31 appearances between three levels, Reyzelman posted a 1.16 ERA with a 40.9% K%, and in Double-A the right-hander had a 1.33 ERA and 37.4% K%. His stuff is dominant, with a four-seamer that sits in the mid-90s with a lower release height and tons of vertical movement. It’s a swing-and-miss pitch up at the top of the zone that sets up his nasty secondaries.
His big slider has two-plane movement and can generate tons of whiffs, which is played up by his aforementioned release points, and his changeup is a pitch that’s become a nice tertiary weapon. Eric Reyzelman’s changeup plays off of the fastball well because of the difference in vertical movement, and there’s upside here for him to become one of the top relievers in the Yankees’ bullpen. It comes down to health; Reyzelman hasn’t thrown more than 38.2 innings in an MiLB season in two full seasons in the Yankees’ organization.
#22: Everson Pereira | OF | Age: 23 | B/T: R/R
Everson Pereira had a 120 wRC+ and 32.4% K% in Triple-A before it was announced that his season was coming to an end due to a torn UCL. The right-handed outfielder has a chance in 2025 to prove himself, as he’s healthy once again and possesses the upside to become a starting-caliber outfielder thanks to his incredible power. He has 90th Percentile Raw Power numbers and elite plate discipline thanks to his aggressive approach that’s meshed with a decent ability to lay off of pitches out of the zone.
In 103 MLB PAs, he posted a 21 wRC+ and -0.6 fWAR, which immediately soiled any opinions of him, but its a small sample size of failure. The injuries are a problem and I need to see what he looks like after Tommy John Surgery to rank him any higher on this list, but I still have some faith that he can get back on track. Everson Pereira has ridiculous power, quick hands, a strong glove, and is overall a great athlete, but if he can’t make contact at the big-league level then none of that will ever shine.
He has shades of Mark Vientos before his breakout, but Vientos made unprecedented changes before his excellent 2024 season, and a 24-year-old Everson Pereira will have to make similarly improbable leaps.
#21: Clayton Beeter | RP | Age: 26 | B/T: R/R
I don’t really know what to do with Clayton Beeter because on one hand, he looked a lot better as a starter this year despite not expanding his arsenal, but he looked amazing as a reliever. The Yankees may take an amazing reliever over an average MLB starter given their roster construction at the moment, and Beeter has displayed that he could become a late-inning weapon with swing-and-miss stuff. His four-seamer saw a significant uptick in velocity when he moved to the bullpen, sitting closer to 95-96 MPH with good vertical movement.
Paired with a sharp gyro slider that has tons of vertical drop, and you’ve got a pitch combination that could result in a K% north of 25% and an ERA that starts with a 3 in 2025. Projections love Beeter, Stuff+ loves Beeter, and Matt Blake sees him as a real weapon for them in 2025. Across 39 MiLB innings last season Beeter struck out 35.7% of batters faced between Double-A and Triple-A, and he looked much sharper out of the stretch instead of the windup, increasing the percentage of pitches thrown in the zone.
Clayton Beeter’s upside is limited as a reliever but he should excel in the role he’s put in.
#20: Gage Ziehl | SP | Age: 21 | B/T: R/R
Gage Ziehl is a strike-thrower with the kind of repertoire that doesn’t blow you away, but has enough positive traits to wonder what a year of pro development could do for him. The right-hander sits around 93 MPH with his four-seamer, generating decent vertical movement and pairing it with a slider that has good vertical drop and lateral movement, as his slider is one of the better breaking balls in this draft class. It plays off of his fastball well, but the Yankees will have to work with Ziehl to develop a reliable third offering.
A workhorse in college, Gage Ziehl has good command with his fastball and just needs to expand his arsenal in order to climb up this list. The presence of a cutter and changeup are encouraging since those are pitches the Yankees develop well, but I wonder what else the Yankees try and implement here. If Ziehl can keep consistently peppering the top of the zone with fastballs and the bottom of the zone with sliders he’ll do fine in the pros, but the additions of a third and fourth pitch could make him a future big leaguer.
#19: Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz | SP | Age: 21 | B/T: L/R
The Yankees acquired Elmert Rodriguez-Cruz from the Red Sox this winter for Carlos Narvaez, and while I’m not entirely sure if he can remain a starter or not long-term, I love his stuff. The right-hander flashed a fastball that can hit 99 MPH with a good breaking ball that can pick up swings and misses at a high clip. Command is an issue, as while he walked just 9.8% of batters he faced in Single-A, that number ballooned to 15.1% in nine starts in High-A. The good news is that he’s only 21, and his ability to keep the ball on the ground still held up after the promotion.
His fastball has some tailing action to it but can be an effective outpitch even if it isn’t a whiff machine because of how it can jam righties, and the Yankees could unlock more in his profile. Can they help his four-seamer work better up in the zone while creating a clear distinction between it and his two-seamer/sinker? Is his slider maxed out or can the Yankees take further steps to hone the pitch? Will we ever see Cruz become a consistent strike-thrower? It’s the kind of uncertainty that makes me eager to watch Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz a ton this year; he could be a real gem in 2025.
#18: Engleth Urena | C | Age: 20 | B/T: R/R
Engleth Urena played the majority of his debut season in the Florida Complex League as a 19-year-old, as he missed the entire 2023 season due to injury and had just 11 games of DSL experience entering the year. How did he do at the new level? Nothing crazy, he just finished in the top 10 in wRC+, K/BB ratio, and home runs with a high launch angle and tons of pulled contact. Urena was a monster in the CPX, showing off excellent bat-to-ball skills and doing tons of damage thanks to a swing that can generate loft and get the ball to left field with authority.
The Yankees could have a real bat here with Engleth Urena, but I need to see a bit more before I rank him more aggressively since I’ve been fooled on some Complex League guys before. Keiner Delgado and John Cruz last year were some of the most hyped teenage bats in the system before being traded and having disappointing campaigns in their first season at the Single-A level. That being said, if Engleth Urena continues to show off the skillset we saw in 2024, I’m throwing him in the top 10.
#17: Brock Selvidge | SP | Age: 22 | B/T: R/L
The Yankees made the bold decision to shuffle Brock Selvidge up to Double-A after he made just nine starts in High-A in 2023, and I think it’s totally possible that he was just in an adjustment period in 2024. Selvidge also got hurt midway through the season which didn’t help his case, but the left-hander didn’t seem to have the same crisp velocity that he displayed towards the backend of the ’23 season, so I wonder if you can just shelf his struggles and chalk them up to inexperience an fatigue.
Selvidge had a 4.25 ERA and 22.4% K% with Somerset, not showing the sharp command we saw at every stage of his MiLB career beforehand. His breaking balls are very good but his fastballs leave a good bit to be desired due to their inefficient spin and average velocity, but if he can continue developing his arm strength and gets back to the command we saw at every other stage of his pro career, I think Brock Selvidge could have a big year in 2025. Plenty of guys struggle on arrival at Double-A, and Selvidge was only 21 years old for his 16 starts.
#16: Mani Cedeno | SS | Age: 16 | B/T: 16
Mani Cedeno (key distinction; it’s not Manny) was the Yankees’ top IFA prospect from the most recent signing period, and while he doesn’t have the same prospect hype that Roderick Arias or Jasson Dominguez had, I’m pretty excited about what’s been reported. An all-around shortstop with a good hit tool and developing power, Cedeno oozes potential as he’s one of the youngest players signed during this most recent period. He will be 16 for most if not all of his upcoming season in the Dominican Summer League and is still growing into his body.
The Yankees are going to need their crop of 2024 draft picks and IFA signings to pan out if their farm system is going to have a quick turnaround and Mani Cedeno headlines that group of incoming talent. He has the upside to become one of the five best prospects in this system or even their #1 guy, but teenagers can be impossible to project. I had a hard time figuring out where I’d rank him because of it, so I’ll wait until we get 1-2 years of MiLB data before my opinion of his talent level solidifies more.
#15: Carlos Lagrange | SP | Age: 21 | B/T: R/R
Another top prospect who had their 2024 season derailed by injury, Carlos Lagrange came back late in the season and showed flashes of his high upside despite inconsistencies. His four-seamer sat at 97.1 MPH with a wide release point, but the mediocre shape it has holds it back from being a plus weapon. Lagrange has a good gyro slider and a changeup as well that are even better because of his wide release points, but in the AFL his new sweeper graded out as arguably the best pitch in his repertoire.
This sweeper was inconsistent in terms of pitch shape and velocity, but if the Yankees can get this pitch to stick then we could be looking at a plus breaker with serious whiff potential. His overall command isn’t great and that has to get better in order to become a more prominent prospect in the organization, and entering his age-22 season the time is kind of running out for him to establish himself. There are just two more years until Carlos Lagrange has to be placed on the 40-man roster or enter the Rule 5 Draft, so he has to hit the ground running in 2025 and get to the upper levels of the Minors by 2026.
#14: Sabier Marte | SP | Age: 21 | B/T: R/R
While the strikeout rate wasn’t dominant, Sabier Marte was one of the better starters in the Florida Complex League last season. A 6’5 right-hander with a good changeup, the right-hander put up a 2.76 ERA with a 58.2% GB%, as his fastball has good lateral movement but still needs to add velocity. His breaking ball is a solid pitch and he’s hit 96 MPH before, and with his large frame its really a question about whether Marte could fill out his frame or not. If we’re looking at a ~94 MPH fastball with his long limbs and plus extension, that’s a pretty good fastball all things considered.
His age-21 season will be spent in Single-A if he’s healthy, and he could end up in High-A with the Hudson Valley Renegades, which would be an excellent season. Sabier Marte generates tons of grounders, attacks the zone aggressively, and can pick up whiffs with his secondaries at a decent rate. There’s a ton of room for him to grow and that’s why I love him so much, and the Yankees do such a great job developing velocity that I believe we’re looking at a pitcher who could comfortably land in the top 10 by the All-Star Break.
#13: Cam Schlittler | SP | Age: 24 | B/T: R/R
A year ago Cam Schlittler was not in consideration for a top-30 spot in the organization, but his 2024 season showed that he could become a household name in the Yankees’ farm system. When you remove a spot start in Triple-A that he clearly wasn’t ready for, the right-hander had a 3.10 ERA across 119 innings with a 30% K% and 10.1% BB%, and his ability to pair those swing-and-miss abilities with an elite groundball rate makes him quite the enticing pitching prospect.
Schlittler saw his fastball take a big jump velocity-wise, sitting closer to 95 MPH compared to when he came out of Northeastern University sitting around 91-92 MPH. The four-seamer has about 15 inches of IVB, and while it isn’t a dominant heater it generates good cut-ride action that makes it a quality offering. With a sweeper, gyro slider, and curveball that he can spin for whiffs and weak contact, Cam Schlittler has a pretty diverse arsenal, and if he can continue refining his command, he could make his MLB debut in 2025.
#12: Rafael Flores | C/1B | Age: 24 | B/T: R/R
The Yankees found Rafael Flores as an undrafted free agent; he didn’t play a single game at the NCAA level, being a true JUCO bandit, and after a mediocre 2023 season he clicked in 2024. Flores posted a 149 wRC+ with 21 home runs, putting up some of the best raw power numbers for any prospect in the Minor Leagues last year. He maxed out at 115 MPH and averaged 93.5 MPH in terms of exit velocity, and his ability to lay off pitches out of zone while improving his contact rates, pull rates, and launch angles upon being promoted to Double-A is beyond impressive.
What I really like about Rafael Flores is that the Yankees have done a great job developing his glove behind the plate, making him even more valuable to the organization. He’s shown the ability to block decently and frame well, but controlling the running game is the next step for his development. The Yankees will keep giving him reps at first base though to give him as much playing time as possible in the Minor Leagues, as he competes with J.C. Escarra, Alex Jackson, and Jesus Rodriguez for playing time at Double-A and Triple-A next year.
#11: Thatcher Hurd | SP | Age: 22 | B/T: R/R
Thatcher Hurd just misses out on the top 10 for the pre-season 2025 list, but that’s quite the placement for a third-round pick who has yet to make their pro debut. His command is below average and needs tons of work if he wants to have success at the pro level, but his pitch data absolutely pops. With about 6.8 feet of extension, it adds about 1 MPH in perceived velocity to his four-seam fastball, which already sits at 95 MPH, and it gets tons of vertical ride as well. The Yankees don’t have much work to do here with his breaking balls either, as his slider and curveball are wicked.
With a wider release point than normal for a right-hander, his slider is a tough pitch to handle when thrown to the first-base side of the plate, and his curveball averages over 2,800 RPMs with good two-plane movement. Hurd doesn’t need a changeup to become a successful pro, but could use a fourth pitch like a cutter or a more reliable sinker to just vary his looks further. There are shades of Chase Hampton out of college, a right-hander with great pitch specs who just needs to hone his mechanics to hit the ground running in the Minor Leagues.
Maybe it sounds crazy now, but Thatcher Hurd has the most upside of any pitcher in the Yankees’ organization.
#10: Roderick Arias | SS | Age: 20 | B/T: S/R
There are two ways for us to remember Roderick Arias’ 2024 season; he’ll either build off of his second-half improvements and carry it into a great 2025 season, or we’ll see more of the same from last year. At one point it looked like ranking Arias in the top 10 for the Yankees’ organization would be crazy, as he posted a 98 wRC+ with a 33.6% K% through his first 82 games. After the All-Star Break, the switch-hitting shortstop was quick to make adjustments, resulting in a 137 wRC+ and 25.6% K% over his final 42 games.
Roderick Arias was in the 65th Percentile in SEAGER, the 66th Percentile in his Damage Rate, and stole 37 bases with a 74% success rate, making him both an aggressive and effective baserunner. With blazing speed and good power as a teenager, Arias could have a strong age-20 season in High-A and put up some gaudy power numbers. Late in the season, we saw some changes made to his stance and load that resulted in a 207 wRC+ and 19% K%. His new swing mirrors Jasson Dominguez’s, it would be sweet if he had the same leap the Martian did after a mediocre full-season debut.
#9: Edgleen Perez | C | Age: 18 | B/T: R/R
Why is an 18-year-old catcher that you likely never have heard of on the top-10 of this list? Well again, down year for the Yankees’ farm, but Edgleen Perez is also coming off of a pretty impressive season in the Florida Complex League. A 17-year-old at the start of the season, Perez posted a 138 wRC+ with a .444 OBP as he made tons of contact and walked more than he struck out, and there are a lot of positive reports regarding his defensive abilities. The Yankees should be extremely excited about that kind of profile, as while his power hasn’t materialized yet, he could still improve there.
This will be his first season where he opens the season as an adult, and there’s still room for him to develop some more muscle and power. Perez had the second-most walks in the Complex League and the seventh-best K/BB ratio despite being one of the youngest hitters in the circuit, now it’s just a matter of lifting the ball more and doing more damage on contact. It might come with slightly higher whiff rates but he has room to invite some more swing-and-miss in the pursuit of power. A strong defender at a premium position at such a young age, I’m pumped to see Edgleen Perez in Single-A.
#8: Henry Lalane | SP | Age: 20 | B/T: L/L
It’s hard to look at how Henry Lalane’s stock fell in 2025 and believe that it had anything to do with his skillset, as the left-hander was limited to just six appearances due to injury. In those six appearances, he had a 6.57 ERA but his poor command upon returning to the mound isn’t shocking considering pitchers tend to struggle most with their location when coming back from an injury. Lalane will enter his age-21 season with a healthy arm and the ability to hit the ground running immediately, and the repertoire is quite easy to dream on.
Henry Lalane’s signature pitch is his changeup, which generates good movement vertically and horizontally which results in a ton of whiffs. His four-seamer can reach 97 MPH although it only sat around 91 MPH this past season, and if he can continue to make strides with his velocity it could allow for that pitch to be a real weapon for him at the top of the zone, as his long limbs coupled with the movement he generates on it could establish the top of the zone well. Lalane’s slider is a work-in-progress as is his sinker, and if they become average pitches, the sky’s the limit for the tall southpaw.
A Rule 5 eligible pitcher in 2025, the Yankees are in a bit of a weird spot with Henry Lalane who desperately needs a healthy season.
#7: Will Warren | SP | Age: 25 | B/T: R/R
At Triple-A and the Major Leagues, Will Warren struggled with his command in-zone and had issues preventing damage contact, resulting in a 5.91 ERA in Scranton and a 10.32 ERA in the Major Leagues. Here’s the thing, I don’t really care about ERA all that much when evaluating prospects, and Warren had four pitches with a Whiff Rate at or above 25% in the Minor Leagues this season, but his sinker really struggled. I think the Yankees need to help Warren use his sinker to attack the first-base side of the plate and steal more strikes, but I also think he just needs more refinement.
The right-hander can attack the top of the zone with his four-seamer which generates 14-15″ IVB but is released from a lower slot, creating a deceptive angle that can pick up whiffs. His sweeper generates almost 3,000 RPMs of spin with good two-plane movement, but it got hammered last year at both the Minors and Majors after being a pretty reliable pitch for him throughout his MiLB career. This is where Minor Leaguers become big leaguers; can Warren and the Yankees identify why his stuff grades out so well despite poor results last season, or will he become a Quad-A guy?
#6: Spencer Jones | OF | Age: 23 | B/T: L/L
This makes me sad because Spencer Jones is so toolsy and has so much upside that if he even somewhat clicks I think we’re looking at a big leaguer. The gains he’ll have to make in the contact department to become a star would have to be so enormous that they make him an anomaly, but that’s also a source of optimism. Jones is an anomaly, his athletic scores are off the charts, his power is 70-grade, and he has a great glove at a premium position, but he’s also unique in the sense that he’s one of the least experienced college bats to come out of his draft class.
Spencer Jones had just 421 PAs in college with 92 PAs of summer ball, it’s totally possible that he just needs more time in the Minor Leagues to get the ball rolling. He made adjustments with his swing to get into a better launch position in September, leading to a complete tear in Double-A where he slugged over .600, but now its time to put it together over the course of a full season. If the Yankees could get a ~30% K% with an SLG% and ISO that are in the 90th Percentile for a Minor League hitter, then he might have enough game power to overcome his contact issues.
2025 is put up or shut up for the 2022 first-round pick.
#5: Chase Hampton | SP | Age: 23 | B/T: R/R
After 2023 it looked like Chase Hampton would have had an outside shot to make his Major League debut in 2024, but injuries snakebit him all season. The right-hander can turn the page on a lost season with a healthy 2025 and he’s already throwing in Tampa to get ready for the season. Hampton possesses an excellent four-seam fastball with 18-19 inches of Induced Vertical Break from a lower arm slot, and when he attacks the top of the zone with it he picks up tons of whiffs.
The Yankees gave him a sweeping slider briefly after he was drafted and it’s gross coming from a wider release point, generating a good amount of lateral movement with solid velocity. His curveball has remained as sharp as it was in college and his new cutter is a nice blend between his big breaking balls and riding fastball. The arsenal has enough depth and variety, each pitch grades out pretty well, and Hampton’s improved strike-throwing abilities have quieted perhaps his biggest concern when entering the draft. Just stay healthy.
#4: Bryce Cunningham | SP | Age: 22 | B/T: R/R
The Yankees’ second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft ends up in the top five, as not only is the farm system weakened by injuries and regression, but it’s also a product of how good Bryce Cunningham is. His fastball sits at around 95 MPH with good vertical movement as he averaged over 19 inches of IVB in college with Vanderbilt, and he generates a good amount of spin with tons of extension that allows it to play up in the zone. What makes Cunningham stand out is an elite changeup, a pitch that generated a 52.8% Whiff% last season thanks to its great two-plane movement.
What Bryce Cunningham lacks is a breaking ball, the kind of pitch that moves laterally and can generate swings and misses at a high clip. If you’re a pitcher looking for a breaking ball, the Yankees are the right place for that, and this is a great marriage between prospect and organization. I’m unsure what route they would go there; would we be looking at a sweeping slider or a sharper gyroscopic one? The Yankees could also further flesh out his repertoire with a fourth pitch like a cutter, and the work they can do to build off an already-enticing foundation could lead to a backend starter.
#3: Ben Hess | SP | Age: 22 | B/T: R/R
The Yankees’ first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Ben Hess has the tools to become a middle-of-the-rotation arm in the next 2-3 years. He has a good four-seam fastball that sits between 93-95 MPH with good vertical movement and a ton of extension that lets his velocity play up. Released from a three-quarters slot, Hess is able to miss bats with that pitch atop the zone, and it sets up a gross curveball with tons of two-plane movement. With -16 inches of IVB and -16 inches of horizontal movement, it was his best pitch and was a big strikeout weapon for him in college
Developing a reliable slider and refining his changeup is what’s next for Hess, who has flashed the ability to command those pitches on occasion, but I think this is a great fit between prospect and organization. The Yankees were top 10 in Whiff%, wOBA, and Run Value generated on changeups this past season at the Major League level and have a consistent track record developing sweeping sliders. If the Yankees can do what they’ve done well under Sam Briend and Matt Blake with Ben Hess, then we could be looking at their next homegrown fixture in the rotation.
#2: George Lombard Jr. | SS | Age: 19 | B/T: R/R
George Lombard Jr. had a 99 wRC+ in 110 MiLB games; why is he ranked as the second-best prospect in the Yankees organization? A lot of this has to do with the underlying data and the industry perception of the young shortstop, who is entering his age-20 season and could put up some pretty big numbers. We don’t have Statcast data for High-A, but during Lombard’s games in Single-A, he finished in the 65th Percentile in SEAGER and in the 78th Percentile in Damage Rate.
His ability to hit the ball hard despite being a teenager last year was encouraging, and there’s reason to believe that the 2023 first-round pick could be a consensus top-50 prospect with the right adjustments. As the season went on we saw the contact rates and game power improve, and in the postseason he was remarkable with Hudson Valley, and the hope is that those progressions will stick and that we’ll see him hit for more power in 2025. A sneakily good defensive shortstop, the Yankees should be excited about the player Lombard Jr. could become in the future.
#1: Jasson Dominguez | OF | Age: 22 | B/T: S/R
This one is a no-brainer; he’s been the Yankees’ best prospect for the last few years and this is the season where he’ll graduate and lose his prospect status. It’s a huge year for the switch-hitting outfielder, but the Yankees are going to add a player with about every skill at the plate that you could possibly ask for. He hits the ball extremely hard, makes tons of contact, lays off of pitches out of zone, and swings at hittable pitches. Dominguez also has excellent speed and can swipe bases and take extra bases that the defense gives him.
What he does lack is a real home defensively, as Jasson Dominguez has been a firmly below-average defender in the outfield not just at the Major League level but at the Minor League level as well. He profiles better for a corner outfield spot but the problem is that right field is occupied by Aaron Judge and left field at Yankee Stadium is a difficult position for outfielders to handle. The Yankees will test him in left field this season, and if he can stick there, he can be a long-term solution at a position that has bedeviled the Yankees since Brett Gardner’s departure.