The New York Yankees have unveiled their Spring Training non-roster invites, and among those players are some of the organization’s very best prospects.
Anyone on the 40-man roster is automatically invited to camp and does not require a non-roster invite, covering for players such as Jasson Dominguez, Will Warren, or Everson Pereira who are still prospects but have been placed on the 40-man roster already.
NRIs are looking to either show some progress and earn a higher assignment when they go back to the Minor Leagues, but others are in the mix for some critical roster battles in the backend of the pitching staff as well.
Various Top Prospects in the Yankees’ Organization Invited to Spring Training
The Yankees are bringing in some of their best prospects to get some playing time at big league camp, especially on the position-player side of the ball. George Lombard Jr., Spencer Jones, Roderick Arias, and Rafael Flores were players whom I ranked in the top 15 for the Yankees’ organization. Jones and Flores could be looking to earn a promotion to Scranton, where they would be just a step away from the Majors, as both are one year away from being Rule 5 eligible.
Making the Triple-A roster at the start of the season could allow either of those two to make their MLB debut this season depending on their performance in Scranton as well. Roderick Arias and George Lombard Jr. are not going to make their big-league debuts this year and will likely start their seasons in High-A, but the exposure to big-league camp could be extremely valuable for their development.
On the pitching side, Chase Hampton, Cam Schlittler, and Eric Reyzelman all pitched at Double-A last season and could have a real shot of making their big-league debuts this season.
READ MORE: Yankees’ trade acquisition could transform into a dominant bullpen arm in 2025
Hampton was ranked in the top 100 entering the 2024 season by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, but he fell out of both lists due to injuries. His stuff and repertoire are great, and now that he’s healthy he has a chance to climb back up the prospect charts and re-establish himself as a top-flight arm in the Yankees’ organization. Cam Schlittler rose through the ranks last year, going from a non-prospect to one of their best prospects as he improved his repertoire.
Eric Reyzelman isn’t a starter, but that might make him the most likely invite to make the team at some point this season among the prospect pool. The right-hander was drafted out of LSU in 2022, and he posted a 1.16 ERA and 40.9% K% between three levels of the Minor Leagues. He reached Double-A this past season where he posted a 1.93 ERA and 37.4% K%, and Reyzelman could end up being a late-inning bullpen weapon for a title contender in the near future.
Some veterans who could battle for a job out of camp include catcher Alex Jackson, relievers Geoff Hartlieb and Brandon Leibrandt, and starter Carlos Carrasco. Pitchers and catchers report in a week, and the Yankees are gearing up for baseball to come back as they pursue their 28th World Series title in 2025.