Author: John Brophy

The Minor League season has officially ended, so it’s time for us to renew our Top 30 prospects. Some players that you like may have been left out because this is a purely subjective ranking. Everyone will have their opinions on players, and that’s fine. I have also left off some players like Ben Rice, Oswald Peraza, etc., because they have “graduated”.

For example, Rice and Peraza have played in more than 30 games; Will Warren and Yoendrys Gómez have been left off because they have pitched more than 10 innings. They may still be considered “rookies”, of which the official definition is as follows: “130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues. 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season (excluding time on the Injured List).”  

The acronym OFP you’ll see below is an “overall future projection” as to how the prospect is projected to turn out. It’s difficult to say how one player will pan out; there are superstar looking prospects that fizzle out before they get to the Majors, and there are very quiet prospects that aren’t really on anyone’s radar that surprise you when they make the Major Leagues.

Buckle up, this is a bit of a read!

Of note: this article was originally written in September 2024, but has been slightly modified to add in more up-to-date video for those who participated in the Arizona Fall League.

30: OF Jackson Castillo – ETA: 2027; OBP: 40; Risk: High 

Castillo was very impressive in many facets of the game, from his bat to his fielding. Castillo, a lefty bat, maintained a batting average over .300 in the few games spent with High-A Hudson Valley (he lost a week in mid-August to a 7-day IL stint). Castillo held a wRC+ of 148 in High-A and 131 in Low-A, plus had a K% under 20%. In the last 7 games of the regular season, Castillo batted .381, recording a hit in 6-of-7 games, including a game versus Jersey Shore where he went 3-for-5 and hit 2 doubles. Impressive stuff given his small-ish 5-foot-9 frame. 

Castillo spent most of the season in CF (607.1 innings) and has only committed 2 errors. He runs efficient routes, but his arm is an underwhelming average. 

 

29: LHP Kyle Carr – ETA: 2027; OBP: 40; Risk: High 

Carr debuted this past April with High-A Hudson Valley, which surprised some given the rocky start he had there. Carr settled in once the calendar flipped to June, throwing his first career shutout in 5 innings of work. While Carr is capable of solid outings, throwing a 0.95 ERA in the first 4 outings in August (2 ER in 19 IP), but then had a rough 7 hit, 6 run, 4 earned runs where he threw in 4 innings of work in the last start in August. 

Carr’s K/9 and BB/9 are about average and given he has been capable of 8 strikeouts in a game, the challenge for next season will be to see more of that. Carr has a mix of fastball that sits upper-90s and a slurvy slider looking pitch as a breaking ball that sits low-90s. Both pitches have good command, but what needs some work is getting batters to chase, since he doesn’t have a true breaking ball. 

Of balls in play, Carr has a nearly 50% ground ball rate, with nearly equal splits of line drives (22.9%) and fly balls (27.4%). Also, Carr has a BABIP of .313, which is a little concerning. It should also be noted, however, that Carr was part of a combined no-hitter this past July, as seen in the video below. The talent is absolutely there, but like other arms in the lower levels, he must become more consistent. You may get a shutout, or you may get a blowout, but this is what the Yankees expected for a 3rd round selection.  

 

28: 2B/SS Enmanuel Tejeda – ETA: 2028; OBP: 40; Risk: High 

Tejeda had a handful of injury issues this past year, ending his season in June after tumbling down the 1st base line, suffering a lower leg injury and landing on the full-season IL in late July. That said, despite only playing in 48 games, Tejeda batted well over .300 (.326 between FCL and Low-A), and likely would have been promoted to High-A at some point in the season had been not been injured so much. Tejeda has a very polished swing for an international player in only his 3rd year of pro ball and is just as smooth on the field. Tejeda, if his leg is healed for the start of the 2025 season, should start at High-A. 

 

27: Trystan Vrieling – ETA: 2026; OBP: 40; Risk: High 

Vrieling has not had a great season, despite a strong first few games with Somerset in April. His ERA stayed close to 5 for much of the season, and has an average K/9 of 8, and average BB/9 of 2.80. Vrieling’s mid-90s fastball has some late sink to it, and he also has a mid-80s cutter he uses as an “out” pitch where the bottom falls out just before it hits the plate, along with a high-70s/low-80s curveball. Vrieling’s command is not great but does flash brilliance at times when he happens to catch the corner of the zone. 

Vrieling may be better used down the road as a middle-inning reliever where he only pitches an inning or two. While he has limited splits in the latter part of a game, Vrieling has only allowed 1 hit and no runs in 7 IP between the 7^th and 9^th innings of games this season. 

 

26: C/1B Rafael Flores – ETA: 2026; OBP: 40; Risk: Low 

Flores, a UDFA selection out of Rio Hondo Junior College in California, has been impressive even since his first pro game back in 2022, where he had a very small sample size of 7 games but went 6-for-14 in the regular season with 2 homers and 2 RBI (4 games) 6-for-11 in the playoffs with 3 RBI (3 games). Since then, he’s averaged a .272 BA and an OPS of .809 and has a wRC+ of 150. 
 
Flores is a lot like Ben Rice in that while he’s a capable catcher, he seems to fit best at 1^st base. Also like Rice, Flores packs above-average power in that plus bat. Given he spent most of the season in AA Somerset and did well there, he may begin 2025 with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre if the Yankees feel aggressive enough. 

25: RHP Harrison Cohen – ETA: 2026; OFP: 40; Risk: Low 

Cohen was an undrafted free agent selected out of George Washington in 2022, and ever since he debuted in 2023 has been dominant. Even in a brief 3-1/3 inning stint in AA Somerset, Cohen didn’t allow any runs and threw an above-average 8.1 K/9 but walked too many batters at a 5.40 BB/9. This year, Cohen is throwing his usual excellent 10+ K/9 and had an insane 0.47 BB/9 for an ERA of 0.93 in 2024. Some injuries sidelined him for much of the 2024 season, so there may be some future concern there, but the injury didn’t seem to affect his throwing abilities, obviously. 

Cohen has something in common with Mariano Rivera is that he’s a bullpen piece and only throws a fastball (a four-seamer, specifically) and a cutter. He also has a changeup and slider Yankees PD is playing with, but they’re thrown so infrequently that it’s almost worth saying he doesn’t have them in his arsenal. The fastball is mid-90s with a max of 96 and the cutter sits in the mid/upper-80s with a max of 89 MPH. 

24: RHP Cam Schlittler – ETA: 2026; OFP: 40; Risk: Low 

Schlittler has been having a decent year between High-A and Double-A, maintaining a K/9 of 11 or greater, in part because of a plus slider and above-average fastball that both induce a lot of whiffs. Schlittler is one of the many excellent middle-of-the-draft picks (7^th round, 2022; $205,000 bonus) the Yankees have selected over the last few years. 

If there was anything to be concerned about with Schlittler, it’s his BABIP. When a batter makes contact, it’s at a nearly 40% rate (.390) in Double-A Somerset. He was down to .264 in High-A, a career low rate. His ERA has been floating around the 3.80-4.20 mark throughout the season. Most of his contact was against that fastball. The fastball (mid-90s, max 96) has a lot of sweep to it and runs away from his throwing arm across the plate but doesn’t have enough movement to justify calling it a slider or sweeper. The slider (upper-80s) has more of a tail at the end like a cutter would. Schlittler has a below-average curveball (low-80s) that he uses infrequently and has poor command. Command overall is average, and an improvement in command and control would move him significantly up the ranking. 

 

23: RHP Clayton Beeter – ETA: 2026; OFP: 40; Risk: Low 

Part of the return in the trade with the Dodgers for Joey Gallo (one-for-one), Beeter has been exceptional in Triple-A this season, throwing an ERA of 2.53 in 32 IP, despite missing significant time to a shoulder injury. The injuries and missed time he’s experienced in the past 18 months drops him down the list significantly. If he can stay healthy, Beeter can play a large role with the organization, if he’s not used as a trade chip for another player. 

It’s a little curious why the Yankees have him sitting in the Minors with stats like he’s putting up. A 12.44 K/9 in Triple-A is exceptional, and that’s likely why the Yankees have been slowly moving him to the bullpen and using him in the back end of games. In his first game with AAA Scranton this season, Beeter threw an even split of a four-seam fastball and slider mix. The fastball sat mid-90s with a max of 98 MPH and the slider sat mid/upper-80s with a max of 90 MPH. 

Beeter’s biggest challenge right now, and the reason aside from injury why he’s ranked so low, is that his command is average if not below-average for where he is in the system right now. In the aforementioned outing, he threw 24 pitches, with 15 of them hitting the strike zone. That said, hitters swung at half of his pitches, with only two of those pitches landing outside of the strike zone. 

If Beeter worked on his command and stayed healthy, he could move up the ranking next year, if he didn’t already make the Opening Day roster for the Yankees. The shoulder injury is a concern, though, since he was just shut down for a few months. Is it possible Beeter ends up fine and doesn’t need surgery? Yes, of course. Still, keep the injury in the back of your mind when watching his outings this year. It’s also possible that the reason he’s being used in the bullpen is because that allows them to get Beeter some innings without putting unnecessary strain on his shoulder and arm. 

22: OF Brendan Jones – ETA: 2026; OFP: 40; Risk: Low 

Jones (no, not that one) quickly got off to a hot start once he started playing in Low-A Tampa at the end of July, proving to be one of the better picks of the 2024 Draft. The Yankees didn’t select a lot of bats, but he has proven to have been a solid choice in the limited time he’s played for the organization. Jones has shown in only 24 regular season games that he has the bat, power and arm to play pro baseball. 

Jones is a tricky one to project, especially given the limited sample size. Some prospects can have really hot first few weeks as a pro player, especially in the lower levels, and fizzle out once they get to Double-A and Triple-A. It should be expected to see him spend a majority of the 2025 season in High-A, or at least the first half, unless he blows the socks off of Yankees PD management in Spring Training. It is entirely possible to see Jones start in Double-A, depending on what depth looks like going into 2025. Like many outfield prospects, the depth and logjam in the outfield (Spencer Jones, Jasson Dominguez, Everson Pereira, etc.) will likely hinder promotion speed. 

All of Jones’ scouting scores are above-average (55) or better, and he’s got 80-grade speed (3.80 seconds or better as a RHB). Based on the trend he was on in the short time he played with the Yankees org. In 2024, he was on pace to hit 20 home runs, and stole 18 bases in 104 PA and has yet to have been caught stealing. 

To be honest, he probably deserves to be higher on the list, but I’m holding out to see what next year looks like. If he keeps this pace up, and hits closer to .300, Jones could land in the Top 10. 

 

21: LHP Geoffrey Gilbert – ETA: 2026; OFP: 40; Risk: Low 

Despite throwing only 7 innings and landing on the injured list at the end of April, Gilbert shows a lot of promise in the bullpen. Gilbert allowed only 1 hit and 1 walk in his short stint with High-A this season, with an incredible .043 OBP and 0.43 WHIP. In his last 5 appearances of 2023 with Low-A Tampa (7 IP, 1 ER), he threw a 1.29 ERA, allowing 1 hit and 4 walks, good for a 0.71 WHIP. 

Gilbert leans on a four-pitch arsenal: four-seamer, changeup, slider and sinker. Gilbert doesn’t have a ton of velo, which is fine. It’s the command that is a concern, or at least it was last season according to ABS data (all pitch data here is sourced from last season). Using the eye test, Gilbert threw several excellent pitches. In one game, the slider (upper-70s/low-80s) looked like an above-average to plus pitch, and almost resembled the tumble of a curveball. Batters stood in the box confused because they didn’t know what was coming in. The fastball is an average pitch, with velo sitting low to mid-90s, with a max of 94 MPH. Gilbert also has a changeup he used that sat low-80s, and used a slider that sat at 90 MPH. A pitcher with less-than-average velo, say like Nestor Cortes, is not unusual, if they have pitches with a lot of movement like Cortes has with the sweeper slider and his low to mid-90s fastball (almost identical pitch to that of Gilbert). 

20: RHP Carlos Lagrange – ETA: 2027; OFP: 45; Risk: Extreme 

The Yankees have drafted many tall American-born-and-raised pitchers in recent years, and Lagrange adds a Dominican flair to that list. The 6-foot-7 righty uses his size to reach triple digits on his fastball.  

Lagrange mostly uses that double-plus fastball, a four-seamer, which sits in the upper-90s, and a cutter that sits in the upper-80s, and an infrequently used mid-80s slider and upper-80s changeup. The incredible velo on the fastball is fun to see but it doesn’t matter if he can’t throw it where he wants it to go. Command will be a significant thing for Lagrange to work on in the coming months and years, because aside from any potential injuries that may arise from throwing at that kind of speed, the below-average command may hinder his progress.  

That said, despite Lagrange’s rather elevated ERA in his limited time in Low-A this season (6.91 in 14-1/3 IP), he maintained an exceptional K/9 of 11.93. His trouble is that with the below-average command comes a lot of walks, at a rate of 8.16 BB/9. Lagrange needs to lower that to under 3 to be considered “average”. If he can sort out the command and get the walks down to under 3, or even better under 2.5, he has the potential to be a top 10 prospect. 

19: C/1B Engelth Ureña – ETA: 2028; OFP: 45; Risk: Extreme 

To be fair, Ureña would be much higher on a top 30 list with other organizations, but the Yankees are so deep with talent that he sits in the top 20. My caution with Ureña is that he missed all of 2023 to injury, along with much of 2022. He has played all of 51 games of pro baseball, so we don’t know how “durable” he can be, especially in the role of catcher.  That shouldn’t diminish his talents, but should be something to be aware of, and drops him a little lower in this list. 

Ureña batted a slash of .301/.420/.564/.984 in 2024 with the rookie-level FCL team and drove in 31 RBI in 133 at bats. Ureña had one of the highest wRC+ on the team at 161 and spent more time at 1B (127-1/3 innings) than behind the plate (84 innings). 2024 was Ureña’s first year playing 1B, and he was perfect with 108 total chances and no errors recorded. The same can’t be said while as catcher, where he allowed 16 stolen bases in 18 chances, throwing out 2 runners. 

I wouldn’t totally rule out Ureña moving up in the list next season, but he needs to be able to prove he won’t be injury prone. His stats are solid, but there’s lots of depth in the catcher role in the Yankees’ system (there are three catchers on this list).  

18: RHP Zach Messinger – ETA: 2025; OFP: 45; Risk: Medium 

Messinger has proven to be yet another gem of a mid/late draft selection, as the 13^th round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft has had an ERA of 3.06 through the 2024 regular season. While Messinger didn’t have the solid K/9 and BB/9 stats of last year in High-A (10.48 and 4.92, respectively), it should make sense to exchange a bit of compromise there when he gave up half of the homeruns year-over-year compared with last year (1.21 HR/9 vs. 0.54). Also consider that Double-A is considered a significant jump over both Single-A levels given the advanced competition. 

Messinger shows a mix of fastball, slurve (could be considered a slider with sink or a curve, depending which camp you’re in) and a sweeper 

Depending on how aggressive the Yankees are in the upcoming off-season into Spring Training with their prospects, there’s a good possibility that Messinger is one of the September or even mid-season call-ups 

17: C Edgleen Perez – ETA: 2028; OFP: 45; Risk: Extreme 

Perez was one of the most impressive players on the FCL team in my opinion given the total package offered and is yet another incredible IFA catcher signing by the Yankees, including that of Agustin Ramirez, who was part of the trade with Miami for Chisholm. 

Perez has a loud bat (.283 BA, .346 BABIP, 138 wRC+) with decent at-the-plate numbers (20.8% BB%, 16.2% K%), but also has good defensive skills. While he may not have the most elite pop time, there’s still a few years until he’s potentially MLB ready. 

The concern, if any, with Perez is that he was signed so young; he just turned 18 in May. I look at that in a positive light: the Yankees can make a more significant impression in how to become an excellent catcher. There’s no reason Perez doesn’t start in Low-A Tampa next year, and depending on how that goes, he may be on your Top 10 radar sooner than later. 

16: OF Francisco Vilorio – ETA: 2030; OFP: 40; Risk: Low 

There’s not a lot to work with here, given Vilorio isn’t stateside yet, so bear with me. Vilorio was the top IFA the Yankees signed in 2024, so given it’s his first year in pro ball, he’s just learning how to ride a bike with training wheels. I don’t look too much into DSL stats, so the K% of nearly 33% and batting average under .200 doesn’t concern me. Vilorio only played in 42 games with the DSL Bombers (one of the two DSL teams the Yankees have). 

Vilorio had a success rate of 67% with stolen base attempts (8-for-12), so once he gets in more games, especially in FCL where he’ll face a mix of international and American players, we should get a better idea of how his jumps are, what his speed is like, etc. 

As far as his defense goes, we can really only scout the statline, as the saying goes. Vilorio committed 5 errors in 70 total chances with 64 putouts and 1 assist for a fielding percentage of .929. 

15: RHP Cade Smith – ETA: 2026; OFP: 40; Risk: Low

Cade Smith was one of those players that I and a few others were baffled by why he was spending so much time in Low-A. In Smith’s last full month in Tampa (July), he put up insane numbers for the level: a 1.35 ERA, a 12.6 K/9, a 3.6 K/9, a .094 BAA and a 0.70 WHIP. I’ll get to why I don’t like using Major League player comparisons later, but he was as dominant as that of former FSL-er Orion Kerkering, who had a small part in the Phillies’ playoff run last season. If the Yankees were as ambitious as the Phillies were last season with Kerkering, Smith may have gotten the call up to the Majors… if he didn’t get hurt. 

In a game where Smith had 10K in 5-2/3 innings, he threw a mix of a slider, four-seamer, curveball and sweeper. The slider was his most used pitch, leaning on it half of the time, inducing 13 whiffs on 42 pitches  (31%). The slider was mostly in the mid-80s, but had a wide range of velo, going from 81 MPH to 89 MPH. The fastball was low/mid-90s with a max of 95 MPH, while the curve and sweeper were low/mid-80s. 

Smith can show some incredible control, nailing the corners on a significant number of pitches, but other times gets really wild. It should be noted that the strike zone in the Florida State League is non-standard, so a ball or strike call here may not apply to the rest of pro baseball. 

Look for Smith to potentially be a #2/#3 starter in a few years, similar to how Rodón and Cortes are used currently, if not in a mix-and-match role like what Stroman is doing going into the end of the regular season. 

14: RHP Bryce Cunningham – ETA: 2028; OFP: 50; Risk: Extreme 

This goes for both Cunningham and Rivas (who you’ll see mentioned next), but the jump from college to pro ball can be tricky. Carr is the closest lateral pick (Carr went in the 3^rd round because Yankees didn’t have a 2^nd rd. pick in 2023) to Cunningham, and you may notice that he placed at #29. 

I don’t necessarily hold a ton of stock in collegiate stats. There are too many things that are different compared to professional baseball. College uses metal bats compared to wood bats. Pitchers can go longer in an outing; look at how Skenes went over 120 pitches with LSU.  

That said, a strikeout is a strikeout, just like a 4-ball walk is a base on balls. Cunningham had a K/9 of 10.21 in his junior year of 2024 and a BB/9 of 3.61, both solid stats.  

It remains to be seen how the Yankees use Cunningham, but he should place as a #1/#2 starter given how well he did with Vanderbilt. 

13: LHP Xavier Rivas – ETA: 2027; OFP: 45; Risk: High 

As mentioned previously, it can be difficult to place prospects making the jump from amateur to pro ball, but I think Rivas may have been the steal of the draft if he can stay healthy. If he hadn’t had “Tommy John” (UCL reconstruction) surgery, he may have pitched this season and gone top 3 rounds next year as a 5^th-year senior. Instead, the Yankees signed him in the 16^th round this past July. 

In a previous article with Inside the [Ole Miss] Rebels, he noted that he should be ramping up to a throwing program again by this past August, pending whatever his draft team decides. Basically, his doctor, Dr. Keith Meister cleared him to begin the rehab process. It’s possible he’s a part of “fall instructs”, but with that closed to the public, we won’t know unless video is leaked out. 

While Rivas had a 6.35 ERA in his Junior year (2023), he did record a 11.78 K/9 in 68 innings of work. The Ole Miss coaching staff thought highly enough of Rivas that they wanted to make him their ace. 

Where Rivas slots in with the Yankees is yet to be determined, but it should be fair to expect them to handle him with kid gloves. If they manage to have acquired a gem lefty pitcher for a bargain, he could fly through the system. 

12: RHP Eric Reyzelman – ETA: 2025; OFP: 50; Risk: High 

Despite starting the season late due to injury, Reyzelman had an incredible season in 2024. He only allowed 5 earned runs in the regular season, and didn’t allow any earned runs dating to August 15^th. That’s a span of 10-2/3 innings without allowing an ER, and only allowing 3 hits, while striking out 16 batters. All of that works out to a K/9 of 13.51 and a BB/9 of 6.75. 

That speaks to how Reyzelman has been throughout his career. He hasn’t pitched a lot given his role as a closer, but he has a career K/9 of 14.13; exceptional K/9 is considered anything over 10. And a lot of this is with the many injuries Reyzelman has experienced. He missed much of 2023, only throwing 7-2/3 rehab innings with FCL, and didn’t really start his 2024 season until the All-Star Break.  

The most recent Statcast data we have for Reyzelman is from August 2022, where he threw 24 pitches with Low-A Tampa. He used a 4-pitch mix of sinker, changeup, curveball and four-seamer. I typically group the sinker and fastball together with Savant data in the FSL, so those pitches sat low-90s with a max of 95 MPH. The changeup sat around 80 MPH, while the curveball sat in the mid/high-70s. 

Considering Reyzelman pitched all of 38-2/3 innings this year and he threw an ERA under 2 (1.93) in Double-A, it’s very possible we see Reyzelman in the Bronx next year if he’s not used as a trade piece at some point. 

 

11: OF Spencer Jones – ETA: 2025; OFP: 50; Risk: High 

Are we starting to see the cracks in Jones’ game? Possibly, as 2024 was by all accounts the worst year he’s had to date. That said, a .259 batting average and .789 OPS is nothing to sneeze at, but there are a few concerns worth noting. First and foremost is that K%. Yes, it’s what the data nerds are drooling over, and striking out 200 times in 544 plate appearances is not great. The reason that number (the percentage, not the actual number of times) is concerning is that the pitching is only going to get more advanced from here on out. If Jones has any plan to be successful in the Majors, he needs to rein in the strikeout percentage and be a bit more patient at the plate. If there’s anything positive to look at with his plate discipline, it’s that he has maintained the same high walk rate of 9% or greater (9.9%, specifically in 2024). 

Something that Jones has is power and hit ability, and while his batting average was the lowest in 2024 compared to the rest of his short pro career, his BABIP was at its highest since he’s played in full-season ball at .401. That also translates to a higher wRC+ over last year at High-A Hudson Valley; 124 in 2024 vs 114 in 2023. His slash was not great towards the end of the season, hitting 44 for 145 for a .233/.189/.418/.607 with a 31% K% and 6.9% BB%.  

The comparison with Jones often is that of a “lefty Judge” and I was one of those who put his opinion in on that as soon as I saw Jones take his first pro at-bat in 2022. The similarities are there. But just as Anthony Volpe may not be “the next Jeter”, the same can be said for Jones. When Aaron Judge was in AA, nearly all of his stats were better than the year Jones had this past year. The only marks where Jones excels are speed and BABIP. Is it fair to compare prospects to other Major Leaguers? Not always. Let’s get rid of this one. 

While the most significant talking point of Jones’ 2024 season has been his elevated K% (37.8%), that shouldn’t diminish the potential Jones can have with the Yankees, or possibly another team. The strikeout rate did set him a bit lower in the ranking, given the pitching in AAA will be better than that of what he faced in AA, that will likely be the true test in whether he’ll be capable of dealing with Major League-caliber pitching. 

Jones absolutely has the talent to be an everyday starting outfielder, but as of now does not have the right path to get to the Bronx. It’s difficult to project him to go one way or another given his previous, albeit limited, history of an elevated K% and while the power is absolutely there, hitting one in less than 3% of at-bats is not necessarily going to make you an all-star. I hope Jones can prove me wrong next season, because Dominguez already has. 

10: UTIL Jesus Rodriguez – ETA: 2026; OFP: 50; Risk: High 

This ranking may or may not be a surprise if you’ve been following High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset this year, but Rodriguez has been one of those players quietly doing his thing with others like Rafael Flores and Spencer Jones stealing some of the thunder. Rodriguez spent some time in the outfield briefly last season but spent significantly more time in left field this year with High-A Hudson Valley. Mostly, however, he spent his time either at 1B or behind the plate.  

Spending a majority of his season with the Renegades, Rodriguez put up some crazy stats, with a slash of .332/.412/.507/.919 in 56 games along with a wRC+ of 160, and led the organization in hits for a period of the season. Like many prospects, he has dealt with an adjustment period in Double-A, but in the last month of the season (August), batted .234 with an OPS of .633 compared to a BA of .182 and an OPS of .672 (his slugging was higher in July).   

The utility aspect is what really sells me on Rodriguez though. A player that can play C, 1B, and left field well, plus has pop (Rodriguez has had BABIP numbers over .300 throughout his career aside from the short time in Double-A) has me really excited about his future.   

However, Rodriguez is Rule 5 eligible. The Yankees may need to decide if he’s worth protecting or if they want to leave him exposed. They also need to decide if they want to include him as a part of a trade package so they don’t lose him for nothing like they would in the Rule 5 Draft. Given how little 1B depth they have, it would make sense for the Yankees to concentrate on molding him to that role. They have plenty of catchers and outfielders but having that versatility can be useful under injury situations. Look at how useful the versatility of Oswaldo Cabrera was for the Yankees a few years ago. 

9: LHP Henry Lalane  – ETA: 2027; OFP: 50; Risk: High 

Lalane is one of those special prospects you know is going to do serious damage, but fortunately, he’s with the Yankees farm system. Lalane is similar to that of Randy Johnson (although Johnson was 3 inches taller) in that both are/were lefty pitchers. Lalane doesn’t have the heat that Johnson had (that’s #20 Carlos Lagrange’s game), but has a good mix of four-seamer/sinker, changeup and slider. 

Lalane can get the fastball up to 92 but usually sits upper-80s/low-90s, while the changeup sits in the low-80s, and the slider sits in the mid-70s. 

Lalane had some trouble in Low-A Tampa, despite a very limited set of games, and the very limited pitch counts he was on skewed some of his numbers. There is sometimes an adjustment period with pitchers when they make the jump to full-season ball from the complex league because of the bigger stadiums, playing in front of a crowd and at night, etc. 

Lalane shows a lot of promise and threw some impressive games in the complex league last season but was also inconsistent like a handful of other pitchers out there. His biggest issue currently is overall command. His pitches are all over the place. If he can sort that out, the potential is there for Lalane to be a top part of a starting rotation in a few years. We don’t really know how long Lalane can go since he hasn’t gone more than 4 innings since being stateside. 

If there is a major concern, it’s that he has been injury prone of late. He started and ended the 2024 season on the IL. That may lower his stock next time we evaluate the farm, but for now we look forward to the promise Lalane offers. If Lalane can sort out his command issues, he could easily be a #2 or possibly #1 starter in the future, but the command and injury concerns can hold him back. 

8: RHP Trent Sellers – ETA: 2026; OFP: 50; Risk: Medium 

The Yankees have been doing incredibly well with their un-drafted (UDFA) signings lately, and Sellers has shot straight to the top of the list. Oregon State is not necessarily well known for producing a significant number of high-quality prospects, especially pitching prospects, but current MLB’ers Matthew Boyd (2.72 ERA in 2024) and Drew Rasmussen (3.04 ERA in 2024) are fellow OSU Beavers. The most well-known OSU alum to Yankee fans is likely Jacoby Ellsbury; hopefully we see better luck with Sellers. For what it’s worth, the number 1 overall prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft, Travis Bazzana, was drafted out of OSU and was teammates with Sellers. 

Sellers spent all but an inning and two-thirds in High-A (he threw in one game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In Hudson Valley, he threw a 2.09 ERA, and maintained a 10.76 K/9 and 4.06 BB/9. While the latter stats aren’t necessarily mind-blowing, he only allowed 3 home runs all season and was charged with 19 earned runs and 37 walks in 82 innings of work in High-A. Sellers’ BAA (batting average against) was an incredible .148 while his BABIP (batting average, balls in play) was .214. It may be wild to think about this, but from June 25 through the end of the season (Sept. 4, in this case), Sellers only allowed 4 runs, 2 earned. That’s 46-2/3 innings pitched for an ERA of 0.39. 

Sellers has a five-pitch arsenal according to Statcast (he threw in one game for SWB): a four-seamer that sit low-90s and hits 93, a cutter that sits high-80s, a change-up that sits low-80s, a sinker that sits high-80s/low-90s, and a slider (only used once) that sits mid-80s. The 4SFB and cutter were the most often used pitches, but the curve was his best “out” pitch. 

Although it was an incredibly limited showing in Triple-A for Sellers, we can still see that he was able to handle it in a way. His K rate maintained the same levels as in High-A, although he did walk more batters than what he did in Hudson Valley. It’s not unreasonable to expect to see Sellers in Triple-A next season, considering he should be expected to start in Double-A Somerset. It’s also not unreasonable to potentially see Sellers as a September call-up next season, but with the reluctance of how the Yankees call prospects up, that likelihood remains to be seen, of course. Most likely, he will likely get called up in 2026 unless he’s acquired by another organization in some fashion. Sellers started 9 of the 32 games he threw in, but topped out at 4 innings in an appearance, so he will likely be used as a middle-inning reliever out of the ‘pen or could be used as a starter in a “bullpen game”. 

7: LHP Brock Selvidge – ETA: 2026; OFP: 50; Risk: Extreme 

Selvidge was the Yankees’ starter in the Spring Breakout prospect showcase game this past March, and for good reason. Selvidge went 4 innings in the 7-inning game, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 8 against the Blue Jays’ prospects. His first month of the season (4 starts) went just as well, as Selvidge recorded a 1.71 ERA, but things started falling apart in mid-May. Selvidge may have possibly been trying to throw through an injury as he landed on the 7-day, then the 60-day IL, on July 22. Despite this, Selvidge was still recording games with 6, 8 and 9 strikeouts per 5 to 6 inning appearance and he also recorded the most innings pitched in a season. 

Stats aren’t necessarily everything though, as Selvidge has a deadly 4-pitch arsenal. In the Breakout game, Selvidge threw a mix of mid-80s slider, low/mid-90s four-seam fastball, low-80s sweeper and mid-80s change-up. He had the most contact with his slider, but the sweeper, which had nearly twice as much horizontal movement, was his deadliest pitch. 

There’s not always a lot of speed difference between pitches like you would traditionally see with an elite pitcher. For example, Gerrit Cole threw a mid-90s 4SFB and mixed that with a low-80s knuckle curve in the game that clinched the AL East for the Yankees on Sept. 26. Selvidge doesn’t have that kind of velo on his fastball, which is fine (neither does Nestor Cortes), but Selvidge also doesn’t have the same kind of pitch movement or command like Cole and Cortes do. 

Selvidge has a potential ceiling of a #1 or #2 starter, but needs to get his K% up a bit and his BB% down. Right now, those stats look roughly like that of Carlos Rodón of 2023. Next year, if Selvidge can get back to what I saw in 2023 when he was in Low-A, his stuff can be a good replacement for 2026 when Marcus Stroman is eligible for free agency. 

6: OF Brando Mayea – ETA: 2027; OFP: 55; Risk: Extreme

I’ve seen many top international prospects come through Tampa over the past decade plus that have not necessarily met expectations (Deivi Garcia, anyone) and Mayea may be one of the first ones that’s really impressed me. Granted, it was only the Complex League in 2024 for Mayea, but there was a lot to like. 

Mayea missed the first few weeks of the FCL season with an injury, but ended the season with a bang, slashing .343/.395/.429/.921 in the month of July with a double, a triple and 4 RBI. Yankees scouts supposedly comp him to Gary Sheffield, but I don’t see it. Mayea doesn’t show elite bat speed, but he does hit consistently in the zone, overall. We didn’t see Mayea hit any home runs this season so I can’t speak properly on his power, although he did go pretty deep a few times I saw him. 

Not only is his offense impressive, but so is his defense. Mayea runs clean, efficient routes in center field, and he looks like a seasoned fielder out there. His arm, in the very few long throws I saw, was unimpressive, but his frame could take on more muscle, which could improve his long-distance throwing ability. 

I couldn’t find that I had had video of Mayea running to 1B, but if I recall, I had had him timed as double-plus (70) speed. That puts him in with the likes of Anthony Volpe or Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

All of this in a relatively still young package, so I wouldn’t be very surprised to see Mayea in the Bronx before too long… if there’s a spot for him to play. That’s an issue we have seen with other outfield prospects, especially with the high regard the Yankees hold Jasson Dominguez. If Aaron Judge and presumably Juan Soto are in the outfield for the next decade, will there be a battle for that corner outfield spot? Professionally, Mayea hasn’t played anything other than CF, so some experimentation may be coming in the next few years. If the Yankees move him over to left field like how they’ve done with Jasson and find better defensive success than what we’ve seen with The Martian of late, Mayea may be in a competition for the position with Dominguez and Spencer Jones. That may prove to be a lot of fun to watch. 

5: RHP Ben Hess – ETA: 2028; OFP: 55; Risk: Extreme 

I’ll be honest, I’m kind of taking a leap of faith with Hess with everything I’ve seen (video, written and stats) by ranking him 5^th overall. I’ve said this a number of times: it’s difficult to rank college players in a pro top 30 because the jump to pro ball isn’t always easy. However, Hess seems like he should be able to handle it, especially considering he’s coming from a Division I SEC school (Alabama).  

Just to go over some of the stats Yankees fans can look forward to, Hess holds the ‘Bama career record for K/9 with 13.34 (205 K/138.1 IP). He also had a 5.80 ERA (44 ER/68.1 IP) with a team-high 106 K compared to 35 BB; that’s good for a 13.96 K/9 and a BB/9 of 4.61. Hess was ranked 8^th in the SEC in strikeouts, including 35 looking Ks which was good for 5^th in the SEC. 

While Hess was used as a starter throughout his 2024 Junior season, he spent his freshman season of 2022 as a starter that moved to the bullpen at the end of the year. The Yankees will likely choose to use him in the starter role but considering how high his K/9 numbers have been, don’t be surprised to see him get moved to the bullpen at some point. 

Given the pattern we have seen the past few years, I would expect Hess to make his professional debut with High-A Hudson Valley in 2025. Hampton did so in 2023, and Carr did the same in 2024. I would also expect that if Hess remains as starter, he’s used as a #1/#2 starter, but it’s a bit too early to project that. There’s some concern about past injuries (Hess missed most of 2023 with an injury), so hopefully he can stay healthy in upcoming years. 

4: INF George Lombard Jr. – ETA: 2027; OFP: 55; Risk: High

I hate comparing prospects to other players, especially those either in the system or former Yankees farm hands, but Lombard reminds me so much of former SS prospect Trey Sweeney. Like Sweeney, Lombard was also a 1^st round pick (Sweeney was selected 1^st round in the 2022 MLB Draft), and Lombard also has somewhat of a questionable future with the team. With he and #3 prospect Roderick Arias fighting for playing time in Low-A Tampa, manager James Cooper chose to play Lombard at 2B for a significant part of the season. Lombard also played at 3B in 9 games, but did not do well there, recording a fielding percentage of .750 (5 errors in 20 total chances). Lombard was a better defender at 2B (.974) than at SS (.952), but Lombard ultimately recorded 23 errors in 2024. 

Lombard struggled throughout much of the season offensively, ending his time with Tampa with a slash of .232/.344/.348/.692 (81 games in 2024). His month and change with High-A Hudson Valley did not fare better as it does sometimes with prospects, as he had a slash while there of .226/.321/.296/.617. Still, despite this and the late power we saw blossom in Tampa, Lombard has good mechanics and needs a very small adjustment to become an elite hitter. Once fans watch Lombard in person for a few games (you can only really see so much from the MiLB TV streams), they should be able to see the solid mechanics Lombard has. A lot of that can be attributed to growing up in a baseball household. His father used to play Major League baseball, and his brother, Jacob is expected to be drafted in upcoming years. Jacob also attends Gulliver Prep and is part of the Class of 2026 (watch some video from Perfect Game and you’ll see some similarities there). 

Lombard is ranked at the #4 position because of the high ceiling he has. He’s still extremely early in his career, all things considered, and has lots of room to grow, both physically and in a performance aspect. It’s questionable as to whether Lombard will hold a role with the Yankees long term, and that may be another commonality he has with Sweeney. I see Arias with a higher ceiling and overall performance potential compared to Lombard, which is why Arias is ranked higher, of course. If I were making the decisions, I would hold onto Arias (read on to learn why) and I would trade Lombard. Still, Lombard holds a lot of potential and he will likely become a Major Leaguer with one of the 30 teams. 

3: INF Roderick Arias – ETA: 2027; OFP: 55; Risk: Extreme 

This may sound odd but hear me out on this: I see a lot of Jasson Domínguez in Arias. Both had less than stellar initial Low-A seasons, but as time went on, they figured things out. 

Arias really struggled at the plate at the beginning of the season, striking out in 42.9% of at-bats in April (36 SO in 84 AB), but by the time July came around, was down to a 25.6% K rate. Despite the high-ish K rate, Arias still had good plate discipline, working a 12.3% BB%. He still needs to work on his discipline with breaking balls, as that’s his biggest weakness at the plate, in my opinion. 

We did see a lot more of Arias’ power this year, as he had the best BABIP of his short career at .331. Using the comparison to Dominguez, there isn’t as much of a disparity when looking at splits between left and right-handed batting. Arias batted .222/.291/.253/.544 as a right-handed batter (versus LHP) and .235/.346/.430/.776 as a lefty batter (versus RHP). It should be noted that Arias batted as LHB in 374 AB and as RHB in 99 AB. 

I mentioned with Lombard about how the two interacted with each other this year in Tampa. Having two top middle infielders on the same roster is difficult to manage, and seeing Arias and Lombard swap out 2B and SS every few games was really interesting. As was alluded to previously, Lombard is a better SS than anywhere else on the field, so it works out that Arias is a better second baseman than shortstop. 

That said, Arias has had an underwhelming glove throughout his very short career, and that’s the one tool that’s of concern. He owns a .912 fielding percentage in 1108-2/3 innings at SS and had 22 errors this past season in 699-2/3 innings in Low-A Tampa. 

2: RHP Chase Hampton – ETA: 2025; OFP: 60; Risk: Extreme 

Hampton missed most of the 2024 season with various injuries, landing on the IL in mid-August with a groin injury, so we have to base projections off of what Hampton did last season between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. I think it’s fair to say that Hampton had an off year in 2024 after pitching in less than 20 innings, with 13 of them having been on rehab assignments with FCL and Low-A.  

In his last game with Low-A Tampa (where we can reliably get pitch data from), Hampton threw a mix of four-seamer, cutter, curveball, sinker and a slider, leaning predominantly on the fastball. The fastball and sinker sat low-90s, the cutter sat high-80s, the slider sat low-80s and the curveball sat mid-70s. That’s an excellent range of pitch speeds, and the difference in velocity between the fastball at 94 MPH and the curveball at 76 MPH is exceptional. That said, there isn’t a lot of difference in spin between the 5 pitches, so Hampton has to lean on his pitch location, which in this specific outing was very good. 

Considering that 2024 was a “throw away” season of sorts because of injury, it should seem fair to discount the lesser stats he put up compared to the 2023 season. Hampton threw a commendable 4.37 ERA in Double-A after only throwing 47 innings in High-A Hudson Valley where he made his professional debut. He put up an impressive 2.68 ERA, a 14.74 K/9 and a 3.09 BB/9, but his BABIP was less than stellar at .283 while in Hudson Valley. Hampton then threw a 10.26 K/9 and a 3.17 BB/9 in 59-2/3 innings in Double-A, with a combined ERA in 2023 of 3.63 and a WHIP of 1.14. 

I don’t know if it’s fair to project where Hampton will sit with the Yankees, as his stuff shouts “bullpen” to me. While he was most frequently used in 4-5 inning outings, he has pitched as many as 7 innings in a few instances, throwing 90+ pitches in those outings. He may fare better eliminating the slider, as the cutter and curveball induced more swing and miss in the previously mentioned outing. In some video I saw of starts in 2024, that slider did not show nearly as much movement as the curveball or cutter. 
 
If Hampton is used as a starter, he may fit best as a #3 or #4 starter, although his stats from 2023 in Double-A do line up with a starter like what Carlos Rodón did in 2024. However, I keep thinking of the Yankees’ dynasty era of another homegrown pitcher that had a sharp fastball/cutter combo. It’s entirely possible that’s the direction the Yankees go. Hampton has the confidence and grit needed to be a closer. The possibilities and high ceiling are what make Hampton the top pitcher in the Yankees farm system, but he needs to stay healthy. 

1: OF Jasson Domínguez – ETA: 2023; OFP: 60; Risk: High 

I know I said in the lead-in that I’d be excluding prospects, but I think an exception should be made for Domínguez for the sole reason that he played about a week in the Majors before he went on the IL and needed Tommy John surgery. Domínguez will likely “graduate” by the time the next ranking comes around. As of this writing, he’s not even at 100 plate appearances. 

“The Martian” still has a lot to prove, because left field, as he’s been playing a lot of this time around, isn’t his natural position. You can see he’s been struggling a bit out in left, and his plus speed has saved him a few times. That speed, by the way, looks rather clunky on his stocky frame, but he’s slimmed down quite a bit compared to what I saw in Tampa in his debut season. But, if you look at the stats throughout his Minor League career, his fielding percentages in both LF and CF overall are pretty close. This year seems to be much worse for Domínguez in LF (89-1/3 innings), as he posted a .905 fielding percentage versus .953 in CF (236 innings). 

There’s so much promise in the Dominican prospect and I’d be remiss not to rank him the top prospect. That said, the “sophomore slump” other former prospects have experienced this year is real, so I’m not holding too much against Domínguez this season. Domínguez has been working more walks over last season despite not hitting home runs at a truly insane pace. 

Domínguez has been a predominantly ground ball hitter throughout his career. If you were to rank those types of hits throughout his career, it would be ground balls at 47%, fly balls at 30% and line drives at 23%. It’s worked for him, and with a “hard hit” rate (balls hit over 95 MPH) in the Majors at 52%, getting balls through the gap is crucial if he’s not going to bloop them into the outfield or hit them over the wall for a home run. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s something the Yankees’ coaching staff is working on, or if they’re trying to get him to elevate the hit ball more for a line drive. He has a lot in common with fellow Dominican outfielder, Juan Soto in that regard; both have similar hit ball stats, except that Soto hits the ball harder, on average. 

The progression and maturation of talent by Domínguez that those of us fortunate enough to follow the minor league system has been rather rewarding. I said in a scouting report back in 2021 that he was too stocky to run the speed Yankees scouts had said he was capable of, and even going into the 2023 season, I wasn’t sold on Domínguez’s talents. I still stand by my grades for the most part, bumping the hit tool up to an above-average (55) and the OFP to 60 given he’s made the Majors. Will he be the “occasional all-star” as I noted in that report? That’s for him to prove.