
Under is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the New York Yankees. Scouting experiences have been compiled with data supplied by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fifth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed typically correspond to the 12 months a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Handbook changes are made the place they appear acceptable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means could be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview could be discovered right here.
The entire ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the location provides that includes sortable scouting data for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from numerous sources) than this text and integrates each group’s record so readers can evaluate prospects throughout farm programs. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Observe
Grouped by sort and listed so as of choice inside every class.
Pitchers With Good Breaking Balls
Cade Smith, RHP
Gage Ziehl, RHP
Alex Mauricio, RHP
Cole Ayers, RHP
Kevin Stevens, RHP
Omar Gonzalez, RHP
Smith was New York’s 2023 sixth rounder out of Mississippi State. The previous SEC righty pitched effectively at Low-A (frankly, an project beneath his ability stage and expertise) in 2024 thanks largely to his two plus breaking balls. His fastball sits 93 mph and touches 96, and Smith’s command is reasonably reliever-y. New York’s 2024 fourth rounder out of Miami, Ziehl is a stocky 6-foot righty with an important mid-80s slider whose 93 mph fastball performs down on account of its angle and Ziehl’s fringe command. Mauricio is a 28-year-old reliever out of Norfolk State who has had upper-level success due to an excellent cutter and slider. His fastball is just a little gentle for him to be clearly rosterable. Ayers is a 25-year-old righty whose plus overhand curveball has allowed him to pitch effectively in aid up by means of Excessive-A and briefly attain Somerset. Stevens is a 27-year-old undrafted free agent out of UT Rio Grande Valley whose plus slider and vertical fastball drive a good aid look. He Ok’d greater than a batter per inning at Somerset final 12 months till he hit the IL in August. Gonzalez, 19, is a 6-foot-4 Panamanian righty with a due north arm slot that generates a 91-ish mph fastball and actually nice motion on his secondary stuff. He has struggled with walks in every of his three seasons.
Kids With Bodily Projection
David Carrera, OF
Carlos Villarroel, C/1B
Ronald Tejada, LHP
Browm Martinez, OF
Carrera, 18, is a 6-foot-3 Venezuelan outfielder with plus bodily projection. He produced roughly common contact charges within the DSL and continues to be rising into his physique. He’s a prospect to file away as we collectively look forward to him to get stronger. Villarroel is a 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher and first baseman who performed first twice as usually as he caught throughout his professional debut. He has a really noisy and elaborate swing, however he nonetheless managed to carry out fairly effectively from a contact standpoint. Tejada is a rail skinny 6-foot-3 Dominican lefty with a mid-to-upper-80s fastball and a really promising curveball. He’s nonetheless on the stage the place his jersey is sporting him and is somebody to observe for extra power and velocity. Martinez, an 18-year-old Dominican outfielder, is much like Carrera besides much less overtly projectable, as he’s nearer to an excellent six ft tall.
Developmental DSL Arms
Oscar Vasquez, RHP
Mauricio Vargas, RHP
Varis Villarreal, RHP
Vasquez signed in the course of 2024 and turned 20 in December. He’s a long-levered righty whose 92-93 mph fastball has plus life, whereas his upper-70s curveball flashes bat-missing depth. He’s a participant to observe for an early 2025 velo enhance after he’s had greater than only a few months within the org and an offseason of power coaching. A soon-to-be-18-year-old Colombian righty, Vargas is a smaller prospect whose stuff has explosive motion that he hasn’t harnessed but. His fastball solely sits within the low 90s, but it surely has enormous life, and his curveball averaged 3,000 rpm in his few 2024 innings. He’s a deep developmental sleeper. Villarreal is a 19-year-old Panamanian righty with a misleading vertical arm slot that’s approaching Josh Collmenter territory. He has the screwball fashion changeup that many pitchers with this arm slot do. How a lot velo he can add to his upper-80s fastball as his body matures will dictate Villarreal’s ceiling.
Expert Litte Guys
Isael Arias, CF
Enmanuel Tejeda, INF
Jackson Castillo, OF
Gabriel Terrero, 2B
Luis Escudero, 2B
Arias is a rattling good little baseball participant, a 5-foot-9, 19-year-old heart fielder from Mexico who has good really feel for protection and rotates with verve. He’s superior sufficient that he could be on the Tampa complicated this 12 months. Tejeda is a fun-to-watch little 20-year-old infielder who has been productive on the decrease ranges when wholesome. It takes a ton of effort for him to swing arduous, and I’m undecided his above-average contact potential goes to carry as he climbs. A junior faculty draftee out of Southern Nevada, Castillo is a compact lefty-hitting outfielder who has the offensive abilities (50 hit, 40 energy) to be a part-time piece if he develops in heart area, the place he’s presently fairly uncooked. Terrero and Escudero are expert, undersized, switch-hitting infielders who’ve produced good low-level slash traces, however at a maxed out 5-foot-8 or so, every lacks the overt physicality of the everyday huge leaguer.
Energy Bats Ok’ing a Lot
Garrett Martin, OF
Brian Sanchez, OF
Martin, 24, hung out at three completely different faculties — McClennan JC, Oklahoma State, and Austin Peay — and signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He’s a power-over-hit outfield prospect who clubbed 17 bombs in 2024 between A-ball and the AFL. Sanchez, 20, is a strong Venezuelan outfielder who had a .908 OPS within the FCL final 12 months. He has common stiffness and bat path points that create a ton of hit device danger.
Younger Catchers
Josue Gonzalez, C
Engelth Urena, C/1B
Queni Pineda, C
Gonzalez, 21, is a 5-foot-9 catcher who has an important low-level bat-to-ball monitor file and is an explosive in-the-box rotator. His measurement and protracted points together with his alternate make his future as a defender much less sure. Urena is a bodily mature (possible) first baseman with current energy, however he has crude sufficient really feel for contact that I didn’t really feel snug rating him regardless of his enormous slash line. A bodily mature 17-year-old Dominican catcher, Pineda put up huge DSL numbers in 2024 — .254/.434/.438 — partially as a result of he’s a really, very affected person hitter, which implies you’ll be able to run a 23.7% stroll fee within the DSL. He’s a complicated receiver with an correct arm.
Depth Starter Ceilings
Kyle Carr, LHP
Trystan Vrieling, RHP
Zach Messinger, RHP
Bailey Dees, RHP
Carr was an athletic small faculty lefty with a vertical fastball/breaking ball combo when he was taken within the third spherical in 2023. His stuff backed up a bit in 2024 as he made 24 begins and he sat extra 88-92. Carr has a very fast arm and a misleading north/south slot, however he wants to search out better launch consistency. Vrieling is a 6-foot-4 righty out of Gonzaga who had a strong 2024 at Somerset, the place he labored 147.1 innings and had a FIP just under 4.00. He’s a command-oriented depth sort who sits 93-94 and has fringe secondary stuff. Messinger, a 6-foot-6 25-year-old out of Virginia, labored an environment friendly 150 innings at Somerset in 2024. He sits 92 and has a mean slider and changeup. Dees’ stuff isn’t nuts; he sits 92-93 and has a 45-grade slider, however the former Penn Stater has a plus changeup that’s enabled him to pitch effectively by means of the mid-minors and attain Double-A.
Likelihood Nolan, RHP
Likelihood Nolan, RHP
Nolan was a school quarterback at Center Tennessee, Saddleback School, Oregon State for 2 years, and at last TCU, the place he by no means performed a snap. He educated at Driveline Baseball and was sitting 95-97 mph at their professional day earlier this month. Nolan is an effective athlete who’s crude in each different aspect of pitching however the arm power half.
Inactive Names to File Away
Brendan Beck, RHP
Jordarlin Mendoza, RHP
Angel Benitez, RHP
Beck, a pitchability righty from Stanford who I had beforehand evaluated as a spot starter, had elbow surgical procedure in March. Mendoza, a 21-year-old Dominican righty with a mid-90s fastball and plus slider, had TJ in late June. He’s been very wild and is probably going a reliever. So too is the 6-foot-7 Benitez. The 21-year-old had no 2024 IL designation, however he threw 10 innings in Could after which was shut down. He has a mid-90s fastball and an excellent changeup.
System Overview
The Yankees farm system is chock filled with monumental athletes, particularly pitchers. There are 9 gamers who’re 6-feet-5 or taller on the principle part of this record, and a pair extra within the Honorable Mentions. Gamers of appreciable measurement appear to be New York’s taste, particularly within the worldwide market, the place there usually aren’t as many enormous gamers, although those who pop up are inclined to turn into Yankees.
One other worldwide development right here: risky contact potential. A few of New York’s multi-million greenback bonus guys have come to professional ball with unpolished hit instruments, and every has fairly shortly been an “arrow down” prospect consequently. (It’s extra noticeable when that participant bought a bonus of $4 million or extra.) Regardless that the Yankees ceaselessly spend actually huge on no less than one worldwide participant yearly, they nonetheless typically fill out two DSL rosters with attention-grabbing guys signed for lesser quantities, which frequently isn’t the case with different golf equipment that are inclined to have top-heavy courses.
Within the draft, the Yankees take opportunistic gambles on younger hitters however overwhelmingly gravitate towards faculty pitchers, lots of whom the group’s dev employees helps to make higher. Whether or not their picks lack current stuff (assume Brendan Beck), didn’t have nice faculty efficiency (final 12 months’s high two picks, Ben Hess and Bryce Cunningham, had bloated ERAs), or have been relievers (Will Warren), it’s clear the Yankees are drafting with preconceived notions as to how these guys shall be developed, and loads of the time it really works. This technique has above-average depth thanks largely to the org’s potential to do that. Understand that the Yankees have additionally traded loads of prospects over the last couple of deadlines. There are about 15 gamers who have been initially Yankees and are actually list-worthy prospects in different orgs. That’s a complete ‘nother third of a system.
Regardless of their above-average depth, the Yankees solely have two High 100 prospects, so the general high quality of their farm is nearer to common, and it’ll most likely look under common six months from now when a number of of the highest gamers graduate. Jasson Domínguez and Warren are digital locks to stroll into the prospect cornfield this season, and if Hampton is wholesome, the identical might be true for him. Potential influence relievers Clayton Beeter and Eric Reyzelman (don’t sleep on Reyzelman, people, he developed two plus pitches from scratch in a matter of months), in addition to sleeper Opening Day backup catcher candidate J.C. Escarra, are additionally earmarked for commencement. A few of the hitters who fell wanting expectations final 12 months might want to rebound for the Pinstripes to have as strong of an inventory subsequent cycle.