Inside The Pinstripes

New York Yankees Top Prospects List Shows Value in Not Giving Up on Players

The New York Yankees top prospects list has a handful of players that have hit struggles, but still have immense potential.

Dylan Sanders

Vanderbilt right fielder Spencer Jones (34) hits a home run against Tennessee during the seventh inning at Hawkins Field Saturday, April 2, 2022 in Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt right fielder Spencer Jones (34) hits a home run against Tennessee during the seventh inning at Hawkins Field Saturday, April 2, 2022 in Nashville, Tenn. / George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The New York Yankees have one of the best rosters in baseball, which allows them to take some big swings with their current crop of top prospects.

Keith Law of The Athletic recently released his updated Top 20 ranking of the Yankees farm system. There are a handful of interesting players. The most interesting ones are the guys that have hit some struggles but still have a lot of poential at their fingertips.

The top five prospects, in order, were outfielder Jasson Dominguez, shortsop George Lombar Jr,, pitcher Ben Hess, outfielder Spencer Jones and outfielder Everson Pereira.

Jones was once the top prospect in New York, but took a slight step back in 2024. Luckily, he was a young college player when the Yankees drafted him back in the first round of the 2022 draft.

He posted a .259/.336/.452 slash line with 17 home runs and 25 stolen bases. That is eerily similar to his 2023 line as well, but he at least stole 43 bags that time around.

The longer that he sits in the farm, the lower he will drop in rankings, but it's hard to lose excitement around a 6-foot-6 outfielder that could turn into a 30/30 threat.

The next five prospects in the ranking were catcher Edgleen Perez, shortstop Roderick Arias, pitcher Cam Schlittler, pitcher Chase Hampton and pitcher Bryce Cunningham.

Arias is another player that hit the ground running as a pro, but didn't exactly follow it up with the same level of play in 2024.

The 19-year-old had a .233/.335/.393 slash line with 14 home runs and 37 stolen bases this campaign. He has never been a huge power threat, but can do a lot of damage with his legs.

He is the type of player that will like score more runs himself than drive in RBIs, which was the case last year.

Sitting at No. 11 through No. 15 is pitcher Yoendrys Gomez, pitcher Will Warren, catcher Rafael Flores, pitcher Henry Lane and pitcher Sabier Marte.

Warren is someone that has just been around for a few years and finally made his MLB debut last year. His first five appearances in the Majors ended with a 10.32 ERA, but it would be unwise for them to not give him another shot next year.

He has show high strikeout potential, but has never been very good with his walk rate.

Closing out the top 20 is five different right handed pitchers: Brian Hendry, Cade Smith, Carlos Lagrange, Chalniel Areas and Thatcher Hurd.

Hurd was the third-round draft pick for New York back in 2024, despite struggling mightily over the last two years in college.

He bounced bewteen the starting lineup and the rotation, never really living up to the potential he showed as a freshman.

The 22-year-old has a promising fastball, but just needs to find consistency if he wants to stick in the Majors.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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