Ranking the Yankees’ top 10 prospects after the 2025 season

When we last checked in on the Yankees’ farm system, game power was one of my biggest concerns with George Lombard Jr. who would increase his XBH production over the final two months of the year.

He’s still a work-in-progress offensively, but the tools are there and his rapid ascent through the organization over the last two years has certainly dampened his counting stats.

The Eastern League (AA) and South Atlantic League (A+) are also very run-depressed environments, and with a 126 wRC+, I feel as if Lombard put up enough offense to be happy with his 2025 campaign.

Lombard is still an incredible defender at shortstop and a remarkable baserunner as well, the Yankees have a player who should be able to contribute on all sides of the ball when he reaches the big leagues.

Conclusion: Providing excellent defense at a premium position with 30 SB upside, George Lombard Jr. doesn’t even have to be a good hitter to be a good big-leaguer. If his OPS+ is in the triple digits, he will have multiple 4-5 WAR seasons.

2. Carlos Lagrange – SP

Carlos Lagrange has always had overpowering velocity, but this season he found a new gear and has become one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball.

The right-hander has a fastball between 97-99 MPH with excellent vertical movement, spinning a slow sweeper, tight gyro slider, and hard changeup to work off of it.

Lack of command will plague Lagrange and cause him to leave hanging breaking balls over the heart of the plate or lose the zone and walk the ballpark, but the upside is tantalizing.

He made massive strides as a strike-thrower this year and smashed past his previous high in innings pitched, and if the Yankees can find a way to get him in-zone more often, we could be looking at a true ace.

If the location struggles persist, Carlos Lagrange would be a natural fit for a bullpen role, and the Yankees could have their closer of the future.

Conclusion: You could argue that no one in Minor League Baseball has better stuff than Carlos Lagrange does, that alone should have fans salivating for his MLB debut regardless of whether he’s a starter or reliever.

3. Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz – SP

This was an incredible season for Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, who finished with the second-most strikeouts in Minor League Baseball (176) while having a GB% over 54%.

He displayed improved command as the season went on, and the reason he’s been so effective this year is because of a six-pitch mix that allows him to spin the ball in various directions.

There’s not a pitch in the repertoire that pops as a double-plus weapon, but there also isn’t a truly unusable pitch here either, and if the Yankees can get him to add some more weight, he could be an excellent middle-of-the-rotation starter.

ERC is in the same mold as Will Warren, Michael King, and Clarke Schmidt, and the Yankees’ track record of success with those three should inspire confidence that Cruz can follow suit.

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz has a lower chance of becoming an ace than Carlos Lagrange does, but he has a higher chance of becoming a starter, and it creates a fun prospect debate about ceiling versus floor.

Conclusion: The advanced pitchability and deep mix supercede what is a ~100 Stuff+ repertoire, I believe ERC has a real chance of being a mainstay in the rotation by the end of 2026.

4. Dax Kilby – SS

Rocketing up our boards after an incredibly encouraging debut in Single-A, Dax Kilby has quickly become one of the best prospects in the organization.

His bat-to-ball skills are incredible, Kilby can make contact all over the zone and didn’t whiff at a single pitch at or above 95 MPH.

What was most encouraging was the raw power, as there’s real reason to believe he could have above-average exit velocity numbers when he reaches the big leagues.

Defensively, I’d be stunned if he remained at shortstop in the big leagues, and mechanically the swing is too flat for him to consistently get the ball out of the yard.

Those warts do not phase me in the slightest; he is entering his first offseason as a Yankee and will be 19 years old for the entire 2026 season, a couple of adjustments could make him a top 20 prospect in the sport.

Conclusion: When your newly-drafted teenage shortstop prospect makes way more contact than the college draftees around him and hits the ball way harder, you might have a future no. 1 prospect in the organization.

5. Spencer Jones – OF

The strikeout rates ballooned again after back spasms that occurred in August, taking what looked like an ascending prospect and bringing his MLB viability back into question.

Spencer Jones is an incredible athlete with ridiculous power and plate coverage, he can hit almost any pitch in any part of the zone out of the yard.

He also has strikeout rates that are unsustainable for a prospective big-leaguer and will not be ready to play in the Bronx when the 2026 season begins.

I believe Jones will stick in centerfield and provide above-average value on the bases, but he’ll have to prove in 2026 that his late-season collapse was a result of injury and not skill.

Talent evaluators should have a wide range of opinions on him; some people believe he has the talent to become a 30 HR hitter who plays great defense, and others who don’t even think he’ll advance to the big leagues.

Conclusion: The ups and downs still leave me skeptical, but Spencer Jones earned the right to remain a top five prospect in the system for another year given just how much game power he has.

6. Ben Hess – SP

After nine starts this year, Ben Hess had a 4.32 ERA with 27 walks in 41.2 innings pitched, looking like a prospect who was very far away from the big leagues.

Over his final 12 starts, he walked 18 batters in 57.2 IP with a 2.18 ERA and struck out 32.7% of batters faced between High-A and Double-A.

The fastball has good vertical movement from a low release height, with the velocity being inconsistent but reaching up to 98 MPH.

His curveball and changeup have a lot of movement, with a sweeper being added to the mix that’ll need some more velocity and refinement before he can use it in the big leagues.

Conclusion: Ben Hess has the shapes and release point data to become a quality starter, but his inconsistent velocity and command are parts of his game he’ll need to improve in order to reach the big leagues.

7. Bryce Cunningham – SP

Bryce Cunningham’s raw stuff and upside is good enough to become the best pitching prospect in the organization, having the kind of fastball that plays at the highest level.

Good velocity, spin, movement, and a deceptive arm angle play roles in him being the kind of pitcher who could be near the top of a contender’s rotation.

His changeup wasn’t as good in the pros as it was in college but it’s still a good pitch, while the breaking ball was much better than his collegiate days.

There aren’t many changes to the shape, but the usage and command are definitely improved, playing off of a fastball that should be a swing-and-miss pitch at the top of the zone.

I need to see a deeper mix before I rank him higher, and his strike-throwing needs to improve as well, but there’s definitely a prospect worth investing in somewhere.

Conclusion: With time to pitch in the Arizona Fall League we’ll get more data on Bryce Cunningham, but he’s a prospect needing refinement that has the upside to climb into the top three one day.

8. Dillon Lewis – OF

A power-hitting outfielder with speed to boot, Dillon Lewis has 70-grade raw power and put up an incredible debut year in 2025.

With a 120 wRC+, 22 home runs, and 26 stolen bases in 122 games, Lewis rocketed up our prospect board from a just-miss on the top 30 to a top 10 prospect in the organization.

Improvements need to be made with his swing path and swing decisions, both of which will reflect in his contact rates, but the already-existing profile is enticing.

I’m interested to see how he develops as a defender as well, being a capable centerfielder would be huge for future projections.

Conclusion: Dillon Lewis needs to polish his approach and swing, but the power is explosive and his physical tools give him a higher ceiling than people think.

9. Chase Hampton – SP

I simply cannot truly give up on Chase Hampton without seeing him look bad when healthy, the injuries have ripped away what could have been a rotation mainstay by now.

His stuff is great when he’s healthy, its a 92-95 MPH fastball with elite vertical movement from a slightly lower release height than you’d expect.

The breaking stuff is good, his cutter is sharp, and the arsenal likely just needs a usable changeup for him to live up to the hype he had in 2023.

Rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery, the Yankees won’t see Hampton until 2026, but the injuries make you wonder if we will ever see the prospect Hampton once was ever again.

Conclusion: A top-100 prospect at one point who held the title of the best pitching prospect in the Yankees’ organization, injuries have eaten away at him.

10. Allen Facundo – SP

Allen Facundo is someone I’m extremely high on given his fastball velocity, spin rates, and the Yankees’ ability to improve pitch shapes.

The slider has always been his best pitch, and in 2024 he was a very fastball-slider heavy pitcher who has expanded the mix this year.

He’s throwing a two-seamer and four-seamer to go alongside his slider, and as the season went on he added a changeup with good depth that could make him a more viable starter.

I project some improvement with the four-seam shape given how well he spins the ball and how well the Yankees can optimize fastball shape, which could unlock a stud.

He sat 95 MPH this year and got up to 99.7 during the year, a fully healthy offseason could make Allen Facundo one of their biggest success stories at the Minor League level.

Conclusion: Allen Facundo isn’t a household name, but he is very projectable given the velocity, spin, and expanding arsenal since coming back from injury.