Three Yankees Prospects Battling for Roster Spot

Spring training’s lifespan has shrunk to weeks as Opening Day fast approaches. The New York Yankees are constantly evaluating their options to finalize the opening-day roster. Three prospects are expected to see the big league field this season. 

Three Yankees Prospects Battling for Roster Spot

The obvious names are in the running for the 2026 Yankees opening day roster. Spencer Jones will not be one of those guys. He’s been slated to start the year in the Minor Leagues with an expectation to get the call. 

Elmer Rodriguez and Carlos Lagrange are currently in the fight to crack bullpen spots for opening day. Their advancement seems very likely, sooner rather than later. 

Still lingering in the prospect pool are three players who are projected to make it to the big leagues at some point in 2026. Cade Winquest, Brendan Beck, and Eric Reyzelman are all estimated to get their opportunities. 

Cade Winquest

He may not ring a bell off the bat. This is because the Yankees did not draft him, and he only recently joined the organization.  The club selected the prospect in the Rule 5 draft a few months ago. 

Winquest was a 2022 draft pick by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees now employ him and will need to keep him on the active roster to comply with Rule 5 regulations. He will most likely be a reliever, but not yet in a big league role. 

The prospect will need to pitch his way into a spot but will eventually be a contributor. The right-hander is a sneaky pitcher with a four-pitch mix: fastball, curveball, slider, and cutter. He lives mid-90s on his fastball, low-80s on the slider, and 70s on his curveball. 

Winquest is ranked 17th in the Yankees’ top 30 prospect rankings. 

Brendan Beck 

Heck was a college phenomenon, leading to a round 2 draft in 2021. Tommy John surgery took a toll early in his career, stunting his development and halting his progress. 

This damaged 2024 for him as he did not pitch at all, rehabbing away. 2025 was a huge bounce-back for the right-hander. The prospect threw 131 and ⅓ innings between Double-A and Triple-A, putting up a 3.36 ERA. 

123 strikeouts and 36 walks were a huge collective ratio for the prospect, putting him in good light. He’s shown extremely good command with solid use of his pitch repertoire. Beck has a four-pitch repertoire. 

His fastball is on the low side of 90, but his spot-up ability, complemented by good off-speed, makes him successful. His slider is his out-pitch that works at different levels and is extremely effective. 

Repeatability and strike focus are his top offerings. This makes him a valuable piece in any Major League situation. Beck will expect to get the call within the season. He currently ranks 22nd among the Yankees’ top 30 prospects.

Eric Reyzelman

This right-hander, Reyzelman, is almost fully brewed in triple-A. He’s another client of Tommy John, back in 2020, and the velocity sat high-90s, maxing around 99 mph on his fastball. He’s seen an unexplainable drop in velocity for a few of his options. 

Fundamentally, he’s struggled, and it has affected his numbers. In 2025, he pitched 42 innings, walking 42 and striking out 45. He’ll work short relief out of the pen until he can figure out his hiccups. Reyzelman is also expected to make an appearance in the big leagues. He’s ranked 28th.