With the year coming to an end, it’s time to reflect on another year of the Yankees’ farm system, where they rebounded from a poor 2024 season just in time for Brian Cashman to pull off an active trade deadline.
There are still plenty of good players from that list of breakouts and positive stories who remain inside the organization, and we’re highlighting the five biggest breakouts from the farm system in 2025.
Not only are we factoring in the progress they made from 2024 to 2025 in their prospect status and profile, but we’re also looking at the helium they have going into the 2026 season.
This list will not be comprised of players who just had big years, but also showed that there’s still a much higher ceiling they can reach while having the momentum to inch closer to it.
READ MORE: The Yankees are playing with fire with Anthony Volpe in 2026
No. 5: Did the Yankees Find Their Next Caleb Durbin
Brendan Jones’ scrappy profile was one that initially seemed very reliant on the wild command of lower-level MiLB pitching, not swinging often and making tons of contact as a result.
Taking a massive uptick in Swing% once he reached Double-A, Jones gave back some of that contact to add more pull-side power and producing a 132 wRC+ with the Somerset Patriots.
An elite basestealer with good speed, Jones runs excellent walk rates and should produce a better-than-average strikeout rate, and his newfound pull-heavy approach on flyballs make him an excellent fit in Yankee Stadium.
He reminds me a lot of Caleb Durbin, who quietly had a good 2023 season with key improvements as the year went on, ending the year in Double-A and getting an aggressive promotion to Triple-A.
Jones trades off more contact for power and patience, the kind of profile from the left-handed side that tends to perform fairly well in the Bronx.
Once a prospect who didn’t find himself on top 30 lists when he was drafted out of college, he’s a competitor for a top 10 spot in our upcoming list and could end up becoming a quality fourth outfielder on a contender by the end of 2026.
No. 4: Dual-Threat Outfielder Generating Real Buzz In Year 1
Dillon Lewis has big-time power from the right-handed side and he displayed it at the Single-A and High-A levels for the Yankees’ Minor League system.
His 22 home runs and 26 stolen bases gave him a 20/20 campaign while showing improvements in his offensive profile when he got promoted a level to Hudson Valley.
Lewis hits the ball incredibly hard, exceeding exit velocity reads of 113 MPH and having an average exit velocity above 90 MPH in 2025.
The contact rates and strikeout rates improved when he was promoted from Single-A to High-A, and after hitting .162 with a 39 wRC+ in his first 20 MiLB games, he hit .251 with a 136 wRC+ and 21 HRs in just 102 games.
It’s a weirdly flat swing that has so much force in it that he can attack the ball out in front and consistently launch it over the left field fence, and he’s got some serious helium carrying into 2026.
No. 3: Best Fastball in Minor League Baseball?
The Yankees didn’t just find a really fun breakout pitcher this past season in Carlos Lagrange, they found someone with perhaps the nastiest repertoire in Minor League Baseball.
A 98 MPH fastball that gets up to 103 MPH, the shape on this heater is utterly elite when factoring in the ride he gets on that pitch and the lower-than-expected release height.
He developed a disgusting changeup that sits in the 89-90 MPH with good depth and tail that he can use in tandemn with a gyro slider and big sweeper to rack up whiffs even when the fastball is off.
Lagrange has some poor command issues still, but he experienced a monumental decrease in walk rate while going from Single-A to Double-A in less than 365 days.
If there’s one more improvement left in terms of executing pitches consistently, Carlos Lagrange might end up being that frontline starter who can usher in a new era in the Bronx.
In the scenario where that leap never occurs, I could see him becoming a lockdown reliever who has the stuff and demeanor to overpower opposing lineups.
No. 2: A Trade That Might End Up Being a Win for the Yankees
Elmer Rodriguez has a deep bag of tricks, throwing six different pitches with regularity while having good velocity and a weird release point to go with it.
His sinker generates a ton of called strikes and soft contact on the ground, locating the pitch consistently on the first-base side of the plate for great results.
A refinement of his split-changeup made it a high swing-and-miss pitch alongside his sweeper and curveball, and this trio of pitches is where Rodriguez collects the majority of his swinging strikes.
He possesses a four-seamer and slider as well, and while I’m not big fans of the shapes he has on these pitches, they serve an important role of mixing up looks and have real room for improvement.
The pitchability is advanced, and that’s one of the biggest selling points about Rodriguez’s profile as he can move the ball around the plate and is comfortable using all of his weapons regardless of the situation.
Back in June it would have seemed crazy to suggest that the Yankees even had a chance of winning a trade that involved giving their rivals in Boston a starting catcher, but Rodriguez could end up being the real deal in New York.
No. 1: The Yankees Might Have a New Top Prospect
Dax Kilby was drafted this past July, but he saw a meteoric rise in the Yankees’ prospect rankings due to an excellent showing in Single-A with the Tampa Tarpons.
The excellent contact rates while displaying good exit velocities and athleticism makes for a hitter who could have a high ceiling if he finds more loft in the swing.
He’s patient and makes smart swing decisions and will be just 19 years old when he opens the 2026 season, there’s chance that pro journey continues with an immediate promotion to High-A Hudson Valley as well.
Kilby is an excellent athlete who likely has to be moved off of shortstop, but that aforementioned speed and mobility could make him a centerfielder depending on what the Yankees outline for his future.
If the Yankees’ 2025 first-round pick makes the adjustments you would expect a prospect to make in their first offseason as a pro, this could be a consensus top 50 prospect by the All-Star Break.
More about: New York Yankees
