Following the first part of this three-part series ranking the Yankees‘ top 30 prospects, we’re getting into what’s arguably the most interesting part of the list. Here’s where you have some talented names who are trending upward (or downward), and the gap between each player is a bit smaller as well. There’s not a ton to take out of a guy being ranked 17th versus 18th, but I am excited to some degree about what each player on this list could become if something were to click for them down the stretch or next season.
Going through our 20-11 spots of the top 30, we’re in the second part of ranking the Yankees’ top prospects after the trade deadline.
No. 20: Brando Mayea | OF | Level: CPX | B/T: R/R
Brando Mayea is in a pretty similar boat as Francisco Vilorio, although he has two seasons where he hasn’t popped whereas Vilorio has just one. The difference is that Mayea has a ton of talent, and you can see why the Yankees were so high on him, but as mentioned earlier the talent has to translate onto the field eventually. He’s fallen pretty hard in my rankings, but now he has to prove that he’s more than just a high-upside teenager.
The positives are that Brando Mayea is still 18 years old, and a 100 wRC+ in the FCL isn’t the most disastrous outcome for him, but the power never came together and he’ll need to make some serious strides next season. I wonder if the Yankees have him start next season in the FCL or if they graduate him to Single-A, but the highly touted IFA will have to be the prospect he was expected to be sooner rather than later.
There’s a lot of speed and athleticism here, but it’s getting late early for Brando Mayea and it was certainly a disappointing season for him.
No. 19: Rafael Flores | C | Level: AA | B/T : R/R
Remember when Ben Rice came out of nowhere in August last season to become one of the top prospects in the Yankees’ organization? Well, it’s not the same kind of meteoric rise, but Rafael Flores is looking like the breakout prospect on the farm right now in Somerset. The right-handed hitting catcher crushed it in Hudson Valley this season, posting a 146 wRC+ and hitting six home runs in 57 games, but he’s improved upon the power numbers in Double-A.
He’s hitting for a lot more power, with 11 home runs in 39 games, and his .896 OPS stands out for a player just making a very difficult jump. The 23-year-old has the raw power to launch baseballs with authority, and I really think he can stick at catcher long-term. He’ll have to make more contact to climb this list, but from an undrafted free agent to one of the top prospects in this organization, I’d say Flores is doing pretty well for himself.
At no point in his career was Rafael Flores just handed opportunities based on his baseball status; to make it as far as he has despite that is a testament to his character and on-field abilities.
No. 18: Clayton Beeter | RHP | Level: AAA | B/T: R/R
Clayton Beeter was putting together an incredible season as the ace of a really good Scranton RailRiders pitching staff, but a shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the year will likely spell the end of his 2024 campaign. The right-hander began firing four-seamers with 18 inches of ride while sitting roughly 93 MPH, and the slider played up even more thanks to his fastball getting more ride.
He has one of the best pitches in the entire organization with that disgusting slider, a pitch that hovers around the zero line in terms of short-form movement for really tight bullet spin. What makes it even better is his high release height, and while I think Beeter is more of a reliever than a starter, I think he’s proved me wrong compared to how I viewed him in Spring Training.
A whiff machine who isn’t afraid to walk a batter instead of giving in, Clayton Beeter is poised to earn a job on the 2025 Yankees.
No. 17: Cade Smith | RHP | Level: A+ | B/T: R/R
It’s funny to talk about Cade Smith right after Clayton Beeter because I never thought I’d be talking about someone else having a better gyro slider than Beeter. Well, guess what? The Mississippi State product is throwing a near-perfect gyro slider with a 48.2% Whiff Rate and .191 wOBA against this season. He’s not going to blow it by you, sitting at around 93 MPH on the four-seamer, but the good life vertically and his release height are super deceptive.
His curveball is a great weapon as well, and he’s been the strikeout king thus far in Single-A before finally getting promoted to High-A. The right-hander is simply one of the most dominant arms at his level right now, and while he doesn’t have the raw velocity to rank much higher on this list, he’s the kind of guy who is both good enough and projectable enough to soar in 2025.
Cade Smith reminds me a lot of a pitcher like Jack Flaherty, and I wouldn’t be shocked to hear teams calling about him if the Yankees conduct any trades this winter.
No. 16: Jorbit Vivas | 2B | Level: AAA | B/T: L/R
Jorbit Vivas has hit a bit of a slump in the second half, but his overall season has been pretty encouraging all things considered. The left-handed swinging infielder has versatility, playing both second and third base, and his on-base skills are remarkable. His power can come and go, but his all-around skills are encouraging with his strong swing decisions and good feel for contact.
The upside here isn’t massive for similar reasons to the ones mentioned for Caleb Durbin, but he’s a bit younger and I do believe that he has a more conventional path to the big leagues. The gap between the 16th and 23rd best prospects in an organization is minimal though, and we’ll have a better picture of both players when the season comes to an end. It’s easy to see how Vivas is liked though, the swing just kind of begs for the short porch in right field.
An aggressive-swinging middle infielder who has hit the baseball nearly 110 MPH this season, Jorbit Vivas was made in a lab to hit in New York.
No. 15: Roderick Arias | SS | Level: A | B/T: S/R
This really hurts, Roderick Arias is one of the most talented players in the organization in terms of just raw tools, but he doesn’t have the feel for contact to warrant a higher ranking on this list. He’s had stretches where the strikeouts have gone down and the production has been there, but not at a consistent enough rate for me to rank him higher on the top 30.
It’s weird to talk down on a prospect with the speed and power that Arias possesses, but it’s also not right for me to lie and just feed you public hype about a prospect who just doesn’t check off many boxes for me. Arias is in the 68th Percentile in SEAGER and he hits the ball decently hard, but it’s not enough to mask a 14th Percentile Zone Contact Rate nor is it enough to have him higher on this list.
I mentioned some flags with his contact rates entering the season, ranking him near the bottom of the top 10 coming into the season, but maybe he will find a way to turn it around. He’s still supremely talented.
No. 14: Edgleen Perez | C | Level: CPX | B/T: R/R
I know this is an aggressive ranking, but just trust me on this one. Edgleen Perez is one of the most exciting young players in the organization, as he had a 138 wRC+ in the FCL as an 18-year-old. He started the season at just 17 years old, running a lower strikeout rate than his walk rate, and there are a lot of positives regarding his defensive skills. The Yankees have done a great job developing defensive catchers, and he’s another example of that trend.
Edgleen Perez is a two-way catcher who has the upside to become so much more if he taps into his power, and considering the value that comes with being a great defensive player at a premium position, any sort of offensive talent is a plus.
A projectable catcher who burst onto the scene in his first season in the United States, Edgleen Perez is a toolsy teenager who could become one of the best prospects in the organization.
No. 13: Thatcher Hurd | RHP | Level: N/A | B/T: R/R
It’s a bit aggressive ranking a third-round pick this high in the Yankees’ organization, but Thatcher Hurd might have the liveliest stuff of any pitcher in the farm system. The right-hander possesses a power fastball that sits at around 95 MPH with roughly 18 inches of Induced Vertical Break. His fastball already picks up a good amount of whiffs, and he pairs it with a really strong slider as well.
His slider gets two-plane movement at high velocities allowing it to be an excellent whiff pitch, and he has some interesting pitches that could develop into tertiary pitches. The Yankees have a strong track record when it comes to developing velocity and breaking balls, so this is the right organization for someone like Thatcher Hurd to take a leap.
A projectable hard-thrower who had the talent to go in the first round, Thatcher Hurd is one of the most electric arms in the organization.
No. 12 Everson Pereira | OF | Level: AAA | B/T: R/R
Everson Pereira is one of the most interesting hitters in the organization because when it comes to doing damage on contact, few MiLB hitters can stack up. The problem is that he can’t make much contact and now, he’s rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery. Elbow reconstruction surgery is far less destructive for position players, but it does knock him out for the rest of the season and puts the Yankees in a weird position with him.
There are some outfield prospects ahead of him on the depth chart, but he is only 23 years old and hasn’t spent much time at the Minor League level because of his injury issues. Pereira has all of the talent in the world and could become a strong outfielder at the next level if he makes an acceptable amount of contact, but the problem is that we have no idea if he can ever come close to doing that.
An uber-talented outfielder who makes ridiculously good swing decisions and crushes the baseball, Everson Pereira has too many tools to give up on.
No. 11 Brock Selvidge | LHP | Level: AA | B/T: L/L
Brock Selvidge hasn’t particularly pitched well in Double-A, struggling to locate in-zone and not missing enough bats to make up for it. He does keep the ball on the ground, and his 3.98 FIP isn’t horrible, but this isn’t going to make me sell all of his stock. It’s a hard jump to make and Selvidge is only 21 years old, perhaps he just needs time to find his roll and put himself in the conversation for a Triple-A promotion to open the 2025 campaign.
Will Warren, Chase Hampton, and others immediately struggled in Somerset and saw a regression in their strikeout rate among other things, so this could be a good learning experience for him. Whether that means developing a new pitch or improving his sequencing/command, the framework is there for him to be an excellent starter. He has multiple strong secondaries and the fastball is good enough, but he’ll have to do more to climb into the top 10.
Unfortunately for Selvidge, he’ll have to wait until next year to climb this list, as he was placed on the 60-day IL and likely won’t be able to return this season.