Ryan Garcia
Gone are the April showers, and we’re taking a look back at the first month of Yankees’ Minor League action to evaluate the top prospects in the system and some rising names.
There were a lot of positives in the system through the first month which isn’t always the case when you’re coming into a season with a heavily-taxed system and a compromised draft class due to Qualifying Offer penalties.
New York entered the season with a bottom-half of the league system that lacked depth beyond the top 5-6 names, but they’re starting to find some gems that can populate the 10-20 range.
Ranging from the best prospect in the system to a 15th Round Pick who looks like a top 10 prospect in the system right now, here’s the latest on the Yankees’ farm system.
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What’s Going On With the Yankees’ Top Prospects?
George Lombard Jr. (#1): A 20-year-old who has climbed all the way to Triple-A already, George Lombard Jr. has displayed solid bat-to-ball skills while generating strong exit velocities.
He has a watchful eye that results in plenty of free passes, having an approach that reminds me a bit of Trent Grisham’s in how extreme the patience can be.
There’s too much patience at times, but the raw power is good enough to think that Lombard could make a couple of tweaks and find 15-20 HR seasons in the big leagues while rocking a strong OBP.
Defensively he’s remained elite; there’s versatility at all three infield positions but I would still hyper-focus on shortstop as the position where he’d provide the most value to the organization.
Carlos Lagrange (#2): The Yankees have seen some monstrous pitch data from Carlos Lagrange in Triple-A, including the addition of a wicked two-seamer that’s sitting around 99 MPH.
Poor command continues to plague Lagrange, who has a sub-60% Strike% and looks way more like a reliever being stretched out to start than someone that should be in an MLB rotation right now.
He has a 30% K-BB% in the first inning but completely falters with his command after the fact, which indicates to me that the best way to extract short-term value from Lagrange would be to have him work out of the bullpen.
The reason I’m abandoning some of my priors regarding Carlos Lagrange needing to remain stretched out as a starter even if things aren’t going well for him has to do with how good his stuff is right now.
Pitchers at Carlos Lagrange’s age think they’re invincible and it holds them back, the thing is, he’s different; when consolidated into a 1-2 inning role, he actually is invincible.
Elmer Rodriguez (#4): A wild start to his MLB career might have some people wondering if he can actually become a mid-rotation starter or not, but I think there’s a lot of overindexing occurring here.
Nerves were a factor in these starts alongside the fact that he faced the same opponent twice, an opponent who had prepared to be in take mode all evening against Rodriguez in their second matchup.
You can see a lot of the early damage prevention abilities that stem from a nasty sinker with good lateral movement and deep mix that allows him to keep hitters off-balance.
His fastballs don’t grade out well in Stuff+ models but his secondaries are excellent, I view him as a Merrill Kelly or Jordan Montgomery type of pitcher that produces solid-not-elite value.
Bryce Cunningham (#6): Finally back from the injured list, Bryce Cunningham’s changeup looks back to his Vanderbilt form, but his fastball velocity is still lagging behind.
The hope is that he can regain some zip on it as he continues to stretch out and the weather warms up, because the ability to spin a slider and curveball while having a power changeup is a strong foundation to work witgh.
Cunningham gets good life and extension on his fastball at the top of the zone, so I’m hoping for some more 95-96 MPH heaters than the 93-94 MPH fastballs we’ve been seeing to start 2026.
Spencer Jones (#7): I’m going to shock everyone by informing them that Spencer Jones has struggled to make contact but when he makes contact the ball goes a very long way.
In all seriousness all of the concerns I have with Jones are still relevant and all of the strengths in his game are there, I’m not sure the Yankees have a need for a left-handed hitting outfielder right now but injuries could change that.
The handwaving of a Zone Contact% that is right around Munetaka Murakami’s in the Major Leagues right now is a bit odd to me, Jones has very clear holes in his game and if you see his swing it’s easy to find those pitches to beat him with.
If you can elevate anything about 90 MPH away from him it’ll result in a whiff, he has the opposite field power to crush baseballs on the outer-half of the plate out of the yard but the mechanics of his swing leave him exposed up in the zone.
This isn’t a hitter who can be called up to help a pennant-contender unless there is an injury that demands it, but maybe there’s some runway he gets in-season to prove that conclusion to be untrue.
Injuries: Dax Kilby, Ben Hess, Chase Hampton, Thatcher Hurd, and Pico Kohn are all on the IL or rehabbing and therefore do not have much for me to provide beyond our pre-season write-ups.
Prospects Who Will Shoot Up Our Mid-Season Rankings
Mac Heuer (#12): A hard-throwing burly right-hander out of Texas Tech, Mac Heuer has a lot of the traits that the Yankees optimized with Cam Schlittler and that excites me greatly.
This isn’t to say he’s going to make the same absurd improvements that Schlittler did after going pro, but his 95 MPH fastball with life and riding cutter at 93 MPH are real plus pitches.
He possesses a big curveball and a sweeping slider as well, there’s inconsistency with his command in-zone but the raw stuff and overall upside is easy to dream on.
This won’t be a big riser numerically because we were already high on him entering the 2026 season which is how he ended up at no. 12 in our top 30, but he should enter the top 10 barring injury.
Kaeden Kent (#13): A polished collegiate bat from Texas A&M, Kaeden Kent has looked incredibly poised at the plate, displaying a remarkable feel for the zone with a plus hit tool.
The .395 BABIP is unsustainable which is why that .346 AVG should come down as the season goes on, but his excellent line drive rates and high contact rates could produce above .300 BABIPs regularly.
Defensively, Kent has played a capable shortstop while moving around the diamond at third base and second base as well, but in his college days he played first base and some corner outfield too.
He doesn’t have the eye-popping physical tools of a Spencer Jones or Carlos Lagrange, but his secondary skills are excellent and if he can find some more pulled flyballs, he could be an above-average MLB bat.
Allen Facundo (#17): The left-hander was way too good for Single-A and showed it in his first three starts with the Tampa Tarpons, finally earning a promotion to High-A Hudson Valley.
Sitting in the mid-90s with a four-seamer and sinker, Facundo’s velocity is enticing and there’s reason to believe he could develop his secondaries to the point of being a capable MLB starter.
His slider is a nasty whiff machine but the changeup lacks the separation off of his fastball that’s needed to get right-handed batters out, and his strike-throwing abilities are questionable.
With the ability to touch 99 MPH in his backpocket, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees eventually chose to consolidate Facundo’s role and leaned into his raw upside.
Jack Cebert (#18): Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: The Yankees drafted a right-handed pitcher with good spin capacity who has abnormal release points and throws a sweeper.
Said draftee was selected in the later rounds and has now popped up as one of the ~10 best prospects inside the organization thanks to a combination of enticing traits.
His sinker and four-seamer have good and distinct movement from each other, sitting around 92-94 MPH while getting good extension on both pitches.
The sweeper he throws has eye-popping movement in the low-80s and he pairs it with a cutter that needs some work, but has become more of a weapon for him as he’s continued to throw it.
With a 21.6% K-BB% and a GB% above 50%, Cebert has some pitched incredibly well and was accelerated to Double-A as a result of his immediate MiLB success.
Luis Serna (#27): We ranked Luis Serna in the backend of the top 30 solely because of how good his pitch shapes looked after returning from surgery last summer.
That gamble has paid off; while there are some concerns about Serna’s command that I still have, the swing-and-miss abilities that he has displayed as a result of his nasty screwball are encouraging.
His fastball is in the 92-95 MPH range with good ride and tailing action, and while I’m not sure this is a future starter, I am sure that the stuff would play well in relief.
Serna is only 21 years old, he has plenty of time to get up to Double-A and potentially make some noise for a potential 40-man spot entering 2027.
Dexters Peralta (NR): I expect to place Dexters Peralta in the top 30 in the midseason update after already matching his home run mark from last season in just three games (2).
His contact rates have been a concern for me and while we need more time to see that stabilize, the addition of some power will put less pressure on his hit tool.
An athletic defender at shortstop who could actually stick at the position, Peralta could get a promotion from the Complex League to Single-A if he keeps up this production.
Ben Grable (NR): Probably the most MLB-ready prospect below Triple-A in the system right now, Ben Grable possesses a dominant pitch mix with a fastball in the mid-90s with good ride and a tight gyro slider.
The right-hander has come out firing from Indiana, sporting a 1.59 ERA with a 48.8% K-BB% in 11.1 IP so far, reaching Double-A after a cup of coffee in Hudson Valley.
I’m fairly certain that Grable will contend for MLB innings by 2027 if he stays healthy, as he has a chance to be a relatively rare internal bullpen find for the Yankees.
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