The Arizona Fall League serves as a way for prospects to get extra work, and the Yankees will send six different prospects this season to get more reps. After their Double-A affiliate concluded their season with a loss in the Eastern League Championship Series, it marked the end of Minor League Baseball for the Yankees’ organization in 2024, but we’ll still see these six names over the coming weeks.
Caleb Durbin, Rafael Flores, Garrett Martin, Jackson Fristoe, Harrison Cohen, and Ryan Harvey will go to the AFL and these names bring their own interesting skills to the table.
Breaking Down the 6 Yankees Headed to the AFL
Headlining this group of prospects will be Caleb Durbin, who played in the AFL last season as well and boosted his stock a good bit. The 24-year-old utilityman was a bright spot in a bleak year for the farm system, posting a 129 wRC+ with a career-high 10 home runs in 82 games at the Triple-A level. His excellent baserunning and defensive value make him a potential option for the 2025 Yankees, especially with Gleyber Torres set to hit free agency at the end of the season.
Joining him will be Baseball America’s MiLB Player of the Year for the Yankees’ organization, Rafael Flores, who broke out in 2024 and hit plenty of home runs. With 21 home runs across 122 games, the right-handed hitting catcher only improved after reaching Double-A, hitting 15 round-trippers in just 65 games. With exit velocities reaching 113 MPH with quality plate discipline, he could make plenty of noise with a stint in the AFL similar to how Durbin did last year.
The final position player heading to Arizona will be outfielder Garrett Martin, an undrafted free agent who spent his entire season with the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Yankees’ High-A affiliate. He hit 12 home runs with a 114 wRC+, swiping 17 bases but struggling with his contact rates and batting average. Already 24 years old, Martin will benefit from more playing time ahead of a 2025 campaign that could begin in Somerset at the Double-A level.
READ MORE: Yankees’ manager calls out Gleyber Torres for base-running issues
On the pitching side of the ball, Jackson Fristoe will head to Arizona after tossing just 38.1 innings with a 3.79 ERA in Hudson Valley. The right-hander has good stuff with excellent life on his fastball, but his poor walk rate (17.1%) raises red flags about his ability to remain a starter. There’s a lot to like in his profile and perhaps this time could allow him to refine himself mechanically, as he has yet to reach the 50-inning mark in a single season since being drafted.
His fellow teammate Harrison Cohen will head there as well after a dominant year out of the bullpen for Hudson Valley, striking out 32.9% of batters faced with a 1.4% walk rate. He allowed just two earned runs across 19.1 innings, and this allows him to get more innings under his belt and build more momentum towards what could be a big 2025 campaign for the 25-year-old.
Ryan Harvey is the final arm heading to Arizona, and he experienced a rough 2024 campaign in Single-A, posting a 6.03 ERA and 13.5% walk rate as a starter. His four-seamer generates a ton of ride, but his command issues have made it hard for him to consistently miss bats and get outs. More work in the AFL could help him tweak his mechanics and combat his location-based issues.