This article is part of a series focusing on each MLB team’s Top 20 prospects for fantasy baseball heading into the 2026 season. Stay tuned for prospect breakdowns for all 30 teams throughout January here at Pitcher List, and be sure to check out all our published pieces in the series here.
Top Yankees Prospects
The Top Tier
1) George Lombard Jr. Jr. – 20 Y/O SS
MiLB Stats: .235/.367/.381 / 9 HR / 35 SB / 25.2% K / 15.0% BB
When dynasty managers deem a prospect the top player in an organization, that’s a loaded choice. You’re not just betting on tools; you’re betting on timeline, opportunity, and the kind of steady progress that eventually turns “prospect” into “big leaguer.” Shortstop George Lombard Jr. checks those boxes, and he does it with the polish you’d expect from someone who’s been around the game his whole life.
Lombard is the son of six-year MLB veteran George Lombard Jr., and the brother of future 2026 first-rounder Jacob Lombard, which is to say: he didn’t stumble into this. The Yankees took him in the first round in 2023, and he’s made consistent, notable steps forward since. He’s not going to jump off the page as a pure power bat or a gaudy stolen base record-holder, but everything he does is clean. And when a player’s entire profile is “does a lot of things well,” that’s usually the kind of foundation that carries.
Lombard spent most of 2025 in Double-A for his first taste of that level. His 111 wRC+ in 108 games wasn’t some loud, top-10-in-baseball type of production, but it also wasn’t the full story. He scuffled early with batted-ball luck, and the jump in pitching quality did what it tends to do: it spiked the strikeouts. That late-season 30.5% strikeout rate after Aug. 1st is the red flag, and it’s worth circling. But as the batted-ball luck normalized, the power started to show up more consistently, and the overall offensive output stabilized.
The physical tools are there for him to be a solid, well-rounded shortstop at the big-league level, and the power is a little more real than the box score crowd might assume. His ISO and home run totals have climbed year over year, and when you pair that with three consecutive seasons of 30-plus stolen bases and a patient, high on-base approach, you’re looking at a fantasy profile that fits a lot of builds. He doesn’t chase much, and once he got past the Double-A shock, he was one of the better hitters at barreling the ball at that level.
The Yankees have Anthony Volpe at shortstop, but his glove and speed don’t make him untouchable, just ask any Yankees fan who’s lived through a cold streak and a couple too many rushed throws. Lombard would be hard-pressed to make his MLB debut in 2026, especially if he returns to Double-A to iron out that swing-and-miss trend. But the call shouldn’t be far off, and as long as New York doesn’t block him with a major signing at shortstop, he’ll have plenty of runway to prove himself in the Bronx.
2) Dax Kilby – 19 Y/O SS
MiLB Stats: .353/.457/.441 / 0 HR / 16 SB / 13.6% K / 16.0% BB
Another Yankees first-round shortstop, Dax Kilby went from “late first-round curiosity” to one of the class’s most productive bats in a hurry. The Yankees snagged him late in the opening round, a pick plenty of people labelled a reach in real time, and Kilby responded the way you’d hope any teenager does: by making the draft room look smart.
Kilby’s first taste of affiliated ball in Low-A, plus his fall instructional run, has him climbing prospect rankings. The former Clemson commit already looks unusually polished at the plate for his age, pairing strong strike-zone discipline with excellent bat-to-ball skills. According to Prospect Savant (highly suggest bookmarking that site), Kilby stood out as a true outlier with an 11.11% chase rate (98th percentile) and a 15% whiff rate (94th percentile). Add in league-topping speed and a 104.2 mph EV90, and you can see why dynasty managers are suddenly paying attention.
Even without a home run in his pro debut, his .353/.457/.441 slash line with more walks than strikeouts screams “high-value prospect,” especially in OBP formats. The steals push it further. Kilby swiped 16 bags and was caught just once in 18 games. That’s a high-ceiling basestealing profile at worst, and it gives him a fantasy floor that a lot of teenage infielders don’t have.
How aggressive he stays, and how that approach evolves as he fills out, will be something to watch. But even if he adds muscle to chase more power output, the wheels should keep him in the 20-plus stolen base neighborhood. The blemish is defensive: he’s athletic enough to play shortstop, but his best fit may be elsewhere due to below-average arm strength. Whether that means second base or a move into the outfield, the bat and legs should get him on the field.
Is there helium here? Absolutely. Kilby went from a fringy FYPD target to “one of the Yankees’ best prospects” in a blink. But the athleticism is real, the hit tool is one of the best for his age, and the positional flexibility could actually help him, especially in a fantasy landscape that’s painfully shallow at second base. Kilby isn’t a five-tool player, but he has the chops to help in plenty of categories. Now is the window to invest if your league hasn’t caught wind yet.
3) Carlos Lagrange – 22 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 120.0 IP / 3.53 ERA / 33.4% K / 12.3% BB
The title of top Yankees pitching prospect is a contentious one, with two righties battling for that top spot. If there’s a 1A option, it’s Carlos Lagrange for me. The variance in outcomes is very high for Lagrange, hence the meager $10,000 bonus he signed for out of the Dominican Republic in 2022. But since then, Lagrange’s fastball and overall ceiling have rocketed up, and his first full season of work split between High-A and Double-A only raises his stock further.
Lagrange had never pitched more than 41.2 innings in a season before logging 120.0 between the two levels in 2025. This was a breakout year for him, and he got his walk-to-strikeout profile to a more palatable place. The strikeout stuff has always been there, thanks to a big fastball that touched 102 mph this past season. The 22-year-old still has a lot to prove in the coming years, but after 15 starts in Double-A, he’s sitting prettier than most players who entered pro ball the way he did.
The fastball is his best offering, but he has a solid surrounding arsenal, with a gyro slider and sweeper as his next most-used pitches. The changeup isn’t as consistent, but it’s a work in progress that could determine whether Lagrange sticks as a middle-rotation arm or becomes a high-leverage reliever.
Lagrange’s 6’7” frame can get the best of him at times, with the mechanics waning later in starts or something clearly out of whack for half-innings. That’s one reason evaluators see a potential high-end bullpen weapon here, but the upside in the rotation is massive. He should head to Triple-A in 2026, where his strike-throwing will really be put to the test.
4) Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz – 22 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 150.0 IP / 2.58 ERA / 29.0% K / 9.4% BB
If Lagrange is the Yankees’ 1A pitching prospect, Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz is the 1B. A stealth acquisition from Boston (for a backup catcher) in late 2024, Rodriguez-Cruz bloomed into one of the minors’ most effective starters in 2025, and he did it with the kind of volume you can’t hand-wave. He led all Yankees farmhands in innings (150) and strikeouts (176) while posting a sparkling 2.58 ERA, earning Baseball America’s Yankees MiLB Player of the Year honors.
Rodriguez-Cruz is listed at 6’3”, and after adding muscle (he’s reportedly up around 180 pounds now), the fastball came with him. The velocity jump is real: he went from low-90s looks to sitting 96-98 and touching 99, and that heater plays even louder because of the run and carry. New York also encouraged him to lean into a broader mix, and that has raised both his ceiling and his margin for error. He now flashes a sweeper and sinker in addition to a gyro slider, curveball, and changeup. That’s a lot of shapes, and when a guy is throwing this hard with this many options, you start to understand why he took off.
The Double-A transition didn’t slow him down much, either. He posted a 1.41 ERA in his first five starts at the level, and while we can talk small samples, it’s still a meaningful sign that he wasn’t overwhelmed by “the separator.”
For dynasty purposes, Rodriguez-Cruz is the kind of arm who fits both timelines. He has strikeout upside, he’s already proving he can handle real innings, and he’s close enough that the 2026 impact is in play. Relief risk is always present with pitchers like this, but he throws enough strikes and has enough pitch mix to keep the starter path alive. He should open 2026 in Triple-A, which puts him one phone call away from the Bronx.
And if the rotation path gets crowded, or the command backs up, the bullpen floor is still exciting. Triple-digit heat with multiple breaking looks can turn into leverage in a hurry. Either way, Rodriguez-Cruz has moved from “nice story” to “real dynasty asset,” and 2026 is going to decide how quickly he forces the Yankees’ hand.
5) Spencer Jones – 24 Y/O OF
MiLB Stats: .274/.362/.571 / 35 HR / 29 SB / 35.4% K / 11.5% BB
Few prospects can match the fantasy ceiling of Spencer Jones: a 6’7” lefty outfielder with cartoonish power and the kind of athleticism that doesn’t make sense until you watch him glide in the outfield. In 2025, Jones blasted 35 home runs (second-most in MiLB) and stole 29 bases, basically checking every “this is why we play dynasty” box in one season.
He hits the ball extremely hard as his 90th percentile exit velocity at 108.4 mph sat in the 97th percentile among Triple-A hitters, and he’s capable of leaving a stadium to any part of the park. The power played at Triple-A, too, with 19 homers in 67 games during one stretch. Add in that he can actually run and handle center field, and you start to see the kind of profile that gets compared to the loudest names in the sport.
And then you see the strikeouts.
Jones punched out 179 times in 2025, also second-most in MiLB, translating to a 35.4% strikeout rate that’s hard to build around without holding your breath every plate appearance. Pitch recognition, especially against spin, has been the issue, and his contact rates have lagged behind his tools for a while. The good news is there was talk of a late-season mechanical adjustment that helped him find something, and even a modest step forward in contact would change the entire outlook. If Jones can pull the K-rate down into the high-20s instead of the mid-30s, the rest of the profile can breathe.
The Yankees added him to the 40-man roster, and he’ll be in the 2026 mix. Dynasty managers should understand the bargain they’re making: the upside is a 30+ HR, 20+ SB monster; the floor is a frustrating, volatile bat that never quite makes enough contact to be trusted. That’s the gamble, and it’s why he’s one of the most fascinating prospects in the system.
6) Ben Hess – 23 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 103.1 IP / 3.22 ERA / 33.0% K / 10.9% BB
Ben Hess was the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2024 (26th overall), and his first full pro season in 2025 showed exactly why New York was willing to bet on the frame and the stuff. At 6’5” and 250 pounds, Hess is built like a workhorse, and he pitched like one across High-A and Double-A: 103.1 innings, a 3.22 ERA, and a 33.0% strikeout rate that jumps off the page.
The fastball sits 92-96 and has touched 99, and it plays up because it gets on hitters in a hurry. Hess pairs it with two breaking looks that can miss bats, led by a mid-80s slider that can flash plus, and a bigger curveball that helped him rack up whiffs in college. The profile is easy to like when you see the strikeouts. The question is whether the command can get to a place where he can turn a lineup over consistently.
The walk rate (10.9%) is the wart, and it’s been part of his story dating back to Alabama. The encouraging bit is that it improved after the promotion, which matters more than the season-long line. Staying healthy for a full workload also matters, given his injury history. If the strikes keep trending in the right direction, Hess can climb quickly. If the control backs up, the bullpen path gets louder, and the stuff might play even better there.
In dynasty, Hess is a high-variance stash with a power arm’s range of outcomes. Monitor the walks early in 2026. If they’re down, you may be looking at a fast riser.
Prospects Dynasty Managers Should Know
7) Bryce Cunningham – 23 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 54.1 IP / 2.82 ERA / 25.0% K / 8.6% BB
Bryce Cunningham might not have the first-round glow, but the Yankees’ overslot second-round pick from 2024 is already making the kind of early impression that forces people to learn the name. A Vanderbilt product with a plus changeup, one of the best in his draft class, Cunningham posted a 2.82 ERA in High-A across his first 12 appearances and backed it up with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League.
He works off a low-to-mid-90s fastball (93–97) that plays better when he elevates it, and the changeup is the separator. It’s a hard, late-moving pitch in the upper-80s that’s tough for hitters to square up, and it gives him a real weapon against both lefties and righties. The slider is more of a work-in-progress, but New York has a strong track record of sharpening that shape, and if it gets to above-average, Cunningham’s value jumps.
For dynasty, he’s a “buy before the breakout” arm. The mix, the strike-throwing, and the development environment all point to him becoming a fast mover in 2026.
8) Chase Hampton – 24 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: Did not pitch in 2025
Chase Hampton’s story is equal parts “why the Yankees liked him” and “why pitching prospects break your heart.” A sixth-round pick in 2022, Hampton surged in 2023 and looked like one of the system’s most polished starters, and then injuries caught up. He underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring 2025 and missed the entire season.
The stash case is simple: if Hampton comes back looking like his 2023 self, he has the arsenal and command to be a useful starter with strikeout utility. The risk is equally simple: post-TJ timelines take patience, and not every pitcher returns with the same feel. He’s on the 40-man roster, which tells you the Yankees still believe, but dynasty managers should view him as a long-hold with SP4/5 upside if everything returns.
9) Thatcher Hurd – 23 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: Did not pitch in 2025
Thatcher Hurd is the classic “stuff made him a name, command made him fall” profile. Once trending as a higher pick, Hurd slid to the Yankees in 2024 and then underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2025, so he hasn’t thrown a pro pitch yet. The fastball/slider combo is loud when he’s synced, but the strike-throwing is the question that will determine whether he starts or ends up in a leverage bullpen role.
In dynasty terms: deep-league lottery ticket, heavy patience required, wide range of outcomes.
10) Brock Selvidge – 23 Y/O LHP
MiLB Stats: 82.2 IP / 4.68 ERA / 18.9% K / 12.2% BB
Brock Selvidge is a post-hype name, but not a dead one. He was pushed aggressively, reached Double-A young, and even made the Futures Game in 2024. Injuries and inconsistency made 2025 a mess, and the stat line reflects that, including a walk rate that has to improve for the starter path to hold.
The arsenal is still starter-shaped, led by a sweeping slider that can flash above-average, plus a mix of fastball/cutter/change. The fantasy ceiling is limited if the strikeouts stay modest, but a healthy Selvidge can still carve out a back-end rotation role down the line. Watch the walks early in 2026. If they stabilize, he’s back on track.
11) Cade Smith – 23 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 39.2 IP / 2.50 ERA / 26.1% K / 11.2% BB
Cade Smith isn’t the kind of prospect who gets the glossy writeups in March, but he’s the kind who forces people to pay attention in October. A sixth-round pick in 2023 out of Mississippi State, Smith turned heads with a dominant Arizona Fall League, where his breaking balls played like cheat codes. The slider generated a 63.6% whiff rate, and the curveball wasn’t far behind at 60%, some absurd numbers, even with the usual “small sample” caveat attached.
Smith is a spin-first arm. The fastball is more functional than fear-inducing (around 92 mph on average), but it doesn’t have to be the star when he can tunnel it off two breaking looks that hitters struggle to even touch. He’s shown the ability to keep batters uncomfortable from start to finish, and his overall minor-league results back it up: a track record of missing bats and limiting damage.
The role question is what drives his dynasty value. Smith has started in the minors in spurts (often in opener/piggyback usage), but the fastball quality likely steers him toward a multi-inning bullpen path in the majors. That isn’t useless in fantasy, especially in holds leagues, but it does cap him if saves aren’t in the picture. Still, there’s a clear lane here for strikeouts and ratios, and those are worth rostering in deeper formats.
12) Mac Heuer – 21 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 2025 Draftee
Mac Heuer is one of those picks that will make sense later. The Yankees took him in the eighth round of the 2025 draft out of Texas Tech and paid overslot ($400,000) to get him into the system, despite the college stat line being… not pretty. A 6.12 ERA over two seasons isn’t what teams normally chase, but the Yankees weren’t drafting the results, rather the ingredients.
Heuer is huge (6’5”, 265) and already works in the mid-90s, sitting 93-95 and touching 98. There’s projection in both the frame and the delivery, and the Yankees tend to love these “give us the clay and we’ll shape it” arms. He flashed strikeout ability in college and didn’t show disastrous control, which matters more than the ERA for a player like this.
For dynasty managers, Heuer is an early-stash name in deep leagues. He’s the type who can look like nothing for a month, then suddenly show up with better shape on the breaking ball and a tick more velo and become a “how is he still available?” pickup overnight. The first real checkpoint will be where he opens in 2026 and how the secondaries look in April.
13) Jack Cebert – 23 Y/O RHP
MiLB Stats: 6.1 IP / 2.84 ERA / 44.0% K / 4.0% BB
Jack Cebert was a 15th-round pick in 2025, but the Yankees didn’t treat him like a typical late flier. They gave him a $150K bonus and pushed him straight to High-A in a brief pro cameo, and he responded by striking out 12 and walking one in 6.1 innings. It’s a tiny sample, but it’s the kind of tiny sample that makes you look up from your spreadsheet.
Cebert comes from Texas Tech and has a “pitcher-ish” profile: not a radar-gun guy, more a strike-thrower with feel and a slider he trusts. If he sticks as a starter, he’ll likely be more real-life valuable than fantasy, but there’s a decent chance the Yankees test him in shorter stints where his stuff plays up, and the whiff rates stay interesting.
He’s a monitor name more than a must-roster in most leagues, but in deeper formats, this is exactly the kind of arm who can sneak into relevance quickly if the org stays aggressive with assignments.
14) Stiven Marinez – 18 Y/O SS
MiLB Stats: 32.0 IP / 5.34 ERA / 40.9%% K / 26.8% BB
The DSL Yankees haven’t had many true “circle the name” bats lately, but Stiven Marinez gives you a reason to check in again. He’s a young, left-handed-hitting shortstop who showed an advanced idea of the strike zone for his age, and that alone puts him in a rare bucket for a 17-year-old. Teenagers who walk a ton and keep the swing-and-miss in check usually have something worth betting on.
This is still an early-stage profile as more of a table-setter than a middle-of-the-order threat, but the foundation is attractive in dynasty. If Marinez gets stateside and continues to post strong on-base numbers in the complex, he’ll be the kind of name that starts popping up in “deep sleeper” conversations by summer. And once that happens, the price usually changes fast.
For now, he’s a watch-list staple in deeper leagues, and a speculative add in the very deep ones. The first big tell will be whether the Yankees push him to the Florida Complex League and how the contact holds.
15) Richard Matic – 18 Y/O 3B
MiLB Stats: .336/.487/.566, 5 HR / 11 SB / 22.5% K / 20.9% BB
If you’re looking for the “whoa” stat line in the lower levels, it’s Richard Matic. At 17, he ran through DSL pitching like he was late for a flight, posting a .336/.487/.566 slash with a 20.9% walk rate. That’s not just good, that’s the kind of dominance that turns a low-profile international signing into a legitimate asset.
The appeal here is the blend. Matic didn’t just run into a few homers; he controlled the zone and did damage. He showed patience, impact, and enough athleticism to steal 11 bases, which hints at more overall fantasy utility than a typical corner-only teenager. Reports on him are consistent: projectable frame, big raw power, and the kind of approach that usually gives a prospect multiple chances to fail and adjust.
Dynasty managers in deeper leagues should already be circling him. This is the exact kind of player who becomes a helium rocket the moment he hits the complex and keeps walking. The strikeout rate is the one piece to monitor as the pitching quality improves, but you can’t ask for much more from a 17-year-old’s DSL season.
The Next Five
Although these prospects do not crack the Top 15, dynasty managers should keep their eyes on these five players.
16) Brendan Beck: A former Stanford ace, Beck lost two years to Tommy John surgery but returned in 2025 and reached Triple-A. He’s older and more polished than most pitching prospects, which gives him a realistic chance to contribute sooner rather than later. The fastball isn’t premium, but the cutter/slider mix and command can carry him. If the Yankees need innings in 2026, Beck feels like the type who gets the call because he won’t beat himself.
17) Pico Kohn: A 2025 fourth-rounder out of Mississippi State, Kohn is a big lefty (6’4”) with a starter’s mix and a track record of missing bats. He’s coming off Tommy John, so there’s some natural reliever risk, but the K/BB foundation is strong, and the arsenal has depth (fastball/slider plus curve and change). He’s a name to track early in pro ball, and this is the kind of pitcher who can jump tiers quickly if the command holds.
18) Kaeden Kent: The son of Jeff Kent brings a solid college resume and a patient approach, but his first pro look was a reminder that there’s a difference between college pitching and life in High-A. The ingredients are still interesting: left-handed bat, some pop, walks, and defensive versatility. If he settles in and the contact quality shows up, he could become one of those “boring until he isn’t” infielders who contributes across multiple categories.
19) Kyle Carr: Kyle Carr is the type of pitcher who won’t headline prospect lists but keeps surviving levels because he knows how to get outs. He’s a command/mix lefty who profiles as a durable back-end starter. The strikeouts likely won’t carry fantasy squads, but deep-league managers should remember the name in case he finds himself in a run of spot starts due to injuries. Useful arms like this tend to appear when you least want to scramble.
20) Henry Lalane: Lalane is a “health decides everything” name. He flashed real raw stuff before a shoulder issue wiped out a chunk of his 2025 and reportedly dragged the velocity down when he returned. If the velo bounces back after a full offseason, he’s right back in the breakout conversation, because lefties with a good changeup can chew through the lower minors. If it doesn’t, the profile gets hard to hold. Keep him on the watch list and track the radar gun early in 2026.
