Reviewing the Yankees' Top Prospects (Part 2)

Reviewing the Yankees' Top Prospects (Part 2)

by James Vlietstra

June 16, 2025

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This next group of prospects range from some of the youngest and least experienced players to some of the oldest and most experienced players. Let’s dive right in as we continue with MLB Pipeline’s Yankees top 30 prospects with number 11…

11.        Edgleen Perez. The 19 year old catcher is already in full season Tampa. His OBP isn’t bad at .365 but his slugging percentage is only .224. I guess the best strategy for now is keep throwing him out there and hope he starts hitting. Overall he gets good reviews for his catching skills. 

12.        Everson Pereira. The 24 year old outfielder is on the 40-man roster and made his debut back in 2023. He was hurt much of last year, but he’s back at AAA hitting .259/.353/.494. At the very least he’s a number four outfielder in the big leagues, just unlikely on the Yankees. He’s the kind of MLB-ready player Brian Cashman trades at the deadline to open up a roster spot.

13.        Mani Cedeno. The Yankees big IFA signing of 2025, The 16 year old earned a $2.5M bonus. The shortstop has just begun playing in the Dominican Summer League. It’ll probably be 2027 before he even comes stateside and could be 2029 when he starts a full season league, so be very patient with him. 

14.        Cade Smith. The 23 year old RHP was the Yankees 6th round pick in the 2023 draft. He made it to High-A Hudson Valley last year. He is currently on the injured list and has yet to pitch this season.

15.        Rafael Flores. The Yankees signed Flores in 2023, after he went undrafted in the amateur draft. Baseball America named him the Yankees 2024 Minor League Player of the Year. The catcher is continuing to put up solid numbers at AA Somerset where through 127 career games he’s slashing .277/.347/.500. About half of those games have been this year. 

16.        Gage Ziehl. The Yankees selected the RHP in the 4th round of the 2024 draft. The 22 year old has pitched 43 of his 47 innings in Tampa and overall has a very impressive k/w rate of 5.57.

17.        Carlos LaGrange. The Yankees signed the 22 year old out of the DR for $10,000 in 2022. The 6’7” RHP throws very hard, reportedly exceeding 100 mph. Prior to this year, he walked 78 batters in 104.1 innings. That’s well over 6 ½ walks per 9 innings. This year, he has 18 walks in 51.2 innings, a much more manageable 3.1 per 9. Along with his 12.5 k/9, gives him a k/w rate of 4.0. If he has found his control, expect to see him skyrocket up prospect lists. 

18.        Kyle Carr. The Yankees 3rd round pick in 2023. The 23 year old LHP is pitching for Hudson Valley where he’s having an adequate but not outstanding year. 

19.        Jorbit Vivas. The 24 year old second baseman made his MLB debut earlier this season when Jazz Chisholm was injured. He played solid defense but was overmatched at the plate as he hit only .156/.255/.267. But he did get some important playing time and experience. He’s back in AAA Scranton where he has a .306/.429/.444. I would expect better results if they need him again. With Lombard and Roc Riggio climbing the ranks, he could be dealt at the deadline to open up a roster spot. 

20.  Clayton Beeter. The Yankees acquired Beeter from the Dodgers for Joey Gallo in 2022. The 26 year old made his MLB debut last season. The Yankees have transitioned him off of his latest injury to the bullpen where he’s struck out 14.7/9. However his walk rate is 7.0/9. He has two more options left but the clock is starting to tick on him. 

MORE...

The Yankees have lots of former players and prospects that are currently playing for other teams. Here’s a list of them and their current WAR, per Baseball Reference. 

Juan Soto 3.0

Carlos Narvaez 2.4

Josh Smith 1.9

Andrew Heaney 1.7

Aroldis Chapman 1.5

Luis Severino 1.4

Gleyber Torres 1.4

Jose Trevino 1.4

Isiah Kiner-Falefa 1.3

Sonny Gray 1.2

Tommy Kahnle 1.1

Mike Tauchman 1.0

Zack Little 0.9

Rob Refsnyder 0.9

Greg Weissert 0.8

Jameson Taillon 0.8

Andrew McCutchen 0.8

Garret Whitlock 0.7

JP Sears 0.7

Luis Torrens 0.7

Caleb Durbin 0.7

Justin Wilson 0.6

Enyel de Los Santos 0.5

Caleb Ferguson 0.5

Janson Junk 0.4

Jake Bauers 0.4

Mitch Spence 0.3

Nick Burdi 0.2

Andrew Benintendi 0.2

Anthony Banda 0.2

Lou Trivino 0.2

Tim Mayza 0.1

Brooks Kriske 0.1

Alex Verdugo 0.1

Jon Berti 0.1

Dillon Tate 0

Agustin Ramirez 0

Rob Brantley 0

Brandon Lockridge 0

Matt Bowman 0

Mickey Gasper -0.1

Ezequiel Duran -0.1

Miguel Andujar -0.1

Yoendrys Gomez-0.1

Chad Green -0.2

Cody Poteet -0.2

Kaleb Ort -0.2

Oliver Dunn -0.2

Elvis Peguero -0.2

Trey Sweeney -0.3

Kyle Higashioka -0.3

Nestor Cortes -0.3

Thairo Estrada -0.3

Gary Sanchez -0.4

Jorge Mateo -0.5

Nick Solak -0.5

Matt Sauer -0.5

JP Feyereisen -0.5

Tyler Wade -0.5

Ben Rortvedt -0.7

Eric Wagaman -0.7

Joe Mantiply -0.8

Gio Urshela -0.8

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Editor's Note - Today's graphic was created by Google Gemini from the following prompt: "Please create a graphic of a general (dressed as a NY Yankee baseball player) reviewing a line of younger future Yankees players all standing at attention."