Top 10 New York Yankees Prospects (2025)

January 16, 2025

Chris Clegg's top 10 New York Yankees prospects for 2025. The top Yankees fantasy baseball prospects for dynasty leagues with detailed scouting reports.

The New York Yankees farm system does not get much credit, but this organization is constantly developing talent. Sure, outside of Jasson Dominguez, there is not another top 100 prospect in the system, at least in my opinion. But the system is deep and has the upside to continue to develop player that are useful in trades for major league talent, or see through to the Majors.

Today, we will cover the New York Yankees top fantasy baseball prospects heading into the 2025 season. RotoBaller readers can see reports on the top ten Yankees prospects below, and can see the full 30 by heading to the Dynasty Dugout!

So who is on the way to the Bronx, and what to do those players bring to the table for fantasy baseball dynasty leagues? Let's dive in to the New York Yankees top 10 prospects for 2025.

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#1 Yankees Prospect - Jasson Dominguez, OF

Age 22, 5’9”/190, MLB

One of the most hyped prospects on the international market in the last ten years, Domínguez, deemed “The Martian,” was unfairly compared to players like Mike Trout, Bo Jackson, and Mickey Mantle. No one can live up to those kinds of comps, but Domínguez has been pretty dang if we say so ourselves.

Domínguez made his MLB debut in 2023 and was dominant before a UCL injury ended his season after just 33 plate appearances. An oblique injury in addition to the UCL limited him in 2024, but when on the field, the results were good. Spending the majority of the year in Triple-A, Domínguez slashed .314/.376/.504 with 11 home runs and 20 extra-base hits in 58 games. He stole 16 bases and was caught just once. While the MLB surface numbers were not great, Domínguez still put up quite strong numbers under the hood.

A few mechanical tweaks helped lead to the breakout in 2023, including limiting his leg kick and hand load.

The power is legit, as Domínguez posted a 90th percentile exit velocity of 108 mph, putting the power grade firmly plus or better. The contact rates also made a massive jump throughout his career. In the minors, Domínguez posted a 78 percent overall mark and an 89 percent in-zone contact rate. Those numbers carried over to the majors.

Given how hard Domínguez hits the ball, he creates barrels often. People have been quick to point to his 62 percent ground ball rate in a small MLB sample, but it seems that it is primarily related to his oblique injury. For his career, that number has sat around 45 percent, a solid number given Domínguez’s batted ball profile. He is slated to be an everyday outfielder in 2025 for the Yankees and could be a favorite for AL Rookie of the Year.

#2 Yankees Prospect - George Lombard Jr., SS

Age 19, 6’2”/190, A+

After a relatively slow start to the season, Lombard picked things up as the season went on. He's still relatively young, turning 19 in June, and all things considered, he put together a solid first pro-season. The former first-rounder from 2023 is well-built but still has some projection on his frame.

Lombard sits deep in the box at the plate and has a narrow stance before utilizing a small leg kick and getting pretty wide, creating strong hand-to-hip separation. The swing is smooth and fluid, with little wasted movement. Lombard does not expand the zone often, having one of the better chase rates in Single-A.

Lombard slashed .231/.338/.334 for the season with five home runs and 32 extra-base hits. Lombard also stole 39 bases on 47 attempts. The underlying metrics have steadily improved all season. Lombard posted a 102.7 mph 90th percentile exit velocity and had an average exit velocity of 88.3 mph. The contact rates were not ideal, but they were fine, as he had a 73 percent contact rate and just a 76 percent in-zone contact rate. Lombard does show good plate discipline, having a 21 percent chase rate and a 12 percent walk rate in 2024.

Lombard has the frame and power upside, and if he makes enough contact, he could be an intriguing player. He still needs to find loft in his swing, as the ground ball rates were relatively high. Right now, it is gap-to-gap line drive power, but Lombard showed flashes of strong game power in 2024. WIth a good glove and shortstop and strong athleticism, Lombard stands a good chance to continue to develop in 2025.

#3 Yankees Prospect - Spencer Jones, OF

Age 23, 6’6”/235, AA

When he gets off the bus, Jones is a man among boys, standing at 6’6”/235. He is often compared to Aaron Judge, as any big baseball player does. He's a former two-way player at Vanderbilt, but Tommy John surgery also kept him out most of 2022. When he returned during his draft year in 2022, Jones showed tools across the board, landing him in the first round of drafts that summer.

The power comes easy, as you might expect from a size frame, but the long limbs create some swing and miss. The 94 mph average exit velocity puts him among the best hitters in the minors in terms of exit velocity alone. His 90th percentile exit velocity is also incredibly high, just shy of 108 mph while topping out at 114 mph. Surprisingly, he managed just 17 home runs but added 30 doubles and six triples.

We mentioned his athleticism, evident by his speed in the field and on the base paths. With long legs and strides, Jones was able to steal 25 bases last season. He does not have quick acceleration, but he gets faster as he gets going. Jones clocked an 11.00-second triple from a game I was at in 2023. For reference, Corbin Carroll posted the fastest-ever home to third time at 10.75 seconds.

Jones’s contact rates are the issue. He struck out 37 percent of the time and struck out 200 times. His overall contact rate of 59 percent and in-zone contact rate of 67 percent are major issues. The good news is there are respectable chase rates, sitting better than average at 28 percent.

There were improvements as far as launch angles go for Jones, who hit the ball in the air 58 percent of the time, up over five percentage points from 2023. The tools are there. Jones could be a very fun player, but he will only go as far as contact takes him.

#4 Yankees Prospect - Roderick Arias, MI

Age 20, 6’0”/178, A

Arias's career has been a roller coaster to this point. After signing a $4 million bonus in the 2022 international class, he struggled mightily in the DSL as a 17-year-old. Then, last season on the complex, Arias looked the part despite missing time with injuries, but the 2024 season has shown struggles in Single-A.

The overall slash line wound up at .233/.335/.393 with 13 home runs and 42 extra-base hits. Over his final 47 games, a .276/.390/.471 slash with a 24 percent strikeout rate and 18 extra-base hits.

The contact rates look bad, as Arias ended the year with a 65 percent overall mark and a 77 percent in-zone mark. It has trended upward, and Arias chases at a better-than-average clip. The contact rates from July 10 forward were 74 percent overall and 84 percent in-zone, with just a 24 percent chase rate.

I think there is more power in the profile than we have seen. Arias gets deep in the box and uses a big leg kick to help generate loft in his natural uppercut swing. There is plenty of power upside here, and Arias could continue to steal bases even as he ages. The 89 mph average exit velocity was substantial for a 19-year-old, and his 103 mph 90th percentile exit velocity was already close to MLB average.

The stock is way down on him in dynasty, but I might consider buying low, depending on the cost.

#5 Yankees Prospect - Ben Hess, RHP

Age 22, 6’5”/255, NCAA

While Hess's surface numbers in college were not great in 2024, there is more to like about his profile. The Yankees first rounder pitched 68.1 innings this year, posting a 5.80 ERA with 35 walks. The walk rate jumped from 5.5 percent in 2023 to 11 percent this season.

Under the hood, things look a little better, starting with a 3.50 xFIP. Having a four-pitch mix, Hess primarily misses bats with his fastball and curve. The four-seam sits 94 and touches 98, having 19 inches of IVB and 13 inches of horizontal movement. It has a flat -4.6 VAA, making it challenging for hitters to pick up. Sure, it is not the fastball of Burns or Smith, but still an excellent offering.

The curve shows incredible depth, sitting in the mid-70s. It averaged -16 inches of IVB while also having 16 inches of sweeping action, an impressive two-plane pitch. It generated a 58 percent whiff rate. Hess also uses his mid-80s slider as often as he did the curve. It has some ride to it and five inches of horizontal movement. Hess will mix in a mid-80s changeup with impressive horizontal movement, averaging nearly 16 inches. It is a pitch I would love to see further developed.

#6 Yankees Prospect - Rafael Flores, C

Age 24, 6’3”/220, AA

Splitting time equally between High-A and Double-A, Flores slashed .279/.379/.495 with 21 home runs and 31 doubles. Post All-Star break, his slash line jumped to .303/.381/.571 with 12 of his home runs in just 197 plate appearances. A major breakout in the Yankees system, Flores' underlying data fully backed his strong performance.

Under the hood, we saw an impressive 150 wRC+ on the season, and his home run power was backed by a 90th percentile exit velocity in an elite range at 108 mph. Flores’s average exit velocity of 93.5 mph is impressive, but a 115 mph max might be more outstanding.

Flores ended the year with a contact rate just north of 70 percent, but in the second half, it jumped to 74 percent. He posted a strong chase rate of 23 percent, leading to plenty of walks, and the launch angels were quite good, leading to an xwOBAcon of .406.

His strong season earned him the nod as Baseball America’s New York Yankees Minor League Player of the Year. He is not on many radars, it seems, and even if he moves off the plate, the bat could play at first base.

#7 Yankees Prospect - Chase Hampton, RHP

Age 23, 6’2”/220, AA

A sixth-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2022, Hampton burst onto the scene in 2023 in his first professional season, looking more like a first or second-round caliber player than a sixth. After 47 innings in High-A Hudson Valley, in which he posted a 2.68 ERA with 77 strikeouts, Hampton earned a promotion to Double-A. While the ERA looked slightly inflated in Double-A, Hampton still pitched 7 of his 11 starts, allowing two earned runs or less. His 2024 season was derailed by a UCL injury and a groin strain, and he ended up pitching just 18 innings.

Hampton features a lively fastball at 94-95 with an excellent ride in the zone. We are looking at 19 inches of Induced Vertical Break, which is insanely high. It gets a ton of whiffs up in the zone when he is locating well.

The slider is an advanced pitch that Hampton is comfortable throwing to both lefties and righties at 86-87, which gets an insane number of whiffs.

His curveball is a true 12-6 that sits in the upper 70s and changes hitters eye levels well. Hampton also added a cutter in 2023 with a short break and a nice velocity bridge between slider and fastball. He did have a changeup in the upper-80s, but it is not often used.

Hampton’s arsenal is undoubtedly one of a starting pitcher. He had a chance to push toward an MLB debut in 2024, but unfortunately, injuries kept that from happening. In 2025, the goal will be to be healthy and make sure the stuff is fully back.

#8 Yankees Prospect - Will Warren, RHP

Age 25, 6’2”/175, MLB

After being drafted in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, Warren enjoyed a successful first pro season in 2022, reaching Double-A and posting a 3.91 ERA across 129 innings. He equaled that innings total again in 2023, spending most of his season in Triple-A. Returning to Triple-A in 2024, Warren’s season did not go as planned as he posted a 5.91 ERA in 109.2 innings, but the xFIP of 3.75 paints a different picture. Warren also made his MLB debut with the Yankees, throwing 22.2 innings.

Warren throws two variations of his fastball with a four-seam, a low VAA of -4.5, 15 inches of induced vertical break, and 10 inches of run. The sinker sits in the same velocity band at 94, averaging 16 inches of arm-side run and depth, inducing weak contact.

Warren’s sweeper is his best secondary, averaging 17 inches of sweep, which, for reference, would rank 15th in horizontal movement among all pitchers in the Majors. The pitch produced a 44.7 percent whiff rate and had a .223 batting average against. Only one Major League starter had their sweeper had a 40 percent whiff rate last season, and only three starting pitchers averaged 17 inches of horizontal movement on that pitch.

He also mixes another variation of a slider/cutter with more ride and shorter break and averages four mph more velocity than his sweeper. The changeup was Warren’s fourth pitch, sitting in the upper 80s and averaging nearly 15 inches of horizontal movement.

The Yankees tinkered with Warren this year, working on sequencing and grips on his pitches. The hope is that the stuff will play better in 2025 as he gets more comfortable with some changes in the arsenal.

#9 Yankees Prospect - Henry Lalane, LHP

Age 20, 6’7”/211, A

Lalane signed back in 2021 and spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, which usually does not happen with a player of his caliber. But Lalane moved to the Florida Complex League and looked like the best arm. After looking dominant in 2023, injuries took away the 2024 season, as Lalane pitched just 12 innings.

Lalane’s fastball gets on you fast as it sits in the mid-90s but plays up with the extension he gets out of his 6’7” frame. The velocity played down with the injuries in 2024, but Lalane has been up to 97 mph in the past. The changeup plays well off the fastball, sitting in the mid-80s and generating a ton of whiffs with the depth and fade it gets. He rounds out his arsenal with a slider in the upper 70s with plenty of sweep and vertical movement. He throws it away from lefties but can also back door righties with it.

The arsenal is quite impressive and Lalane comes off a strong athlete on the mound despite the tall and lanky frame. If he continues to fill out and add weight and velocity, the upside is high-end starter stuff with Lalane. The 2025 season will be about returning to health and proving he can throw innings.

#10 Yankees Prospect - Ben Shields, LHP

Age 26, 6’4”/210, AAA

It was a long journey for Shields to his MLB Draft date 2023. After beginning college in 2018 at the University of Massachusetts, Shields spent four years there before transferring to George Mason for the 2023 and 2023 seasons. Going unselected in the 2023 draft, Shields signed an undrafted free-agent deal with the Yankees.

Making his pro debut, Shields pitched 104.1 innings between High-A and Double-A, posting a 2.94 ERA while striking out 136 batters. Shields got a brief cameo in Triple-A in May, where he was BABIP’d to death and allowed nine runs in 1.2 innings. He was immediately sent back to High A.

The stuff with Shields is good, and he throws strikes at an impressive clip. Despite being older through his career trajectory, Shields can be fast-tracked and has proved he is durable and can handle innings.

He starts with a four-seam fastball that gets 6’7” of extension and sits around 92 mph. The fastball lacks stand-out traits, but Shields gets good arm-side movement on the pitch and has registered as high as 18 inches of IVB from a lower 5’6” release height.

The slider was used nearly as often as his fastball, sitting 81-82 mph, the same velocity band as his curveball. The two pitches are distinct, though, as both pitches have strong sweeping action, but the curveball has much more depth.

Considering Shields locates his pitches well and threw strikes at a rate north of 65 percent, well above average, he could profile as a backend starter. The track record is short, but Shields can pitch, which is much more important than his age. He could start 2025 in Triple-A and make his MLB debut at some point next season.

For full reports on the Top 30 Prospects in the New York Yankees system and the Top 50 ranked, head to the Dynasty Dugout for more of Chris's work!

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