Despite some significant trades and some high picks not panning out so far (since 2019’s Anthony Volpe, who is a top 10 overall prospect, so I’d say that one is panning out), this system is still reasonably strong, with some high-upside guys up top and down in the complex league. They do have a lot of hard throwers in the system and should be able to continue to use those guys for trades going forward.
GO DEEPER
MLB prospect rankings 2023: Keith Law’s complete guide to every farm system
The ranking
1. Anthony Volpe, SS (Top 100 ranking: No. 8)
Age (on July 1): 22 | 5-11 | 180 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 30 in 2019
Volpe got off to a terrible start in 2022, hitting .203/.312/.373 through the end of May — and that’s with a four-hit game on May 28. He’d been working through some swing changes in those two months, but in late May/early June he decided to go back to his old swing, and it showed, as the 2019 first-rounder hit .279/.369/.528 the rest of the way for Double-A Somerset, earning a September promotion to Triple A to finish the year. Volpe has a beautiful right-handed swing — I don’t know why anyone would try to mess with it — that produces a lot of quality contact and keeps the ball in the air for extra-base power, although I think he’ll settle in as more of a high-doubles guy who might hit 20 homers than a 30-homer guy. He’s a 55-60 runner but it plays up on the bases because he has great instincts both for reading pitchers and reading situations. While at shortstop, he’s got great hands and gets himself into the right position to make plays more than most shortstops I see. I caught a lot of Volpe last year, and he was playing a different game than his teammates. We talk about how the game speeds up for some players as they move up the ladder; Volpe plays like the game is too slow and he’s waiting for it to catch up. I don’t know for a fact that the Yankees have sat out the free-agent shortstop market because they think Volpe’s a star, but I think Volpe’s a star, so I can hardly blame them.
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2. Jasson Dominguez, OF (No. 32)
Age: 19 | 5-10 | 190 pounds
Bats: Switch | Throws: Right
International signing in 2019
Is there a bigger example of a “post-hype prospect” than Domínguez? Touted as the next Mickey Mantle as the Yankees gave him their entire international bonus pool when he was 16, he didn’t get to play in a minor-league game until he turned 18 because of the pandemic. He hit a very credible .258/.346/.398 in full-season ball, for Low-A Tampa, in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League in 2021, as one of only three 18-year-olds to get at least 200 plate appearances in the league (along with Alex Ramírez, also on this list). He returned to Tampa this year as a 19-year-old, still young for the level, improved to .265/.373/.440, moved up to High-A Hudson Valley, hit .306/.397/.510 there, and finished with a week in Double-A Somerset. I’ll recap: He started 2022 with 57 games of pro experience, total, and that’s all he had had since signing in July of 2019. He ended up hitting well enough in High A that he would have finished in the top 10 in the Sally League in OBP and slugging if he’d qualified. Why do I get the sense people think he’s a disappointment? And it’s not like he lacks tools — he has electric bat speed, 70 raw power, 70 run, probably 70 defend in center. He does have work to do as a hitter, and during that one week in Double A you could see he needs to learn to adjust to pitchers who can change speeds on him and locate their secondary stuff more than anything he’s seen before. The body is maxed out, but there’s also no need for him to get stronger or develop more power. I see a guy with three plus-plus tools who is the age of a college sophomore and has earned his way to Double A. What’s not to like?
3. Oswald Peraza, SS (No. 76)
Age: 23 | 6-0 | 200 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
International signing in 2016
The Yankees have an enviable problem in their upper minors: Their shortstop of the future, Anthony Volpe, isn’t actually their best defensive shortstop prospect, who is also a very promising player in his own right. Peraza is a plus defender at short right now, and a plus runner, with enough power that he could be someone’s starter right now in the big leagues. He’s power over hit, however, as he jumps early in the count and needs to be more selective. He only saw about 3.6 pitches per plate appearance in Triple A, and his approach is too pull-oriented; if he tries to use the whole field more, which he can do effectively because he covers the outer third pretty well, he has a chance to be a more complete hitter without sacrificing that much power. He’s got a pretty high floor even if he’s a .290 OBP hitter, because he might be worth 8-10 runs with his glove and hit 15-20 homers. There’s a better player in here, though, if he becomes more selective and less pull-centric.
4. Everson Pereira, OF (No. 86)
Age: 22 | 6-0 | 191 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
International signing in 2017
Pereira signed for $1.5 million back in 2017, but due to a number of injuries and the pandemic, he entered 2022 with only 108 pro games and fewer than 500 career plate appearances. He finally got a full season in 2022 and showed why the Yanks invested in his future, with some power, some speed, some defense, and some crudeness at the plate that you might expect from a 21-year-old with such limited experience. He’s still a very good athlete who shows excellent bat speed and good carry off the bat, with above-average game power right now that’s trending toward plus; with his contact quality at age 21, he’s got a good chance to end up a 25-30 homer guy at his peak. His approach is still raw, with a strikeout rate of 27 percent in High A and 30 percent after a midseason promotion to Double A, but he also swings at too many pitcher’s pitches and expanding the zone down or away. He’s at least a major-league average defender in center right now, also trending the right way, although whether he ends up plus there depends on how much he fills out physically. He’s still a high-variance prospect who could never make enough contact to be a regular, but just by virtue of staying healthy for 102 games last year, he showed that he at least has the potential to be an impact hitter who hits for average and power while providing value on defense.
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5. Antonio Gomez, C
Age: 21 | 6-2 | 210 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
International signing in 2018
Gomez signed back in 2018 for just $600,000 as a good catch-and-throw guy who might come into some power, with strong hands and hip rotation, but he had barely played when the pandemic hit and still had just 241 pro plate appearances when 2022 began. After a brutal April, he started hitting and getting to more power for Low-A Tampa, finishing with a .287/.346/.445 line from July 1 onward. He’s 6-foot-2 and very strong, big but in a good way for a catcher, which should translate into plus power as he continues to mature. It’s plus catch and throw, future plus power, and now he’s showing more feel to hit as well.
6. Luis Serna, RHP
Age: 18 | 5-11 | 162 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
International signing in 2021
Serna was one of the best pitching prospects in the Florida Complex League last year at age 17, with a fair bit of projection left. Born in northwestern Mexico, just over the line from Arizona, Serna was 92-94 mph last year with a plus changeup with tremendous deception and late bottom; the only negative aspect to the pitch is that it’s slow, 71-77 mph, so there’s gigantic separation between that and the fastball. He has both a curve and slider, showing enough with both to think one of them will be average or better. Serna’s just 5-foot-11 right now, so there will always be doubts about him starting. If he puts in a full year at Low A this year, that should dispel a lot of them.
7. Spencer Jones, OF
Age: 22 | 6-7 | 225 pounds
Bats: Left| Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 25 in 2022
Jones was the Yankees’ first-round pick last July out of Vanderbilt, where he played right field after giving up pitching in the wake of Tommy John surgery. He’s huge, 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, and makes appropriately hard contact for someone his size, although that’s never translated into game power — he hit 12 last year for the Commodores, second on the team behind catcher Dominic Keegan. There’s significant risk with position players this height, as very few have even reached the majors and fewer still succeeded, one of whom is currently in the Yanks’ outfield. The strike zone is larger, and guys this size don’t generally stay healthy. The upside is also pretty significant, as he’s athletic enough to play above-average defense in right and that hard contact could end up as 25-30 homers, or maybe just 50 doubles with a high average.
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8. Austin Wells, C/DH
Age: 23 | 6-2 | 220 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 28 in 2020
Wells has a solid left-handed swing and hits right-handed pitching very well, enough that he has a high floor as a bench bat who can be a third catcher and probably play some first base. He has a ways to go against left-handed pitching, as he scuffled against any offspeed stuff from southpaws once he reached Double A. He’s also very unlikely to remain behind the plate — he’s a well-below-average blocker and receiver and his arm stroke makes him a fringy thrower at best. Most teams want more defense out of their catchers than what Wells will be able to provide. The bat would be more valuable if he stayed there, of course, but I don’t see how he does it, and it was a unanimous sentiment of scouts I asked about him this year as well. I think he figures out lefties enough to have a solid major-league career as that backup/emergency catcher who plays first or DHs and hits enough to always have a job somewhere.
9. Will Warren, RHP
Age: 24 | 6-2 | 175 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 243 in 2021
Warren was the Yanks’ eighth-round pick in 2021 as a fourth-year junior out of Southeastern Louisiana University, making his pro debut last spring in High A and pitching well enough to see Double A by June. He’s been up to 97 mph but pitches more at 91-95 mph as a starter with a big 11/5 curveball, low-80s slider, and a firm changeup that’s his worst pitch. There’s effort to the delivery with a stiff landing, so he throws strikes with far more control than command. He has fourth starter upside, with a higher probability that he’s a reliever between the below-average command and fringy changeup.
10. Brock Selvidge, LHP
Age: 20 | 6-3 | 205 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 92 in 2021
Selvidge was their third-round pick in 2021 and had a solid pro debut in the Gulf Coast League, working 89-94 mph with a plus slider and average changeup. The Yanks had him go slider-heavy in the complex league, which might hold up the development of his fastball command, producing good results with his best pitch but not making full use of his arsenal. He’d been up to 96 mph as a high school underclassman and if he regains that velocity as he fills out, I could see him as a fourth starter or a tick more, although that’ll mean working on command and developing his other two pitches beyond the slider.
11. Yoendrys Gómez, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-3 | 175 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
International signing in 2016
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Gómez had elbow surgery in August 2021 and missed the first half of 2022, coming back with the same stuff but less command. He’s 93-96 mph with better feel to his arm side than glove side, showing a four-pitch mix where the slider and change would flash above-average but the curveball was often just bad. He’s been flyball-prone in the past and saw that exacerbated last year, which I attribute to the rust and reduced command but still bears watching. He’s a clear starter for me with this repertoire and average control, with some health risk but also command risk that’s somewhat new.
12. Randy Vasquez, RHP
Age: 24 | 6-0 | 165 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
International signing in 2018
Vasquez is 92-95 and shows enough of a slider and changeup to project as a starter, although a high-effort delivery that also has him starting on the extreme third-base side of the rubber hold him back. He did make every start for Double-A Somerset last year, striking out 120 with 41 walks in 115 innings, showing a modest platoon split despite a 55 changeup thanks to that mound position and a slight cutoff in his landing. I don’t love how he does it but I could certainly see him ending up in the back of someone’s rotation.
13. Sean Hermann, RHP
Age: 20 | 6-0 | 160 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 423 in 2021
The Yanks’ 14th-round pick in 2021 out of a Tampa high school, Hermann debuted last year in the GCL and later the Florida State League, filling up the strike zone with a three-pitch mix where the slider and change might project to above-average. He’s not very tall or filled out right now, and gave up more hard contact than you’d like to see, including eight homers in two fairly pitcher-friendly environments. There’s a good swingman in here if he fills out and adds some velocity, with back-end starter an unlikely but possible ceiling.
14. Clayton Beeter, RHP
Age: 24 | 6-2 | 220 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 66 in 2020
Beeter was acquired from the Dodgers for Joey Gallo, which only was possible because the pitcher has had trouble staying healthy in pro ball. He sits 94-96 with two plus breaking balls, a hammer curveball with high spin in the low-80s and a shorter, vertical slider in the mid-80s, both of which miss a ton of bats. The fastball plays below its velocity, and he has no changeup for lefties, giving up a .385 OBP to them last season. He did make 23 starts last year while working with pitch limits, throwing 77 innings on the season with a 37 percent strikeout rate and 13 percent walk rate. There is a major-league role for him as he is now, probably in bulk relief, but I would love to see him try a splitter or split-change to see if he can turn over a lineup three times.
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15. Trey Sweeney, SS
Age: 23 | 6-4 | 200 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 20 in 2021
Their first-round pick in 2021 out of Eastern Illinois, where he hit .382/.522/.712 as a junior, Sweeney didn’t hit much at High A or Double A last year, with similar numbers at both levels and a composite line of .240/.349/.413. He’s a very good athlete who might even have some projection left in his body, with a plus arm that should let him slide over to third base. He didn’t strike out excessively last year, but when I saw him in Double A, he struggled with better-quality stuff. Right now, he looks more like a utility infielder who can fill in at short and handle third or second but lacks the hit tool to play every day.
16. Drew Thorpe, RHP
Age: 22 | 6-4 | 190 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 61 in 2022
Thorpe was the Friday night guy for Cal Poly last spring, throwing a ton of strikes with just a 45 fastball, going heavy on his plus changeup and above-average slider. He’s 6-foot-4 but on the slender side, with some scouts concerned about durability, although I don’t agree since he doesn’t have a lot of effort and is very efficient with his stuff. It’s really about the fastball — it’s a four-seamer without great life, and while the Yankees are the ideal team for them given their organizational philosophy of deemphasizing fastballs, that can only take you so far if your fastball is too easy to hit.
17. Elijah Dunham, OF
Age: 25 | 6-0 | 213 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 1,204 in 2019
Dunham signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020 after turning down the Pirates in 2019 when they took him in the 40th round as a draft-eligible sophomore at Indiana. He spent all of 2022 in Double A, hitting .248/.349/.448 while flipping between left and right field. He’s a balls-to-the-wall sort of player who has some surprising athleticism and enough juice to profile as a possible fourth outfielder, although I’d like his odds more if I knew he could play center.
18. T.J. Rumfield, 1B
Age: 23 | 6-5 | 225 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 355 in 2021
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The Phillies took Rumfield in the 12th round in 2021 out of Virginia Tech, then traded him that winter to the Yanks for Nick Nelson. He missed over two months due to injury but made a lot of hard contact for High-A Hudson Valley and again in the AFL, where he hit .400/.477/.582 against probably worse pitching than he’d seen in the regular season. I wish he had another position or put more balls in the seats, because he can hit.
19. Trystan Vrieling, RHP
Age: 22 | 6-4 | 200 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 100 in 2022
Vrieling is a lot like a poor man’s Thorpe — he’s got a below-average fastball but three average if not better secondary pitches that he uses more heavily. He has good deception to get a little more out of the fastball, while he doesn’t have Thorpe’s command and control. The four-pitch mix and delivery give him a chance to start, at least.
20. Jeisson Rosario, OF
Age: 23 | 6-1 | 191 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
International signing in 2018
Claimed from the Red Sox before the season, Rosario can hit a fastball and doesn’t chase, lacking much power but with enough bat-to-ball skills that I was surprised the Yanks left him in Double A all season. He repeated the level, so his .243/.363/.409 line isn’t that great, but he improved his walk rate and his power (from three homers to 11) year over year. He may not fit on the Yanks’ roster but I think he’s a big leaguer off the bench.
Others of note
Andres Chaparro can hit and has plus power, but he’s at least 50 pounds over his listed weight — he’s just too big to be anything but a designated hitter and I worry about anyone that size staying healthy even over the medium term. … Right-hander Richard Fitts got off to a miserable start last year as a 22-year-old in Low A, giving up a ton of hard contact against younger hitters, including nine homers in 36 2/3 innings in his first nine starts. From that point on, though, he was a different guy: 69 1/3 innings, five homers, 79 strikeouts, nine walks and a 2.08 ERA, including a promotion to High A for the final five starts of the year. I don’t want to overweight recent performance but Fitts has a solid-average fastball and plus split-change, sliding to the sixth round in 2021 because of a foot injury. Just one to watch for this year to see if he carries it forward to Double A.
2023 impact
Peraza is their best shortstop option right now, although Volpe should see the majors this year as well.
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The fallen
Josh Breaux’s modest breakout in 2021 didn’t last, as the Yankees’ second rounder from 2018 hit just .219/.283/.422 as a 24-year-old between Double A and Triple A while throwing out just 14 percent of runners when he caught.
Sleeper
I’m really looking forward to seeing what both Gomez and Serna do this year; I’ll take Gomez as my sleeper because he’s the position player and maybe carries less risk.
(Top photo of Anthony Volpe: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
