Pitchers and catchers report to George M. Steinbrenner Field next Tuesday for the official opening of the New York Yankees' 2025 season.
As always, most of the focus will be on the major-league roster, but there will be a few prospects in camp worth keeping an eye on, too.
The Athletic's prospects writer, Keith Law, released his top 20 players in the Yankees' farm system on Monday. The Athletic's Yankees writers, Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty, take their examination of the farm system below.
The Yankees' farm system appears to be in a state of flux both in the short term and long term.
The prospects considered by many to be among their best had uneven campaigns last year. First, let's look at the offensive side. The team didn't trust Jasson Domínguez, their top overall prospect, enough defensively to play him over Alex Verdugo and his struggling bat after a brief audition in September and into the playoffs. Outfielder Spencer Jones, who they hope can approximate Aaron Judge's skill set, was considered by many to be their second-best prospect and he struck out so much at Double A (36.8 percent) that he may have to repeat the level. Oswald Peraza was in the mix for the starting shortstop job going into 2023 and two seasons later he appears to be the team's last-resort option at third base and is out of options. Shortstop George Lombard Jr., their 2023 first-round pick, had an uneven season at Low A despite earning a promotion to High A in the fall, and despite garnering lots of praise inside the organization and outside for his baseball IQ and work ethic.
On the pitching side, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón are each signed through 2028, locking up two of the rotation spots. Max Fried is signed through 2032. That means less room for top prospects Will Warren (Triple A) and Chase Hampton (Double A) or 2024 first-round pick Ben Hess, who hasn't pitched professionally yet.
Then again, maybe all that misses the point.
The Yankees have done well in recent years trading their mid- to high-end prospects for big-league talent (Joey Gallo, Anthony Rizzo, Jazz Chisholm Jr.). Perhaps the Yankees currently view their farm system's ability to develop players they can trade to be just as important as developing them to play every day in the Bronx.
As manager Aaron Boone said at the Winter Meetings, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."
OF Jasson Domínguez (No. 22), SS George Lombard (No. 98)
Domínguez is the likeliest prospect to impact the major-league team this season, as he's projected to be the Yankees' starting left fielder. Boone said last week that the plan is to have Domínguez play nearly all of his games in left field because they don't want him moving around as he gets comfortable in the majors. Domínguez was shaky in left field last season but he displayed excellent range and speed in center field coming up through the system; with time, he should be able to adjust in left field.
Outside of Domínguez, the only other prospects who could play in the majors are depth pieces. Ben Rice graduated from prospect status. Warren and Everson Pereira are still prospects. Warren made a few starts in the majors last season, and he'll likely do the same if there are injuries. Pereira has immense power but hasn't shown much of an ability to make enough contact. But if the Yankees are thin on depth, he's an option.
Note: This only includes players under contract and players in the minor leagues. This isn't meant to be a projection of who they may or may not sign or trade for in the next two years.