Burning Questions for the Yankees Farm System Entering Spring Training

With the beginning of spring training comes renewed optimism for the season ahead. It is the best time for fans to start buying stock in the players and team they support. However, it is also a time of questioning what the future holds. In this regard, we are looking at the Yankees minor league system and asking some questions that likely won’t be answered just in spring training, but that we might be able to glean from exhibition action. With that said, here are 3 burning questions for the Yankees farm system as spring training gets underway.

1.      Where Does Offensive Production Come From

The Yankees had a very strong season in 2025 from an offensive perspective. However, a large chunk of that production was shipped off at the trade deadline, with 5 additional bats being shipped off in offseason trades. Here is the complete list of hitters dealt since July (and their wRC+): Browm Martinez (187), Jesus Rodriguez (118), Parks Harber (163), Roc Riggio (171), Rafael Flores (140), Edgleen Perez (91), Brian Sanchez (128), Everson Pereira (127), Marshall Toole (148), Dillon Lewis (121), Brendan Jones (126), Juan Matheus (115), Dylan Jasso (115), and T.J. Rumfield (121). That is a lot of production leaving throughout all levels of the organization. While the top core of George Lombard Jr., Dax Kilby, and Spencer Jones should provide offense for their teams, new faces will have to step up.

While the aforementioned Kilby has become the star of the 2025 draft class, he is not the only name that has some potential. 3^rd round pick, Kaeden Kent, brings with him the pedigree of his Hall of Fame father. While his post-draft performance left something to be desired, Kent does bring with him SEC experience, as well as very solid swing decisions, contact rates, and ability to pull the ball in the air. Core Jackson, the 5^th round pick, had some of the best exit velocities in the NCAA last year. Meanwhile, 16^th round pick Jackson Lovich had an extraordinary 351 wRC+ in just 6 games in Low-A Tampa before getting hurt. With other names such as Kyle West, Richie Bonomolo Jr., and Bryce Martin-Grudzialanek worth monitoring, some solutions may come from this past July’s draft.

Elsewhere in the organization, potential stateside arrivals of Richard Matic, Queni Pineda, and Stiven Marinez (among others), could impact an FCL squad that struggled last season. Lastly, bounce back years from guys like Francisco Vilorio, Engelth Urena, and maybe even Roderick Arias, along with the guys completely back from injury such as Brando Mayea and Enmanuel Tejeda, can fill in some of the gaps left behind. For a system that is seriously lacking in depth on offense, this may be the most critical question of the season for the farm, and one I anticipate keeping a close eye on.

 

2.      How do Pitchers Returning from Injury Look/ Do any Notable Arms go Down?

The fragility of pitchers’ arms is well known in baseball fandom. Seemingly at any moment, a pitcher can be struck down for months due to something as simple as any ‘achy’ back. On the positive spin of this, the guys we mourned for last year will now be making their triumphant returns. The most notable name among those is Chase Hampton. After a dominant 2023 season, Hampton was held to just 18.2 innings, in which he exhibited very diminished stuff, due to a spring training flexor strain.  Then just about this time last year it was announced he would be undergoing elbow surgery, ending his 2025 before it even began. We have already seen a few clips of him on the fields at the Yankees Tampa complex, but how he looks when he steps back on the mound is the most important thing. If Hampton can find the velocity and movement that saw him spring into the top 100 back in 2023, the Yankees will be grinning from ear to ear. On the flipside, there is the risk that 2 years away from pitching has taken away the Hampton we all knew for good.

Elsewhere on the farm, we will finally get to see 2024 3^rd and 7^th round draft picks Thatcher Hurd and Wyatt Parliament. I am very intrigued by both arms, especially Hurd, who was known for his 1^st round quality stuff despite poor control from his time at UCLA and LSU. Lastly, we will hopefully get to see guys who didn’t return until late 2025 start off the season with a clean bill of health. These names include Cade Smith, Allen Facundo, Luis Serna, and Henry Lalane. Keep a very close eye on Lalane, as he has such high potential, but must find the velocity that made him such an intriguing prospect back in 2023.

For what it giveth, it can also taketh away. While Aaron Boone surprisingly didn’t deliver any bad news on report day, there is still much unreported about the arms on the farm. Sometimes these injuries don’t even get announced and will only be discovered by transaction logs on the MLB website. Every year there are a few arms who start the season on the IL, if not out for the whole season. Keep your fingers crossed that when that day comes, the number of players on that list is few and severity of injury is minimal.

3.      Who Makes an Impression with the Big-League Club

Every spring, we get the chance to see the Yankee stars of tomorrow intertwined with the stars of today. While it is fun seeing the young guys find their way into the exhibition games, sometimes you have to look deeper to see who the Yankees are really keeping an eye on. The best example of this is Cam Schlittler. While he had a good 2024 campaign, Schlittler was not truly on anyone’s radar as a top prospect. However, Cam lasted with the big-league camp up until the very last week of camp, making several starts deep into March. It was an early sign that the organization was bullish on Schlittler, and a sign we should try and use to decipher who may be getting that same rub this spring.

The most obvious candidate is Elmer Rodriguez, who tore through 3 levels last year to end the season in AAA. As a potential mid-season callup, Rodriguez should get some early shine in Yankees camp. However, with Rodriguez earning a spot on Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Classic roster, he will be absent from a large chunk of camp, giving opportunities for others to take the spotlight. The most obvious two candidates should be Carlos Lagrange and Ben Hess. Both AA arms earned the praise of pitching coach Matt Blake this offseason, entering the season as two of the more pro-ready arms. With Lagrange specifically, his 100+ mph fastball could be a huge asset to the Yankees later in this season. Seeing what sort of role he plays in spring should be noteworthy.

On the hitting side, the cupboard is bare (as discussed). Despite that, I will still be interested to see what Spencer Jones does. While his meteoric June and July pushed him to AAA, his  post-back spasm August put a wet towel over any potential bid to be on the Opening Day roster in 2026. Even so, seeing Jones interact with guys like Judge and Bellinger, and seeing how long he sticks around in camp will be worth watching.

While there are hundreds of other questions we could discuss, the underlying truth is it is so nice to have baseball back. As the weather begins to warm up (I am sick of the freezing cold here in New York!), so too will the heat turn up on these narratives. While some of these questions will likely have to wait for a resolution once the regular season starts, I do hope you follow the narratives set out above, as it will be a fun way to spice up the pre-season.