Silver Linings: Evaluating the Yankees’ Emerging Young Core
While the 2026 MLB season officially ended when the Yankees came up shorthanded, having been eliminated by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, there are many positives to reflect on from this season. In particular, the Bronx Bombers had plenty of young talent become major contributors to their 93 win campaign. With the next wave of Baby Bombers establishing themselves, I wanted to take the time to shed light on what these players accomplished during the regular season and the playoffs.
RHP Cam Schlittler
Coming off a rookie season where he tossed to a 2.96 ERA across 73.0 IP in 14 starts in 2025, Cam Schlittler would take his game to the next level in his first full season pitching in the Bronx, blossoming into an ace and one of the league's top pitchers. In 33 starts, the righty flamethrower ended his age 25 campaign with a 1.95 ERA in 193.2 IP, accumulating 239 K to only 49 BB, a 2.56 FIP and a K-BB of 25%. Among all qualified starting pitchers, he finished 2nd in ERA, only behind Jacob Misoworski and finishing 2nd in pitching bWar (7.0) and third in fWar (6.2), while leading both of those marks in the AL. Specifically among Yankee SPs, Schlittler registered the 2nd lowest ERA in Yankee history post integration, only bested by Ron Guidry’s 1.74 ERA in 1978.
In the playoffs, Schlittler picked up where he last finished against the Red Sox, dominating them again going 6.1 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. And while his start against the Rays wasn’t his best outing (2 ER in 4.1 IP), he was let down by his defense in key moments. It was another great postseason showing finishing with a 1.69 ERA across two starts.
As shown between both charts, Schlittler made resounding improvements to his game, increasing the K rate from 27.6% to 31.4% while decreasing his BB rate from 10.2% and to 6.4%. He also limited damage going from 1.0 HR/9 to 0.7 HR/9. This is all while improving upon his 4 seamer, sinker and cutter stuff and command, while increasing the velocity on his curveball.
It was a season for the ages for the young ace, who after this campaign will almost surely win the AL Cy Young, while finishing as a finalist in the AL MVP race. Schlittler will become the seventh pitcher in franchise history to receive Cy Young honours, joining the likes of Gerrit Cole, Roger Clemens, Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, Whitey Ford and Bob Turley.
OF Spencer Jones
Arguably the most polarizing prospect in baseball, due to his freakish power and athleticism with massive hit tool concerns, Spencer Jones came up during the season on three separate occasions. The first came from 05/08 - 05/21 where in 10 games he struggled mightily, mustering a .167/.259/.167 slash for a .426 OPS, walking 11.1% and striking out 44.4% of the time.
Jones would go back to the minors to continue working on his game. His hard work would pay off for the rest of the year. The next stint was a 20 game stretch which came from 06/05 - 07/04, where he put up a .265/.345/.465 slash for a .815 OPS, 2 HR and .204 ISO, walking 10.9% but still striking out 40% of the time. The final stint was from July 21st to the end of the regular season, where Jones posted a .250/.311/.452 slash and .763 OPS with 9 HR, a .202 ISO, walking 7.7% and striking out 34.3% of the time. In total, the lefty masher had a .245/.313/.429 slash for a .742 OPS with 11 HR in 86 games.
As shown above, Jones displayed immense power having some of the best damage metrics in all of MLB last season. This is coupled with the fact that he’s a positive baserunner according to BsR while having some of the best sprint speed in all of baseball, despite being 6’7 240. And while the chase rate may not be ideal, the southpaw slugger is still a good swing decision maker due to his aggression and swinging on hittable pitches and he walks at an average rate.
However, there is also monumental potential for volatility and streakiness within Jones' game. He places among some of the leagues worst marks in terms of whiff, Z-contact and strikeout rates and such margin for error as a hitter with his profile can rear its ugly head for spurts, such as in the playoffs where he slashed .176/.300/.235 for a .535 OPS with a 40% K rate in 5 games.
Such a volatile profile has plagued many others, most notably Joey Gallo who after posting a 116 wRC+ in his career with the Rangers, posted an 89 wRC+ the remainder of his career, while slashing under the Mendoza line. On top of this, Jones struggled defensively in centerfield, most notably with routes which led to -4 DRS, -4 OAA and -3 FRV at the position. While these negatives may continue to follow Jones, it is not impossible for him to improve upon them and allow him to be a contributing piece for the Bombers in the foreseeable future.
RHP Will Warren
Due to several injuries in the Yankee rotation throughout the regular season, Will Warren slotted into the back end of the rotation and never looked back. In his second full season donning the pinstripes, the Mississippi native put together an above average season as a starter. In 32 games (29 started) the 27-year-old had a 3.92 ERA in 156.0 IP, striking out 23.3% of batters and walking 8% of them, along with a 3.94 FIP, 3.74 xFIP and 2.2 fWar. Warren made a vast improvement from his rookie season, where he had a 4.44 ERA in 162.1 IP. In the playoffs, Warren only made one appearance as a reliever during the Wild Card series against Boston, where he gave up one run in 1.2 innings of relief, flashing great stuff.
Warren established himself as one of the better backend starters in all of baseball, as there may not be many teams if at all who can say they have five starters better than him, let alone from the fact he’s the Yankees sixth starter. While he may not be as good as Cam Schlittler, this is still an 8th round pick who has become a strong back of the rotation starter. Continued progress against left-handed hitters would elevate Warren’s game to even higher levels where he’s currently at. As a potential trade candidate this winter, Warren has the chance to net the Yankees a significant return.
SS George Lombard Jr.
The new Yankee shortstop had himself a fantastic season between both the minors and majors. In his age 21 season, Lombard Jr slashed .284/.411/.498 for a .909 OPS with 12 HRs in 78 games between AA and AAA. With such impressive play, the Yankees elected to call him up to the big leagues on August 4th, where he’d make his presence known, clubbing his first HR in his second at bat. From there he would have a .237/.285./.414 slash for a .699 OPS and 7 HR in 42 games, walking 6% and striking out 26.5% of the time. And in the playoffs, Lombard slashed.333/.368/.333 for a .702 OPS.
As advertised prior to his debut, Lombard displayed slick fielding defense in his short time in the Bronx, grading out with a +5 DRS at the position, though he wasn’t without his mishaps, committing nine errors in the process. Still, his glove has been so steady throughout his career that he would eventually overcome some of the bumps. He also held his own at the plate, offering solid production towards the bottom of the lineup despite his age. The last 2 weeks of the regular season however, is where Lombard really showed out, as in his final 11 games he slashed .283/.298/.587 for a .885 OPS with 4 HR.
Lombard’s plate discipline was the best it ever looked, swinging aggressively in the zone, while maintaining his low chase rates. He also was hitting the ball with authority, which led to massive power output, as shown by his .304 ISO in that span. This is all while hitting the ball in the air to the pull side, where we saw his best damage contact. Lombard’s promise at the plate, with his already fantastic defense, could have the Yankees looking at their shortstop of the future for the foreseeable future.
Despite the shortcomings in search of a World Series title again for the Bombers, there is a lot to look forward to in the coming years with the young talent, both in the Bronx and in the minors. And while all the talent may not end up Yankees in the long run, it was without a doubt encouraging for the Yankees to continue hitting on prospects.
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