Yankees' UDFA Pipeline Making a Difference

Presly Cobb Photography

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Yankees player development has found a knack for finding and developing Undrafted Free Agents since 2021, when the draft was truncated to 20 rounds. Rafael Flores, Ben Shields, and Parks Harber have all become key pieces of trades in recent years, as well as others like Harrison Cohen, Chris Kean, and Josh Moylan all providing some pitching and hitting depth for the organization. In 2026, there are 4 UDFA’s who made a name for themselves; one of them from the 2023 class who has reached another level, two from 2025 who have had strong debut seasons, and one from the most recent 2026 class making an early impression.

Garrett Martin

Yankees have a plethora of UDFA’s remaining on the roster from the last several UDFA classes, but Martin is the one who has taken a leap performance-wise this year. The Austin Peay graduate was signed in the 2023 UDFA class. After very average 2024 and 2025 campaigns in A+ and AA, Martin reached a new level in 2026, sporting a 138 wRC+ in 63 games in AA, before recording a 115 wRC+ in 8 games in AAA. His season was cut short by a foot injury, but Martin’s breakout looked like it was for real. Always posing as a power hitting outfielder with questionable swing decisions and contact, Martin took a leap in his game power this season, smashing his previous season high home run count by 10, with 24 this season in 71 games, compared to 14 in 102 games in 2025.

Pulling the ball in the air more has helped the game power, but Martin had also seen small but positive improvements in his contact and swing decisions. Most impressively, the right-handed hitter has been platoon proof, with a .917 OPS against LHP vs .904 against RHP. Martin’s strong season has caught my eye, as I have moved him into my top 30, believing he has a good shot to be at worst a platoon 4^th outfielder.

Tyler Boudreau

Moving on to members of the 2025 class, Boudreau is the only pitcher on this list. The right hander out of Texas Tech has had an impressive season at Low-A Tampa, recording a 3.60 ERA and 3.93 FIP with a 26.9 K% and 9.6 BB%. He also had a very compelling emergency outing for AA this August In which he allowed no runs and struck out 6 of the 12 batters faced. A lot of what Boudreau has done this season in Tampa has him in the red on savant, with above to well-above average chase, whiff, and zone rates, throwing strikes and missing bats.

Boudreau’s fastball has been his best weapon. While its velocity isn’t very impressive, averaging 92.7 mph, it has some very intriguing shape metrics. With 19.5 iVB, a flat approach angle, and average spin, the fastball plays up beyond its velocity. Boudreau also features frequently 3 secondaries, a slider, changeup, and curveball. While none of these secondaries have excellent stuff, they have been very effective at the level. Boudreau screams to me someone who would be much more effective as a reliever. With max fastball velo of 96, being able to throw his best pitch at higher velocity over 1-2 inning stretches could make him a legitimate bullpen weapon. While I do expect him to remain a starter going into 2027, keep the move to the bullpen in mind as he continues to rise in the system. He is another guy who is in my top 30.

Eric Genther

Genther has been one of my favorite guys to watch in the organization this year and is someone who has seen a big rise within my rankings, also finding his way into my most recent top 30. The 24-year-old lefty was an outfielder at Rhode Island, but the Yankees decided to move him behind the plate, where he had spent some time before. The move has been extremely successful, as Genther is looking to be one of the best defensive catchers in the entire organization, giving him legitimate MLB aspirations. As for the bat, I have been extremely impressed with his progression throughout the season. I believe Genther’s season can be told in 3 timeframes:

3/31 – 4/30: 21 G | .281/.459/.359 | 3 2B | 0 HR | 11.6 BB% | 16.3 K% | .360 BABIP | 137 wRC+

5/1 – 5/28: 22 G | .198/.305/.296 | 2 2B | 2 HR | 12.6 BB% | 20 K% | .230 BABIP | 65 wRC+

5/29 – 8/23: 66 G | .290/.420/.518 | 15 2B | 12 HR | 14.1 BB% | 18.4 K% | .321 BABIP | 144 wRC+

There are a couple of things that have been constant for Genther all season long: he has been very selective at the plate, refusing to expand the strike zone, and he has been a contact machine, running some of the best whiff rates for the level. The issue for Genther during the first two months of the season was the lack of power. The ball was regularly on the ground and not hit very hard. The BABIP luck was on his side during April, but took a sharp turn against him in May. With only a .090 ISO through 5/28, there was no impact out of Genther’s bat.

Since then, Genther has given up some whiff, going from 17.4% in the first two months up to 21.8% since 5/29, and has sold for more power, raising his pull air rate from 9.6% to 14.1% in the same time frame. His .228 ISO makes him a much more dangerous hitter, as he still draws plenty of walks and doesn’t strike out an exorbitant amount, but now is creating real offensive impact. If he can continue these improvements in AA, Genther will be looking like a legitimate threat to be a starting catcher in the MLB.

Maika Niu

The last UDFA to talk about is also the newest, as he was signed as part of the 2026 UDFA class following the 2026 MLB Draft. Maika Niu making it undrafted was a bit of a surprise, as he had some loud tools that may have warranted a late round selection. It was to the Yankees’ benefit he went unselected, as he has already drawn the attention of many fans. Niu took no time to show off his plus fielding in center, making several incredible plays at the wall. He is a legitimate centerfielder with range and arm strength.

The bat has grabbed plenty of attention as well. Niu always had big power in college, and that has had no problem translating to the pros, as he has 4 home runs and 3 doubles in his first 13 games. The bigger gaps in Niu’s offensive profile were his swing decisions and contact. While the swing decisions have remained poor in this small sample, Niu has shown some decent contact. With a 80% zone-contact rate through the 13 games, Niu is making enough contact to get to his power, making his stock climb. Niu reminds me of a more tooled up Garrett Martin: power hitting outfielder with questionable swing decisions and contact, but Niu has superior defense. If he can keep making strides in his weak areas, this could become a steal of a prospect for the Yankees organization.

The Yankees have constantly had to do more with less in terms of their farm system. With less draft picks, lower bonus pool capital, and less IFA money (as well as spotty history with top IFA additions), it has put a lot of pressure on the Yankees scouting and player development teams to keep the system afloat. While it is not the primary reason, they have always managed to replenish the system, UDFA gems like the guys mentioned today are a big reason they have been able to build competitive teams, whether through making the NYY roster or being included in trades. We shall see how these 4 impact the Yankees roster one day, but I do not doubt that they will.

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Every Prospect. Every Level. Every Day.