Last week, the Yankees’ minor-league season officially began in Buffalo, where the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders opened their season with a shutout victory over the Bisons. The RailRiders will be priority viewing all season for those who like to keep up with the minor leagues for multiple reasons.
But there are still intriguing prospects that aren’t quite on the cusp of debuting in the major leagues and are looking to put one foot in front of the other to get noticed and put on the pinstripes
in the future. That’s what brings us to Double-A Somerset, entering its sixth season as a Yankees affiliate. Occasionally, you’ll even see some players in Double-A who become polished enough that they spend minimal time at the next level — Cam Schlittler notably only had five starts at Triple-A last year after getting the first bump up from Somerset. The ticket to The Show could be closer than you think.
Some of last year’s biggest names are out the door, whether traded or up in Triple-A, but the headliner remains. Who joins him?
The catching will be done in a split between arguably the organization’s best remaining homegrown backstop and a non-roster invitee. Manuel Palencia was playing in the FCL just 10 months ago, but was aggressively promoted as several midseason trades cleaned out the farm’s catching depth with Rafael Flores Jr., Jesus Rodriguez, and Edgleen Perez all going out the door. Palencia’s bat was predictably poor in 37 combined games in High-A and Double-A, but the 23-year-old gets a clean slate here. Miguel Palma, signed from the Astros’ organization in December, is also not known for his bat, so don’t expect a ton of offense here.
On the infield, the star attraction is the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, George Lombard Jr., who figures to be the everyday shortstop. Lombard got off to a strong start to 2025 in High-A Hudson Valley, but predictably encountered growing pains when he was promoted in May, enduring arguably the minors’ most challenging jump for prospects to make. There’s a seismic difference between the quality of play in High-A and Double-A. Still, Lombard registered a respectable 111 wRC+ with good plate discipline, but they’d like for him to make more contact and tap into his power. Of course, his most mature trait has been picture-esque: his defense.
The rest of the infield features all-or-nothing thumper Tyler Hardman, Coby Morales, and Owen Cobb. Hardman and Morales have experience at this level, but Cobb is new after just nine games in High-A last season. He was Low-A Tampa’s most consistent hitter for much of 2025, hitting .310 in 40 games. The 24-year-old Stanford graduate will be tested. Also down here is former Giants top prospect Marco Luciano, who should play a few different positions.
There are a few interesting names in the outfield. Fans saw a lot of Kenedy Corona in spring training, a normally light-hitting defensive specialist who was signed out of the Astros’ organization. Jace Avina—once acquired from Milwaukee for Jake Bauers—tore up A-ball with impressive game power, but struggled with consistency. Mexican League MVP Nick Torres will look to restart his MLB journey. Garrett Martin hasn’t quite figured it all out yet, but the former undrafted free agent puts up some startling exit velocity numbers, and we saw as much in spring training.
The rotation is headlined by one of the team’s best pitching prospects in former first-round pick Ben Hess, who will start on Opening Day.
A project arm out of Alabama, the Yankees have cleaned up Hess’ command and turned him into a viable starting pitching prospect, but good upside as a reliever with some filthy secondaries. Due to long-term injuries to Chase Hampton (eyeing a midseason return from Tommy John surgery last year) and Brock Selvidge (who just went under the knife himself), the rotation after that lacks star power but has several reliable arms. Xavier Rivas finished 2025 extremely well in High-A and was promoted. Cade Smith missed much of 2025, but the former sixth-round pick has turned heads when healthy, recently recording a 2.13 ERA in the Arizona Fall League. And 26-year-old undrafted free agent Trent Sellers was a reliable mainstay in last year’s rotation.
The bullpen will feature some A-ball stars and some holdovers from the upper minors last year. Eric Reyzelman was once on the fast track to the majors, but the LSU product couldn’t find the strike zone in Scranton last year, so expect him to move back up if he starts strong. Bailey Dees and Michael Arias also come down from Scranton to join the likes of Will Brian, Chris Kean, Geoffrey Gilbert, Matt Keating, and Hayden Merda. Last year’s best MiLB reliever, Hueston Morrill, is on the shelf to start the year after a sub-1 ERA in 2025.
Pitching injuries limit the potential of this rotation to be as good as some of the ones in the past, but it’s not ridiculous to say we could see the currently injured Hampton and Bryce Cunningham up here with Hess, Smith, and Rivas by the summer. The hitting depth in the system beneath Scranton is pretty shallow, especially after the recent Ryan Weathers trade saw 2024 draft reinforcements Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones go to Miami. There’s ample reason to get out to Somerset for a game if you’re in the area, particularly at the shortstop position.
