The shortstop is sometimes referred to as “captain of the infield,” and filling that role in a starting big-league lineup is a huge responsibility. There’s an added layer of pressure when assuming the role of New York Yankees Shortstop, following the career of our own Captain, the legendary Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter. For the past few years, that responsibility has fallen on Anthony Volpe, the former top prospect who was deemed by many to be a storybook successor to Jeter due to his own lifelong Yankee fandom
and a photograph he took with The Captain as a little boy.
As great a story as that would be, Volpe is entering his fourth season as the starting shortstop and has never been able to produce enough offensively to be considered a franchise cornerstone. His wRC+ over those three years (83, 87, 83) has been consistently underwhelming, and his defense suffered major regression last season as well following a strong 2024 with the glove. The Yankees have more star potential in their farm system at shortstop than any other position, so 2026 will be a make-or-break year for Volpe.
The Yankees acquired José Caballero from the Rays at the trade deadline in 2025, and he provided an immediate boost during the final two months of the season in the field, on the basepaths, and even at the plate. The team also signed veteran Paul DeJong in free agency. DeJong is another glove-first shortstop who hasn’t posted an above-average season offensively since 2019 and is unlikely to play a major role as a Yankee, but he could realistically make the Opening Day roster while Volpe recovers from shoulder surgery. Amed Rosario, who will likely make most of his appearances at second and third base or in the outfield against left-handed pitching, can also fill in in a pinch at short.
Behind all this major-league depth, there are a number of exciting young shortstops in the minor leagues looking to keep the momentum alive or break out in 2026. Here are the players working their way through the organization at short.
Projected to start the year in Triple-A are three shortstops with modest big-league experience the Yankees have acquired at some point over the last calendar year: Braden Shewmake, Zack Short, and Jonathan Ornelas. Shewmake is entering his age-28 season with just 31 MLB games on his resume, and he’s never been a reliable option at the plate in his career. He played 85 games with the RailRiders in 2025 and slashed .244/.318/.362 with four home runs. Short spent 2021-23 with the Tigers, bounced between the Red Sox, Braves, and Mets in 2024, and was an Astro in 2025. He has 243 games played in his career and has been a below-average option on both sides of the ball. The same can be said for Ornelas, who spent most of his 32 career games with the Rangers and has yet to homer or steal a base in 58 plate appearances.
The Yankees’ top prospect, George Lombard Jr, should take over the starting shortstop role in Triple-A at some point in 2026, but will most likely begin the season where he left off, in Double-A with the Somerset Patriots. The Yankees drafted Lombard in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he quickly ascended to the top of the farm system thanks to his defensive upside, raw power, and advanced plate discipline. He obliterated High-A pitching in 24 games to start the 2025 season before earning a promotion to Somerset, where he underwent an adjustment period but finished strong. Lombard will not turn 21 until early June, at which point he may be with the Triple-A team. A 2026 MLB debut is probably not in the cards for Lombard, but he is Volpe’s most direct competition long-term for the starting role. His upside is through the roof.
Directly behind Lombard on the depth chart are three players from the Yankees’ most recent draft class who will either be in High-A or Low-A to begin 2026: Dax Kilby, Kaeden Kent, and Core Jackson. Kilby was the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, and looks to be on a similar trajectory to Lombard as he’s already a consensus top-five player in the farm system. He was drafted out of high school and went directly to Low-A, where he slashed .353/.457/.441 with 16 stolen bases and a 159 wRC+ in 81 plate appearances. Kilby turned 19 in November, and his batted-ball metrics, plate discipline, and power-speed blend indicate star potential. He and Lombard could easily be the team’s two most enticing prospects by midseason.
Kent and Jackson were the Yankees’ third- and fifth-round picks from the same draft class. Kent (the son of recently elected Hall of Famer Jeff Kent) is a well-rounded player with slightly above-average tools across the board. His big-league debut in High-A was underwhelming through 25 games, but the sample size is small enough that it can be considered a footnote on a promising, high-floor profile. Jackson is in the same boat, as he hit .363 and .364 in his last two seasons at Mississippi but also struggled through a subpar 25-game sample with Hudson Valley to begin his big-league career. Both players will look to right the ship in 2026.
Also in the mix for at-bats around these levels is Roderick Arias, who once headlined the team’s international free-agent class in 2022 but has regressed mightily since then. Arias has spent the last two seasons with Low-A Tampa, and last year he slashed .208/.325/.315 with a 88 wRC+. Barring a major and immediate turnaround, it is difficult to be excited about Arias as a future big-leaguer at this point in his career.
The two main rookie ball shortstops to be aware of are Mani Cedeno and Stiven Marinez. Cedeno signed as part of last year’s international free-agent class, and is considered a promising young prospect due to his smooth right-handed swing and advanced plate approach. However, he struggled in his first season of rookie ball with a 35.7% strikeout rate in the Dominican Summer League. While this is certainly a red flag, Cedeno is still just 17-years-old and has time to turn it around. Marinez, who is a year older than Cedeno, has a similar offensive profile but found more success in the DSL in 2025. He posted a 116 wRC+ in 47 games with 22 stolen bases, and speed is considered one of his defining traits. Both players will need to develop physically before reaching their full game-power potential, but that’s to be expected at this point in their careers.
Shortstop is a deeply competitive position within the Yankees organization entering 2026. Those hoping for a Year 3 breakout from Volpe were sorely disappointed, but he’ll have at least one more opportunity to retain his role moving forward after recovering from shoulder surgery. If he’s unable to ever reach his full potential, the Yankees will hopefully be able to look to Lombard and Kilby as long-term options. The duo of first-round draft picks will look to continue developing into future stars this season, and we should hear their names a lot more as their careers continue to play out.
