The minor league season is in full swing, as all four affiliates have now hit the field for a full week of play. The last two weeks, we’ve previewed Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Somerset as the two affiliates containing the closest prospects to the majors. You’ll see a number of these guys in the big leagues in the next two years, whether in the Bronx or elsewhere.
But today, we’re checking out the affiliates full of players who still have a bunch of developing left to do. They come
from all different backgrounds. Some are just beginning their professional journeys after being drafted last July (here’s a full list of where they’re all starting this season), while others are international prospects who are looking to continue their climb up the minor league ladder. There are big prospects, former top prospects in need of a bounce-back season, and everyone in between.
This area of the minor leagues is make-or-break for dozens of prospects yearly. Many of the prospects who are released before naturally hitting free agency never reach Double-A. Despite being so far off from the majors, there’s a big microscope on these levels. Everyone’s path here may be different, but they’re all judged the same.
High-A Hudson Valley
As we’ve seen with the upper levels, the organization’s catching depth took a serious beating at last year’s Trade Deadline, when they dealt Rafael Flores Jr., Edgleen Perez, and Jesus Rodriguez for big league help. At the High-A level, we have Josue Gonzalez and Eric Genther.
Gonzalez is another glove-first catcher who’s struggled to get his bat going since making it to A-ball in June 2024. As Low-A Tampa’s backup catcher and first baseman in 2025, he hit just .171 with an OPS under .600 in 265 plate appearances. Genther predominantly played outfield at Rhode Island in college, but the 23-year-old undrafted free agent appears to be utilized behind the plate to start the first full season of his pro career after a strong 17-game cup of coffee in Tampa last year.
The infield is chock full of 2025 draftees, headlined by third-round pick Kaeden Kent and fifth-round pick Core Jackson, who figure to slide around second base, third base, and shortstop, along with a former top prospect. Roderick Arias is coming off two brutal seasons in Tampa, where his strikeout rate was untenably high and his supposed strength, his defense, was equally poor. The 21-year-old is moving up despite not showing real progress in either season, but sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery.
Also on the infield are 2025 10th-rounder Connor McGinnis and 13th-rounder Kyle West. While McGinnis will mop up reps at DH and second base when one of the other three is sitting, West will split time at first base with Josh Moylan, who’s entering a pivotal season after struggling in 2025, and the outfield.
The outfield features another 2025 draft pick in 12th-rounder Camden Troyer, along with Wilson Rodriguez, a former 18th-rounder out of Puerto Rico, and Cole Gabrielson. There are also three guys currently on the 7-day injured list. Robbie Burnett was a priority UDFA out of Georgia in 2025, Tyler Wilson is a former eighth-round pick, and Luis Durango will fill in as a glove-first center fielder with tremendous speed.
On the pitching side, the starting rotation features several Tampa call-ups and 2025 draftees. Leading the way is Pico Kohn, the Yankees’ highest drafted pitcher in 2025 out of Mississippi State. He’s joined by sixth-rounder Rory Fox out of Notre Dame, and Texas Tech’s Jack Cebert, who was picked in the 15th round. You might remember Kohn from his very brief cameo in spring training, when he struck out both batters he faced before the game was called due to rain.
Brandon Decker got a midseason promotion last year from Tampa, and the former 19th-round pick will look to build on a solid campaign that saw him post a 3.61 ERA in 85 innings. Sean Paul Liñan will look to improve his arsenal around his standout changeup in his debut season in the organization after being dealt by Washington in the Jorbit Vivas trade. Rounding out the rotation is Luis Serna, who’s still only 21 despite losing much of the last season due to injury. The Mexico native was a prospect darling in rookie ball and is looking to get back on the saddle.
The rotation even has some built-in depth in case of injury, as Andrew Landry and Franyer Herrera are up from Tampa to serve as spot starters and long relievers. Herrera, who turns 21 next month, only has 10 innings above rookie ball, but was tremendous in the FCL last year. Landry was a 16th-round pick in 2023 who split time in Tampa and Hudson Valley last year and made 22 starts.
Hudson Valley’s bullpen has been one of the best in all of minor league baseball for several years, as the Yankees have routinely signed older UDFA arms with one or two strong pitches whose stuff can play right away in A-ball. While most of those arms are starting in Tampa, they’ll be here soon. 11th-rounder Ben Grable figures to get high-leverage innings right away as he joins a number of holdovers, like Jackson Fristoe, Tanner Bauman, Hansel Rincon, Jack Sokol, Chris Veach, and Tony Rossi, a 26-year-old righty who could be in Somerset before long after a terrific 2025.
They have a number of pitchers still on the shelf who could factor in soon. Brady Kirtner, Aaron Nixon, and Bryce Warrecker figure to be key parts of the bullpen when they return, while we could see Brian Hendry and Ocean Gabonia later in the year. The elephant in the room is the Renegades’ highest-ranked prospect, Bryce Cunningham. He’s on the 7-day injured list, so his return could come relatively soon.
Low-A Tampa
Tampa’s roster is a mix of FCL prospects taking the next step and the rest of the 2025 draft class. One name that will not start the year here is Dax Kilby, who’s rehabbing a minor hamstring issue to start the year. If he gets off to a similar start to the year as George Lombard Jr. did in 2025, expect him not to stay here for long. 16th-rounder Jackson Lovich, who tore the cover off the ball in a small sample last year, is also on the injured list.
The catching room is headlined by Engelth Urena, who will also split time at first base while trying to get going at the plate. He featured very mature power in rookie ball, but struggled to do much in Tampa last year with an additional cup of coffee in Hudson Valley. FCL call-up Ediel Rivera and 2025 UDFA Gregory Bozzo will also get reps.
While Kilby and Lovich rehab their injuries, the infield will feature the likes of 2024 draftee Austin Green, 2025 20th-rounder Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek (son of Mark), holdovers Enmanuel Tejada and Hans Montero, and FCL call-ups Santiago Gomez and Kevin Verde.
Tejada is the big name here, as he looks to get back to his 2024 form, where he was hitting .300 before tearing his ACL in July. He and Montero could be in Hudson Valley before long. Gomez’s bat regressed in 2025, but he hit .321 in 2024 in the FCL and will also be the designated position player-pitcher, having entered 12 different games in mop-up duty in the last few years.
Brando Mayea is the headliner in Tampa’s outfield, as the former top international prospect makes his full-season debut after injuries and underperformance hurt his trajectory over the past two seasons. Willy Montero will get plenty of reps alongside him, as will 2025 UDFA Logan Maxwell and 2024 17th-rounder JoJo Jackson, who’s only played 12 games in his first two professional seasons due to injury.
Tampa’s rotation is similar to HV’s in terms of composition. 2025 draftees Justin West, Tyler Boudreau, and Blake Gillespie will start down here, and there are reasons to like each of their arsenals. Danny Flatt is a holdover from an injury-riddled 2025 and could be a strong start away from a promotion, while Allen Facundo has a strong case to already be in Hudson Valley after pitching to a 1.85 ERA in 39 innings last year after recovering from injury. Former top prospect Henry Lalane will also look to build up after an injury-riddled 2025, looking to get back to the tremendous stuff that had turned heads in rookie ball.
The bullpen will be erratic all year, but the org will look to find some diamonds in the rough. 2024 fifth-rounder Greysen Carter is looking to bounce back after an ugly 2025, where he walked 67 in 54.2 innings. UDFAs Matthew Tippie (who throws a forkball!) and Parker Seay will look to follow the blueprint that many have utilized, while FCL call-ups Jose Ledesma, Jose Martinez, Jordarlin Mendoza, Jose M. Rodriguez, and Josh Tiedemann look to make a name for themselves. Look out for former seventh-round pick Wyatt Parliament to factor in at some point this summer as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
