With MLB Opening Day being a handful of days away, and MLB.com having released its Top 100 Prospect and Top 30 Team Prospect lists, it’s time to take a look at the New York Yankee members of the annual Top 100. But first, we’d be remiss if we did not address the honorable mentions of an oft-overlooked deep Yankees system.
SPENCER JONES
Jones being in the honorable mentions list is a travesty, but he is there by necessity; finally added to the Top 100 near the end of 2025 after putting together a .274, 35, 80 campaign which included 29 stolen bases, 102 runs and an OPS of .933 (for those who care for such stats) across AA and AAA, Jones was unceremoniously booted from the list almost as soon as the calender flipped to a new year. Jones hasn’t let that deter him though, as he entered camp with a new hitting setup (a mix between Judge and Ohtani) and has proceeded to bat .333, with 4 HR, 8 RBI and .429 OBP, and 3 stolen bases in 11 games as of the time of posting.
While strikouts and whiff rate are a concern for Jones, who has struck out 8 times in the aforemention 11 games, I believe based on last year and this year’s Spring stats that he absolutley is putting it all together and should still be on the Top 100 list, as he could make a huge splash in 2026 if someone gets injured.
BEN HESS
While not on the Top 100 list, Hess – the Yankees’ 23-year-old #5 overall prospect, is coming off of a 2025 season in which he started 22 games, going 7-4 with a 3.22 ERA and 139 Ks in 103.1 innings in both A+ and AA. He’s followed that up this spring in an abbriviated manner, going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 2 games, with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks; while obviously not a large sample size, he showed enough with his fastball and curveball to where one could see him continue to develop this season, and if need be, make some spot starts or become a bullpen arm on the Major League team at some point.
Be honest, how fun would it be to have a 6’5, 255 lb “Hess Truck” being a Joba Chamberlain-like feature in the September pen?
GEORGE LOMBARD, JR. – Yankees #1, MLB #32
The 20-year-old shortstop is one of the elite gloves in the game already; many scouts will tell you he can play stellar MLB defense at three positions in the infield today. The only question is when his bat will become good enough, which is not something to worry about for a guy who just graduated from being a teenager. Coming off of an underwhelming offensive season in A+ and AA, Lombard has shown more pop this Spring Training, though the numbers haven’t born it out. The Yankees remain high on him, however, and while he has almost no shot of making his debut this year, if he shows real improvement with the bat these next few months, it would not be surprising if he was challenging for an MLB starting role in 2027.
CARLOS LAGRANGE – YANKEES #2, MLB #79
I’ve written about Carlos Lagrange before on Legends on Deck, and with good reason; the 6’7 (don’t even think about it, kids) right hander finally put together a fully healthy and successful season in 2025, and has topped it in Spring Training. In four Spring Training games, with at least one more to go per Aaron Boone, Lagrange has gone 1-0 with an astounding 0.66 ERA, with 13 Ks in 13.2 innings, and only recording 4 BBs. Given that control was the big question for him, this is a welcome development, and Carlos has attracted praise from his manager, and his teammates, with Gerrit Cole saying that Lagrange is just “silly,” and that he’s never had the arm talent that the team’s #2 prospect has (Lagrange’s fastball has been consitently sitting 101 MPH all spring).
For now, the plan seems to be to send him to the AAA and stretch him out as a starter, as that is his overall potential level, but if the time comes where the Yankees need a lockdown bullpen arm, expect Lagrange to be at the top of the call-up list.
ELMER RODRIGUEZ – YANKEES #3, MLB #82
Elmer Rodriguez, formerly Rodriguez-Cruz, was acquired from the rival Boston Red Sox for their now starting catcher Carlos Narváez, and quickly became one of the Yankees’ most exciting pitching prospects; while not tall, nor a flame thrower like Lagrange, Elmer posseses the ability to truly pitch. Spending time with three different minor league affiliates in 2025, Rodriguez went 11-8, with a 2.58 ERA and 176 Ks in 150 innings. His Spring was abbriviated as he went to pitch for Team Puerto Rico in the WBC (and did quite well), pitching in two games for the Yankees and going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA, 5 Ks and 1 BB in 6 IP. If the Yankees need a spot start or have another starter go down with injury before Cole and Carlos Rodon return, expect Rodriguez to get the first crack at it.
DAX KILBY – YANKEES #4, MLB #94
A 19-year-old Shortstop who was drafted just last year, Kilby impressed in short minor league season where he batted .353 with a .457 OBP in 18 games for Single A Tampa. While the power did not show up in those set of games, his bat-to-ball ability is a really exciting aspect of his game, and one could potentially see him fly through the Yankees’ system in no time. His lefty swing will certainly help him in Yankee Stadium, and it is not out of the realm of possiblity that he could eventually move to Second Base and become the double play partner of George Lombard, Jr., or Anthony Volpe should he turn his offensive career around and if Lombard moves to third.
