My Yankees Prospect Ratings

by James Vlietstra

February 19, 2024

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This time of year, all the big publications start releasing all of their Top Prospects lists. I follow the Yankees minor leagues about as much as anyone who isn’t paid to do so. A few years back, I was asked to submit my Top 30 Prospects. As well as I knew the names and read the reports, I did not feel qualified to give a full list of players when I have only seen six or eight of them actually play. 

So, I decided to use my background in analytics to make a value scale using several different criteria. I then add up the scores and compare the results to the professionals. By taking the emotion out of it and making it purely a subjective list, I have been able to spotlight a couple of players before their breakout seasons. 

The criteria I use is the following:

• Age. A teenager has more prospect value than a 28 year old. 

• Proximity to Majors. Someone on the 40-man roster will contribute long before a kid in the Dominican Republic

• Ceiling. A lefty specialist is not going to rank as high as someone getting compared with Mickey Mantle. 

• Position. A Catcher or Left handed starter will always score higher than a DH. 

• Pedigree. A first round pick or top IFA get the benefit of the doubt over a UDFA. 

• Previous Season's Production. A player that dominated and earned a promotion fares much better than someone recovering from injuries. 

Before I get started with the current Yankees, here are a few players that used to be Yankees prospects and their grades. Some of these players have been promoted from prospect status, some were traded, and others selected away from the team in the Rule 5 Draft:

Anthony Vole 88

Kevin Alcantara 80

Oswald Peraza 74

Drew Thorpe 70

Richard Fitts 60

Trey Sweeney 60

Carson Coleman 60

Matt Sauer 58

Mitch Spence 54 

The Yankees farm system has been universally ranked this offseason in the 6-8 range. That’s after trading away several significant pieces to get Juan Soto. They have had as many as 6 of their prospects included in top 100 lists. They could easily graduate 5-6 prospects this season and still see their rankings improve. 

One other quick side note is that I did remove Anthony Seigler from the list this year because he scored much higher than potentially deserved because of his position and high draft status. However, his depth in the system indicates he will not be around by the end of the season, especially with the new 165 domestic player cap that will come into effect. 

There’s been some glowing reports about some of the DSL pitchers, but until they do it on the field, they won’t get the recognition. However, they could easily move up into the top 10 this year. 

Now, the 2024 Yankees top prospect list, with the player scores:

1.    Jasson Dominguez 90

2.    Austin Wells 86

3.    Everson Pereira 76

4.    Ben Rice 76

5.    Carlos Narvaez 76

6.    Roderick Arias 74

7.    Brock Selvidge 74

8.    Spencer Jones 72

9.    Agustin Ramirez 72

10.  Will Warren 70

11.  Chase Hampton 70

12.  Matt Krook 68

13.  Jesus Rodriguez 64

14.  George Lombard 64

15.  Brendan Beck 62

16.  Justin Lange 62

17.  Brando Mayea 60

18.  Danny Watson 60

19.  John Cruz 60

20.  Abrahan Ramirez 60

21.  Josue Gonzalez 60

22.  Jorbit Vivas 58

23.  Gabriel Terrero 58

24.  Jerson Alejandro 58

25.  Sean Hermann 58

26.  Emmanuel Tejeda 58

27.  Edinson Duran 58

28.  Jack Neely 58

29.  Yoendrys Gomez 56

30.  Edgleen Perez 56

31.  Sabier Marte 56

32.  Willy Montero 56

33.  Henry LaLane 54

34.  Clayton Beeter 54

35.  Keiner Delgado 54

36.  Pedro Rodriguez 54

37.  Edgar Barclay 54

38.  Jace Avina 54

39.  Mariano Salomon 54

40.  Luis Serna 54

41.  Christopher Familia 54

42.  Geyber Blanco 54

43.  Engelth Urena 54

44.  Gabriel Lara 54

45.  Kyle Carr 52

46.  Yorlin Calderon 52

47.  Roc Riggio 52

48.  Chalniel Arias

49.  Antonio Gomez 52

50.  Hans Montero 52

51.  Montana Semmel 52

52.  Oriel Rodriguez 52

53.  Omar Martinez 52

54.  Jared Serna 50

55.  Luis Ogando 50

56.  Anthony Hall 50

57.  Jordarlin Mendoza 50

58.  Jhon Imbert 50

59.  Tyler Hardman 48

60.  Zach Messinger 48

61.  Dylan Jasso 48

62.  Juan Matheus 48

63.  Ryan Anderson 48

64.  Carlos Lagrange 48

65.  Santiago Gomez 48

66.  Rafael Flores 48

67.  Jackson Fristoe 48

68.  Andry Javier 48

69.  Eric Reyzelman 46

70.  Tyrone Yulie 46

71.  Jose Colmenares 46

72.  Alexander Vargas 44

73.  Luis Gil 44

74.  Angel Venitez 44

75.  Fidel Montero 44