Late 2024 Yankees Top 30 Prospects: 10-6

The Minor League season has come to a close, so it’s time for us to renew our Top 30 prospects. Some players that you like may have been left out because this is a purely subjective ranking. Everyone will have their opinions on players, and that’s fine. I have also left off some players like Ben Rice, Oswald Peraza, etc., because they have “graduated”. For example, Rice and Peraza have played in more than 30 games; Will Warren and Yoendrys Gómez have been left off because they have pitched more than 10 innings. They may still be considered “rookies”, of which the official definition is as follows: “130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues. 45 total days on an active Major League roster during the Championship Season (excluding time on the Injured List).” 

The acronym OFP you’ll see below is an “overall future projection” as to how the prospect is projected to turn out. It’s difficult to say how one player will pan out; there are superstar looking prospects that fizzle out before they get to the Majors, and there are very quiet prospects that aren’t really on anyone’s radar that surprise you when they make the Major Leagues. 

Today, we continue with our 6th through 10th ranked prospects in the Yankees farm system. 

 

10: UTIL Jesus Rodriguez – ETA: 2026; OFP: 50; Risk: High 

This ranking may or may not be a surprise if you’ve been following High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset this year, but Rodriguez has been one of those players quietly doing his thing with others like Rafael Flores and Spencer Jones stealing some of the thunder. Rodriguez spent some time in the outfield briefly last season but spent significantly more time in left field this year with High-A Hudson Valley. Mostly, however, he spent his time either at 1B or behind the plate. 

Spending a majority of his season with the Renegades, Rodriguez put up some crazy stats, with a slash of .332/.412/.507/.919 in 56 games along with a wRC+ of 160, and led the organization in hits for a period of the season. Like many prospects, he has dealt with an adjustment period in Double-A, but in the last month of the season (August), batted .234 with an OPS of .633 compared to a BA of .182 and an OPS of .672 (his slugging was higher in July).  

The utility aspect is what really sells me on Rodriguez though. A player that can play C, 1B, and left field well, plus has pop (Rodriguez has had BABIP numbers over .300 throughout his career aside from the short time in Double-A) has me really excited about his future.  

However, Rodriguez is Rule 5 eligible. The Yankees may need to decide if he’s worth protecting or if they want to leave him exposed. They also need to decide if they want to include him as a part of a trade package so they don’t lose him for nothing like they would in the Rule 5 Draft. Given how little 1B depth they have, it would make sense for the Yankees to concentrate on molding him to that role. They have plenty of catchers and outfielders but having that versatility can be useful under injury situations. Look at how useful the versatility of Oswaldo Cabrera was for the Yankees a few years ago. 

 

9: LHP Henry Lalane  – ETA: 2027; OFP: 50; Risk: High 

Lalane is one of those special prospects you know is going to do serious damage, but fortunately, he’s with the Yankees farm system. Lalane is similar to that of Randy Johnson (although Johnson was 3 inches taller) in that both are/were lefty pitchers. Lalane doesn’t have the heat that Johnson had (that’s #20 Carlos Lagrange’s game), but has a good mix of four-seamer/sinker, change-up and slider. 

Lalane can get the fastball up to 92 but usually sits upper-80s/low-90s, while the change-up sits in the low-80s, and the slider sits in the mid-70s. 

Lalane had some trouble in Low-A Tampa, despite a very limited set of games, and the very limited pitch counts he was on skewed some of his numbers. There is sometimes an adjustment period with pitchers when they make the jump to full-season ball from the complex league because of the bigger stadiums, playing in front of a crowd and at night, etc. 

Lalane shows a lot of promise and threw some impressive games in the complex league last season, but was also inconsistent, like a handful of other pitchers out there. His biggest issue currently is overall command. His pitches are all over the place. If he can sort that out, the potential is there for Lalane to be a top part of a starting rotation in a few years. We don’t really know how long Lalane can go, since he hasn’t gone more than 4 innings since being stateside. 

If there is a major concern, it’s that he has been injury prone of late. He started and ended the 2024 season on the IL. That may lower his stock next time we evaluate the farm, but for now we look forward to the promise Lalane offers. If Lalane can sort out his command issues, he could easily be a #2 or possibly #1 starter in the future, but the command and injury concerns can hold him back. 

 

8: RHP Trent Sellers – ETA: 2026; OFP: 55; Risk: Medium 

The Yankees have been doing incredibly well with their un-drafted (UDFA) signings lately, and Sellers has shot straight to the top of the list. Oregon State is not necessarily well known for producing a significant number of high-quality prospects, especially pitching prospects, but current MLB’ers Matthew Boyd (2.72 ERA in 2024) and Drew Rasmussen (3.04 ERA in 2024) are fellow OSU Beavers. The most well-known OSU alum to Yankee fans is likely Jacoby Ellsbury; hopefully we see better luck with Sellers. For what it’s worth, the number 1 overall prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft, Travis Bazzana, was drafted out of OSU and was teammates with Sellers.

Sellers spent all but an inning and two-thirds in High-A (he threw in one game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In Hudson Valley, he threw a 2.09 ERA, and maintained a 10.76 K/9 and 4.06 BB/9. While the latter stats aren’t necessarily mind-blowing, he only allowed 3 home runs all season and was charged with 19 earned runs and 37 walks in 82 innings of work in High-A. Sellers’ BAA (batting average against) was an incredible .148 while his BABIP (batting average, balls in play) was .214. It may be wild to think about this, but from June 25 through the end of the season (Sept. 4, in this case), Sellers only allowed 4 runs, 2 earned. That’s 46-2/3 innings pitched for an ERA of 0.39.

Sellers has a five-pitch arsenal according to Statcast (he threw in one game for SWB): a four-seamer that sit low-90s and hits 93, a cutter that sits high-80s, a change-up that sits low-80s, a sinker that sits high-80s/low-90s, and a slider (only used once) that sits mid-80s. The 4SFB and cutter were the most often used pitches, but the curve was his best “out” pitch.

Although it was an incredibly limited showing in Triple-A for Sellers, we can still see that he was able to handle it in a way. His K rate maintained the same levels as in High-A, although he did walk more batters than what he did in Hudson Valley. It’s not unreasonable to expect to see Sellers in Triple-A next season, considering he should be expected to start in Double-A Somerset. It’s also not unreasonable to potentially see Sellers as a September call-up next season, but with the reluctance of how the Yankees call prospects up, that likelihood remains to be seen, of course. Most likely, he will likely get called up in 2026 unless he’s acquired by another organization in some fashion. Sellers started 9 of the 32 games he threw in, but topped out at 4 innings in an appearance, so he will likely be used as a middle-inning reliever out of the ‘pen or could be used as a starter in a “bullpen game”.

 

 

7: LHP Brock Selvidge – ETA: 2026; OFP: 55; Risk: Extreme 

Selvidge was the Yankees’ starter in the Spring Breakout prospect showcase game this past March, and for good reason. Selvidge went 4 innings in the 7-inning game, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 8 against the Blue Jays’ prospects. His first month of the season (4 starts) went just as well, as Selvidge recorded a 1.71 ERA, but things started falling apart in mid-May. Selvidge may have possibly been trying to throw through an injury as he landed on the 7-day, then the 60-day IL, on July 22. Despite this, Selvidge was still recording games with 6, 8 and 9 strikeouts per 5 to 6 inning appearance and he also recorded the most innings pitched in a season.

Stats aren’t necessarily everything though, as Selvidge has a deadly 4-pitch arsenal. In the Breakout game, Selvidge threw a mix of mid-80s slider, low/mid-90s four-seam fastball, low-80s sweeper and mid-80s change-up. He had the most contact with his slider, but the sweeper, which had nearly twice as much horizontal movement, was his deadliest pitch.

There’s not always a lot of speed difference between pitches like you would traditionally see with an elite pitcher. For example, Gerrit Cole threw a mid-90s 4SFB and mixed that with a low-80s knuckle curve in the game that clinched the AL East for the Yankees on Sept. 26. Selvidge doesn’t have that kind of velo on his fastball, which is fine (neither does Nestor Cortes), but Selvidge also doesn’t have the same kind of pitch movement or command like Cole and Cortes do.

Selvidge has a potential ceiling of a #1 or #2 starter, but needs to get his K% up a bit and his BB% down. Right now, those stats look roughly like that of Carlos Rodón of 2023. Next year, if Selvidge can get back to what I saw in 2023 when he was in Low-A, his stuff can be a good replacement for 2026 when Marcus Stroman is eligible for free agency.

 

6: OF Brando Mayea – ETA: 2027; OFP: 55; Risk: Extreme 

I’ve seen many top international prospects come through Tampa over the past decade plus that have not necessarily met expectations (Deivi Garcia, anyone?) and Mayea may be one of the first ones that’s really impressed me. Granted, it was only the Complex League in 2024 for Mayea, but there was a lot to like. 

Mayea missed the first few weeks of the FCL season with an injury, but ended the season with a bang, slashing .343/.395/.429/.921 in the month of July with a double, a triple and 4 RBI. Yankees scouts supposedly comp him to Gary Sheffield, but I don’t see it. Mayea doesn’t show elite bat speed, but he does hit consistently in the zone, overall. We didn’t see Mayea hit any home runs this season, so I can’t speak properly on his power, although he did go pretty deep a few times I saw him (I want to say that he went to the CF wall once). 

Not only is his offense impressive, but so is his defense. Mayea runs clean, efficient routes in center field, and he looks like a seasoned fielder out there. His arm, in the very few long throws I saw, was unimpressive, but his frame could take on more muscle, which could improve his long-distance throwing ability. 

I couldn’t find that I had had video of Mayea running to 1B, but if I recall, I had had him timed as double-plus (70) speed. That puts him in with the likes of Anthony Volpe or Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

All of this in a relatively still young package, so I wouldn’t be very surprised to see Mayea in the Bronx before too long… if there’s a spot for him to play. That’s an issue we have seen with other outfield prospects, especially with the high regard the Yankees hold Jasson Dominguez. If Aaron Judge and presumably Juan Soto are in the outfield for the next decade, will there be a battle for that corner outfield spot? Professionally, Mayea hasn’t played anything other than CF, so some experimentation may be coming in the next few years. If the Yankees move him over to left field like how they’ve done with Jasson and find better defensive success than what we’ve seen with The Martian of late, Mayea may be in a competition for the position with Dominguez and Spencer Jones. That may prove to be a lot of fun to watch.