By Greg Corcoran

Despite trading away a multitude of right-handed starting pitchers over the past several years, it is still the position where the Yankees have the most depth organizationally. Almost inexplicably, they have been able to churn out talent from the draft and international free agency due to an impressive performance from their scouting and development staff.

The Yankees are pretty set with the righties in their current rotation. Most of the question marks surround the lefties. Gerrit Cole just has to stay healthy and he’s going to give you an ace-caliber performance. Marcus Stroman is a known quantity who pitches well season in and season out.

Clarke Schmidt is the third and last righty in the major league rotation. Of the three, he is the biggest question mark. He’s coming off a good season, especially after his slow start. Schmidt has made the necessary adjustments during the season and finished relatively strong. He arrived at camp with significant improvements in his repertoire, including well-needed adjustments to the sinker. I can’t see him doing any worse than last year and would predict that he finishes with better numbers in 2024. Even a repeat of 2023 would be acceptable, but I think there’s more upside coming.

If one of the exciting Triple-A prospects is not ready by the time injury strikes (more to come on that), the Yankees could turn to Luke Weaver. Weaver made three starts for the Yankees at the end of last year and played his best baseball of 2023. He will look to keep that ball rolling and take that success into 2024. Initially he’ll be in a middle relief role, but the Yankees could be the team that finally unlocks his potential as a starter too.

Cody Morris and Cody Poteet have both started games in the past two seasons. Both probably profile better out of the bullpen at this point but could make a few spot starts if the need arises. Despite being afterthoughts in their previous organizations, neither are junk-ballers by any stretch. Any way you slice it, these are good players to have around.

The Yankees will have some of their most exciting pitching prospects one step away in Triple-A to begin the season. Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, Luis Gil, and Yoendrys Gomez are all legitimate starting pitching prospects who could make an impact this season.

Will Warren has a deep repertoire with pitches darting in all directions. It’s not a matter of if but when he will get his shot at the rotation. Clayton Beeter has been relegated to the bullpen by many scouts, but the Yankees still believe in him as a starter. He throws four pitches and can reach the upper-90’s with the fastball. Beeter threw a career high 131.2 innings last year and struck out 165. He’ll need to improve his control to prove he’s major league ready. He has looked good in spring training with a fastball reaching 97 in his first pre-season game.

Luis Gil is the biggest wildcard of the bunch, if for no other reason than his time away due to injury. His fastball sits in the upper-90’s and has reached triple-digits as a starter. He’s always had a filthy slider, but word is he now has an effective changeup as well and has even added a cutter to the mix. It’s hard to predict what direction his career will go now that he’s fully healthy. He could be anything from a breakout starter to a reliever who can’t find enough control to get a shot in the majors. I’ll be keeping an eye on him in Triple-A though. He pitched his first game in spring training yesterday and hit 98 already on the radar with good movement.

Finally healthy for most of the season in 2023, Yoendrys Gomez threw a career high in innings. That only equated to 67.1 innings, but major progress was made. Gomez has a deep repertoire of above average pitches and good control. He could slot nicely into the Randy Vasquez/Jhony Brito role or slip into the rotation under the right circumstances.

The depth doesn’t end there either. Chase Hampton, who has been featured on several of the top 100 prospect lists this offseason, is one of the most exciting pitchers on the farm. His fastball reaches the upper-90’s and all of his pitches move. Hampton could approach the majors quickly and has the high ceiling of a front-end starter.

Zach Messinger was converted from reliever to the starting rotation and has just begun to scratch the surface of his potential. Messinger is a big kid with good stuff and should spend most of the year in Double-A this year. If he can cut down on the walks, he could move with a similar trajectory to Richard Fitts.

Tyrone Yulie and Blane Abeyta are pitchers with big stuff who haven’t been able to put it all together just yet. Both should begin the year in Double-A. Their pitches are good enough to where they could both break out if the control improves and health permits.

The Yankees have three righties in High-A worth monitoring. Justin Lange has incredible stuff with high-end velocity but just needs to improve his control. Jackson Fristoe improved his velocity late last season and is on the verge of a breakout season if he can stay healthy and improve his control. Baron Stuart is a big kid who went from an undrafted free agent to a legitimate prospect in one year. He has a three-pitch repertoire with big movement. His sinker has great spin and has reached 95 mph. This will be a big year for him to show he can continue to improve.

There will be a litany of talented starters competing for spots in the Low-A Charleston rotation. Luis Serna has impressed in spring training already. Trystan Vrieling will make his long-awaited debut this year. Carlos Lagrange has some of the best stuff in the system. Ryan Harvey is coming off a season where his stuff greatly improved and could break out this year.

Josh Grosz, Cade Smith, Brian Warrecker, and others from the 2023 draft are potential sleepers heading into the season. So many have gone into the gas station and came out different pitchers entirely, so you just don’t know what to expect until the season starts.

Finally, the FCL is poised to be an ocean of talent yet again. Angel Benitez is back from injury and might have better stuff than anyone from last year’s crop (high praise). Jerson Alejandro makes his highly anticipated stateside debut this year. Chalniel Arias, Sabier Marte, and Mariano Saloman are lesser-known guys who have the potential to become much bigger names this year. High school draft prospects Danny Flatt and Josh Tiedemann could make names for themselves this year too.

The Yankees farm system is stacked from top to bottom with right-handed starting pitcher prospects. The gravy train keeps on rolling, and that likely won’t change as long as the current scouting and development team stays in place. They are finding the right guys and molding them into prospects at a shocking rate. With all the names mentioned above, there are inevitably going to be several unmentioned players who seemingly come out of nowhere to impress us all in 2024. I’m here for it.

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6-foot-4

220-pounds

Starting pitcher

Right-handed pitcher

22-years-old

Drafted in the 1^st round (34^th pick) of the 2020 draft by the San Diego Padres

NYYU ranking: 38

The Luke Voit era was a fun time to be a Yankees fan. He was an energetic, excitable player who got the fans going and hit a bunch of homeruns. Alas, his stay with the Yankees came to an end when Anthony Rizzo showed up, and the Yankees worked out a trade with the Padres to get Justin Lange.

At the time, Lange was a first-round pick who was pitching in rookie ball. The Yankees sent him to the FCL for his first season with the club and the results were a mixed bag. On the plus side, he struck out 51 in just 36.1 innings and had a .215 average against. On the negative side, he had 30 walks and a 6.44 ERA in 36.1 innings.

2023 was a year of progress. Lange finished the year with a 4.75 ERA and 131 K : 63 BB in 85.1 innings. His walk rate improved along with his ERA, and he advanced from Low-A to High-A by the end of the season. His average against, which seemed like it couldn’t get any lower, dropped to .197.

As can be easily deciphered from his statistics, Lange has one major flaw; his control. Aside from that, however, he has nasty stuff and impressive velocity. Lange has a fastball that sits in the mid-90’s and regularly hit 98 mph this season. The pitch is a two-seamer and has about 12 inches of lateral movement with 18 inches of break. It’s filthy. He combines that with a changeup that has even more movement, a cutter with 30 inches of induced vertical break, and a slider and curveball.

It may be easy to look at Justin’s statistics and say his walk rate did not improve much. That superficial opinion ignores that fact that he improved his walk rate this year all while moving up two levels. It is often underestimated how hard that is to do. The umpires have stricter strike zones at higher levels, and he threw more innings than ever before. The key for a guy like Lange is incremental improvement, and he showed that in 2023. If he continues on the current trajectory, he’ll be on track to get the control where it needs to be by the time he reaches the majors. That’s no easy task, but the improvements are encouraging.

Lange has an incredible ceiling if he can fix his control. He has ace potential, though that would require substantial progress in command. On the other hand, he has a floor of never reaching the majors. If his control does not improve from where it is now, it is unlikely that a team could roster him. Worst case scenario, it is likely that his stuff could play up in relief and he could pare down his repertoire. Therefore, it is more likely that he ends up a late inning relief pitcher than to bust completely.

Lange is often forgotten among the top Yankees pitchers but that could quickly change as soon as 2024. He has the stuff to shoot up the rankings even with modest improvement in his command. I’m expecting big things from him next season and he is one of the more likely breakout prospects in the system.

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We continue our series of the top 70 prospects in the Yankees’ system with prospects 41-50.

41. Justin Lange – 6-foot-4, 220-pounds, SP, RHP, 22-years-old – One of the highest ceilings in the entire system belongs to Justin Lange. Lange has a fastball that sits in the mid-90’s and regularly hit 98 mph this season. The pitch is a two-seamer and has about 12 inches of lateral movement with 18 inches of break. It’s filthy. He combines that with a changeup that has even more movement, a cutter with 30 inches of induced vertical break, a slider and a curveball. It might make sense for him to pare down his repertoire though because the biggest challenge he faces is control. This past season he had a career best 4.75 ERA and an incredible 131 K in 85.1 innings. The problem is he also had 63 walks. It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that batters hit .197 against him this past year. The most encouraging thing about Lange is that he has incrementally improved every year in the minors. I’d expect that trend to continue, with the key being limiting walks. Much like Fristoe and Lalane, Lange is one of the players on this list who could catapult to become one of the top pitchers in all of minor league baseball if he has a big year in 2024.
42. Eric Reyzelman – 6-foot-2, 188-pounds, SP, RHP, 22-years-old – The Yankees drafted Reyzelman in the 5^th round in 2022 and he already had an upper 90’s fastball at that time. In college, he mainly threw the fastball, but he needs to develop his slider and changeup more to take his game to the next level. The Yankees bought on the upside and they’re hoping it pays off. It will if the development team can keep him healthy and get those secondary pitches going. This year he only threw 7.2 innings due to various nagging injuries. The biggest thing for Reyzelman will be to get innings under his belt next season. If he’s able to stay healthy, he’s a big-time breakout candidate.
43. Chalniel Arias – 6-foot-3, 165-pounds, SP, RHP, 20-years-old – Chalniel was in the DSL to start 2023 and he was so dominant the Yankees brought him stateside for a cup of coffee at the end of the season. Overall he had a 3.09 ERA and 61 K : 17 BB in 46.2 innings. Arias works with a 90-93 mph fastball at the moment with a slider, curve, and changeup at his disposal. He gets swings and misses with all of his offerings. He’s rail thin, so it stands to reason that he will gain velocity in the coming years as he has a lot of room to fill out and gain strength. Arias is another up-and-coming pitching prospect in the system with major potential. I’m looking forward to seeing where he stands by the beginning of next year. He’ll likely be back in the FCL, though a jump to Low-A wouldn’t be shocking.
44. Tristan Vrieling – 6-foot-4, 200-pounds, SP, RHP, 23-years-old – Vrieling had yet to pitch in the minor leagues due to an elbow injury, but he is now pitching in the Arizona Fall League. So far the results have been pretty good. Vrieling has a high spin curveball and slider which project well at the next level. His fastball is 90-93 mph and tops out at 96. The Yankees still have high hopes for this kid, so he remains in the top 50 and could climb significantly next year. Given the time off, I’d expect him to start in Low-A and could move quickly if he has returned to form.
45. Luis Velasquez – 5-foot-10, 155-pounds, RP, RHP, 22-years-old – Velasquez popped up on my radar when I did a deep dive on him early in the season because of his good numbers and found that he was pumping 98 mph fastballs. He also has a slider and a sinker in his arsenal. He averages about 95 mph with his four-seam fastball. With his improved stuff, Velasquez ended up with 77 K : 33 BB and a 1.74 ERA in 62 IP. He had a paltry .132 average against on the season. It’s clear that Luis has nasty stuff and given that he is officially eligible for the Rule V draft, I’d expect him to start moving quickly next year. He pitched well enough in High-A that he could begin the season in Double-A next year. He’s yet another big relief arm in the system that could turn into a high leverage option.
46. Caleb Durbin – 5-foot-6, 185-pounds, 2B, RHB, 23-years-old – The Yankees seem to be cornering the market on vertically challenged players, and I dig it. The Yankees picked up Durbin in a trade for Lucas Luetge, and he acquainted himself well in Double-A this year. He hit .304/.395/.427/.822 with four homeruns, 17 doubles, a triple, and 36 SB in his first season with the Yankees. He’s currently playing in the Arizona Fall League and has looked good so far. He’s a nice piece to have in the system as he closes in on the major leagues and as a high floor, lower ceiling type of player could provide some nice depth for the major league team as soon as next season.
47. Bailey Dees – 6-foot-8, 252-pounds, RP, RHP, 24-years-old – The third piece of the towering triumvirate in Double-A this year was Bailey Dees. Much like Watson and Neely, Dees had an excellent season in 2023. He finished with a 2.6 ERA and 77 K : 27 BB in 62.1 innings. Dees, whose name begs for inappropriate nicknames, had a .170 average against. He could stand to be more economical in his approach though, succumbing to the walk a bit too frequently this season. His control did improve from 2022, so if he can continue the upward trajectory next season the Yankees will have another big, high velocity option to turn to in the bullpen. He should start in Double-A next year with a promotion to Scranton-Wilkes Barre likely in the cards if he performs well enough.
48. Sean Hermann – 6-foot-0, 160-pounds, SP, RHP, 20-years-old – Hermann managed to pitch 112.2 innings this season and made it all the way to High-A at just 20-years-old. In his lone High-A start, he pitched well, with a 5.0 inning performance and five strikeouts while letting up one run. He finished the season on a high note, with a 3.24 ERA in his last six starts. This is great to see in a young player throwing more than double his previous high in innings. The fastball sits low-90’s and he was able to get it as high as 95 this year. What was more impressive was the movement he was able to generate, especially with the fastball. He regularly gets 25-30 inches of vertical break and 18 inches of horizontal break. These are Will Warren-type numbers. He pairs that with a changeup that also moves a ton, and a sweeper that has 6-12 inches of horizontal break. He also throws a cutter which doesn’t move as much but complements his other pitches well. Hermann’s overall numbers are not great. He had a 4.79 ERA and 91 K : 45 BB over 112.2 innings this year. If he can take the strides he made late in the season with him to High-A next year, he should have a much better season and we will be talking about him a lot more.
49. Luis Serna – 5-foot-11, 162-pounds, SP, RHP, 19-years-old – Serna had some early injuries that prevented him from pitching most of the season in 2023. He pitched 19.1 innings later in the FCL season and had 23 K : 8 BB and a 4.19 ERA. Serna already has a four-pitch mix, and all of his pitches move. More importantly, he has excellent control to go along with it. His fastball sits 92 and tops out at 94. His slider and curveball had good sweeping action. The changeup is among the best in the whole system. 2023 was a wash for him, but if he’s healthy next year he should start in Low-A and has the polish to move quickly from there. Serna has big sleeper potential going into 2024.
50. Harrison Cohen – 6-foot-0, 190-pounds, RP, RHP, 24-years-old – An undrafted free agent out of GWU, Harrison transitioned beautifully to the minor leagues in his first season. He made it all the way to Double-A and finished with a 3.61 ERA and 67 K : 26 BB in 52.1 innings this year. He pitched for three different levels this year and put himself on the map as a legitimate relief prospect. Cohen had decent numbers as a starter in college and in the Cape Cod League, but his transition to relief is probably what gives him the best chance to succeed at the next level. Cohen throws a fastball that hits mid-90’s and has good tailing action and vertical movement. He also has a filthy changeup which darts away from lefties and in on righties. He rounds out his repertoire with a slider that has a good induced vertical break. He also has good deception, as hitters have a lot of trouble picking up his pitches and have hit .205 against him. He is a bit reminiscent of David Robertson, which would be the best possible outcome for him. He needs to cut down on the walks, and if he can do that his likelihood of hitting his ceiling will shoot up. He’ll likely start back in Double-A next year.

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