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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