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Big day for pitching
Triple-A: Elmer Rodríguez (coming off his worst start of the season)
Double-A: Jack Cebert (Top 10)
High-A: Rory Fox (Rising Prospect)
Tampa-A: Mac Heuer (4IP, 2H, 0 ER, 2BB, 6K - in progress)
Jack Cebert is making his 4th start in AA since his promotion; Cebert skyrocketed all the way to #7 in Baseball America's Top 30 update, and for good reason
Cebert starts his night by K'ing 3 in the 1st to work around a leadoff walk
3rd K of the 1st on a good breaking ball⬇️
Great day to watch some Yankee starting pitching prospects on the farm:
Triple-A: Carlos Lagrange
Double-A: Jack Cebert
High-A: Sean Paul Liñan
Single-A: Mac Heuer
Not to mention Gerrit Cole makes his first start for the Yanks since TJ
Fans of pitching, rejoice!🙌
MLB Pipeline dropped a new top 30 for the Yanks
Some notable rankings and some of my thoughts:
- Really excited and happy about what Jack Cebert's done. MLB Pipeline rightfully has him at 7th and he deserves every bit of praise he's gotten. It was clear to me Cebert was going to grow into a successful SP prospect for the Yanks upon being converted into one this year and in his first professional season as a SP he's been nothing but nails through freaking AA.
- Still being bullish on the quad of: Kohn, Hurd, Hampton, Cunningham is correct in my opinion. The little time Kohn had before being hurt in High-A he looked real deal. I've always liked Bryce's floor as I think he brings a balanced mix of stuff/command, Hurd's been completely flawless so far in rookie ball upon returning from injury, and Hampton in his two shortened outings in Low-A has still looked like he's got his same old dominant spin.
- I think Carr/Lalane/Selvidge/Cade Smith need to be lowered in the rankings. Selvidge/Lalane I say against my own will: Selvidge looked phenomenal in ST before getting TJ AGAIN; the velo was up in ST and he looked like he was on the horizon for a really cool come back story. Lalane just hasn't looked the same since his shoulder injuries following the 2023 campaign, I think he's on a RP trajectory. He's still very young and it wouldn't surprise me if he found a way to turn it around. Carr has struggled with both command and pitch shapes during his time with the Yanks, he's had some really rough outings in AA this year. He gets decent ride on a low-mid 90s fastball that's seeing a slight spike in velo this year relative to last, but ultimately there's not been much swing/miss and command to rack up K's and keep down the walks. I don't think Carr needs to be a hard thrower as a lefty with as good of a slider as he has, I think he needs to get more crafty with better command, the walks are a killer.
- Core Jackson/Kaeden Kent being 12th-13th don't surprise me at all. Kaeden is obviously having a breakout in High-A and is ranked this high for obvious reasons. Core is a guy with immense physical talent...was starting to string together a solid stretch of play before getting injured. His last 10 games he played saw: .359/.422/.436 and he's had above a .725 OPS in his last 30 (compared to the brutal start to the year). He plays great defense at SS, he's got a great arm with decent range, and he should have 15-20 HR pop in his bat. A guy I'm definitely going to ride out for a while.
- I like seeing the bump to Jace Avina well deserved, he's definitely found his stride in AA and has hit for a lot more power this year (which is something worth noting considering this is something he needed to work on). The K's/whiffs have been bad and will be a concern going forward but he's put up an impressive AA campaign so far and hasn't really showed any signs of slowing down either. AAA promotion down the stretch is likely.
- Wilson Rodriguez being ranked well into the top 30 surprises me a little. I see the appeal and have latched on myself quite a bit; speedy, good fielding, great swing decisions, and great hit tool...but the problem is hasn't been able to slug for much at all and so his ceiling is very limited in that regard. He's guy definite utility value to him and he's someone I can absolutely see being a guy I like more in the future.
- I'd personally have Facundo/Rivas/Reyzelman/Heuer higher than they're ranked (all in 20th+ range). Facundo was my pick for the breakout season this year. I enjoy the stuff from the left side of the mound a lot. He diced up Low-A almost exclusively relying on his strongest pitch of whatever day he was throwing, while his other pitches inconsistently didn't have much command, relying on chase/whiff to do his work. I knew he was going to struggle in High-A exactly the way he's struggling now, as hitters are biting less at his stuff off the plate and he's being forced to adapt to that. But I'm not fooled at all by the early struggles in High-A, I think Facundo eventually becomes a RP and he becomes an impact one. Reyzelman's been throwing 99-100 mph in AA and has like a 40+ K-BB%, no explanation needed..he should be in AAA and on the MLB team sooner than later. Heuer is a 2025 late round draftee, the stuff is unreal across the arsenal..command's struggled in his short start to his career but eh not concerned. Rivas I'd like to see higher because he struggled early on in AA but has been nails in May, the same way he finished off High-A. Splitter is an unreal pitch, one of the best in the org, and the slider is a really tough offering to lefties — especially when he's able to locate his fourseamer properly at the top of the zone.
- Would've liked to see Coby Morales, Enmanuel Tejeda, Andrew Landry, Tyler Boudreau, Ben Grable, and Garrett Martin find their way on this list as well.
Jack Cebert slid into a rotation role after being a bullpen guy last year in college and High-A.
He's got a 2.36 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 34.1 IP, expect him to be ranked inside the top-10 prospects for the Yankees organization in our next update.