During Thursday’s matinee game versus the Twins, the Yankees released their preliminary Spring Breakout 40-man roster, including household names like Carlos Lagrange, George Lombard Jr. and Elmer Rodriguez.
There’s a lot to like with this roster. This is despite the Yankees recently having been ranked as having the 5th worst farm system, however, having a pitcher-heavy depth ranks the system as #1 in MLB.
Pipeline notes how there’s a lot of talent falloff after that of Ben Hess (who has looked stellar this Spring) and Spencer Jones (who is why drivers on Dale Mabry Hwy. need to watch out during home games), and the first player listed on the roster is a good example of that.
Roderick Arias was highly touted when originally signed, but the talent he was supposed to have has yet to arrive, and his stock has fallen accordingly. Internal scouts obviously still see something to have had him considered for the Breakout roster, but like that of Spencer Jones, Arias’ strike-out rate is extraordinarily high.
Of the infield, Core Jackson, Kaeden Kent, Dax Kilby, Jackson Lovich and Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek are all 2025 draftees, while Eric Genther is the lone 2025 UDFA signing (went as a UDFA out of Rhode Island).
RHP Jack Cebert, RHP Rory Fox (yet to debut), RHP Mac Heuer (yet to debut) and LHP Pico Kohn (“debuted” on March 5, striking out 2 batters, although stats don’t count for ST) all were drafted or signed in 2025. Cebert is the lone pitcher that briefly debuted in 2025, going straight to High-A Hudson Valley and threw a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 IP. 2024 3rd rounder RHP Thatcher Hurd has also yet to debut after missing all of 2025 to injury.
Dax Kilby was very impressive in a brief look last season, with a 13.6 K%, and a .353 BA over 81 PA/18 G. Kilby has good mechanics at the plate and has room to grow, although I haven’t seen him yet this season.
Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, the son of Major Leaguer Mark Grudzielanek, has the potential to be the “dark horse” of the 2025 draft class after punching higher than his 20th round draft slot last year, hitting .247 with a .710 OPS, but the defense was what impressed me the most, considering the poor depth at 3B currently. Martin-Grudzielanek has gotten a number of looks this Spring, playing briefly in 3 games so far.
Another son of a former Major Leaguer, Kaeden Kent, son of Jeff Kent, struggled in the brief time he spent in High-A Hudson Valley, batting .187 with 17 RBI, but struck out in 18.6% of ABs.
Coby Morales spent some time in the Arizona Fall League last fall and told me recently prior to a Spring game that it was an incredible experience, especially learning from former Yankees minor league coach Aaron Leanhardt, the designer of the now famous Torpedo bat. Morales batted .243 last year, primarily playing 1B, but also spent some time in LF and RF, splitting time in the OF almost evenly with his 1B experience. Morales will likely get the start at 1B for the Breakout game after ending the season in Double-A Somerset.
The one head-scratcher of a roster add is Dexters Peralta. Peralta batted well under the Mendoza line last year (.157) with an exceptionally high strikeout rate (30.4%) and had a wRC+ of 39. He also recorded 11 errors at shortstop in FCL last year in 39 G/313.2 inn.
I’m excited to see what Brando Mayea does this year, especially after having an injury-riddled 2024 and 2025. Mayea should have been in Low-A Tampa last season, but a wrist injury ended his season short in the FCL, preventing that promotional opportunity. Mayea is the best outfield prospect at the lower levels in pure defense, running better routes than Jasson Dominguez, and just has to get his bat to mature. Offense is typically the one thing that I’ve noticed takes the longest for international prospects, but is also usually the one that is easiest to learn.
Willy Montero is, in some respects, the surprise add among the infielders, but is another opportunity for scouts to see his talents as a showcase which is how I’m viewing this. Despite missing a significant part of the 2025 season with a cranky wrist injury that he couldn’t get sorted out, Montero still put together a decent second-half with a .271 BA and .645 OPS, despite a high-ish 22.7 K%. His defense is a little shaky, which could be attributed to the Florida sun as we’ve seen with others this Spring, but could be a name to watch this season regarding trade talks as he can project to be a decent outfielder for another team.
On the pitching side, we’ve yet to see any of Bryce Cunningham this Spring, which is a bit surprising since when most people talk about Hess, Cunningham is usually in the same conversation.
LHP Xavier Rivas, a 2024 signing in the 16th round, was exceptional in his first pro year, and is my pick for arm to watch this year. Rivas threw a 1.23 ERA in High-A with an insane 13.5 K/9 and solid 4.30 BB/9 in 29.1 IP, leaving an extraordinary 89.4% LOB. Rivas recorded a FIP of 3.73 between 85.1 IP in Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley.
It will also be good to get a refreshed look at Brock Selvidge, Henry Lalane and Luis Serna, who all missed significant time in 2025 to injury, but of course, nothing is promised. The inaugural Spring Breakout is a good example of that, when Selvidge threw in most of the game, allowing Lalane and Neely to split 2 innings.
Lalane is one that may shoot up through the system this year, especially since he posted a 1.65 ERA in 16.1 IP after being re-instated to the Low-A Tampa roster after Tommy John surgery. This is notable because it’s the lowest ERA he has ever posted, but should also be notable in that despite Lalane being a starter on paper, he excels when he’s used in instances less than 3 innings. Lalane should, then, become a reliever, and we may see that again in the Breakout game.
Serna is also on the rebound from injury (right elbow internal brace surgery), after also missing most of the 2025 season. He struggled in a few short outings in 2025, recording a 5.14 ERA in 7 IP. Serna had control issues in 2024 with Tampa, and I would imagine he starts the season in Tampa with the facilities they have to make sure he’s healthy enough to be successful in High-A Hudson Valley. Despite the control issues, Serna did record a 10.59 K/9 and 3.10 BB/9 in 2024, which jumped to 12.86 K/9 and a 9 BB/9 in the limited showing of 2025.
Brendan Beck and Harrison Cohen will be recently back from supporting Great Britain and Israel, respectively, in the WBC at the time of the Breakout game. Cohen likely has the leg up on getting promoted sooner than Beck, but Beck has also missed two full seasons due to injury, only pitching partially in 2023, while 2025 was his first full season experienced without injury.
Cohen recorded a 1.76 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A last year, posting a lower ERA in SWB than with Somerset despite throwing in more innings: 1.57 ERA in 28.2 IP compared to 2.01 ERA in 22.1 IP. Cohen also recorded an excellent 10.41 K/9 in 2025, but posted a high-ish 5.29 BB/9.
Beck also pitched in Somerset and Scranton last season, but recorded significantly different stats. In 54.1 IP with Somerset, Beck held a 1.82 ERA, but threw a 4.44 ERA in 77 IP once promoted to Scranton. While Beck had a lower K/9 last season compared to Cohen (8.43), he also has an exceptional BB/9 (2.47). It will be fascinating to see how Beck does this season and what the Yankees end up doing with him, while I would expect to see Cohen promoted to the Bronx before too long considering how weak the current bullpen is.
Of the roster provided, this is how I would construct the starting lineup and positioning:
- Dax Kilby SS
- Coby Morales 1B
- George Lombard Jr. 2B
- Spencer Jones CF
- Willy Montero RF
- Jackson Castillo LF
- Ediel Rivera C
- Kaeden Kent 3B
- Roderick Arias DH
I would have my starter as RHP Ben Hess, with Carr, Rivas, Cunningham, Facundo and Smith backing him up. I don’t expect they use this many pitchers, especially since the game is only seven innings, but I would like to see some of them get the exposure.
Those players are also the ones to watch in this game. It will be interesting to see if Arias does indeed get the DH role since his glove has been notably weak, especially when compared to Kilby, Lombard and Lovich.
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