New York Yankees Breakout MLB Prospects For 2025

Entering 2025, we’re projecting a number of Yankees prospects to have the potential for a breakout season.

To qualify, a player must rank outside the organization’s Top 10 prospects entering the year. All scouting reports are from Baseball America’s 2025 Prospect handbook, which you can purchase here.

You can find Top 10 prospect rankings for all teams here and all breakout candidates here.

Cam Schlittler, RHP

Preseason Rank: 15
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: Schlittler spent three solid seasons at Northeastern, where he won first-team all-Colonial Athletic Conference and rookie of the year in his freshman season. He finished his college career with a 2.97 ERA and 180 strikeouts over 182 innings. He also spent summers in the Futures League and the Cape Cod League. The Yankees selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft and signed him for $205,000. His 154 strikeouts were the most in the organization in 2024.

Scouting Report: Schlittler is big and physical and has made good on the projection he showed when he came out of college. He works five pitches: A four-seam fastball, a curveball, a changeup and two kinds of sliders. His fastball has taken a huge jump in his time as a pro. In his early days, the pitch sat around 88-90 mph. Now, the pitch averages 94 and touches 97 with 15 inches of induced vertical break. The shorter, harder slider is the most recent addition to his mix and serves as a complement to the sweepier version, which is his money pitch. Both his curveball and changeup are fringy, and he grades as an average strike-thrower. Schlittler has overhauled his delivery in recent years to transfer his weight better as he moves down the mound.

The Future: Schlittler made a one-start cameo in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at the end of the season. He’ll return to the level in 2025 and will have a shot to make his big league debut. He projects as a back-end starter.

Scouting Grades: FB: 60. CB: 45. SL: 50. CH: 45. SWP: 60. CTL: 50.

Carlos Lagrange, RHP

Preseason Rank: 16
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Lagrange signed with the Yankees in 2022 and then spent his first season in the Dominican Summer League, where he racked up 43 strikeouts in 33 innings. He broke out in 2023 in the Florida Complex League, where he was part of a prospect-laden group that was the talk of the league. His development was mostly arrested in 2024 thanks to a back injury that limited his regular season to just 21 innings in the regular season and then five outings in the Arizona Fall League.

Scouting Report: At his best, Lagrange works with a high-octane three-pitch mix led by a fastball that sits in the mid 90s and touches triple digits. He backs it with a slider and a changeup. The former grades as a double-plus offering, and the latter took steps forward even in the limited reps he got in 2024. Scouts are concerned that Lagrange’s tall frame and long levers will cap his control at below-average. The Yankees say that the righthander’s work ethics took steps forward during his rehab, but he needs to make further strides tightening his delivery and improving his strike-throwing.

The Future: After a year mostly lost to injury, Lagrange will try to get back on track in 2025, which will likely be split between the Class A levels. His powerful arsenal will give him plenty of leeway toward developing as a starter. It also gives him a fallback option as a high-end reliever in the mold of former Yankee Dellin Betances.

Scouting Grades: FB: 70. SL: 70. CH: 40. CTL: 40.

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP

Preseason Rank: 17
BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: Rodriguez-Cruz showed feel for pitching but lacked strength as a stringy 17-year-old in his draft year. Still, the Red Sox made him their highest drafted prep righthander since 2014 when they took him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft and signed him for an under-slot $497,500 bonus. His innings load has built slowly in pro ball, in part due to forearm inflammation that limited him to 55 innings in 2023. His stuff and durability took a step forward in 2024 when he threw a career-high 89 innings and his strikeout rate jumped to 27%. He was traded to the Yankees in December 2024.

Scouting Report: After he averaged 93 mph and topped out at 95 in 2023, Rodriguez-Cruz added significant velocity in 2024, sitting at 95 and topping out at 99. The power spike allowed him to attack the strike zone more aggressively, particularly given the deception created by his high release height. He also became more comfortable with a splitter that graded well. His low-80s sweeper and curveball both had similar velocity and movement profiles, but he has a chance to feature a power gyro slider that would dive under bats and complement his fastball well.

The Future: Rodriguez-Cruz has moved deliberately through the system but remains young. The 21-year-old will likely open 2025 in High-A and has back-of-the-rotation potential with a fairly clear relief floor.

Scouting Grades: FB: 55. SL: 50. CH: 45. CB: 45. CTL: 50.