Sometimes the first thing that jumps off a prospect list isn’t the order, the scouting grades, or even the upside. It’s the certainty. Baseball America’s newest top 10 for the New York Yankees came with exactly that kind of clarity at the top, where George Lombard Jr. once again holds the organization’s No. 1 spot. It’s not shocking. Lombard has been the headliner for a while, the player development staff’s favorite example of doing things the right way. But what sits behind him tells a more interesting story about where this farm system is trying to go, and who might define the Yankees’ next era.
A New Arm Rising Quickly
Elmer Rodriguez landing at No. 2 feels like the quiet reveal of a larger shift. The Yankees have pushed him aggressively, moving him across three levels in 2025 and giving him a chance to feel Triple-A before his season wrapped. That kind of challenge is usually reserved for pitchers the club believes will help sooner rather than later, and Rodriguez showed enough polish to justify the experiment. He throws with intent, works efficiently, and keeps hitters guessing with sequencing that’s already sharper than most 21-year-olds.
If the Yankees have been guilty of anything in recent years, it’s waiting too long to trust their own pitching pipeline. Rodriguez might force their hand, and that’s a good problem to have.
The Wild Card With Star Potential
Then there’s Dax Kilby, the newest member of the Yankees’ first-round club and the name that has people inside the organization buzzing quietly but confidently.
The specialists slotted him at No. 3, but the placement almost feels temporary. Kilby is raw in the best sense of the word: all projection, all athleticism, and the kind of swing you can imagine becoming dangerous in the Bronx once it grows into its full shape.
The numbers from his age-18 debut tell a story of a hitter already understanding what he wants to do. Kilby hit .353 for Single-A Tampa with a .457 OBP and showed a mature feel for the strike zone that rarely shows up so quickly.
He didn’t run a homer out in his 18 games, but that’s just a matter of physical development. At 6-foot-2 with room to fill out, the power will come. What mattered more was the double-digit stolen bases and the comfort he showed adjusting to professional pitching only weeks removed from high school.
Tools That Jump Off the Page
Baseball America named Kilby the best hitter, the fastest baserunner, and the best overall athlete in the Yankees system. That trio of labels doesn’t happen by accident. It also doesn’t happen often. Throw in a 159 wRC+ against older competition, and it’s easy to see why evaluators are already imagining where this could go.
The Yankees will need to show restraint. Kilby is more of a 2028 or 2029 conversation, not the next-man-up option fans sometimes hope first-round picks immediately become. But the franchise has been looking for a true homegrown hitter with superstar-level projection since the early stages of the Aaron Judge era. Lombard could still be that. Rodriguez could reshape the staff. Kilby, though, has the upside that changes the room.
What This Means for the Yankees
The strength of the Yankees system has always been its ability to produce at least one player per cycle who turns into something bigger than expected. Lombard is already on that track. Rodriguez has a chance to jump into the rotation mix soon. Kilby represents something else entirely: a distant but very real possibility that the Yankees have found their next foundational offensive piece.
Prospect lists aren’t predictions. They’re snapshots. But this particular snapshot tells a story of a system that’s slowly bending upward again, powered by a mix of proximity, projection, and a shortstop in Kilby who could headline this list a year from now without anyone blinking.
If the Yankees are looking for the core of their future, it might already be taking shape.