Yankees Hitting Prospects To Watch In 2024

March 28, 2024 Paul Woodin AL East, General, MiLB, Yankees 0

Caleb Durbin, Somerset Patriots. Photo credit The NR Hour Show on YouTube.
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Part two of Yankees Prospects to keep an eye on in 2024 is the hitters. These are a some hitters that caught my eye during the 2023 season and are a little under the radar entering 2024. I expect these hitters to have big 2024 seasons and to rise in the Yankees prospects rankings all around the industry very soon. Helped by their own performances and some graduations, these players could be the next crop of young Yankees hitting prospects that people talk about. The upper tier prospects of Jasson Dominguez, Austin Wells, Spencer Jones, Everson Pereira, Roderick Arias and others grab the hitter headlines, and rightfully so, but the players on this list will be grabbing some headlines before long!


Omar Martinez, C
The Yankees have a deep group of interesting catchers in their system, several of whom the Yankees can feel good about the numbers they’ve put up in 2023. One of them is Martinez. Though he didn’t receive a promotion from Tampa, the lefty-hitting Martinez has consistently shown on-base ability and power throughout the past season. Martinez hit .251 with 18 home runs, 16 doubles and 71 RBI in 105 games (371 at bats) with Tampa. He can lift the ball to the pull side and has a nice fluid swing with a good eye. His career on-base percentage of .379 points to a hitter with sound strike zone judgment. Martinez won MiLB Player of the Week from July 31-August 6 when he hit .435 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI, including a three-homer night. Martinez made the Florida State League Postseason All-Star roster. He has played first base when he isn’t behind the plate, and that offers the chance for his bat to advance with so many catchers in front of him in the system.

Jesus Rodriguez, C/3B/1B/OF
All Rodriguez has done in his career is hit. In the 21-year-old’s 203 career games he has a stellar slash line of .315/.405/.474. The question for any young player is whether he can continue to perform that way as he is promoted, and so far, so good. His numbers this past season looked an awful lot like the ones he’s put up in the short-season leagues. He has a very sound swing from the right side and a good eye at the plate in 109 games (460 at bats), walking 55 times and striking out only 70 times in 2023. Rodriguez hit .310 with 9 home runs and 20 doubles while also showing off his good wheels, stealing 21 bases while being caught only 4 times in 2023. The 5-foot-9, 182-pound Rodriguez is one of the more interesting prospects in the system having split time among third base, first base, left field, and catcher in his young career. In winter ball he played exclusively in the outfield.

Caleb Durbin, 2B/3B/SS
With all the talk and accolades the other middle infielders in the Yankees system (Volpe, Peraza, Sweeney, Arias, Lombard Jr.and Serna) get, I wanted to touch on one middle infielder that doesn’t get talked about as much. Durbin was acquired by the Yankees along with Indigo Diaz from the Atlanta Braves in 2022 in exchange for Lucas Luetge. The 23-year-old infield prospect is a former 14th round draft pick out of Division 3 Washington-St. Louis. Last season, between two stints on the IL, in 69 games with Somerset and Hudson Valley he hit .304 with 4 home runs and 17 doubles. He also had 36 steals while being caught 8 times. But what’s most intriguing from the 2023 season is his 26 walks to 18 strikeouts, after having 50 walks to 50 Ks in 2022. Durbin was sent to the Arizona Fall League and lit it on fire! In 23 games (103 at bats) he hit .353 with 3 homers, 9 doubles, 12 RBI and 21 stolen bases! His 21 steals were just three short of the single season AFL record. Even more impressive was his 14 walks and just 7 strikeouts. He has played 2nd, 3rd and shortstop and with his speed, good eye at the plate and ability to play multiple positions, he could be a useful utility player in New York very soon. A Nick Madrigal or Steven Kwan contact-oriented hitter with speed is very much in the cards for Durbin.

Enmanuel Tejeda, SS
The 19-year-old Tejada has played shortstop, second base and third in his two years in the Yankees system. Signed from the Dominican Republic for $40K in 2022, Tejeda has good pop, good speed, and some tools to believe in. He showed off all his tools in the FCL last season where in 50 games (166 at bats) he hit .307 with 5 home runs and 4 doubles. What was most impressive about Tejeda were his 3 triples, 24 steals and his walk-to-strikeout ratio (44:44). The right handed hitter has the potential to rocket up ranks once he gets more at bats and more exposure with his smooth swing and very good speed. In 2022 he was overshadowed in the DSL by Keiner Delgado and in 2023 in the FCL he was overshadowed by both Delgado and Roderick Arias. Don’t overlook this young Dominican! Tejada is years away but it’s never too early to start thinking about the future of the Yankees middle infield or him as a trade chip in just a few years.

Willy Montero, OF
Only 19 years old, Montero is a monster of a kid at 6’4″ and 202 pounds. Hitting mostly at the top of the lineup this past season in 47 games, he slashed .331/.389/.436 with 13 extra-base hits (9 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers). Montero finished second in the FCL to teammate John Cruz in RBI with 43. Montero has a plus sized frame with good plus power production and puts up extremely good exit velocities while uses his speed very well. He is sneakily fast for his size playing mostly centerfield in his minor league career. He also is years away but works very hard and will be a player everyone talks about very soon within the Yankees farm system.

Paul Woodin

Paul Woodin is a huge sports fan who leads the New York Yankees minor league farm system coverage for the Prospects1500 team. Growing up playing and watching baseball while collecting baseball cards, Paul developed a love for the game. Born and raised in Connecticut between Yankees and Red Sox territory, Paul become a Yankees fan because of Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter. An avid sports card, memorabilia and autograph collector, he participates in redraft, dynasty and prospect-only fantasy baseball formats during each season. Feel free to reach out on Twitter
@PaulWoodin1.

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