3 prospects the Yankees should call up in September but absolutely won’t

Are you pleading for the New York Yankees to make a bold move when rosters expand on Sept. 1? Join the sea of delusional folk! Fans can hope for it all they want, but it’s simply not happening. General manager Brian Cashman will continue signing journeyman pitchers who will never make the MLB roster or never make an impact even if they make it to the Bronx.

But if the Yankees were run by anybody who even pondered taking a risk once a decade, there are some obvious suggestions to supplement this ailing roster when two extra spots are added Thursday.

Sadly, no pitchers made it here because … the Yankees traded all of them away in the deals for Andrew Benintendi, Scott Effross and Frankie Montas/Lou Trivino. In a different world we’d be calling for Hayden Wesneski or Ken Waldichuk, both of whom would’ve fit perfectly.

Instead, the Yankees will enjoy their skeleton crew sans Jordan Montgomery, JP Sears, Luis Severio, Nestor Cortes and others for now. Life is tough and not fun at the moment … but we always have Harrison Bader to look forward to, right?!

Anyway, if you were to poll Yankees fans at the moment, many wouldn’t even blame the pitching. It’s the offense, which has dipped into its classic lifeless stretch of play that fans have been accustomed to for three years now. Can it even be fixed? We can at least try!

3 prospects the Yankees should call up in September but absolutely won’t

3. Elijah Dunham

Perhaps bold, why not call on another outfielder? What purpose are Aaron Hicks, Tim Locastro and Marwin Gonzalez serving outside of “veteran presence”? The answer is nothing. They don’t do anything and are eating up roster spots for reasons unknown.

Elijah Dunham rocketed up the prospect board after an impressive debut pro season in 2021 and he’s continued to answer the call at Double-A this year. He played some center field last year but has only been used in the corner spots at Somerset in 2022.

His numbers aren’t otherworldly, but we’d say slashing .258/.357/.465 with 55 runs scored, 16 homers, 53 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 96 games is quite fine. Not everybody needs to take the linear leap to Triple-A and show outrageous success every step of the way.

Dunham offers solid, versatile defense, speed, a lefty bat, and power. Right now, his numbers are pretty much right in line with his career averages and slightly below what he was doing in college and the Cape Cod Summer League. His power has actually improved, too.

What’s the wait? If it doesn’t work, who cares. You tried.

1. Anthony Volpe

Anthony Volpe is your shortstop of the future? Anthony Volpe is your prospect crown jewel you won’t trade? Anthony Volpe is a potential face of the franchise? If the New York Yankees truly believe that, then why not just … call him up now?

The Yankees can’t even use the service-time argument (which they shouldn’t be concerned about anyway since they’re the richest franchise in the sport) because Sept. promotions don’t affect a prospect’s MLB clock!

Volpe’s numbers might be “down” compared to last year’s from a power and average perspective, but it’s not even a concerning difference. See for yourself:

• 109 games between Low-A and High-A: 113 runs scored, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 33 SBs, 101 Ks .294/.423/.604 slash line
• 108 games at Double-A: 70 runs scored, 18 HR, 60 RBI, 44 SBs, 85 Ks, .255/.353/.476 slash line

And his defense has improved (11 errors in 702.2 innings last year, 11 errors in 905.2 innings this year). The Braves promoted Vaughn Grissom and Michael Harris II after limited experience at Double-A, and look what it’s done for them. Will the same result happen for the Yankees? No idea, but something worth trying if, again, you BELIEVE in the talent!

Have you been watching The Captain? Jeter’s presence on the 1995 Wild Card team (even though he couldn’t play) set the tone for his career in pinstripes. Might want to try repeating history in a good way and learn from previous successful decisions.

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