4 non-top 10 prospects who could crash the Yankees' big league roster next season

After another stale-seeming exit, fans will eagerly await the arrival of top prospects to the New York Yankees' big league roster. Spencer Jones' 2025 heater might give him a shot to make the 2026 Opening Day roster. Minor League Player of the Year, and Carlos Narvaez trade prize,Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz will probably make an appearance at some point, too.

Still, sometimes it's the less-heralded guys who end up crashing the party. That's what happened with Cam Schlittler and his meteoric rise in 2025. Even if a lesser-known prospect doesn't have Schlittler-sized success, it doesn't mean a youngster can't come out of nowhere to carve out a role. That's especially true if he can fill a hyper-specific niche or an overwhelming need.

What the Yankees' 2026 roster will look like is very much up in the air. How injuries play out next season will also play a huge role in who gets an opportunity - and, from there, what they do with it. Still, there are a couple of areas that stand out, and a few guys towards the bottom of the list who could be answers to questions around the fringes of the roster (or who could solve dilemmas that have yet to arise).

Four unheralded Yankees prospects who could find a big league role at some point in 2026

Infielder Dylan Jasso (No. 23)

A 22-year-old originally from Mexico, who signed as an undrafted player back in 2023, Dylan Jasso is currently ranked as the Yankees' No. 23 prospect by MLB.com. He played the entire 2025 season at Double-A Somerset, slashing .257/.326/.400 with 13 homers in 127 games and 537 plate appearances.

Jasso played 83 games at third base and another 18 at second, and has experience at first in the past as well. Scouts also project that he has the athleticism to play a little left field. As a hitter, Jasso isn't powerless, but at the same time, that's not his calling card. Instead, he has a balanced, all-fields approach with average walk and strikeout rates.

The right-handed hitter is a little bit of a jack of all trades, master of none, and he'll likely need some seasoning at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before making the leap to the majors. But just as the Yankees had a mid-season need for a right-handed utility man that led to the Amed Rosario trade, Jasso could be next year's Rosario — filling in around the diamond and giving Ryan McMahon a platoon partner. After all, Rosario is a free agent, and who knows what the Yankees can expect out of Oswaldo Cabrera following his gruesome injury? The Ernie Clement vibes are off the charts.

Pitcher Brendan Beck (No. 11)

A second-round pick out of Stanford back in 2021, Brendan Beck's professional career saw its start get delayed. Tommy John surgery in September of 2021 held Beck out of action until 2023, when he managed just 34 innings of work as he found his way back to the mound.

Beck has primarily been a starter throughout his minor league career, and saw his 2025 campaign divided between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. At Somerset, he dominated, posting a 1.82 ERA in 54.1 innings (11 games, 9 starts).

When he moved on to Triple-A, he kept his strikeouts relatively consistent and didn't see a sizeable uptick in walks, but he did prove to be susceptible to the home run, allowing 1.40 HR/9 and seeing his ERA rise to 4.44.

Armed with a low-to-mid 90s fastball, a pair of breaking balls (which are his best offerings), and a fringy changeup, it's command over stuff that makes things happen for Beck. His future role might be as a spot starter or long man out of the pen, and there's a chance he could be as good or better than veteran retreads like Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn, whom the Yankees leaned on at times in 2025.

Pitcher Eric Reyzelman (No. 26)

24-year-old Eric Reyzelman has an impressive repertoire that, if harnessed, could mean bad news for opposing hitters. A reliever only, Reyzelman tore up the Double-A level in 2024, thanks to a high-90s fastball, a devastating sweeper with a ton of horizontal movement, and a changeup that flashed as a third weapon despite some inconsistency.

With Somerset, he posted a 1.93 ERA and 14.27 K/9, but walks could get away from him at a 5.40 BB/9. Unfortunately, his ascension to Triple-A in 2025 coincided with a dip in velocity and some serious control issues, which led his Ks to fall to 9.64 K/9 and his walks to balloon to 9.00 BB/9. He went on to post a 4.29 ERA in 42 innings, which isn't bad, all things considered.

He'll need to prove he can consistently throw strikes and get back some of that strikeout juice in order to crack the big league roster in 2026, but given the state of the Yankee bullpen, he might get a shot at some point amid the inevitable facelift.

Pitcher Harrison Cohen (No. 30)

Harrison Cohen is yet another undrafted free agent to make this list. The 26-year-old is a relief-only prospect, much like Reyzelman, but he's had more success in the upper minors.

Cohen split his time between Somerset and Scranton last year, logging 22.1 innings and posting a 2.01 ERA at Double-A, then hurling 28.2 innings with a 1.57 ERA in Triple-A. Honestly, it's a surprise we haven't already seen him. Scott Effross and Mark Leiter Jr.'s impending non-tenders could grant him a roster spot swiftly.

Despite his reliever profile, Cohen has a four-pitch arsenal, and it doesn't work the way you would think. His fastball is more of a show-me pitch that doesn't have much life and that he struggles to control. Instead, his slider-cutter combination is deadly, and his changeup posted a 33.8% whiff rate, which, while impressive, was significantly behind his cutter (48.75% whiff) and his slider (43.75% whiff).

Cohen also features a deceptive delivery with a high leg-kick followed up by a low arm-slot that keeps hitters way off balance, but also makes his control spotty at times. Walks were an issue for him, with a 14.8% walk rate between both levels.

Still, the right-hander's stuff is intriguing, and he's already tasted success in Triple-A, making him a long-shot candidate for a low-leverage bullpen role in 2026.