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3 players from Yankees' Spring Breakout showcase the American League should fear

Dominant performances from some highly rated talent on the way should have other AL front offices worried.

By Charles Kime |
New York Yankees v Miami Marlins
New York Yankees v Miami Marlins / Rich Storry/GettyImages
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After blasting 826 feet of home runs off of Toronto’s top prospects, including Adam Macko who is on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster, No. 2 Yankees prospect Spencer Jones used the Spring Breakout game on Saturday to remind other American League teams just why GM Brian Cashman refuses to include him in potential trade packages.

MLB's new prospect showcase event, Spring Breakout allows top prospects to compete directly against their peers in other other organizations. Per MLB, “The inaugural four-day event showcasing baseball's future [was] underway [Thursday through Saturday], with action from ballparks in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues.“

3 Yankees prospects who shined at Spring Breakout

Spencer Jones

Jones seemed to enjoy himself, with those two home runs and four RBI helping the Yankees prospects to a 9-1 win over Toronto’s prospects. Afterwards, the 22-year old Californian said, “It was really cool that MLB provided a platform for a lot of us guys to get out here and play on television. I think it was well-run and it was just a fun baseball game. We were all excited about it.”

Jones, who triple-slashed .267/.336/.444 between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset last season, worked on lifting the ball more consistently this offseason. Saturday's powerhouse performance represented the latest manifestation of that consistency.

Cashman is on record saying he expects Jones to begin the season in Double-A with the Somerset Patriots, where he only played 17 games last season after he was promoted from the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades on August 27th.

But surely it won’t be much longer now before we see the 6’6”, 235lb Jones, and his powerful, left-handed swing mashing home runs in the Bronx and patrolling the outfield with the 6’7”, 282lb perennial MVP candidate Aaron Judge and top prospect Jasson Domínguez. If that’s not enough to strike fear into the rest of the AL, it’s certainly going to be exciting to see them form a powerful trio in the heart of the Yankees’ lineup.

In fact, its an exciting time for fans in general, with a stacked farm system that Baseball America ranks 9th best overall, with six top 100 prospects, including Domínguez (No. 16), Jones (No. 46), Everson Pereira (No. 67), Roderick Arias (No. 68), Austin Wells (No. 71) and Chase Hampton (No. 72).

As MLB writers Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo noted in their 2024 preseason farm system rankings, “Clubs that fare well in the system rankings tend to fare well on the diamond. Organizations with an abundance of highly rated talent on the way usually translate that into winning.”

So it’s also good news that two young Yankees pitchers also showed out in the Spring Breakout game against Toronto, and neither of them are named Chase Hampton. There’s some serious depth here, even after dealing away Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez in the Juan Soto trade.

Brock Selvidge

Lefty Brock Selvidge, ranked No. 11 in the Yankees’ system by MLB Pipeline, was dealing on Saturday, allowing only one loud hit in four innings off the bat of Toronto’s No. 6 prospect Addison Barger, who is 24 years old and already had 340 at-bats with Triple-A Buffalo last year.

The 21-year-old Selvidge finished at High-A Hudson Valley last season, going 4-1 with a 3.58 ERA in nine starts for the Renegades, with 46 strikeouts in 50.1 innings. His scouting report includes a 60-grade cutter and a fastball that sits at 92-95 mph, which he can pump up to 97 to complement his best option, that 85-89 mph cutter. His low-80s changeup is a work in progress, but he has an athletic and repeatable, clean delivery.

Apparently Selvidge, a third-round pick in the 2021 amateur draft, “was a no-brainer" to draw the start for the first Spring Breakout game, according to Kevin Reese, the Yankees’ vice president of player development, who cited director of pitching Sam Briend as one of the voices in Selvidge’s corner.

No doubt he was excited when he reported to the right-field bullpen for warmups on Saturday and found Yankee legend Andy Pettitte waiting there for him! They discussed several topics, including him trusting his fastball to get ahead in the count.

“It was kind of surreal. There’s no other words,” Selvidge said. “That is somebody that has done everything that I want to do. As a young pitcher, my goal is that I want to do all of the above — I want to win championships for my team. He’s incredible to talk to. He’s going to give you unlimited help.”

Henry Lalane

But Selvidge's exit didn't mark the end of the impressive performances Saturday, as No. 9 prospect and Bronx native Henry Lalane relieved Selvidge with two innings of scoreless, three-strikeout work. Only 19, the lanky 6’7” southpaw is named after his dad, a former St. Francis and European professional basketball player.

Lalane moved back to the Dominican Republic as a youth, and was signed to a $350,000 bonus, the largest of any pitcher in the Yankees' 2020-21 international free agent signing class. He spent 2022 with the Yankees’ Dominican Summer League affiliate, and stood out last year as the best pitching prospect in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

He made eight appearances in the FCL, including five starts, with 34 strikeouts against only four walks in 21.2 innings. He’s got ‘swing-and-miss’ stuff that he pounds the strike zone with, to go with solid command, as evidenced by a WHIP of 0.97 and batting average against of only .207.

The scouting report gives him a 60-grade on a fastball “that sits at 93-95 mph and reaches 97 with plus arm-side run and carry up in the zone. He already demonstrates advanced feel for a fading mid-80s changeup that's his more reliable secondary offering at this point… He'll need time to develop but has a huge ceiling as a potential frontline starter.“

With exceptional young talents like Jones, Selvidge and Lalane working their way up the farm system ranks, the future is bright for the Yankees. Dominant performances like we saw Saturday in the Spring Breakout game should strike fear in front offices across the American League.

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