3 Yankees prospects that could make unexpected impact at spring training

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While everyone focuses and talks about the cream of the New York Yankees' crop of top prospects -- Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza, Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez -- let us direct your attention to some lesser-known names that have the potential to make an impact this spring training.

Such "impacts" range from getting an expedited bump in the minor leagues to cracking the Opening Day roster. The latter is highly unexpected, but setting the table by making an impression for a midseason callup or a promotion when rosters expand could mean everything for these prospects.

The Yankees have roster needs at this very moment, despite their contender status. Left field isn't solved. Sure, Josh Donaldson will open the season at third base, but are we sure he'll hold onto the job all year? The bullpen still needs a little bit of help. The rotation, as ironclad as it looks, will always need reinforcement (especially with Frankie Montas out to begin the season).

Here's the second-tier of Yankees prospects headed to spring training in Tampa that you should probably be keeping tabs on over the next few weeks.

3 Yankees prospects that could make unexpected impact at spring training

3. Sean Boyle

You might not find Sean Boyle in the Yankees' top 30 prospects, and that's because his career got off to a slow start. The pitcher made just 26 appearances from 2018-2020, never going beyond Low-A. Then came 2021, when he quietly burst onto the scene with a 1.99 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 98 strikeouts across 27 games (10 starts), totaling 86 innings. He pitched in Single-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A that year.

In 2022, he started the season at Double-A Somerset and logged 19 starts before returning to Triple-A Scranton. The right-hander finished with a 3.71 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 160 strikeouts in 28 games (27 starts), totaling 155.1 innings.

It wasn't until the end of the 2021 season that Boyle could be properly evaluated and ranked in the Yankees' farm system, but now that he's entering his age-26 season, it still remains difficult for him to crack the top 30, with so many more promising younger players ahead of him.

Nonetheless, the fact that he took part in two no-hitters in 2021 (one all by himself) and surged ahead in 2022 to record the largest workload of his career shows that he has an outside shot to maybe earn a spot in the bullpen. He's emphasized his slider to work alongside his two-seamer and also sports a sinker.

Is it that crazy if he knocks one of Jhony Brito, Jimmy Cordero, Deivi Garcia or Matt Krook out of the mix?

2. Andres Chaparro

The Yankees gambled when they didn't protect Andres Chaparro ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, but it was one that paid off. Nobody took the slugging third baseman, and now New York can see what they have in the budding prospect across the 2023 campaign.

Another "older" prospect heading into his age-24 season, Chaparro, after a slow start to his pro career and the lost 2020 season, really showed out in 2021 and 2022. He reached Double-A last season and hit .289 wth a .963 OPS, 19 home runs and 52 RBI in just 64 games. The year prior, he hit 15 homers in 101 games. He fixed something.

He's mostly played third base (291 of his 361 games) throughout his minor league career and has fielded at an unsightly .917 rate. That's not going to cut it. But he was better at first base after logging 14 of his 65 total games at the position just last year. Maybe a position change is in the works? Either way, if his bat continues to come around, he'll be an asset. A fast start in spring training could catapult him to Triple-A, and then we're one step away from The Show.

Though his trajectory is hardly set in stone, his ascension over the last two years, like Boyle's, cannot be ignored.

1. Elijah Dunham

About that left field situation...

Some optimistic fans figure top prospect Everson Pereira could be the eventual option, but don't forget Elijah Dunham is ahead of him experience-wise at the moment. Dunham got the invite to spring training and just completed a full season at Double-A, while Pereira logged 29 games there in 2022.

Pereria's also played an overwhelming majority of his pro career in center field, whereas Dunham's a corner outfielder, with most of his success coming in left (.988 fielding percentage in 106 games). Additionally, he's an absolute unit (6-foot, 213 pounds) who steals a ton of bases (65 in 203 minor-league games).

Though his OBP and SLG took a slight dip with the full-time promotion to Double-A, Dunham still clubbed 26 doubles and 17 homers at Somerset. He stole 37 bases. He didn't make a single error in 50 games in left. In the Arizona Fall League at the end of the 2021 season, he hit .357 with a 1.037 OPS and 11 stolen bases in 23 games.

A spring training breakout could fast track him to Triple-A and change the midseason discussion around the left field position at the big-league level once we approach the trade deadline. Yes, the preferable option is another above-average MLB player, but you can't predict the market. If the Cubs overachieve, Ian Happ may not be available. Bryan Reynolds isn't going anywhere, unless the Pirates get their way. Gotta control what you can control, and Dunham is here, waiting to take the next step and show off that sweet lefty swing.

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