Updated Yankees Top 10 prospect rankings after Juan Soto trade

The Yankees may have cleared out a good deal of exciting pitching in the Juan Soto trade with the San Diego Padres, but they did not ruin their stockpile of top prospects. That's all thanks to Matt Blake.

While Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez ate valuable big-league innings -- and occasionally shined -- in 2023, neither was supposed to be a foundational piece for this pitching staff, until Blake came along and turned them into capable arms and hot commodities. Michael King emerged as a bullpen ace in 2022, thanks to Blake's work (and Corey Kluber's grip), but the only reason he was able to serve as the centerpiece of a Soto deal was his September switch to the rotation.

The Yankees have lost a stockpile of arms in recent days, but even after the departure of Drew Thorpe and several of their key 2023 contributors, they still retain a great deal of talent (and, yes, some more tantalizing arms for Blake to hone). Two of their three top pitching prospects entering the offseason remain in the system, with several 2023 draftees on the verge of their pro debuts expected to emerge this summer as assets.

Baseball America's brand new rankings were quite kind to the Yankees, and their evaluation of "stuff" across the board in the minors ranks New York second or third in several top metrics. Though the Yankees' Top 10 now mainly consists of position player prospects (crazy), it seems likely their program will continue to churn out viable arms while these offensive stars take center stage.

Yankees Top 10 Prospects List Following Juan Soto Trade (and Drew Thorpe's Departure)

1. Jasson Dominguez

MLB Pipeline recently slotted Spencer Jones into the No. 1 spot in their rankings over Dominguez, which makes sense. Jones oozes potential, and that's what the prospecting game is all about. But what Dominguez did during his short week in the bigs, when all his tools finally clicked, earned him the top spot. He put several years of hype into practice, and if his rehab goes according to plan (so far, so good), he'll join an absolutely ridiculous outfield later in the summer.

2. Spencer Jones

Evaluators seem to believe Jones has every tool necessary to someday make the leap into vaunted territory. He wasn't able to replicate his absurd 2022 pro debut (.344 with a .963 OPS across two levels), but Jones still stabilized to hit .267 with 16 homers and a .780 OPS while navigating to Double-A Somerset by the end of the season. There aren't many hulking behemoths like Jones who've survived in the outfield, but luckily, one of the others is in pinstripes, too. Expect him to open the 2024 campaign at Double-A again.