Scorching Yankees outfield prospect might play his way into becoming prime trade bait

If you didn't know who Jace Avina was before this season, you'd be forgiven. The New York Yankees acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers alongside outfielder Brian Sanchez (who became part of the David Bednar deal) in exchange for Jake Bauers in November of 2023. Going in that sort of deal highlights the type of nondescript prospect he was at the time.

Now, though, Avina seems like the next big thing. The 23-year-old has gone on a heater down in Somerset and became a fan-favorite on Twitter in the process. On April 16, he hit his first homer of the year. By May 17, he had played 27 games and crushed 11 total dingers, matching his 2025 total, which came in 98 games. During that span, he posted a .449 wOBA.

Scrolling the Somerset Patriots' Twitter account these days looks like an Avina fan page. They've celebrated his power output, breaking down how he used fungo drills over the offseason to add backspin to the ball and generate greater carry. They've highlighted his eight multi-hit games out of 41 total contests. On May 24, they rang the bell as a lead-off single in the first inning extended the young outfielder's on-base streak to 23 games.

Then there are the home run clips. Lots of home run clips.

Jace Avina's hot start in Double-A has him feeling like Yankees trade bait

As of Memorial Day, Avina is hitting .260/.347/.548 with 13 homers. For context, the most homers he's ever hit as a pro came in 2022, his debut season, when he cracked 15 between the Arizona Complex League and Single-A.

He first reached Double-A last season, playing 46 games in the back half of the year with a .224/.314/.341 line. That performance led us to believe that he'd be left unprotected heading into last December's Rule 5 draft, which ended up being the case.

MLB Pipeline ranks Avina as the Yankees' No. 19 prospect. More telling, Baseball America has him ranked No. 23 in their May update. That's the same ranking he held in their preseason rankings, indicating that the experts there are seemingly unconvinced by his early-season surge.

There are some cracks in the foundation that are worth noting. Avina was a 14th-round selection in 2021 out of Spanish Springs High School in Sparks, Nevada. He didn't come here with a highly regarded pedigree, hence why he was traded alongside another prospect for Jake Bauers, who to date has produced just 0.2 career fWAR over seven major league seasons.

A major issue for Avina early on has been his strikeouts, with a 34.7% K-rate in 2022 and a 29.6% clip in 2023. Last year, he posted a career-best mark of 25.1, but now, amidst all the power and production, he's striking out 31.4% of the time.

The Yankees have made trading mid-ranked prospects who are putting up impressive numbers despite their flaws over recent years their specialty. Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones getting shipped to Miami for Ryan Weathers over the offseason is a prime example. Roc Riggio, Parks Harber, and Jesus Rodriguez getting sent to Colorado and San Francisco are other perfect examples.

The wisdom of those moves is a mixed bag, but that's not what we're debating. We're looking at a farmhand playing out of his mind despite some obvious flaws, and if we know the Yankees, they'll want to capitalize on that value before the strikeouts have a chance to derail him. Right or wrong, it just feels like Avina will be on the move during trade season.

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