This struggling Yankees prospect is getting tougher to defend after bleak start

You ever search the internet for Roderick Arias highlights, only for your search to return a bunch of mid-2024 moments. "This is broken!" you, a New York Yankees fan, exclaim. "What the heck is with this busted search showing me old highlights?" Uh ... nope. There, uh, haven't exactly been any viable highlights since then.

Arias is one of the Yankees' recent highest-profile international signings, and his fluid left-handed stroke screams star power when he connects. In the world of projections, he's an easy pick to click; with so much unrealized potential, it's hard not to envision a growth opportunity. In reality, though, he pairs Spencer Jones' whiff tendencies with the infuriating inconsistency of Estevan Florial.

2025 was his opportunity to burst onto the prospect scene. To start the year - yes, down at Low-A Tampa once again, where he played in '24 - all he's done is burst.

While fellow phenom George Lombard Jr. realizes his potential at the next level, puts his poise to good use, and threatens to break down the door to Double-A, Arias has begun his season hitting .146 through his first 10 games, with 14 strikeouts in 41 at-bats (after 171 last season). Nobody needs a heater harder than he does.

[Eds. Note: Arias scooped an opposite-field grand slam out to left field on Friday night. Perhaps he knew ths article was coming. He's still stuck at .167, however.]

Yankees top prospect Roderick Arias is getting tougher to defend after brutal start to 2025 season

Entering the season, still tantalized by the tools, MLB Pipeline ranked Arias just below the team's recent wave of imported pitching prospects, still clocking him sixth in the organization. Righty Ben Hess, 2024's first-round pick, has sparkled, more than justifying his sterling debut ranking. Arias? He just seems stuck, perhaps less than inspired by going through the same motions again, year-over-year.

While pressure might make diamonds, though, it's also on the player himself to write his own destiny. And it's getting tougher to defend Arias' doldrums as he struggles to make whatever mindset adjustment might be necessary to overcome them. That's a part of the maturation and growth process too, after all. Make yourself undeniable. Make them notice you. And he's not.

The early goal here was Robinson Cano. Arias, at his best, is swaggering and potent. It's not tough to see a path. Perhaps, when his career unfolds, his ceiling will end up closer to that of Florial - an ex-Yankee who plays his best against his former team. Bummer.