Yankees' 2025 draft pick could be fast-rising reliever after wild start at High-A

When it comes to the New York Yankees 2025 draft class, it's been Dax Kilby and then everyone else. Kilby burst onto the scene last year, but now that the holdovers from last season are making their pro debuts, there's another, much less heralded youngster turning heads (and, yes, Kilby's still on the IL).

New York's 11th-round pick Ben Grable didn't grab much attention when he was selected last July. That's not uncommon; few players picked that late generate much hype, and it's not a shock that he hasn't cracked the club's top-30 list.

But the righty reliever is now turning heads. The 24-year-old has made six appearances and logged 7 2/3 innings, recording a whopping 17 strikeouts and a 1.17 ERA for Hi-A Hudson Valley.

It's early, but that sort of dominance at any level will get noticed, and begs the question as to whether or not he'll be able to rise quickly through the ranks and potentially even make an impact in the big league bullpen at some point in 2026.

Ben Grable rising through the ranks would add to the collection of intriguing reliever options in the Yankees' system

Grable pitched one year at Indiana after transferring from Northwestern, pitching three disjointed years in total at the college ranks. The youngster had missed the entire 2024 and 2022 seasons, and served in both the rotation and bullpen during his collegiate career.

Heading into the 2023 draft, he was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 443 prospect in the class. At the time, they noted his strikeout prowess and mid-90s fastball that he could reach back and touch 100 with.

He'd ultimately go undrafted, but when he was selected two years later, Baseball America named him, and specifically his fastball, as one of their "Unheralded Statcast Standouts." On the flip side, they noted that his secondaries still needed some development.

These days, his slider seems ahead of his changeup, and the Yankees have been very solid in building up sliders in their young pitchers over the last few years. If that's all he has, it'll be fine coming out of the pen. The collegiate experience and advanced age will help him level up quickly, especially if he keeps dominating hitters as he has so far.

We could soon see him joining the upper levels of the system, where New York is also housing interesting options like flame-throwing Yovanny Cruz and minor league Rule 5 pick Hansel Rincon, all of whom are champing at the bit to make an impact.

It's easy to feel queasy about the construction of the big league bullpen, but down on the farm, they're collecting a lot of low-cost, intriguing options that could soon blossom. If that happens, Grable and the others might bail out Brian Cashman and his mistakes.

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