Yankees claim slugging recent top 100 prospect after brutal Rockies debut

Did the New York Yankees claim Yanquiel Fernández because they can see the vision while examining the raw power? Or did they claim him because his name is one Pokemon evolution past "Yankee" already?

Regardless, the Yankees got a jump on either a dirt-cheap slugging outfield addition or the next Franchy Cordero on Wednesday afternoon when it was revealed that they were Fernández's landing spot after a rocky Rockies DFA last week.

Fernández, freshly 23 years old, might have the highest upside of any DFA'd player this winter. He was added to the Rockies' 40-man roster for Rule 5 protection after the 2023 season when he popped 25 homers, split between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford. Prior to the 2024 campaign, he ranked as Baseball America's No. 92 prospect in the game, and fell 72nd on MLB Pipeline's list and 87th in Baseball Prospectus' compendium.

He moved up to a Triple-A timeshare in 2024, then had an .849 OPS in 64 games last season in the thin air of Albuquerque. Fernández didn't get promoted to the bigs because of his solid-not-great offensive numbers, though. He got promoted because he can do this:

And he didn't do it often enough after his arrival at Coors Field.

Yankees claim slugging lefty outfielder Yanquiel Fernández from Colorado Rockies

Fernández's journey through the Rockies' system had mostly been a movie during his development process. At the MLB level, it became Gigli.

In a 52-game sample last year, Fernández homered just four times, batting .225 and subtracting 0.8 bWAR from a bottom-barrel roster. He was DFA'd on the same day the Yankees acquired his former teammate, Angel Chivilli.

The Rockies were just four spots away from Fernández clearing waivers and returning to their system. So close. Now, they just have to sit and wait like the rest of us to see if Fernández survives on the Yankees' 40-man roster until Opening Day. Maybe the Yanks will be secure in cutting him loose, knowing that he almost made it through the whole league once already? Do the Jays or Dodgers want him?

Fernández should not be the first on the chopping block; remember, light-hitting infielder Braden Shewmake somehow still has 40-man protection. But if the Yankees can pull off the coup of Fernández and Marco Luciano on the Triple-A Scranton club to begin the season, they'll have added more high-upside depth at that level than virtually anyone else this winter.