Yankees Rookie Watchlist: FCL and DSL Prospects to Keep an Eye On

With the Dominican Summer League now a few weeks into its season, all of the Rookie ball leagues are in full swing for the summer. The sample sizes for these young players are growing larger by the day, so it’s time to take a look at how the
Yankees
’ affiliates are performing at the rawest levels of the minor leagues, and mort importantly, which players are starting to a name for themselves very early into their pro careers.

Rookie ball (consisting of the Florida Complex League, Arizona Complex League, and Dominican Summer League) differs from the higher levels of the minors in many different aspects: notoriety, play style, general purpose, and the age of its participants. Many of the players at these levels come from recent classes of international free agent signings and the later rounds of the
MLB draft
, and the bulk of the player pool is typically outside of their organization’s top 30 prospects. With so many names being heard for the first time each season, it can be a bit overwhelming for fans to pinpoint which players are worth the hype.

Most pitchers at these levels are raw and unrefined, so offensive production is very high and the standard for breakout performances is even higher. They’re also not yet playing in front of actual fans for the most part, so it’s less of a real in-game experience. Age-to-level is also a major indicator of breakouts, as most future top prospects find success at the Complex league at just 18 or 19 years old, and in the Dominican Summer League they can be as young as 17 or even 16 for their first taste of minor-league action.

There are a lot of qualifiers to identify breakout prospects in Rookie ball, but doing so is the main purpose of these levels of competition, and it can be exciting to find a diamond in the rough. With that in mind, here are a few of the biggest names and top performers thus far for the Yankees Rookie ball affiliates:

FCL Yankees

Up to this point, the 2025 FCL Yankees have been pretty underwhelming. Without a big name to emerge from the past couple international free agent classes, the chance of a standout young prospect making himself known at this level is lower than usual and the list of names to choose from is relatively thin. That said, a few players have been impressive and deserve a shoutout.

Brando Mayea

The now 19-year-old Mayea was the top name in the Yankees 2023 IFA class, and he’s repeating the level after a mediocre performance at the Complex in 2024. Mayea is a speed-first player who the Yankees hope will develop more power at the plate as he ages, so his three home runs in 84 plate appearances this season are a good sign after not hitting any last year. Injuries have been a concern for Mayea in his young career, and that seems to still be an issue as he’s already missed a significant number of games in the young season. There are a number of exciting developments here, as Mayea has cut his strikeout rate down from 27.9 percent to 22.6 percent, his ISO is up from .044 to .203, and his wRC+ has jumped from 98 to 136. He’s showing the amount of progress needed to keep his name on organizational prospect rankings.

Gabriel Lara

The most impressive hitter on the FCL Yankees roster from a statistical standpoint, Lara (also 19) has a .360/.418/.600 slash line through his first 55 plate appearances, has homered twice, and owns a 170 wRC+. Perhaps most importantly, his plate approach looks refined with a 9.1-percent walk rate and 10.9-percent strikeout rate. Lara came from the same 2023 IFA class as Mayea, but he disappointed last year while repeating the DSL and his name hasn’t been mentioned much at all. That will change if he keeps this performance up throughout the year, especially if the peripherals remain consistent.

Franyer Herrera

On the other side of the ball, the 20-year-old Herrera has backed up his impressive DSL performance from last year with equally dominant numbers at the Complex this season. The lefty spent three years (his age 17-19 seasons) in the DSL, though he only pitched a combined 70 innings between 2022-24, with 49 of them coming last year. During that season, he showed some promise with a 2.01 ERA and 11.68 K/9. He’s only 15 innings into his season at the Complex league, but he’s been able to keep that performance up with a 1.15 ERA and 11.49 K/9. Pitching prospects are more volatile than hitters at this level, but the southpaw has started the season hot and could gain some momentum if he’s able to stay healthy and dominant.

DSL Yankees and Bombers

The crop of players in the Dominican Summer League are split across two squads, the Yankees and the Bombers. These are the youngest players in the organization, and we could be hearing about them a lot more in the future. Here are the big names and standouts:

Mani Cedeno

At just 16 and barely older than New Yankee Stadium itself, Mani Cedeno was one of the top names in the Yankees’ most recent IFA class. MLB Pipeline already ranked him as the No. 13 prospect in the organization, citing his advanced hit tool and his efficiency on the base paths and in the field. The right-handed hitting shortstop has high upside, especially if he develops a bit more power down the road. So far his performance hasn’t been amazing, but he’s shown an ability to stay patient at the plate with a 16-percent walk rate. He was one of the youngest players in his class, so patience will be a virtue here. He possesses all the traits of a future top prospect.

Francisco Vilorio

Vilorio earned the highest signing bonus in the 2024 IFA class, but he wasn’t all that impressive in his first season of Rookie ball (70 wRC+) and is repeating the level. His performance is trending in the right direction, mostly due to his sky-high 27.5-percent walk rate through just 40 plate appearances. He’s yet to tap into the raw power he was known for upon signing, but an improved plate approach could go a long way towards helping him access it and starting hitting the ball out of the park. He’s still striking out too much, however.

Richard Matic

Another 2024 IFA signee repeating the DSL, Matic hit just .196 in 2024 without any home runs in 186 PA on his way to a 71 wRC+. He’s shown improvements in this young season, mainly in the power department as he’s already hit the first two homers of his professional career in just 10 games. His walk rate has climbed from 12.4 percent to 18.9 percent, and he’s seen a huge wOBA increase from .320 to .466. His contact rate is still dangerously low at just 52 percent, but Matic is making strides towards becoming a promising third baseman.

Isaias Castillo

Castillo was another of the most recent IFA signings, ranking within the Top 100 overall in the class. He’s off to a blistering start to the season and is a young 17, having celebrated his birthday on June 15th. It’s just a 26-PA sample, but the Santo Domingo product is slashing .409/.500/.682 and his 191 wRC+ is the best on the team. There’s not a lot of information publicly available, but that will certainly change if he’s able to sustain a breakout. He’s been the Yankees’ top Rookie ball hitter thus far.