The New York Yankees don’t have to set their official roster until noon Thursday, and three of the four affiliates don’t begin play until Friday, so all of this is subject to change – but we know where some of the Yankees’ top prospects will begin their 2022 seasons.
Three of the four affiliates released their break camp rosters on Monday afternoon, and the big news is that the top two prospects in the organization and last year’s top draft pick will be holding down shortstop at the top three levels.
Anthony Volpe, the No. 1 prospect in the organization and one of the top in all of baseball, will start the season at Double-A Somerset, coming off a 2021 breakout season where he slashed .294/.xxx/,xxx with 27 homers, 86 RBI, 33 steals, and a minor-league leading 113 runs scored in 109 games between Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley.
The Patriots roster includes five of the team’s Top 18 prospects as ranked by MLB.com, with Volpe joined by LHP Ken Waldichuk (No. 6), RHPs Luis Medina (12) and Randy Vazquez (16), and outfielder Brandon Lockridge (18).
Meanwhile, Oswald Peraza, the No. 2 prospect behind Volpe, is on the initial roster of the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, where he will join fellow Top 15 prospects RHP Hayden Wesneski (No. 8), RHP Luis Gil (No. 10), and infielder Oswaldo Cabrera (No. 14), as well as heralded RHP Deivi Garcia and possibly No. 6 prospect RHP Clarke Schmidt.
The RailRiders’ roster is the one most likely to undergo the most change, as Gil and Garcia (as well as Ender Inciarte and Manny Banuelos) were sent to Triple-A after the break camp roster was released, and the Yankees still have a handful of players in camp yet to be re-assigned.
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As for High-A Hudson Valley, that’s where top 2021 pick Trey Sweeney will begin his first full season in the organization after playing 33 games between the FCL and Low-A Tampa last year. Sweeney, who ranks No. 5 on the MLB.com Top 30 list, will be joined by the No. 4 prospect and 2020 first-rounder Austin Wells, who played 38 games for the Renegades last season, as well as No. 11 prospect outfielder Everson Pereira.
Tampa has not yet released the roster that will play for Rachel Balkovec as she becomes the first female manager in minor-league history, but based on 2021 finishes plus other assignments, it is likely that the Tarpons will be headlined by No. 3 prospect Jasson Dominguez.
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