A pair of homegrown Yankees led New York to a 9-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Cam Schlittler tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, while designated hitter Ben Rice smacked two home runs, including a game-sealing grand slam in the eighth inning. Center fielder Spencer Jones, shortstop George Lombard Jr., second baseman Anthony Volpe and catcher Austin Wells were also in the Yankees lineup.
With homegrown talent propelling the Yankees’ World Series hopes even with Aaron Judge currently out of the lineup, let’s look at where the top 30 Yankees prospects from the start of the 2021 season, according to MLB Pipeline, are now.
Wells (No. 6 ranked prospect in 2021) and Volpe (No. 11) were both in New York’s starting lineup for game No. 1 of the Wild Card series, with Wells notching two hits and driving in a pair of runs. While both have had up-and-down major league careers to this point, they are also plus contributors.
One young player who was not in the lineup for the Yankees in game 1 was outfielder Jasson Domínguez (No. 1). Just 23 years old, Domínguez did not make the postseason roster but will likely get another crack at playing time in 2027. He still has time to develop into a consistently productive major leaguer, though opportunities to succeed in the Bronx may be fleeting.
Clarke Schmidt (No. 2) would have almost certainly been on the postseason roster had it not been for a right bicep injury sustained warming up in the bullpen during the final week of the season. Schmidt made just one appearance for the Yankees in 2026 after returning from Tommy John surgery but would have represented one of the more experienced options out of the Yankees’ bullpen. Though the 2017 first-round selection has battled with injuries throughout his career, the 30-year-old has still accumulated 4.8 wins above replacement in 394 career innings for the Yankees, split between the bullpen and rotation.
Right-hander Luis Gil (No. 5), who won the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year award for New York, is also still in the organization. Since that awarding-winning season, Gil has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness (4.61 ERA in nine major league games in 2026) and missed out on the postseason roster.
Antonio Gomez (No. 21) is still kicking around the Yankees’ farm system, though it took him a position change to get to that point. A catcher at the time of the 2021 rankings, Gomez switched his focus to pitching in 2025. Though the right-hander has struggled to stay healthy in his time on the mound, he will pitch for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League this fall.
While just six of the 30 players on the 2021 list are still in the organization, another 14 prospects on the list were traded in the pursuit of building a World Series contender in past seasons.
That number includes a quartet of players who were packaged together in the Yankees’ ill-fated move for slugger Joey Gallo at the 2021 trade deadline. Infielders Josh Smith (No. 14) and Ezequiel Durán (No. 15), outfielder Trevor Hauver (No. 23) and Glenn Otto Jr. (No. 28) were flipped to the Texas Rangers for Gallo and reliever Joely Rodríguez. Gallo slashed just .159/.291/.368 in 140 games in pinstripes before being shipped across the country to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Smith and Durán each earned a ring in 2023 with the Rangers and were real contributors, posting WAR marks of at least one. Otto also earned a ring in his final major league season in 2023 but struggled in parts of three major league seasons and did not return to the majors before retiring in 2025. Hauver has not gotten past Triple-A.
The Yankees also acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo at that deadline in exchange for pitcher Alexander Vizcaíno (No. 9) and outfielder Kevin Alcántara (No. 12). Despite being the higher ranked prospect, Vizcaíno never reached the majors and is now out of baseball. Alcántara later appeared on three top 100 prospect lists from 2023 to 2025 but has yet to carve out a consistent role in the majors. Rizzo was a solid contributor across three and a half seasons in New York.
A year later, the Yankees kicked off a big 2022 trade deadline shopping spree by sending three prospects, including pitchers T.J. Sikkema (No. 16) and Beck Way (No. 24), to the Kansas City Royals for all-star outfielder Andrew Benintendi. Benintendi proceeded to play just 33 games for the Yankees before a hit by pitch broke his right hamate bone. Sikkema has yet to reach the majors, while Way was a replacement-level contributor during his first taste at the big leagues in 2026.
Pitchers Luis Medina (No. 7) and Ken Waldichuk (No. 27) were then packaged with two other lower-rated prospects and shipped to the then-Oakland Athletics for right-handers Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino. Both Montas and Trivino also struggled to stay healthy with New York, as each pitcher missed almost a full season during their time under contract. While Waldichuk underwent Tommy John surgery while with the A’s and has since bounced around waivers, Medina returned from a Tommy John Surgery of his own in 2026 and posted a 3.08 ERA over 60 innings as a reliever. Medina’s 1.8 WAR mark was easily higher than Montas and Trivino’s combined 0.1 WAR in Yankees uniforms.
The Yankees also swapped right-hander Hayden Wesneski (No. 30) for Chicago Cubs reliever Scott Effross. Effross impressed in a short sample in 2022 before missing the rest of the season to injury. After posting a 2.54 ERA across 60 appearances between both teams in 2022, Effross has since worked to a 7.71 ERA in 12 appearances. Wesneski has accumulated 2.1 WAR in five major league seasons. The now-Astro made 11 starts for Houston in 2026 and was included on their postseason roster.
Reliever Albert Abreu (No. 18), outfielder Brandon Lockridge (No. 20) and Everson Pereira (No. 17) were all moved in smaller trades, though the Abreu and Pereira deals paid big dividends for the Yankees.
While the Lockridge trade with the San Diego Padres at the 2024 deadline for reliever Enyel De Los Santos and a prospect was largely a wash for both sides, Abreu was part of the package that netted the Yankees catcher Jose Trevino prior to 2022, while Pereira was included in the package for utilityman José Caballero at the 2025 deadline. Caballero is currently on the Yankees’ postseason roster.
Oswald Peraza (No. 4) joined Pereira in being traded away at the 2025 deadline, though the infielder was jettisoned for a prospect as the Yankees looked to clear a roster spot. After flashing in the 2022 playoffs, Peraza largely struggled to carve out a consistent role in New York with the emergence of Anthony Volpe in 2023. Peraza accumulated 1.3 WAR as a regular for the Los Angeles Angels in 2026, while trade return Wilberson De Pena had a breakout season in New York’s farm system.
Estevan Florial (No. 10) was also traded after the 2023 season in a small move to the Cleveland Guardians. However, this was less a roster-building move and more a roster-clearing transaction, as the Yankees seemingly deemed Florial’s 40-man roster spot more valuable than the former top 100 prospect.
Yoendrys Gómes (No. 8) has bounced around waivers after being designated for assignment by the Yankees in 2025 but carved out a nice role for himself on the 2026 Minnesota Twins, posting a 3.62 ERA in 56 games after coming over from the Rays during the season.
Before Schlittler, Deivi García (No. 3) was expected to be the pitcher haunting the Red Sox after his expectations were inflated by comparisons to Pedro Martínez. Despite a strong 2020 debut that created excitement heading into 2021, unexpected command struggles led to Garcia falling out of favor in New York and eventually being exposed to waivers. The right-hander has yet to recapture the form that earned him a playoff start as a rookie.
Matt Sauer (No. 26) was drafted in the same class as Schmidt and had two stints with the Yankees, though he never made it to the Bronx. The right-hander pitched for the Royals in 2024 as a Rule 5 Draft selection and earned a World Series ring after pitching for the 2025 Dodgers.
Catchers Anthony Seigler (No. 22) and Josh Breaux (No. 19) were the Yankees’ first and second round selections in the 2018 draft, respectively. Both were let go by the organization before reaching the majors. Seigler may be better known to Red Sox fans than Yankees fans, as the now-utilityman played in 49 games for Boston in 2026. Breaux has still yet to make his MLB debut and has continued to bounce around the minors.
Infielder Alexander Vargas (No. 13) and outfielder Ryder Green (No. 25) and Jake Sanford (No. 29) were also released and have not reached the show.