Four Essential Players Who Are X-Factors for Yankees This Season

Here are four X-factors for the New York Yankees this season.

Mar 27, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With the season off to a nice start after an Opening Day win for the New York Yankees, the team is focused on building early momentum this year.

After winning the American League pennant last campaign, this is a much different-looking Yankees team. New York had to pivot quickly after losing Juan Soto in free agency, and by all accounts, they did a nice job. 

However, despite a strong offseason, the team was hit hard by injuries to key players this spring. Now, players are going to need to step up with guys like Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Giancarlo Stanton being out. 

Furthermore, some young talent on the team is starting to emerge, giving additional hope for the future. 

Expectations are high for the team this year, and meeting them will be no easy task.  

Here are four X-factors for the team with the season kicking off

Anthony Volpe

The new campaign started off on a wonderful note for Anthony Volpe. The 23-year-old shortstop has been an everyday player for New York the last two seasons, and the results have been good but not great. 

Arguably, his rookie year was better than his sophomore campaign, but there is a lot of expectation for him heading into an important year three. The talented young slugger has shown a good amount of pop early in his career, and that would be a nice boost for the lineup. 

Clarke Schmidt 

The talented right-hander is one of the members of the roster that will be starting the year on the injured list. However, his absence shouldn’t be too long compared to some others, which is good news for the Yankees. 

Schmidt has the potential to be a good pitcher in the league, as shown by his performance in 2024. The 29-year-old totaled a 5-5 record in 16 starts last year with a 2.85 ERA. Unfortunately, he missed a lot of time with a lat strain. 

This season, the Yankees need him to get healthy and put together a strong campaign, especially with their ace out for the year. 

Jasson Dominguez 

Easily one of the biggest X-factors for the team is rookie outfielder Jasson Dominguez. The talented switch-hitter is one of the best prospects in baseball and the top prospect for the Yankees. 

He is expected to be the starting left fielder in 2025 on a daily basis, and the American League Rookie of the Year hopeful needs to be good. If Dominguez lives up to his potential, the sky is the limit for him. However, New York has yet to see that in the Majors yet, but he will be given the chance. 

Carlos Rodon 

It was a bit of a surprise for the southpaw to get the Opening Day start over Max Fried, but it worked out well for both him and the Yankees. Rodon pitched really well against the Milwaukee Brewers and got his season off to a strong start. 

Now, New York will be hoping that this is the version of the left-hander that they will be seeing for the rest of the campaign. After two years with the Yankees, they have seen two different versions of Rodon. Considering how much they are interested in him, they need him to be great in 2025.