Yankees Honor Spencer Jones, Elmer Rodriguez with Internal Award

As Spring Training comes to a close, the New York Yankees are handing out some awards within the organization. The Kevin Lawn award, which recognizes the best position player and pitcher in the Yankees' system, is announced each March.

According to Yankees insider Gary Phillips, outfielder Spencer Jones received the award for Position Player of the Year and Elmer Rodríguez won for Pitcher of the Year for 2025-26. Last season, Cam Schlittler was awards for pitching and catcher Rafael Flores for position players.

The #Yankees announced that Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodríguez were named winners of the 2025 Kevin Lawn Awards as the Yankees’ minor league Position Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) March 20, 2026

According to MLB.com, "the annual awards are dedicated to Kevin O’Brien Lawn — the son of longtime Yankees Vice President and Chief of Operations Jack Lawn — who passed away in 1999." Notable past winners include Don Mattingly in 1981, Derek Jeter in both 1994 and 1995 and Aaron Judge in 2016.

Rodríguez was a standout in the World Baseball Classic for team Puerto Rico, pitching three scoreless innings against Team Cuba during pool play. While Puerto Rico was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Team Italy, the international tournament was an exciting chance for Rodriguez to show off his skills.

Last season, throughout three teams in the Yankees farm system, he played in 27 games and finished with a 2.58 ERA through 150 innings. In two games and six innings during Spring Training, Rodríguez threw five strikeouts and allowed five hits, also giving up two runs (both of them earned).

Jones has been one of the buzziest Yankees prospects since his 35 home-run season in 2025. Though his critics also point to Jones' 179 strikeouts in 116 games, he's nonetheless been a huge part of the Yankees prospects conversation. In his 24 at-bats during Spring Training, Jones slashed .333/.429/ .917 for an OPS of 1.346 and hit four home runs.

Yankees Make Confusing Jones, Rodriguez Decisions

Despite their standout performances, neither player was named to the Yankees' Spring Breakout roster and both were optioned back to minor league camp before the conclusion of Spring Training. The Spring Breakout games pit the top prospects from each organization against one another and have flexible rules that allow teams to include more players than would normally see action in a typical game.

Despite the demotions and exclusion from Spring Breakout, both players are expected to make their Major League debuts this season and could give the Pinstripes a huge boost, both on offense and in the rotation. For now, though, they'll remain at the triple-A level.

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