Predicting the Yankees' Next Top Prospect Promotion After Spencer Jones's Call-Up

The Spencer Jones move signified something about the New York Yankees that we already figured out was happening when they sent Luis Gil to the minors. The team is playing with more urgency, and it has less to do with the wins and losses and more with the moves they're making to fill out the roster during emergencies.

If there's a question about who the next prospect called up will be, it may not be George Lombard Jr. Lombard feels more like an in-case-of-emergency move to call upon if a player at the big league level sputters.

It seems like things are beginning to click for Ryan McMahon, so third base may not be open. Also, José Caballero is hitting well enough to hold his job, given how good he is defensively. Although with Anthony Volpe booting another ball in Scranton, Lombard may be shooting right by him on the depth chart, and relegating the former top prospect as the baseball version of what the Jets had with Zach Wilson.

This is not an Anti-Volpe post, but more of an informative one

Anthony Volpe botches a fairly easy groundball at SS and is charged with an error pic.twitter.com/XrbMrSvZJn
— Cai Rogers (@cai_rogers7) May 8, 2026

Up next?

The safe bet on who the next top prospect called up could be is Carlos Lagrange, the fireballer who came into camp blowing a 102.6 mph fastball right by the captain, Aaron Judge, in February. There are two scenarios in which the big 6'7", 248-pound fireballer can finally crack the big leagues. The first is the position that Spencer Jones found himself in.

Carlos Lagrange strikes out Aaron Judge on a 102.6 MPH fastball about five minutes after he allowed a homer to Judge on a 99.3 MPH fastball pic.twitter.com/CqUybrXcjO
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 16, 2026

The starting rotation has carried the New York Yankees, and the last thing they want is an injury to their biggest strength. If the worst happens, Lagrange is right there to step in. They could go with Elmer Rodríguez, but through his first two starts, it's clear that Rodríguez is a little green. They may just want to see what they have with Lagrange.

The next opportunity for Lagrange could come later in the summer. If there are no injuries, and he has been built up enough with minor league innings, he could easily step into the bullpen and replace either Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn.

Who to replace?

Blackburn, especially, has the most cause for concern. One thing about Yarbrough is that he's a soft contact king. While it is only 12 2/3 innings, he has an average exit velocity of 85.7 mph, a 2.9% barrel rate, and a 20% hard-hit rate. His 3.55 ERA doesn't tell the full story, as he has a 2.49 xERA and .186 xBA. All of these numbers are in the upper 90th percentile in MLB, according to Baseball Savant.

New York Yankees pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

There isn't much about Blackburn that is particularly inspiring. His start against the Rangers is who he is. Were it not for Jasson Domínguez crashing into a wall, that game could have gotten out of hand for him in the first, because Texas was crushing everything they made contact with. Despite a 3 ERA, he has an 89.1 mph average exit velocity, a very good 4.3% barrel rate, a paltry 42.6% hard hit rate, a decent 3.57 xERA, and a bad .265 xBA.

The thing about Lagrange is that, statistically, he isn't lighting up Triple-A. He has a 4.76 ERA and 5.59 FIP in 28 1/3 innings. He does have that ability to strike batters out, though, because he has 38 strikeouts under his belt. That prolific ability to overpower batters equates to a 29.7% strikeout rate rate. Considering he can dial it up to the triple digits, that should play in the bullpen when the time comes.

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