Fantasy Baseball: New York Yankees Studs, Breakouts, and Sleepers

Pitching injuries have been a problem for the Yankees' starting rotation this spring, leading to the loss of their ace Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil developed a right shoulder injury. Does New York have the minor-league assets to trade for another frontline starting pitcher?

Sleeper: Jasson Dominguez, New York Yankees

The Yankees will give Dominguez every opportunity to win their starting centerfield position. He offers plus speed that should translate well in the majors. New York will move him to the top two slots in their batting order when his bat is ready.

His price point in the early draft season requires him to earn a full-time starting job in 2025. Torn due to his risk/reward in his rookie campaign. Future 20/40 player with help in batting average.

Sleeper: Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees

With almost 1,300 plate appearances under his belt with New York, Volpe should be much better in 2025. He profiled as a 25/50 player coming to the Yankees with a top-of-the-order walk rate. His rookie luster is gone, suggesting fewer eyeballs on him and a sliding ADP unless Volpe shows a power stroke in spring training.

He is not far off from a 20/30 player who helps in runs, but his metrics below the surface invite more questions than answers. He finished last season ranked 59th in FPGscore (0.67) for hitters.

Breakout: Austin Wells, New York Yankees

New York's catching depth suggests Wells will have a much better opportunity this year. He ranked 18th last year by FPGscore (-5.60) while failing to meet expectations in steals (1). The Yankees will hit him down in their batting order, lowering his chances in runs and RBIs.

His natural progression should push Wells over 20 home runs with an excellent chance at double-digit stolen bases. Depending on my team build, Wells is a player I will follow in drafts to see where I can buy him at a fair price. After doing most of my catching research, I've moved him into the breakout category at the catcher position.

Breakout: Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees

Bellinger comes into this year with dual eligibility (1B and OF) while now playing in a left-handed power-favoring ballpark. In essence, he is playing in a contract year (player option in 2026 for $25 million). Based on his play over the past two seasons, Bellinger has the profile of a 90/24/95/16 player with 550 at-bats. Hitting behind Aaron Judge should lead to a spike in overall RBI chances (he hasn’t had more than 400 RBI chances since 2019).

The bet on Bellinger is that he offers a balanced skill set in five categories while understanding that he could surprise in power. In fantasy baseball, there is something to be said for drafting a player one-off an elite bat. Keep an open mind with his potential and hope for a healthy season.

Foundation Stud: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

New York added a couple of veteran bats (Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger) behind Judge in the batting order to hopefully offset the loss of Juan Soto at a fraction of the price. I expect his RBI chances to regress, and some pullback in batting average should be expected. His power is immense, and he had a career-high 95 extra-base hits last season. Judge had a floor of 550 at-bats in three of his past four years, helped by more chances at DH (41 games in 2024).

Buy the 50+ home runs with a high floor in runs, RBIs, and batting average. A higher ceiling starts with repeating his career-best strikeout rate (24.3). Judge missed 30 or more games in 2018 (50), 2019 (60), 2020 (32), and 2023 (56).

Sleeper: Jasson Dominguez, New York Yankees

Sleeper: Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees

Breakout: Austin Wells, New York Yankees

Breakout: Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees

Foundation Stud: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

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