It’s considered to be something of a down year for the New York Yankees farm system, with many of the top names from the past 24 months either having graduated or been dealt to other organizations to bolster the big league club.
That’s not to say there’s not talent worth seeing, however. FSS Plus recently got a look at the Double-A Somerset Patriots this week as they played the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies affiliate) and there were some intriguing prospects to be seen, including another look at two-time Futures Game standout Spencer Jones, who saw his stock plummet last year after an MiLB-organization record 200 strikeouts in his 2024 season.
Spencer Jones, OF — New York Yankees
After an at times miserable campaign last year, the 23-year-old former Vanderbilt star seems to be on the precipice of getting the bump to Triple-A Scranton. The six-foot-seven center fielder’s K rate is down (32.8 vs. 36.7) this year compared to last and his AB per HR ratio is up, getting to in-game power more (9 vs. 28.3) in an obviously small sample size. Jones leads all of MiLB with seven home runs, including the opposite field shot seen in the video below. A 55 power grade that most seem to have on him may be a touch light, especially he seems to have taken well to the “new” torpedo bat.
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Rafael Flores, C/1B — New York Yankees
Flores emerged out of seemingly nowhere last year, emerging as one of the organization’s prospects to watch after being added as an undrafted free agent. The 24-year-old is a little bigger behind the dish at six-foot-four, and many believe that first base will be where he ends up; historically he’s struggled to throw runners out at a good clip as well. It’s the bat that will carry him, particularly with the catching situation in the Bronx seemingly in a logjam for the foreseeable future.
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Cam Schlittler, RHP — New York Yankees
Schlittler was outstanding on Thursday night, tying a career-high with nine strikeouts over seven scoreless innings pitched. He sat 93-95 and touched 96, but was most effective with an 82-83 MPH curveball that he racked up the first few of those strikeouts with. The 24-year-old could potentially move quickly given the lack of upper level prospect SP arms.
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Brendan Beck, RHP — New York Yankees
Sidelined for the majority of his stay in the organization since being drafted, Beck finally seems to be healthy, and is another arm who could get the call to head to Scranton sooner rather than later. It isn’t “blow you away” stuff, but he’s extremely effective in locating a 91-93 MPH fastball against Double-A competition.
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
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