Yankees MILB Report 1/14: New Prospects Enter Top 30
Not long ago, people online were panicking over Allen Facundo being left off the Yankees’ 40-man roster.
Last night, the Yankees traded three prospects on their Pipeline Top 30.
Who wasn’t added after the trade?
First, let’s talk about the Marlins:
Dillon Lewis is ranked 14th.
Brendan Jones is ranked 15th.
Neither Dylan Jasso nor Juan Matheus was added to the list.
“Wait a second! Wasn’t Jones ranked above Lewis on the Yankees’ list? How is this possible?”
That’s an outstanding question. The explanation is straightforward: It’s a reassessment conducted after the transaction has taken place.
As I wrote last night, it’s no big deal that one is barely ranked above the other. They are both center field prospects, with Lewis possessing some power/speed combo potential, whereas Jones is about the patience and speed. From the Marlins perspective, they like something in Lewis’ profile, and they targeted him. Having Jones right behind him on one website’s ranking is the icing on the cake.
As for the Yankees, three prospects enter the Top 30:
28. RHP Mac Heuer
29. RHP Jack Cebert
30. LHP Xavier Rivas
If you didn’t see Heuer in my reports last year, there is a reason for that: He didn’t pitch. Drafted in the 8th round in the 2025 draft out of Texas Tech, Heuer struggled as a draft-eligible sophomore (6.28 ERA in 53 innings). Scouts look at more than raw results. The Yankees drafted him and gave him an overslot bonus. He is a big kid (6’5″) with a profile that reads “project.” Giving a kid extra money to leave school should keep him on your radar. The Yankees Minor League Pitching Factory works wonders with projectable arms.
The Yankees must have invested in the “extended stay” hotel plan in Lubbock, as Cebert was another 2025 draftee out of Texas Tech. Unlike Heuer, Cebert made his professional debut right away, as he was assigned to High-A Hudson Valley, where he made five appearances, striking out 11 in 6.1 innings. Additionally, as we often see with Yankees’ prospects, he saw an instant velocity spike when he debuted. The Yankees likely saw something they could tweak, and it worked, as he was reportedly touching 98 MPH with his four-seam fastball. He is one of those kids who could “fast-track” as a reliever, but an organization is more likely to be intrigued to see if they can keep him going as a starter.
Rivas was never a “headliner” in my reports last year, but put together appearances that had me considering it. He struck out 10+ batters four times, including a 13-strikeout effort over 5.2 innings. Drafted in the 16th round in the 2024 draft out of Mississippi, Rivas’ strikeouts don’t come from a big fastball. He generates whiffs with his slider/change combination, using his fastball as more of a “keep hitters on their toes” offering. His profile reads as a Nestor Cortes-type of deception lefty, though Cortes has more velocity to work with. Maybe with some work, Rivas will develop that velocity. At 6’4″, he has the size to accomplish that.
Interestingly, his strikeout rate surged after moving to a higher level. Rivas struck out 44 batters in 29.1 innings for Hudson Valley after striking out 47 in 40.1 innings for Tampa.
Bottom Line:
It’s always interesting to see who these websites rank just below the names they publish publicly.
The Pipeline list will change when they reorganize it for 2026. We’ll see if these three prospects remain in these slots when that occurs.