The Yankees have made a habit of inviting top prospects to big league camp in recent years, and 2026 is no different.
The club’s new cohort of non-roster Spring Training invitees features each of New York’s top two prospects in George Lombard Jr. (MLB No. 32) and Carlos Lagrange (MLB No. 79), along with a variety of intriguing pitching prospects who will likely land among the club’s Top 30 prospects for 2026.
COMPLETE YANKEES PROSPECT COVERAGE
The most notable instance of New York welcoming top prospects to big league camp was in 2023, when the club extended non-roster invites to Top 100 prospects Anthony Volpe and Jasson Domínguez. That year, Volpe earned a spot on the Opening Day roster and became the youngest player to appear in a Yankees Opening Day lineup since Derek Jeter in 1996.
More recently, rookie standout Cam Schlittler went on to play a key role in the Bronx following a non-roster invite to Spring Training last year. So, who could follow in his footsteps?
Here are five prospect NRIs to watch this spring:
Like many of the top shortstop prospects in baseball, Lombard has spent most of his professional career playing against older competition. Last season, he slugged two homers in Spring Training before tearing up High-A (he slashed .329/.495/.488 over 24 contests) and earning a promotion to Double-A Somerset prior to his 20th birthday.
Facing opponents that were an average of 3.5 years older than him at his new level, Lombard posted a .695 OPS with eight homers and struck out at a 26.4 percent clip over 108 games. Despite his struggles at the dish, Lombard’s 2025 season was filled with flashes of potential. He added strength to his 6-foot-2 frame and gained bat speed while remaining a plus defender across the infield and swiping 35 bases. Lombard also showed advanced plate discipline, leading the Yankees’ system with 87 walks.
Standing at 6-foot-7 and featuring a four-seamer that can reach triple digits, Lagrange is the type of pitching prospect that organizations dream about, and he made a massive leap last season. The Dominican Republic native doubled his previous career high in starts in 2025, posting a 3.53 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 24 appearances (23 starts) while reaching Double-A. His 168 punchouts over 120 innings were the third-most in the Minors, and his 12.6 K/9 ranked third among qualified players. Lagrange’s top offering is his 70-grade four-seamer, which sits at 97-99 mph with carry and armside run.
Despite dealing with injuries and recording a 5.80 ERA in his lone healthy season at Alabama, Hess was selected in the first round in 2024 because of his 34.8% strikeout rate that same year for the Crimson Tide. The move looks to have paid off so far, as Hess fanned 139 batters over 103 1/3 frames in first year as a pro. Equipped with a four-seamer, curveball, slider and changeup, Hess held opponents to a stingy .177 average against over 22 starts — a mark that would have led Yankees Minor Leaguers if he qualified. Hess reached Double-A last season with strong results (2.70 ERA and 0.95 WHIP) over seven starts.
Beck, who is set to pitch for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, has dealt with multiple elbow injuries since being drafted in the second round in 2021, but when he’s been on the mound, he’s thrived. The 27-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and missed the entire ’22 season. Then in 2023, after pitching to a 1.59 ERA in his return to the mound, Beck had further elbow complications which caused him to miss all of ’24. Back healthy last season, he posted a 1.82 ERA and 0.92 WHIP at Double-A over 11 appearances (nine starts) before having an up-and-down end to the year in 15 Triple-A starts.
The lone left-hander on this list, Carr returned to High-A last season after struggling there in his first year as a pro. Over 22 starts, the Palomar (Calif.) JC product posted a 1.96 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while racking up 104 strikeouts. Carr struggled after a late-season callup to Double-A to end the season, but his performance at High-A suggests he is ready to return to that level to start 2026.
Harrison Cohen, RHP: The 26-year-old reliever will pitch for Israel in the WBC. Last season between Double-A and Triple-A, Cohen posted a 1.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and .151 BAA in 49 appearances.
Michael Arias, RHP: Originally signed as a shortstop, Arias rose through the Cubs prospect ranks as a pitcher before being DFA’d in January 2025. He moved to the bullpen in New York’s system but still produced mixed results because of his lack of control. Arias made 17 appearances at Double-A last season and possesses electric stuff.
Ernesto Martinez Jr., 1B: Standing at 6-foot-6, 254 pounds, Martinez has plus raw power but has struggled to tap into it since he was signed as a 17-year-old in 2017. Last season, he hit just six homers for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate, but if New York can help him use his pop, he could be an impactful bat.
