Yankees unveil 40-man Spring Breakout player pool, cuts due March 18

Twenty-two alumni of the Hudson Valley Renegades headline the New York Yankees’ preliminary 40-man Spring Breakout player pool, a roster mixture that underscores the Renegades-to-Yankees development pipeline and sets local stakes for the Tampa showcase. The Yankees submitted the 40-player pool on March 5; clubs will pare those lists to official 23–27 player rosters on March 18 before the March 19–22, four-day Spring Breakout event.

The published pool is balanced by role: 21 pitchers, 2 catchers, 9 infielders and 8 outfielders. Catchers named on the list are Ediel Rivera and Engelth Urena. Infielders include the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect George Lombard Jr., No. 4 Dax Kilby, No. 12 Core Jackson and No. 13 Kaeden Kent, plus Roderick Arias, Jackson Lovich, Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek, Dexters Peralta and Enmanuel Tejeda. The outfield group lists Spencer Jones, ranked No. 6 in the system, Wilson Rodriguez at No. 18, Jace Avina at No. 20, and Jackson Castillo, Eric Genther, Brando Mayea, Willy Montero and Coby Morales.

Pitching names highlighted across coverage include several expected to be centerpieces of the March showcase. Ben Hess is repeatedly cited as a top right-handed pitching prospect and appears among Baseball America’s top Yankees arms, where he was listed as No. 5 in a system ranking. Bryce Cunningham, the Yankees’ second-round pick in the 2024 draft out of Vanderbilt, is in the pool after pitching for Hudson Valley and in the Arizona Fall League; his scouting profile lists a mid-90s fastball that occasionally touches 99 mph, a high-spin changeup and a sweeping slider. Lefty Henry Lalane, described as a tantalizing 6-foot-7 arm still touching the upper 90s after shoulder issues, and Chase Hampton, a once-top prospect working to re-establish himself after Tommy John surgery, are also among the names singled out by national prospect coverage.

Spring Breakout’s format raises immediate opportunity and visibility for these players. The third edition of the event will stage 16 exhibition games and the Yankees’ prospects will face a squad of Atlanta Braves prospects on Saturday, March 21 at 6:35 p.m. ET at George M. Steinbrenner Field, a night game billed to give top youngsters a higher-profile stage. Bryan Hoch used Carlos Lagrange’s breakout fastball last year as an example of what the event can do, quoting Lagrange: "You feel good. You know you’ve worked so hard for something, and then you see the results."

The roster construction leaned on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 prospect lists plus club additions, producing a 40-man pool that will be evaluated again ahead of the March 18 cutdown. For Yankees depth charts, that timing matters: performances across March 19–22, and especially in the March 21 under-the-lights matchup, will help determine which infielders, outfielders and arms move from organizational showcase status toward legitimate Triple-A and first‑time MLB considerations. Fans tracking Hudson Valley alumni have a concentrated slate to follow, and the March 18 roster reveals will be the next hard signal of which of the 40 will earn Spring Breakout innings.