The New York Yankees‘ farm system wasn’t exactly well regarded during the early stages of 2025, but during the back half of the season, it started to garner more attention.

That was primarily because of the Yankees’ never-ending crop of young arms, ranging from Carlos Lagrange to Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz to Bryce Cunningham. We can’t forget Ben Hess, Chase Hampton or lefties Henry Lalane and Brock Selvidge, either.

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But while most of New York’s best prospects are pitchers, a new youngster is surging his way through the system and may very well be the Yankees’ top guy, at least in terms of position players: shortstop Dax Kilby.

Baseball America recently shared its list of the top 10 prospects in New York’s organization, and Kilby came in at No. 3 behind fellow middle infielder George Lombard Jr. and Lagrange.

However, Baseball America also labeled Kilby as the best hitter and best athlete in the system, plus the fastest base runner.

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So is it possible that Kilby is actually the best talent the Yankees have in the minor leagues?

New York Yankees shortstop Dax Kilby. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.

New York Yankees shortstop Dax Kilby. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.

Kilby was selected by New York in the first round (39th overall pick) of the 2025 MLB Draft. He played 18 games at Single-A Tampa this past season and absolutely tore it up, slashing .353/.457/.441 over 81 plate appearances while stealing 16 bases.

It’s an incredibly small sample size, of course, but it’s hard not to be greatly encouraged by what we have seen from the 19-year-old, and apparently, he has caught the attention of scouts and talent evaluators across baseball.

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Kilby’s plate discipline is beyond admirable at this young stage of his career, and he also hits lasers all over the field.

Again, it’s still very early, and we have seen exciting Yankees prospects flame out before (we all remember names like Estevan Florial, Mason Williams … should we take it all the way back to Eric Duncan and Drew Henson?). But Kilby could be different.

Remember when the Yankees’ farm system was generally viewed as bottom tier? Those days seem to be long gone now, and it’s not just because of the Yanks’ pitchers.

Maybe the next wave of Baby Bombers are on their way.

For now, though, the Yankees need to win a World Series with their current core.