Spencer Jones, Chase Hampton and Will Warren among Yankees' spring invitees
Texas Tech pitcher Chase Hampton throws to first in an attempt to force out Mississippi State's Rowdey Jordan during an NCAA baseball game on Feb. 22, 2021, in Arlington, Texas. Credit: AP/Brandon Wade
Three of the Yankees' top prospects highlight a group of 26 non-roster invitees to spring training, the club announced Tuesday.
Twenty-two-year-old outfielder Spencer Jones, ranked by some publications as the team’s highest-ranked position prospect in 2023, will be in big-league camp, as will righthanded pitching prospects Chase Hampton and Will Warren.
The 24-year-old Warren, who went 10-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 27 combined games (25 starts) with Double- A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, is unlikely to break camp with the team but will get plenty of attention in the spring because the Yankees don’t have a lot of starting pitching depth in their system. A strong spring will put Warren, taken in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, in good position to be called up when the inevitable attrition occurs with the major-league rotation, whether it be injury and/or underperformance.
The 22-year-old Hampton, picked in the sixth round of the 2022 draft, made his professional debut last season, going 4-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 20 combined starts with High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset.
The lefty-hitting and throwing Jones continued a strong start to his professional career in 2023, hitting a combined .267 with 16 homers and a .780 OPS in 117 combined games with Hudson Valley and Somerset. The Yankees took Jones, who has drawn comparisons to Aaron Judge because of his size (6-6, 235), with their first-round pick (25th overall) in 2022.
Catcher Ben Rice and infielder Caleb Durbin are also in the group of prospects who will be in camp. The Yankees, like many teams, like to have some of their top prospects in spring training so they can get a taste of being in a clubhouse with major leaguers (Judge, was a non-roster invitee in 2015).
Among the other non-roster invitees from the Yankees organization: catcher Josh Breaux, infielders Jeter Downs and T.J. Rumfield and outfielders Oscar González and Brandon Lockridge.
Three invitees — outfielder Greg Allen and lefthanders Anthony Misiewicz and Tanner Tully — re-signed with the Yankees this offseason after playing for the organization at some point in 2023.
Currently, 66 players are scheduled to report for spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 14 with position players reporting five days later.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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