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The K-Team: Five Yankees Top Prospects Anchor Somerset’s Starting Rotation

September 10, 2025

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Somerset sits in prime position to clinch a playoff berth after reducing its magic number to just two games after an extra-innings victory over Reading on Tuesday. Should the Patriots ultimately punch their ticket into the dance, the recipe for success in the postseason is clear –

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – Somerset sits in prime position to clinch a playoff berth after reducing its magic number to just two games after an extra-innings victory over Reading on Tuesday. Should the Patriots ultimately punch their ticket into the dance, the recipe for success in the postseason is clear – win the arms race.

Pitching is what prevails at this pivotal time of the season. The Patriots currently sport a starting rotation that trots out five of the Yankees' top 13 prospects on the MLB Pipeline rankings. What Somerset has in terms of its stable of starters is a rarity and doesn’t happen very often.

Quality starting pitching has been the backbone of the “Second Half Pats” rallying cry and has been at the forefront of the team’s ascent to the doorstep of their fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

“They’re [The Yankees] obviously really good at developing pitching as you can see from all these guys around here that have been throwing well and even the guys that have made it up to the big leagues and gone through the Yankees system,” explained No.6 prospect Ben Hess. “It’s friendly competition; we all watch each other throw well and you want to throw well. I think it’s motivating to see the Yankees developing prospects and making guys better because you know that’s what they’re going to do with you.”

The top of the Patriots rotation is headlined by the combo of right-handers Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (No. 5) and Carlos Lagrange (No. 2). The right-handed duo are the respective active minor league leaders in strikeouts entering play on Wednesday – they’ve cumulatively fanned 329 batters on the year.

The Yankees acquired the 22-year-old from Boston over the winter in an under the radar deal that sent catcher Carlos Narvaez to Beantown. The native of Puerto Rico entered the 2025 campaign reasonably unknown, but he certainly is ending the season firmly in the conversation as one of the best pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball. The reigning Eastern League Player of the Week has posted a 2.38 ERA in 25 appearances, which is second-best in the organization, while leading all active MiLB pitchers in punchouts with 166. His 140.0 IP, .183 BA and 1.04 WHIP are all best marks in the Yankees system.

“Ever since I got here, they [the Yankees] have put more emphasis on trusting all of my stuff and using all of my pitches,” explained Rodriguez-Cruz. “Getting into counts and trying to use all of them to my advantage where it plays best, so I feel like it’s just more confidence. Ever since I got here, they just let me pitch and let me execute and I have taken advantage of that.”

Lagrange, who has fanned 163 batters in just 114.0 IP this year, ranks second in the minors behind ERC in strikeouts while his 12.87 K/9 also ranks second. The imposing 6’7” righty from the Dominican Republic is coming off a start against New Hampshire last week in which he struck out 10 batters over five shutout frames while touching as high as 103.1 MPH on the radar gun. It is truly a special arm with potential to do things that we have not seen from a Yankees hurler in quite some time.

Of course, with stuff that electric brings periods when command evades the righty. The organization is working closely with Lagrange to cut down on the walks to help limit the amount of traffic he has on the bases and ultimately keep the pitch count down.

“I have been really impressed; the tools that he has is a gift,” said manager Raul Dominguez. “He has the potential to be a big-league pitcher. If he can dominate the mental part of the game, then he is going to be really good.”

Hess was the Yankees first-round draft selection out of Alabama just last summer and in a little over a year later, the 23-year-old Hess has already landed in the thick of a playoff race at Double-A. The big right-hander opened the season at High-A Hudson Valley and after punching out 94 batters in just 66.2 innings, the Yankees promoted their No. 7 prospect to Somerset just over a month ago on 8/5.

Since donning a Patriots uniform, Hess has posted a 2.93 ERA and has struck out 39 hitters in 30.2 innings while holding Eastern League opposition to a .176 batting average in six starts. “A big part of my success this year is being confident on the mound and not letting things compile when runners get on,” said Hess.

Hess added, “We’ve adjusted some pitch shapes after I first got drafted and it made the changeup a lot better. We’ve worked on some usage stuff like throwing the curveball a little bit more and I think a lot of it comes down to being able to pitch a little bit more. I think that’s a big part of it just getting on the mound more and getting out there being able to pitch.”

Yankees No. 10 prospect Brock Selvidge had a strong 2024 season that was highlighted by him starting the inaugural Spring Breakout game for the Yankees and eventually earning a nod in the prestigious MLB Futures Game in July. Just four days before making that trip, the southpaw was shutdown with a pinched nerve in his left bicep that ultimately cost him the rest of that season and delayed the start of his 2025 campaign until mid-May.

The 23-year-old Selvidge has posted a 4.71 ERA as he continues to work his way back, but the lefty is coming off arguably his best start of the season last Saturday after fanning a season-high seven batters over six innings in which he allowed just two earned runs to New Hampshire.

“It’s definitely been a year of perseverance with that injury, first injury ever,” Selvidge said on a recent Patriots Press Podcast appearance. “Just glad to be back in the saddle and getting my work in. Looking forward to finishing strong and getting that offseason to kind of rebuild and come back from that injury better than I’ve been.”

The newest addition to the Patriots staff comes by way of No. 13 prospect Kyle Carr. The 23-year-old southpaw, who was the Yankees third round draft selection out of Palomar Junior College in 2023, was promoted to Somerset last week after pitching to a 1.96 ERA and holding the South Atlantic League to a .190 batting average over 22 starts. The California-native leads all Yankees minor leaguers with a 2.25 ERA while rankings second in innings (128.0) and third in WHIP (1.09).

“I think just having all of us on the mound, when we step foot on the field, we’re going to win that baseball game in our heads,” Selvidge. “We’re going to do our jobs, and the hitters are going to do theirs so we’re very confident going into every game.”

Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Senior Writer

Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 13th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.

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