Yankees Have TWO Elite Catchers in Their Farm System

A Blog by Greg

The Yankees traded a total of three catchers (Jose Trevino to the Reds, Agustin Ramirez to the Marlins, and Carlos Narváez to the Red Sox) over the past two seasons. While Austin Wells has been performing well as the Yankees’ starting catcher, it certainly stings that Trevino, Ramirez, and Narváez, especially the latter considering he was dealt to the Yankees’ archrival, have all been playing excellently in jerseys other than the pinstripes. Well, if you have any Yankees fans in your life who feel some type of way about Brian Cashman making these deals, educate them about Jesús Rodríguez and Rafael Flores.

Starting with Jesús Rodríguez, he has been with the Yankees’ organization since he was 17 years old, not too dissimilar from the Yankees’ current starting left fielder Jasson Dominguez, and is currently the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders’ (the Yankees’ AAA affiliate) starting catcher. The 23-year-old Venezuelan has been incredible in 48 games in AAA, putting up the following stats:

AVG: .351

OBP: .438

SLG: .449

BABIP: .379

XBH: 14

RBI: 22

SB: 9

Rodríguez is not necessarily the best power hitter in the Yankees system, only hitting 26 home runs in 337 career minor league games, but he does a fantastic job of getting on base. While his hitting stats are certainly eye-popping for a player his age, his positional versatility is the most intriguing part of his game. Despite being a primary catcher, Rodríguez has started 12 of his 48 games in Scranton at third base. Regardless of what position he will take in the field at the major league level, Rodríguez is a player who Yankees fans should certainly keep their eyes on as he makes his way to the Bronx in the coming years.

Flores has been impressing scouts with his hitting ability, but in a different way than Rodríguez. While Rodríguez is known for his batting average and on-base percentage, Flores is known for his power. The 24-year-old right-handed hitter split time between A+ and AA ball in 2024. With Somerset (the Yankees' AA affiliate) last season, he hit 15 home runs and had an OPS of .878 in 65 games. In 2025, Flores has picked up where he left off a year ago, putting up the following stats in 62 games with the Somerset Patriots:

AVG: .277

OBP: .333

SLG: .475

BABIP: .354

HR: 11

RBI: 39

XBH: 26

Flores is only in AA as a 24-year-old, which is not the most ideal situation; however, considering he was drafted in 2021 and has excelled at every level in the Yankees’ minor league organization, his promotion to AAA will certainly be sooner rather than later. I am certainly interested to see how Flores' hitting adapts to higher-level baseball as he is promoted to AAA and the MLB. If his power numbers stay consistent or improve, he will become an integral part of the Yankees’ lineup in the coming years.

The Yankees might not have the highest-ranked farm system in the league (they are currently ranked 24th in the MLB according to MLB.com); however, they have a few bright spots that should give fans hope for the future. While George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones are taking up most of the attention from the public eye in the Yankees’ farm system, Jesús Rodríguez and Rafael Flores are two players who are fascinating to watch closely if they can continue to hit as well as they have in 2025.

Thank you for reading, and, as always, make sure to stay tuned for more articles coming daily from The Skippers View team!