the Yankees are eagerly anticipating the return of several key players who are currently rehabbing in AA with hopes that they can bolster the roster come September among these players starting pitcher Clark Schmidt and Veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo are the most notable however there's another name that fans should keep an eye on relief pitcher Ian Hamilton his potential impact on the Yankees Bullpen should not be underestimated as he works his way back from a lengthy injury absence if you are a fan of the Yankees write go Yankees in the comments and subscribe to the channel Hamilton has been a crucial piece for the Yankees even though his season has been marred by injury recently placed on the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Duke Ellis the Yankees still plan to reinstate Hamilton once he's fully rehabbed and ready to return despite some struggles this season Hamilton's underlying metrics are promising he's pitched 29.2 Innings with a 4.55 ra averaging 9.10 strikeouts per nine innings however a noticeable dip in his strikeout rate has raised some concerns but don't count Hamilton out just yet he's showing signs of a strong comeback Somerset senior writer Matt cardos recently reported that Hamilton's fastball is hitting 98 mph and his slider is touching 91 m per hour in his latest outing he pitched 2.1 scoreless Innings striking out six bad matters and showcasing a slider with impressive movement if he continues to progress the Yankees could be gaining a valuable asset in September just in time to strengthen their Bullpen for a playoff push Hamilton's return could be just what the Yankees need last season Hamilton was a revelation after joining the bombers from Chicago and Minnesota he pitched 58 Innings with a stellar 2.64 erra averaging 10.71 strikeouts per nine innings and reported a career-high 55.3% ground ball rate his reliability made him a go-to option for manager Aaron Boon in high leverage situations by bringing Hamilton back the Yankees are hoping to take some of the pressure off closer clay homes and provide another Dependable arm for those critical late game moments this strategy may explain why general manager Brian Cashman chose not to aggressively pursue a top tier reliever at the trade deadline in Late July Hamilton's return could be the key to stabil izing a bullpen that has struggled with inconsistency over the past few months top five Yankees prospects to watch in September with September roster expansions coming up it's an exciting time for organizations to get a glimpse into their team's future the New York Yankees boasting one of the League's better Farm systems have a lot to look forward to when their September call-ups have a crack at the majors some of them could even have a significant impact down the stretch as the Yanks aim for the AL East title here are the top five Yankees prospects who could be summoned from the miners and produce come September if you're a fan of the Yankees write go Yankees in the comments and subscribe to the channel five TJ rumfield the 24-year-old from Virginia has quietly put together a very solid season in Scranton wilbar in 95 AAA games TJ rumfield has smacked 12 homers with 59 RBIs not to mention boasting an Ops of 86 he's also a defensive wiiz at first base winning a minor league gold glove with daa Somerset last year when Anthony Rizo fractured his arm in June the Yanks could have called up rumfield to replace him but they ended up choosing fellow first baseman Ben rice who has been on the MLB roster ever since both players are lefties with big frames and they performed similarly in the miners with Rice's hot start long gone the Yankees could very well take the opportunity to see how rumfield fares at first base before Rizzo returns for yund's Gomez hailing from Venezuela and standing at a sizable 6' 3 in yre Gomez has been one of Scranton wils Bar's best starters in 2024 the right-hander has posted a 3.97 erra over 18 starts along with 71 strikeouts over 68 Innings most impressively his baa of 0201 is first on the rail riders with at least 8 GS his repertoire consists of five pitches including four breaking pitches his fast ball Peaks at 93 to 94 miles per hour but it is still effective because he can consistently locate it and mix it in with his offsp speed pitches not to mention he has an extension of 7.1 ft which is similar to that of fireballers like a r as Chapman this makes the ball appear faster to The Hitter which makes up for his lack of velocity having already appeared in six major league games 5 and 24 Gomez is one of the Yankees more exciting pitchers in AAA if given a shot he has the stuff necessary to succeed in the majors three jbit Vivas the 23-year-old second baseman jbit Vivas has been touted as a solid contact hitter ever since he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Venezuela in 2017 while he hasn't put up numbers that reflect his hitting ability he always finds a way to get on base having already summoned him as a bench option earlier this year it wouldn't be far-fetched to suggest that the Yankees could recall the prospect for September if Vivas was a better Defender there would almost be no doubt in bringing him up but because his Fielding is no better than current second baseman glaber Torres he'll be expected to produce offensively having increased his power numbers and speed over the last few years it wouldn't be unrealistic to use Vivas as a bench option down the stretch to Spencer Jones the the Yankees number two Prospect according to MLB pipeline Spencer Jones has not lived up to the hype thus far in 2024 the 6' 6 in outfielder progressed quickly through the miners but seems to have hit a wall this season in 103 games Jones is slashing 249 sl. 33047 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs not only have his numbers worsened but he struck out an astonishing 73 times in 410 at bats a 42.2% strikeout rate Jones has a lot of untapped power but the question remains as to whether he can harness it against higher levels of pitching defensively he has good range and is serviceable in the Outfield but the biggest thing holding him back is his inability to consistently Barrel balls for this reason he likely won't be playing in the Bronx anytime soon but it would be interesting if it happens and he could showcase the raw power that earned him so much excitement for now though Yankees fans will probably have to wait a little while longer to see him in Pinstripes one jasson Dominguez well there's no surprise here Jon Dominguez has been one of baseball's most hyped prospects in recent memory and when he debuted last season he lived up to it that is until his elbow gave out on him having rehabbed from tearing his UCL and made his way back to Scranton wilbar Yankees fans have been relentlessly bashing Brian Cashman for keeping him in the miners although Cashman clearly doesn't want to replace anyone on the active roster with Dominguez Alex verdugo's struggles have made it apparent that the Yankees need someone else in left field if they want to make a Deep Run in the postseason Not only would playing the 21-year-old Dominguez provide a spark to the team but he has already proved that he can succeed at the major league level so there's no reason to start a guy who is holding the team back let's face it everyone in baseball wants to see Dominguez play there's no point in keeping him in the minors when he could be helping the team when they need it most but regardless there is plenty of reason to be excited about the Martian and he is almost certainly going to be seeing some action in September Yankees first baseman woes could end with veterans return coming into 2024 the Yankees had little reason to believe that production at first base would be as bad as it has been and not only has it been bad but it's also arguably been their biggest liability this season if you are a fan of the Yankees write go Yankees in the comments and subscribe to the channel before sustaining a concussion in May of 23 veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo was one of the stronger pieces of an otherwise mediocre Yankee lineup unfortunately for the 35-year-old his production since the injury has dipped significantly before fracturing his arm this June Rizzo was hitting a Meek 2232 289 sl. 341 with an Ops plus of 76 things may be turning around for Rizzo however having started a rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots AA he'll soon be back in the Bronx however this doesn't solve the problem of who the Yankees starting first baseman will become October more than an issue the Yankees current lineup has notably been very topheavy with Aaron judge and wotto seemingly carrying the offense on their backs at times while players like Anthony vulpe and Alex Verdugo have been inconsistent in their contributions to the offense the Yankees have had disastrously low production from their first baseman going by Ops they've had the second worst production from first base in all of MLB just ahead of the Houston Astros former batting champion DJ lahu has been one of baseball's worst hitters owning a WRC plus of 50 rookie Ben rice has had an unacceptably Long Cold streak after hitting 29 four with four homers in his first 17 games as mentioned Rizzo has had an unusually terrible season the Yankees clearly need to resolve this problem but at this point in the season it doesn't look like they can can Rizzo return to form unless lameu or rice goes on an unlikely hot streak it appears that Rizzo is the yank's only hope the former Cub can produce at a high level having hit 303 home runs in his career but as sad as it is is he appears to be on his way out evidenced by a multitude of injuries and terrible performances over the last few years what's worse for Rizzo is that this may be his last stint in New York the Yankees hold a 2025 Club option for $20 million which will likely be declined no matter how well he performs as for who the odd man out at first is Ben rice is the most likely player to be sent down when Rizzo returns but in the words of Aaron Boon we'll cross that bridge when we get there on the flip side Rizzo could still contribute this fall his Lefty bat is always useful at Yankey stadium and he will almost certainly see playing time given the chance he could somewhat return to form what's even more encouraging is his rehab performance with Somerset clobbering a homer in his first game back in the field the last word every contending team has flaws in one place or another as for the Yankees their shortcomings have been in at the bottom of the lineup particularly at first if New York wants to make a Deep Run in the postseason all they can do is hope that they can get by offensively without teams exposing the glaring hole that has been first base