Fantasy Baseball Year in Review – New York Yankees

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  • By Nathan Baker

    Last Updated on November 6, 2025 1:43 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: November 6, 2025

    After a roller coaster off-season that included the loss of Juan Soto to the Mets, and the acquisitions of Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams, the Yankees’ fan base held a level of cautious optimism that the loss of a generational talent would be compensated for by numerous shrewd signings in positions of need. That proved to be the case in the regular season, winning 94 games and finishing in second place in the AL East on a tiebreaker to the Blue Jays, enduring a spring training injury to ace starter Gerrit Cole, and the under performance of their bullpen, headlined by Devin Williams losing his closers job.

    A supporting cast of Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton combined with the incredible Aaron Judge to form the most formidable lineup in baseball, mashing through the pitching uncertainty and bullpen struggles. The starting rotation ended up being fine, although Cole’s absence cost them in the playoffs, but the bullpen never found true stability, and the team continued to falter defensively.

    While the farm isn’t stacked, there are a few blue chip pieces to account for going forward, and the Yankees high spending and relentless desire to win will guarantee their status near the top of the American League for years to come. As expected, they are loaded on fantasy relevant pieces, all of whom I’ll go through here below.

    Catcher

    Not many teams have two quality fantasy catchers, but the Yankees did, utilizing Ben Rice behind the plate to complement Austin Wells, allowing them to keep Rice’s bat in the lineup after the return of Giancarlo Stanton. Rice is the better hitter of the two backstops, although he struggled defensively, especially with his throwing, but his .410 xwOBA ranked sixth in all of baseball, providing a complete offensive star at a premium fantasy position. Expect Rice to be a mainstay in the Yankees lineup next season, potentially at first base, which would make him a super valuable fantasy catcher, unquestionably inside the positional top five with guaranteed every day playing time.

    Wells was no slouch either, posting a .711 OPS over 448 plate appearances with elite framing numbers, but his high strikeout rate and inconsistent batted ball data makes him a fantasy back up. He projects to be the Yankees starting catcher, provided Rice is moved to another position, which given the disparity in defense, is likely.

    First Base

    First base was a carousel after the scolding hot start of Paul Goldschmidt wore off, yielding starts to Rice, Bellinger and others with the 38-year-old’s late season struggles. Goldschmidt made far more consistent contact in 2025 then he did the year prior in St. Louis, but the quality of contact numbers are waning to the point where he shouldn’t be considered a fantasy option in most leagues, but rather a platoon streamer to play against left-handed pitchers, who he still crushes to the tune of a .981 OPS.

    Second Base

    The long-awaited Jazz Chisholm Jr. breakout arrived in 2025, justifying a 20 ADP with a 30/30 season, staying on the field for the most part and enjoying a level of offensive consistency he had previously not experienced. He’ll unfortunately lose his superb positional eligibility going forward, but his value as a second baseman still remains strong with a high-quality power/speed combination and a great ballpark fit, but his increase in strikeout rate does lower the floor a bit. I’m not drafting him over Ketel Marte, but I’ll take the power over Brice Turang.

    Third Base

    This position was a black hole until the midseason acquisitions of Ryan McMahon and Jose Caballero, both of whom only offer limited fantasy appeal. McMahon struggled at the plate after his move away from Coors Field, leading to him being dropped in most leagues, but Caballero posted an OPS over .800 with the Yankees, and continued his stolen base pace to finish on a major league leading 49 steals on the season. McMahon isn’t more than a deep league punt, but Caballero is useful in categories leagues as a steals merchant, but don’t expect the same production with the bat.

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    November 6, 2025, 1:43 pm