One of the New York Yankees‘ top prospects is nearing a return from injury. According to the organization’s transaction tracker, infielder Dax Kilby will start a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League.
Kilby, 19, was the Yankees’ top selection in the 2025 MLB Draft. As of May 28, he currently ranks as the organization’s No. 3 prospect and No. 70 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 lists.
MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs both project Kilby to develop into an everyday player. Pipeline gives him a 55 future value, which translates to a 3.0-WAR player per 600 plate appearances. FanGraphs has him at 50 FV, which is around 2.0 WAR.
Yankees Outfield Prospect Dax Kilby Begins Rehab Assignment
The Yankees will finally have one of their top prospects playing competitive games. Following this rehab assignment, he’ll likely head to the team’s Single-A affiliate in Tampa to resume his season.
Kilby will want to build on a solid debut season in 2025. With Tampa, he slashed .353/.457/.441 in 18 games and 81 plate appearances. He walked more times (13) than he struck out (11), showing the advanced hit tool for a high school bat.
Digging deeper into the metrics available, Kilby had a very low swinging strike rate of 4.5% and made contact on 86.9% of his swings. He produced an average exit velocity of 91.9 MPH and a 45.6% hard-hit rate in a small sample size, according to Statcast. The hard contact hasn’t yet translated into barrels, which accounted for just 3.5% of his contact in his debut season.
Most likely, he will spend most of the season with Tampa, but he could see a late-season promotion to High-A Hudson Valley. That will depend on how much he progresses at the plate and in the field.
Dax Kilby’s Long-Term Prognosis for the Yankees
It will be years before the Yankees have any discussions about playing Kilby at the major league level. He’s already missed out on nearly two months’ worth of reps, which he may have to make up in the Arizona Fall League.
In the interim, the Yankees can continue to develop his glove and bat in the lower minors. If Kilby climbs one level per season, he is looking at an ETA of late 2028. That would be right in line with MLB Pipeline’s ETA for the young infielder.
The biggest area of development offensively will be turning his plus raw power into production. FanGraphs projects a 60 raw power as he fills out his 6’2″ 190-lb. frame with more muscle. His approach isn’t necessarily conducive to more power, as he’s a gap-to-gap line drive hitter. MLB Pipeline projects his ceiling as a 20-homer, 20-steal player.
His long-term defensive home is still a question, although the Yankees can afford to keep him at shortstop for now. Both Jose Caballero and Anthony Volpe are both controllable through the 2028 season, the former through 2029. So the club doesn’t necessarily have to make any decisions on the position any time soon.
How Kilby progresses at shortstop defensively could determine where he ends up long-term. If he can stick at the position, he isn’t blocked by either Caballero or Volpe. Volpe will be hitting free agency right as Kilby is knocking on the door for a promotion.
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