Yankees prospects: Hudson Valley sees ‘a lot of Ben Rice’ in converted catcher
· Yahoo Sports
LAKEWOOD, N.J. — It’s been slim pickings this year for Yankees position player prospects for the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades and they lost three of their best ones this month, all infielders.
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First, Kaeden Kent went to the Giants in a trade on Aug. 3 then two players were promoted to the Double-A Somerset Patriots, Roderick Arias on Aug. 4 and Core Jackson on Aug. 11.
That left Hudson Valley with two Yankees position player prospects ranked among their top 30 by MLB Pipeline — and one of them, Wilson Rodriguez, is done for the year with a thumb injury.
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The Renegades do have Eric Gencher, a left-handed hitter who switched from left field to catcher this year. Opponents are running like crazy on him, but his coaching staff is seeing steady progress.
The Renegades have an under the radar prospect who isn’t on any of their top 30 rankings. Jackson Lovich was leading the Florida State League in homers when he was promoted to High A on July 28 and he’s off to a great start with Hudson Valley, batting .343 in six games counting his 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday night’s 10-5 win at Jersey Shore.
Here are scouting reports on the Renegades’ top three hitting prospects from manager Aaron Bosse:
ERIC GENCHER, C
Age: 24 (25 on June 16, 2027).
Size: 6-1, 200.
Acquired: Signed as undrafted free agent on July 16, 2025.
Bats: Left.
2026 hitting stats: Hudson Valley (High A), 267 average, 352 AB, 60 runs, 94 hits, 19 doubles, 1 triple, 12 HR, 57 RBI, 7 SB, 1 CS, 57 BB, 82 K, .830 OPS, 104 games.
2026 fielding stats: Hudson Valley (High A), 14 errors, 7 passed balls, 169 steals allowed, 19 CS in 57 games (57 starts) at catcher.
Career hitting stats: .266 average, 395 AB, 70 runs, 105 hits, 23 doubles, 1 triple, 13 HR, 64 RBI, 9 SB, 1 CS, 67 BB, 89 K, .835 OPS, 121 games in 2 seasons (2025-26).
Prospect ranking: MLB Pipeline, Not in top 30; Baseball America, No. 27.
The skinny: Switched to catching this season after playing outfield for Low A Tampa in 2025 (11 games LF, 5 games RF). … Had a two-hit, four-RBI game in a Monday night win at Jersey Shore. … Batting .276 with 12 homers against right-handed pitching and .217 with no homers versus lefties. … 18.6 strikeout percentage, 13.1 walk percentage. … Drexel Hill, Pa. native was a four-year starter at Rhode Island and hit .367 as a senior. … Ranks in top five in Rhode Island’s career leaders for homers, RBI, doubles and walks. … Mother played basketball at Rider.
Manager Aaron Bosse’s take: “We told Eric right after our A ball season last year that we were moving him to catcher. He caught in 2022 at Rhode Island for a few games, but it wasn’t much at all. We made the change because we saw the offensive profile and thought this could maximize Eric’s value. That transition from outfield was intriguing because he had a good arm out there. So now it’s about moving like a catcher, shortening up the release, quickening up the feet. While the stolen bases stat doesn’t look great right now, we are seeing real-time gains in how quickly he’s been able to release the ball and how accurately he’s able to deliver it to the base. Eric is noticeably better each time he goes out there. He’s in control of the game. In his first couple starts, the game was moving really fast and he was exposed to some things. The blocking and the pitch receiving have grown so much and so fast to a very serviceable level right now. My messaging to Eric is he’s gonna be a big-league catcher. When he’s hitting, it’s consistent bat to ball and his ability to impact it hard consistently. I look at Eric, I see a lot of Ben Rice. He’s a guy who constantly gets his barrel to the ball. He hits for a high slug because he’s able to consistently elevate the ball. He’s still continuing to adjust and build his offensive profile. That’s certainly not complete yet, which makes you even more excited about him because it is so good right now.”
WILSON RODRIGUEZ, OF
Age: 21 (22 on Sept. 10, 2026).
Size: 6-0, 186.
Acquired: 2023 draft, 17th round (Academia Presbiteriana High School; Carolina, Puerto Rico). $150,000 signing bonus.
Bats: Left.
2026 hitting stats: Hudson Valley (High A), .259 average, 293 AB, 55 runs, 76 hits, 15 doubles, 5 triples, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 20 SB, 5 CS, 43 BB, 58 K, .806 OPS, 84 games.
2026 fielding stats: Hudson Valley (High A), 2 errors, 3 assists, .963 fielding percentage in 43 games (42 starts) in right field; 2 errors, 1 assist, .967 fielding percentage, 35 games (35 starts) in left field; 0 errors, 1 assist, 1.000 fielding percentage in 7 games (7 starts) in center field.
Career hitting stats: .246 average, 544 AB, 89 runs, 134 hits, 26 doubles, 7 triples, 14 HR, 79 RBI, 32 SB, 8 CS, 79 BB, 98 K, .760 OPS, 163 games.
Prospect ranking: MLB Pipeline, No. 24; Baseball America, Not in top 30.
MLB Pipeline tool grades (20/80 scale): Hit 45; Power 50; Run 55; Arm 50; Overall 40.
The skinny: Rodriguez had season-ending surgery after dislocating a thumb sliding into second base in a July 19 game at Brooklyn. … His 15.9 walk percentage was up from 11.9 in 2025, but his 19.8 strikeout percentage jumped from 17.6 in 2025.
Manager Aaron Bosse’s take: “Wilson is an extremely passionate player. I think of him as a glue guy. He speaks both languages, English and Spanish, and really brings the team together. He goes out wanting to win every single day. It’s really awesome to see that in the minor leagues. I saw a lot of progress from Wilson this season. He’s slowed the game down so much defensively and on the bases. That helped his decision making on when to steal and which jumps to take and to trust. Defensively, he’s played a lot of left and right field, but we started giving him center field games right before he unfortunately went down. He’s got the athleticism to really cover some ground. He’s got a really strong left-handed arm.”
JACKSON LOVICH, INF/CF
Age: 22 (23 on Nov. 18, 2026).
Size: 6-3, 192.
Acquired: 2025 draft, 16th round (Missouri). $150,000 signing bonus.
Bats: Right.
2026 hitting stats: Hudson Valley (High A), .343 average, 67 AB, 15 runs, 23 hits, 1 triple, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 10 SB, 1 CS, 7 BB, 27 K, .907 OPS, 6 games. Tampa (Low A), .275 average, 320 AB, 59 runs, 88 hits, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 18 HR, 61 RBI, 21 SB, 7 CS, 36 BB, 101 K, .859 OPS, 78 games.
2026 fielding stats: 16 errors, .970 fielding percentage, 45 games (45 starts) at shortstop; 7 errors, .939 fielding percentage, 34 games (34 starts) at 3rd base; 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage in 5 games (5 starts) in center field.
Career hitting stats: .306 average, 409 AB, 83 runs, 125 hits, 21 doubles, 5 triples, 21 HR, 89 RBI, 34 SB, 8 CS, 47 BB, 131 K, .912 OPS, 101 games.
Prospect ranking: MLB Pipeline, not in top 30; Baseball America, Not in top 30.
The skinny: Overland Park, Kansas native was the Mets’ 19th-round draft pick in 2022, but opted for college. … Younger brother Eli Lovich is an outfielder for the Cubs’ High-A Myrtle Beach affiliate after being drafted in the 11th round in 2024. … Scouts are impressed with Lovich’s raw power and bat speed. … Debuted as a pro last season by hitting .636 (14-for-22) with nine RBI in six games with Low A Tampa. … In college hit .311 with 47 homers, 94 RBI in 116 games across three seasons with Missouri (2023-25).
Manager Aaron Bosse’s take: “If Jackson’s not on our prospect list, I would absolutely be looking out for him because he’s so sharp in middle of your infield and now he’s showing the athleticism to do it in the outfield as well. I think about his baseball IQ. I think about how engaged he is with every situation in the game, on the bases and on defense. He has a super sharp baseball mind and a lot of pop in that bat. He absolutely could stay at shortstop, but we’re starting to roll him out center field games and he’s so accepting. He’s team centered and so passionate about the game.”
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