Baltimore Orioles v New York Yankees / Luke Hales/GettyImages

Every offseason, it seems like one New York Yankees pitching prospect emerges from the shadows and dominates the discourse, both with regard to roster building and the trade market. This winter, it seems quite likely that prospect will be 25-year-old left-hander Ben Shields, coming off a buzzworthy season at Double-A Somerset that made a surprisingly small amount of actual buzz.

But the real prospect heads know about Shields’ potential MLB readiness, and they hired a new conductor of the Shields Hype Train this week. Baseball America took up the cause, comparing Shields favorably to 22-year-old Rockies flamethrower Chase Dollander, the ninth overall pick in the 2023 draft and a highly successful Hartford Yard Goat.

Sure, Shields’ age will keep him off the top of top-100 lists, but a 25-year-old unknown can still make a big-league impact in short order.

As Baseball America carefully laid out, Shields’ measurables, four-pitch mix and absurd ground ball rate complement his below-the-hood stuff. The Yankees will likely give him a real chance to make an impact next season coming out of spring training, especially considering the annual bullpen/depth turnover they tend to experience.

Yankees prospect Ben Shields deserves MLB look based on work at Double-A

Coming off an injury, we don’t think Nestor Cortes Jr. will be traded this offseason, as some initially expected. But, whether he stays or goes, there are sure to be Yankees roster complications that could be solved by a controllable, grounder-inducing lefty. Have you seen this year’s playoff roster, after all? Tim Mayza’s here! He’s Tim Hill’s only left-handed friend! There’s certainly space in the bullpen.

Dollander whiffed a remarkable 169 men in 118 innings last season, living up to his pedigree with a high-velocity heater. Shields? He did it traditionally, changing speeds and mixing his offerings to the tune of 137 Ks in 106 frames in his first professional season — and yes, amid all those grounders.

Dollander has gotten heavy publicity since long before he toed a professional rubber. Shields? He was signed as an undrafted free agent out of George Mason in 2023, debuting as silently as possible in July. Now? He’s been noticed by the game’s scouting publications. The secret’s out, and the burden falls on the Yankees to find a way to maximize this very good press.