Yanquiel Fernández
Cuban baseball player (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yanquiel Fernández (born January 1, 2003) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder in the New York Yankees organization, He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies.
| Yanquiel Fernández | |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: January 1, 2003 Havana, Cuba | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 2, 2025, for the Colorado Rockies | |
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |
| Batting average | .225 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 11 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Career
Colorado Rockies
Fernández signed with the Colorado Rockies as an international free agent on July 12, 2019 for $295,000. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Fernández made his professional debut in 2021 with the Dominican Summer League Rockies.[2][3]
Fernández played 2022 with the Fresno Grizzlies and was named a California League postseason All-Star after leading the league in runs batted in (RBI), extra-base hits, and total bases. He started 2023 with Fresno, playing three games before being promoted to the Spokane Indians. He joined the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats in June.[4][5][6] He played in the All-Star Futures Game in July. On November 14, the Rockies added Fernández to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[6]
Fernández was ranked in the bottom half of several top 100 prospect lists before the 2024 season.[7] After playing in eight spring training games, he optioned to Hartford to begin the season, advancing to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes on August 6.[8][6] In 122 games split between Hartford and Albuquerque, Fernández batted a combined .262/.319/.403 with 12 home runs and 64 RBI.[7]
Fernández was optioned to Albuquerque to begin the 2025 season.[9] In 64 appearances for the Isotopes, he slashed .284/.347/.502 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI. On July 1, Fernández was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[10] On July 4, he singled off of Chicago White Sox starter Adrian Houser for his first MLB hit.[11] In his rookie season, Fernández batted .225/.265/.348 with four home runs and 11 RBI over 52 games.[12] Defensively, he has the second-best arm strength in the majors, throwing with an average speed of 97.2 miles per hour.[13][14]
On January 28, 2026, Fernández was designated for assignment by the Rockies.[15]
New York Yankees
On February 4, 2026, the New York Yankees claimed Fernández off of waivers.[16] He was designated for assignment by the Yankees on February 9.[17] Fernández cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on February 16.[18]