Dax Kilby’s long wait looks like it may finally be over.
The 2025 New York Yankees top pick had been stuck in limbo for most of the season after a recurring hamstring issue knocked him out of action coming out of spring training. He landed on the seven-day injured list, a label that can mean anything from a short pause to a much longer mystery, and the uncertainty dragged on through April and May. A Florida Complex League rehab assignment in late May didn’t lead to a clean return either, and Kilby was shut down again after that false start.
At last, the first real signs of a full comeback showed up over the weekend. Kilby was activated from the IL on July 24 and returned to Low-A Tampa after some stop-and-go rehab games, including a few where he only logged a handful of innings.
This time, though, he played a full game right away. He walked twice, doubled and drove in a run.
Then he followed it up the next day with the kind of swing that gets prospect watchers buzzing: a home run left-on-left, the first of his career, off Brandon Clarke, the side-slinging former Red Sox top prospect who can reach 103 MPH and was dealt for Sonny Gray last winter.
Kilby added another hit on Sunday to finish the weekend with some momentum.
That’s a welcome development for a player who had already built a loud reputation in a tiny sample. Last summer, Kilby put up some of the most ridiculous numbers of any pro debut, enough that he was expected to make a serious climb in his first full year in the Yankees’ system. Instead, the only real national attention he’s gotten this season came from FanGraphs, which placed him No. 107 with a special injury designation.
Even with the lost time, Kilby’s talent hasn’t exactly disappeared. He was strong enough in that 18-game sample last summer to make himself a difficult name to move, and the Yankees would have to think hard before making him the centerpiece in a deal. For now, though, the better play is obvious: keep him in-house and let the rest of the league remember what he can do.
If the hamstring trouble really is behind him, Kilby’s path is back on track. And for the Yankees, that’s the kind of farm-system update worth celebrating.
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