Bryce Cunningham’s climb through the Yankees’ farm system is finally moving to a new level.
The 23-year-old right-hander has been promoted from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A Somerset, and he’s set to make his first start for the Patriots on Tuesday night against the Akron RubberDucks, Cleveland’s Double-A affiliate. Cunningham is ranked as New York’s No. 9 prospect for 2026 by MLB Pipeline, and this is his first move beyond High-A in his minor league career.
New York took Cunningham in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University, and his pro path has already included both promise and interruption. He opened his first year in the minors with a 2.82 ERA across 12 High-A outings, striking out 55 batters in 54 1/3 innings.
Then injuries slowed everything down. A shoulder issue kept him out for multiple months after he began 2025 with a 1.93 ERA over his first eight appearances, and he was limited to just four more High-A starts after June before struggling to a 10.38 ERA in five Arizona Fall League starts.
This season, Cunningham has spent all of his time with Hudson Valley, where he logged a 4.71 ERA in 17 games and piled up 69 strikeouts in 80 1/3 innings. His most recent stretch has been a mixed bag.
He enters Double-A with a 4.88 ERA in four High-A starts this month, including seven innings of two-run ball in his first August outing, followed by back-to-back starts in which he allowed four runs over six innings each. He also recorded a season-high eight strikeouts on Aug.
With Somerset’s regular season ending on Sept. 13, Cunningham is likely to get only a couple of Double-A starts before the year is over. Even so, the promotion marks an important next step for a pitcher the Yankees are clearly keeping a close eye on.
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