One of the New York Yankees' late-round picks from last year's draft is generating some buzz in the Arizona Fall League.

First baseman Kyle West recently belted the longest home run of the 2026 Arizona Fall League season. The lefty-swinging slugger turned on a pitch and crushed it 462 feet to right-center field. That majestic blast is the fifth-farthest homer in AFL history, according to the official Arizona Fall League account on X/Twitter.

So far this fall, West is hitting .282 (11-for-39) with three home runs, 10 RBIs, and seven runs scored in 13 games. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is tied with seven other prospects, including the Chicago White Sox's Caleb Bonemer, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Chase Harlan, and the Baltimore Orioles' Vance Honeycutt, for the fourth-most long balls in the 2026 Arizona Fall League season so far. These fall reps could help the 2025 draft pick build on a productive campaign at the plate this year in the minors.

Kyle West could give the Yankees another late-round gem

Right-handed pitcher Cam Schlittler and first baseman Ben Rice were two of the Yankees' biggest contributors in 2026. They're also two recent examples of relatively late-round picks by New York who have found success in the majors. Rice was a 12th-round draft pick in 2021, while Schlittler was a seventh-round pick in 2022. It's far too early to compare West to those names, but he at least looks like a prospect worth monitoring heading into 2027.

The Yankees selected West with a 13th-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of West Virginia University. The 6-foot-2 slugger played 11 Single-A games in 2025 and then spent his first full season in the minors at High-A. And in 124 High-A games this year, the 23-year-old hit .226 with 20 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases.

West notably struck out 160 times in the minors this year. In a much smaller sample size this fall, though, he has 10 strikeouts and seven walks in 13 games. That's likely one area of improvement for the power-hitting prospect heading into next season. Either way, Yankees fans might want to keep an eye on the 13th-rounder's development in 2027 and beyond.