Yankees 2025 first-rounder Dax Kilby, a 19-year-old HS shortstop from Newnan, Ga., hit his first professional home run in his second game back with Single-A Tampa, per MLB Pipeline.

MLB Pipeline's official account posted the clip Saturday: Dax Kilby, the Yankees' 2025 first-round pick, turned on a pitch in his second game back with the Single-A Tampa Tarpons and put his first professional home run into the seats.

Kilby, 19, is a high school shortstop from Newnan, Ga., whom the Yankees selected No. 39 overall in last July's draft — a pick that arrived ten spots later than it should have. New York originally held the 29th pick, but luxury-tax penalties bumped it back a full round's worth of ground, and the club had already forfeited its second-rounder as the price for signing Max Fried after Atlanta issued him a qualifying offer. The slot value attached to the 39th pick was $2,509,500.

Keith Law ranked Kilby the 55th prospect in the 2025 draft class and described a contact-first profile: a short, direct swing, a remarkably low chase rate (9 percent on pitches outside the shadow zone at showcase events), and 40 raw power with room to grow. The scouting consensus pegged him as a future second or third baseman rather than a shortstop, with an approach refined enough to move quickly through a system. He had committed to Clemson before the Yankees made the call.

The phrase "second game back" in Pipeline's post suggests Kilby had missed time — the Tarpons have not announced a specific IL stint, but the implication is a recent return from absence rather than a first professional at-bat. One home run doesn't rewrite the scouting report, but it is the first confirmation that the power Law projected is findable. With George Lombard Jr. drawing trade scrutiny at Double-A Somerset and the deadline six days out, any evidence that the next wave of Yankees prospects can hit is news the organization is watching.