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Yankees’ Editorial: The Farm Is Here

By Tyler Angelo

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Even though it has felt like a million years, Spring Training games finally kicked off on Tuesday. The New York Yankees took on the Philadelphia Phillies in their first series. The fans that have gathered to watch were there for the big names: Alex Rodriguez, Brian McCann, Masahiro Tanaka, Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mark Teixeira. The days of assembling to watch the core-four are gone and the good-bye tour to our Captain is over, so what now? Are these veterans with the big contracts what the Yankees are defined as now?

The answer is plain and simple, no. For the first time in a long time the Yankees are being defined by their growing farm system. There has been much hype around prospects coming through it and we are finally beginning to see why. Dellin Betances broke on to the scene last year and put together a strong enough first half to earn a spot in the All-Star game.

In the first Spring Training game we saw a glimpse of the next big deal prospects. The heir to Mark Teixeira‘s throne at first base, Gregory Bird, and the future beyond Carlos Beltran, Aaron Judge, showed what they can do with the bat. The hype around Bird is that he can rake at the plate and will be big league ready this season. In his first Spring Training game this season he went 2-3 . Judge is compared to Giancarlo Stanton because of his physical stature (6’7, 230 pounds) and his raw power. He displayed his power and ability at the plate in the 9th inning on Tuesday when he hit the tying home run in the 9th.

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Luis Severino pitched 1.1 innings on Tuesday as well. He is the top pitching prospect in the Yankees’ system and there are hopes that he will be in the rotation next season. His time in Spring Training is to show what he can do but he will be sent down to develop further. Severino showed what his stuff is capable of but he did not have great success in his first showing. He gave up four hits and two earned runs but did post two strike outs.

Bill Madden, in his article for New York Daily News, discussed scout reviews of the prospects that are coming through the Yankees’ farm system. He wrote:

"“I love all three of them,” an NL scout was saying before the game Tuesday. “Bird, in my opinion, could be ready this year. I saw him in Trenton and then in the Arizona Fall League where he was the MVP and the kid can hit, with power. Severino’s almost there, too. He’s an accomplished pitcher, good poise, plus fastball and change. And Judge is just a great athlete, who can run and has a plus arm in right field. If he’s got any weakness, it’s the breaking ball, like all of them do. But he’s smart and he’ll make the adjustments.”"

The future is bright for the Yankees and this Spring Training is the first glimpse of the next big names.

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