Could the Kids Spark the Yankees Back to Contention?

Led by recently promoted top prospects Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and Tyler Austin, the New York Yankees rejuvenated offense could push them back into the playoff race.

The New York Yankees 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday was one of the most exciting of the 2016 season. Before the game, the team surprised fans by calling up not one, but two of their top prospects, first baseman Tyler Austin and outfielder Aaron Judge, to join their former Triple-A teammate Gary Sanchez in the Bronx.

Despite the presence of two other catchers on the Yankees roster, manager Joe Girardi has managed to keep the 23-year-old Sanchez in the lineup almost every day since his August 3rd promotion, and he has rewarded the team by going 10-for-28 with three doubles and a home run. He already looks completely at home in the big leagues and could take over the vacant cleanup spot before long.

Austin and Judge started off their big league careers in the most impressive possible fashion, homering in back-to-back at-bats, the first pair of teammates in MLB history to accomplish that feat. They each added another hit to their day’s work for good measure. Judge also looked terrific in rightfield, showing off his wheels in the first inning with a catch at the wall. 

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Seven of the nine players in the Yankees lineup Saturday were age 27 or younger. I’m not sure that has ever happened before in my lifetime. New York’s front office has followed through on their promise to get younger and build from within. Now it is time to see what these guys can do.

Obviously it’s easy to get excited about one win and start envisioning a new Core Four. In all likelihood all of these young guys will undergo some significant growing pains.

At the same time, the Yankees suddenly will have some exciting talent in their lineup every day. Youth can certainly fail, but it also comes with a sense of possibility. This team suddenly feels like it could make some noise down the stretch.

With four teams ahead of them for the second Wild Card spot, the odds of the Yankees making the postseason remain very long. They would have to do a lot of winning over the next six weeks. However, at least this isn’t the same geriatric group that has tiredly struggled to stay at .500 all season. We all kind of knew those guys weren’t going anywhere.

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With the Yankees real window not expected to be  open until 2018ish, anything this group does down the stretch is pure icing on the cake. Again, it’s easy to overreact to all the hype about these prospects, but this feels like a team with renewed hope.

The 2016 Yankees haven’t been an especially fun team to watch, but that is definitely about to change.