Yankees’ Youth Movement off to a Fantastic Start

With many of the New York Yankees recently promoted top prospects having no trouble adjusting to the big leagues, the club’s “transition phase” may be shorter than expected.

So, is the Yankees rebuild complete?

Well, no, of course it isn’t. But it looks like it’s moving pretty quickly. Yes, the New York Yankees, who took on the rare title of “sellers” at the deadline, have looked pretty good recently, thanks to a few youngsters.

Most notably, Aaron Judge has shown why he’s been a hyped prospect for years. He’s hitting .417 in 12 at-bats, with two home runs and three RBI’s. He’s already become a fan favorite, with crowds waiting anxiously to hear his name announced and to see him crush the ball.

Speaking of crushing the ball, he does it with ease. He hits mammoth home runs, already hitting the second longest round-tripper in Yankee Stadium history. Crazy. 

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Besides Judge, the other prospect making noise in the Bronx, Tyler Austin, has come out of nowhere in 2016.

After years of being labeled a top prospect and sometimes, a failure, Austin rebounded to the tune of .323./.415/.637 in AAA this year. You don’t make those numbers and stay in Triple-A for long. The Yankees proved this when they called him up along with Judge.

Of course, Austin homered in his first at-bat, a display of his impressive opposite field power. Austin will undoubtedly head to spring training next year to battle Greg Bird for the starting job. 

Not to be forgotten, 23-year-old Gary Sanchez has lived up to his years of labeling as a top prospect. Behind the plate, the Dominican Republic native has shown an impressive ability to work with the pitchers, while demonstrating a calm and collected level of maturity.

He’s gotten a lot of time behind the plate already, and appears to be pushing Brian McCann out the door. He’s already smacked four home runs, has a .333 average and eleven RBI’s. That’s some serious production by the long-time prospect, who the Yankees have coveted, and for good reason. 

Besides these exciting youngsters, there are a few names that can’t be left out. Chad Green, who looked overmatched in his first few MLB starts, is now doing really well. Just recently, he spun a gem against the lethal Toronto Blue Jays’ offense, striking out 11 in six innings, allowing just two hits, with no walks or runs.

For a team that just lost Nathan Eovaldi and has Luis Severino in Triple-A, Chad Green looks like he could be finding his stride.

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Oh, and the Yankees still have Didi Gregorius who has become one of the AL’s best shortstops. He’s got 16 home runs, a career high, and a .286 average. Pretty good numbers for an organization with unreal shortstop depth.

So, for New York Yankees, they can rest easy. Because for them, a rebuild isn’t going to take 10 years.

It looks like it’ll be done next year, and it’s got a good blueprint.