Yankees in utero Torres, Frazier and Adams pushing through
By Cory Claus
Baby Yankees are doing significant damage to the big league club. And there are still plenty of talented pre-baby Yankees scattered through the minors. Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier are the top two pieces in a talented system and are playing like it. And it’s time we considered Chance Adams one of those top prospects. So if any Yankees are finding it hard to get playing time—are you listening Jacoby Ellsbury—they might not want to read this.
Yankees players have been more used to looking up at the standings to see the other teams. Now, they only have to look down. While it is still early in the season, the Yankees are in second place by a slim margin. And, while that’s always better than being in last place, it keeps the players looking over their shoulders for someone ready to take their jobs rather than getting comfortable.
Some shoulders are being overlooked more than others. Take Jacoby Ellsbury. He has found it difficult to get playing time recently. In a minor (Wally) Pipping, he needed time off after his collision with the wall and has not been able to get back into the starting lineup, until recently.
That’s because Gardener and Hicks have been playing superlative baseball. And of course, Judge is…well, you don’t need me to complete that sentence.
Now Gardener and Hicks might not be the only players between the pine and playing time for Mr. Ellsbury. Second-ranked prospect Clint Frazier has been playing much better ball recently and might have turned a corner.
But before we look at all the good numbers, we need to keep a special watch on the negative numbers, such as errors and strikeouts, for both Frazier and Torres.
The Yankees know that a player has to play in the Bronx before the team can tell if he is a big leaguer or not. But Girardi never lets a player on the field who cannot play defense. He knows most players never hit enough to stick with the big league club so he and the Yankees are not going to let you hurt the team by committing errors while they wait to find out if you can help the team by hitting.
Think about Aaron Judge. He struck out in half of his Yankees AB’s last year. And he rarely walked. But it was because he only committed one error during that time that allowed him to come back for another shot. And that seems to be working out.
Trading hitting for defense seems so seductive but can bite you at the wrong time. Just ask the Mets why they have a 2015 National League Championship banner instead of a World Series one. With that in mind, here are three players Yankees fans should see soon.