Yankees final farm report: The summer is ending but not the harvest

Method Man

I used several key factors to varying degrees. History is important since baseball is all about longevity. If a player has not been in the system long, his previous experience (such as college) was taken into consideration.

Absent that, a player would have to be performing at a very high level to make this list in so short a time. And a player’s age at his level was usually a factor, although more so with position players. A body changes a lot from 19 to 25 and older players often dominate based on age.

And the age at which a player debuts is often an indicator of greater talent.

For instance, Mike Trout debuted one month shy of his 20th birthday. Derek Jeter became a regular at 22. Chase Headley, on the other hand, became a part-time player at 24 but did not get 600 AB’s until his 25th year. That is not meant as a slight, just a comparison to more talented players.

Judge is an excellent outlier, but age at each level remains one useful tool. I was also careful to take into account what first-hand scouts are saying. Reading numbers and watching video only go so far.

And I gave a lot of points if a pitcher is a starter. Relievers are incredibly valuable, but starters are more rare. Severino would have been a dominant closer, but the Yankees have three or four of those. As a starter, he is leading his team to the playoffs.

But the two most important questions were: What is the upside of this player, and how likely is it he has a long Yankees career? With all of that in mind, here are the awkwardly-numbered 38 Best Prospects Still Growing Down on the Farm.