Yankees farm teams season extended with venture into playoffs

Yankees minor league teams portend of the future and they haven’t disappointed this season. Both their Double-A and Triple-A teams have comfortable leads in their respective leagues, and they’ll soon be entering their Second Season, showing the way for the big club.

The Yankees minor league system, once the laughing stock of baseball, is now the envy of nearly all major league organizations. Stocked and restocked over the last two years, the system has already delivered Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, among others to the big league ballclub.

Moreover, a quick scan of their top prospects holds the promise of a future that is yet to come. But excitement is already brewing away from the Bronx in places like Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the home the Yankees Triple-A Railriders and in Trenton, New Jersey where the Double-A Thunder play.

And that’s because both teams have seven and nine leads respectively as first place teams in their league, with the playoff on their horizon.

Managed by Al Pedrique, the Railriders are the defending Triple-A Champions of minor league baseball. As part of that prize, this year’s championship game will be played on their home field and the Railriders are motivated to be there again.

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Both teams have been and will continue to be impacted by the needs of the big club in the Bronx,  as call-ups and send-downs occur routinely. But owners and managers of these teams soon learn to deal with it as a course of doing business.

From the organization’s standpoint, their sister team’s presence in the playoffs presents a dilemma for the organization. On the one hand, they want to see their minor league teams do well, and they know the players on the teams have earned the chance to fulfill what they’ve already accomplished.

But at the same time, the big club rules and its needs supersede everything. This means, for example, if Jordan Montgomery pitches for the Railriders in their playoff series, instead of the Yankees, with whom he is due for a call-up on Thursday, Scranton’s see-saw chances are affected.

There is the possibility if the team chooses to do so, he or any other player(s)  could be sent back down to make a start for the Railriders, or for that matter, Trenton during their playoffs. But that puts a strain on the players, who are invariably ruled by routine.

Yankees Pride, not Prejudice

Nevertheless, Yankees fans can take pride in the achievements of both teams this year. Much like the Yankees themselves, making the playoffs is one thing, but making some noise once you get there is an entirely different animal.

With an eye towards helping and not hindering them as much as they can, the Yankees will be looking themselves carefully for the players who excel during the minor league playoffs. Invitations to Spring Training 2018 are on the line as well as invitations to play in the Arizona Fall League, where players get even more attention.

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Yankees fans can follow the Railriders on their website and the Thunder who, by the way, sports Justus Sheffield as one of their starting pitchers with this link.

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