Yankees 2017 youth movement in review: Casa de suenos

Young Yankees made their mark in 2017. Along the way, they learned that, while some dreams end in glory, others end in pain.

The Yankees knew the baby bombers would have a significant impact on the 2017 season. It turned out to be a seismic one. A season of promise has turned into one of proof as the Yankees saw more than a few hopeful minor leaguers try to prove they belonged in the Bronx. For them, it was a dream come true.

Not all those young Yankees became beautiful dreamers, though. Some are still fighting to hold on to their hopes, while others awoke just as their Yankees dreams vanished.

Some players, though, have themselves become the dream.

Not every baby Yankees player can be covered in depth, and it is mainly pitchers who must suffer. Ben Heller, OF Mason Williams and Ronald Herrera, are just not intriguing enough prospects; Holder is interesting but looks just as likely to be left off of the 40-man.

That still leaves a bevy of baby Yankees who played in the Bronx this year. We’ll start with the saddest stories first, and Yankees dreams that died in 2017.

1B/RF Rob Refsnyder; Age 26

Ref was once the brightest star in the Yankees universe. But his batting average in the big leagues was always a black hole; in 2017, his production finally dwarfed his promise.

He played in 20 games this year, at least for the Yankees. His slash is representative of his three-year big league career: .135/.200/.216. And Rob never had a lot of power, so his lone double and no home runs were not a surprise.

But it was always a surprise that Refsnyder never hit anywhere close to .300. His swing is level and smooth; it always projected him as a big league hitter for average. Now, however, it might be time to admit that Rob is and always will be a Quadruple-A player.

His numbers since being traded to the Blue Jays bear this out. While his slash is slightly better in his 25 games for Toronto–.195/.298/.220 with one double and of course no home runs—that is not really the point. .195 won’t get it done no matter what you compare it to.

Ref seems like a nice guy, and I wish him well. But his dream of playing for the Yankees has ended.

Fortunately, that’s not true yet for another still-promising infielder.