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.

UI Tyler Wade; 22

I am not saying Wade is an absolute no, but his performance so far has him much closer to failing as a big leaguer. And that’s because Tyler has looked completely overmatched, including making uncharacteristically bad plays in the field.

In 26 games, Wade has managed to hit just .148/.220/.222 with four doubles and seven runs scored. One of Tyler’s biggest assets is his blazing speed, but he hasn’t played well enough to show it off. How bad has it been? Wade currently has a negative WAR (-.04).

The saving grace is that Tyler is a rookie. Yankees fans don’t need me to remind them how much a player can improve from year one to two. And Tyler will get a lot more chances to show what he can do, this year and next.

But he has to turn it around in a big way. Thairo Estrada is coming and looks to be a better player. By the middle of next year, Wade’s only way to keep Estrada in Scranton will be to play at a high level in his limited opportunities. And that might be too much for Wade to do.

And now on to a real nightmare come true.

(Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)

CF Dustin Fowler; 22

With Fowler, we come to the saddest Yankees story this side of Chien-Ming Wang. Dustin was never a highly ranked prospect and had to earn every promotion…and every bit of respect. He always had three or four tools but lacked any real power.

Not this year. 2017 saw Fowler put it all together and emerge as one of the best outfield prospects in the Yankees system. There are even those who like him better than Clint Frazier.

Still, when the season started, Dustin’s dream of playing in pinstripes was not likely to come true. The depth chart read: Ellsbury, Gardner, Judge, Hicks, Refsnyder, Tyler Austin, and Mason Williams. It would take multiple injuries and underperformance to allow Fowler to ascend in the summer of 2017.

And that’s exactly what happened. On June 29th, Dustin’s life must have seemed like a waking dream. He was slated to start against the White Sox and bat lead-off in the bottom of the first.

Sadly, that at-bat never happened.

A Now Impossible Dream

Giving up his body to make a tough catch in the top of the first, Fowler ruptured his patellar tendon and ended his season. He didn’t know it then, lying in agony on the field, but the pain he felt was waking him from his dream of ever playing in pinstripes again.

Dustin Fowler was perhaps the central piece in the Sonny Gray deal with Oakland. All reports project a full recovery. I like to see former Yankees prospects do well, as former family members, although I never go so far as to root for them.

But that’s not true for Fowler. It is impossible not to root for a Yankees player who earns everything he gets, even with another team. And I hope he wakes in the Bay Area to a better and more deserved, reality.

That takes care of those whose dreams turned torturous. Now on to those still in a pleasant REM stage.

3B Miguel Andujar; 22

Miguel had a brief call-up in June and made the most of his one game, slashing .750/.800/1.000. That is an entirely insignificant sample size. The one thing you can say, though, is that he was not overmatched, which is in itself an accomplishment.

Still, better to do well in a limited tryout than poor. Miguel went back down to Triple-A to work on his defense, and dream of a return to the Bronx.

Miguel continued to hit, and the reports on his defense have been very positive. He simultaneously helped lead the RailRiders to the Governor’s Cup, recently losing in four.

The Yankees waited until the RR playoffs were over and have now recalled the intriguing Andujar.

There is still time for him to have an impact on the Yankees season. But only if his feet let his arms get some swings. The Yankees showed their thinking on Andujar when they let him pitch-hit in Saturday’s blowout, but not play defense.

However, he has shown enough growth to warrant a long look in spring training. If he keeps progressing as he has, the Yankees third baseman of the future will take over the hot corner at some point in 2018.

And some Yankees fans are already dreaming of that day.

1B/RF Tyler Austin; 25

Austin must have tortured dreams. Through trials and tribulations, Tyler has worked to put himself in position to wake up an everyday major league player. And at the same time, the Yankees have been holding open tryouts for first base.

And all the winner has to do is hit and stay healthy. But therein lies the rub for Mr. Austin: He just hasn’t done enough of either.

Fracturing his ankle before April, Austin did not return to the Bronx until June 24th. Four days later, he was back on the DL. He came back for a few underwhelming days in August, was sent back down, finally returning for good once the rosters expanded.

It’s all added up to but 16 games and a line of .243/.302/.459, with two home runs and eight RBI’s. Tyler has shown a lot of promise, but he needs consistent at-bats. That he hasn’t gotten them is not the Yankees fault.

But this dreary dream still can have a happy ending. Austin is under team control for years to come and will probably get more chances. However, he is not as talented as Greg Bird, another oft-injured young Yankee, as we will see next.

And if Bird’s dreams become a reality, Tyler’s are likely to fade into memory.

1B Greg Bird; 24

If Tyler Austin ever goes to therapy, he can take Greg Bird with him.

It seemed for a while that the Yankees had dreamed him up. Just as high-priced free agent Mark Teixeira was aging out of his contract, Bird was flying through the minors.

He won the prestigious Arizona Fall League MVP in 2014 and, by 2015, Brian Cashman was calling him the Yankees top hitting prospect. Bird had an exceptional rookie debut that same year but missed all of the last season with a shoulder injury.

His spring training this year reignited Yankees big dreams about Bird but, sadly, like Austin, injuries are too big a part of Greg Bird’s reality. He’s only played in 36 games this year, hitting .155/.260/.318 to go with five home runs and three doubles.

And that’s because he broke a bone in his ankle as spring training ended, missed most of the season, and returned in August in time for back spasms to sideline him some more.

But also like Austin, Bird still has time to see his dream come true. He is under control until 2022 and has a ton of talent. Greg could wake up in the middle of the night and hit a double in his pajamas. If he can stay healthy, he could become one of the best number three hitters in baseball.

What if, however, he gets bigger with every injury.

He’s starting to show the power potential in his sweet swing. And he might be ready to put on the kind of show we saw in spring. If he does that, even if he never has a long career, he could still help turn the Yankees 2017 postseason into a remarkable reality.

And that’s a big enough dream for any man or Bird.

LF Clint Frazier; 23

Frazier is one of the most difficult players to project. Partially due to injuries, Clint debuted ahead of schedule this year. He got off to a dreamy start but wakes today to a line of .240/.273/.463 after his 32 games. That’s not great.

But he is a rookie. And, of his 29 hits, four have been home runs, and nine have been doubles, helping Frazier collect 17 ribbies. So there is plenty of promise. Add to that Brian Cashman’s infatuation with Frazier, and Clint is going to get a chance to compete in spring.

Still, there are deep reservations after seeing him play. His bat speed is noticeable and impressive. But he is missing something, something that screams big league player. I am not convinced that Frazier can match his oft-quoted hopes of being an All-Star or even be an everyday starter.

But at least we’ll all get to sleep on it as 2018 will be the real make or wake year for Clint Frazier.

RHP Domingo German; 25

German came up at the end of June, all the way from Double-A. That’s a dream coming true before you fall asleep.

This was at the nadir of the Yankees pitching for the season, and Domingo acquitted himself well. Appearing in five games but never as a starter, German returned to the minors with a 3.38 ERA after his 10.2 IP.

His 11 hits and WHIP of 1.688 were less than stellar, but that seems understandable for a debut.

What puts German in the maybe category, as opposed to the unnoticed one, is the fact of his call-up. One the one hand, it is telling that the Yanks decided Domingo was their best option at that time. But, one reason they did so was that they did not want to stunt the development of better pitchers.

German will be back in spring training with a chance to show he can still be a starter. But with all the pitching prospects in the pipeline and the front-line free agent the Yankees are likely to bring in this winter, Domingo’s dream of reappearing in pinstripes probably comes true as a reliever.

While that might not be the form German wants his dream to take, it will still count as a happy ending.

Now on to four Yankees whose dreams might now be dreaming them.

C Gary Sanchez; 24

It is probably unfair to include Sanchez on this list since he proved his potential last year. But he’s a great player, is still a young Yankee, and spent 2017 having a historic season.

Even though Gary endured an injury, and earned both a benching and a suspension, it would be unfair to call this an up-and-down year. The positives have just outweighed the negatives.

Gary did some growing during his 111 games, but he was already pretty big. His slash is great for a catcher: .283/.350/.543. His 31 home runs, however, lead all catchers and it’s not close. Only four other catchers have even twenty homers, Salvador Perez being the closest with 25.

Of course, every Yankees player dreams of competing with legends; but future catchers will one daydream about Gary:

Hall of Famer Yogi Berra twice hit 30 homers in a season. Jorge Posada hit 30 in 2003. Hall of Famer Bill Dickey slugged 29 in 1937 and 12-time All-Star Elston Howard hit 28 in his 1963 MVP season. Now Sanchez has outdone them all.

And Sanchez missed a month of the season.

Add that to his 18 doubles, and the Yankees have the most dynamic offensive catcher in the game. That is never truer than in the fifth month of the season when he transforms from Yo Soy Gary to The August Mr. Sanchez.

He owns the month offensively as much as Jackson ever owned October.

That doesn’t quite capture the drama of Sanchez’s August, which featured a benching, a celebrity encounter and the brawl. Oh, and 12 homers, along with an outstanding .287/.347/.648 slash line.

And even though he needs to work on one aspect of his defense, his arm strength needs no improvement. Sanchez has the games best cannon behind the plate and routinely guns down the fastest players in the American League.

Gary Sanchez showed that 2016 was no fluke and that he can still be better than he has been in 2017. That’s a thought that will cause other clubs to have nightmares. And Yankees fans to have many happy dreams.

RHP Luis Severino; 23

It’s unclear whose dream came true more in 2017: Severino or Yankees fans. Sevvy went from hopeful fourth starter to probable starter in the Wild Card game. That’s what happens when your 29 starts so far leave a 2.93 ERA mark on the game.

And it gets even better than that. Luis has thrown 184.1 innings but given up only 141 hits, helping him build a WHIP of 1.031. Add his 218 strikeouts, and Severino becomes a pitcher most teams can only dream of.

I recently wrote about Severino and had no interest in running down all of his many superlatives again. Suffice to say, Sevvy is third in the AL in ERA and WHIP, and fourth in strikeouts. He’s currently third in the unofficial CY Young voting with a chance to finish second to Corey Kluber.

Most importantly, he’s the Yankees ace and likely to start their inevitable one-game playoff.

Luis Severino is the best pitching prospect the Yankees have produced since Andy Pettitte. He throw’s 100 mph easily and has wipe out breaking stuff. And he’s not a full free agent until 2023. If Severino is a dream, I never want to wake.

Perhaps only one baby Yankee found more wish fulfillment in 2017. And you can probably see him from wherever you are.

RF Aaron Judge; 25

You have to wonder if dreams ever came true as well as they did for Aaron Judge. He went from a player with a lot to prove—even to make the Yankees 2017 opening day roster—to the possible face of baseball.

And if the Yankees make the ALDS, and Mike Trout’s Angels are at home watching on TV, he will be.

This is not the place to list his every accomplishment. When the season is over, someone here at YanksGoYard will write a final review, including playoff accomplishments. That’s when every heroic deed will be given its due.

All that needs to be shown here is the prima facia case. Judge has played 142 games and slashed .275/.414/.584. And while he has struck out 196 times so far, he has also scored 115 runs, walked 114 times, hit nineteen doubles, and clobbered the expletive deleted out of 43 home runs.

But to be able to judge Aaron, we’ve gotta get some perspective. His walks are an all-time rookie record, taking over the top spot from Ted Williams. But that’s the past and Aaron dreams in color.

He is currently second in the AL in both OBP and SLG (Mike Trout). And he leads the AL in walks, runs scored, and home runs. As a 25-year-old Yankees rookie.

And the Winner is…

Judge won the first three Rookie’s of the Month awards and will be the ROY. It is doubtful he will win the MVP, but he left no doubt who the most intimidating power hitter is in baseball. The show he put on at the All-Star game didn’t just deliver on the promise; it created a promise of greater things to come.

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And at this point in the season, with the most exciting moments left and legends still to be created, that is the only verdict we can come to: The baby bombers have spent this season creating an even greater anticipation of what they can do.

Not every young Yankees dream can come true. But a year that started with so many hopes has turned into one of the even bigger dreams. And that’s because of the work and effort of so many baby bombers.

Next: Yankees Call Up Andujar and Holder

And for each of them, it all started as a dream.

Enough have lived to see those wishes becomes realities to make this a promising postseason. It’s hard to imagine they can win the World Series, but the team in April and May looked like the best in baseball. I hope that’s not too daunting a dream for the new baby bombers.

Because, once you wake up in the Bronx, the reality is that dynasties become the stuff Yankees dreams are made of.