Yankees: How demoting top prospects could impact their future

This spring, the Yankees have been put between a rock and a hard place. With decisions to play certain players over top prospects expected to arise in the future, the Yanks have some hard choices to make; all of which could dictate the franchise’s future.

The Yankees have a packed roster, and that’s an understatement. With players of all ages fighting for playing time, many question how the new Yankees’ skipper, Aaron Boone, will utilize each player; or not.

The previous manager, Joe Girardi, was known for being very capable of splitting up playing time. Generally, his decision was based on whoever was playing best.

Last season, Girardi saw improved performances from starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Sonny Gray when backup catcher Austin Romine started. Will this rotation of starters continue into 2018 with the new rookie manager?

Perhaps they will, but what we the fans do know is that three Yankee farmhands saw their return to the minors recently. Which leads fans to believe that the Yanks are looking to be on the prowl this season.

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The demotions of Tyler Austin, Gleyber Torres, and Miguel Andújar could have come across as surprises to fans who thought the team finally decided to look at their younger options for once instead of signing big name (and sometimes washed-out) players.

However, in recent years management has tried a different approach to improving the roster through trades instead of tossing multi-year contracts at free agents.

Some fans, however, are beginning to worry about waiting too long to call up their young studs. And I do understand these worries. How long is too long to call a player up?

The Yankees have seen this happen to their own prospects. Take Austin Romine, an established career backup catcher over the past three seasons. He was once a top Yankee prospect drafted in the second round over ten years ago but he did not see significant playing time until age 24. He then saw two years out of the majors, only to see some playing consistent time as a back-up again at age 27.

Now 29, Romine certainly missed his window of opportunity to become a starting catcher at the MLB level. Perhaps that’s just because he didn’t have what it takes?

The Yankees have seen other previous prospects called up at later ages only to grow into top MLB players. Take the Bombers “core four” of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. All of these players endured awarding careers, each holding the possibility of earning Hall of Fame entries.

But of these four Yankee legends, Derek Jeter was the youngest to debut at age 21. Pettitte was 22. Posada and Rivera both did not see continued usage until age 25.

Why is this important? Well, the Yankees have several minor league players who have produced efficiently in the minors but have yet to make that jump to the next level. Waiting for them to grow before entering the competitive world that is the MLB could very well be the right call.

Andújar and Torres aged 23 and 21 respectively, still have time before their window of opportunity closes. As for other Yankee farmhands, for the most part, they all still have time to mature. In fact, the Yankees top ten prospects are all under the age of 24, leaving each with some time to improve.

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So I implore Yankee fans to not be too worried about the delay of younger players’ careers and simply enjoy the success bound to come this season.

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