Fan favorite Yankees prospect sparks rumors with IG story ahead of ALDS vs KC Royals

Adam Weinrib

New York Yankees Photo Day / New York Yankees/GettyImages

In 1978, little-used reserve infielder Brian Doyle helped the New York Yankees topple the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS. then went supernova on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, going 2-for-7 in the first round before hitting .438 in the Fall Classic.

He was mostly a non-factor during the regular season, but at least he did play; Doyle appeared in 39 games for the Yankees as a rookie that campaign, hitting .192 for an OPS+ of 10. In all, he compiled -1.2 bWAR for his career, with the OPS+ mark rising all the way up to 11, Spinal Tap-style. Simply put, it is absolutely crazy that he did this.

And, it'd be even crazier if, 46 years later, another heretofore silent infielder stepped up to help topple the exact same two teams in the MLB Playoffs. Except, this time, Caleb Durbin would also be making his MLB debut in the process.

Durbin is thought to have a bit of a higher ceiling than Doyle, and will likely be given chances to compete for the starting second base role next winter after hitting .275 with a .388 OBP and .839 OPS (10 homers!) at Triple-A this season, playing all over the diamond in the process. The chances of the door being opened to him next April appear to have increased overnight; the potential future weapon posted an Instagram story on Thursday showing that he'd touched down on the Yankee Stadium dirt, and appeared to be emerging from center field.

There's no way the Yankees would include a player on the Taxi Squad who'd never played in a big-league game before ... right?

Yankees prospect Caleb Durbin is in the Bronx ahead of ALDS Game 1 vs Kansas City Royals

Hopefully, this moment represents the Yankees going back to the roots that helped create a dynasty. During the 1995 postseason, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Co. were asked to tag along; experiencing the bone-chilling highs of Game 2 vs. the Mariners, as well as the Yankees' eventual crushing failure in Seattle, helped prepare them for the burn of the bright lights.

If nothing else, Durbin's presence indicates the Yankees value him highly, and will give him the chance he deserves next winter. It's also, uh, still possible that Durbin's presence indicates something that would be insane. Stay tuned.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.