One final set of thoughts on the Yankees’ farm system
One final set of thoughts on the Yankees’ farm system
While baseball season is practically just starting, my time at PSA is ending. As someone who loved to cover the Yankees’ minor-league affiliates and draft prospects, I’d like to give one final set of thoughts before I sign off.
As exciting as the Yankees’ farm system and top prospects are now, I’m sure some of you remember that it wasn’t always this way. I have fond memories of sitting in front of the TV and watching the Yankee games with my grandma, but it wasn’t until I started going to my local minor league team’s games (back when the Syracuse Mets were the Syracuse Sky Chiefs and an affiliate of the Blue Jays) that I really began to take an interest in minor league baseball. All the cool jerseys, fun team names, and hundreds of players I’d never heard of before captivated me, and started a lifelong passion.
It would take a few years before I would really be able to delve into Yankee prospects but when I finally did, it wasn’t necessarily the happiest place. New York’s farm systems were consistently ranking towards the bottom of the league, and for every Aaron Judge and Gary Sánchez who made it through, we had the Ramón Flores’ and Héctor Noesí’s of the world. Of course, we’re talking late 2000s to early 2010s here, a period where the Yankees were consistently spending in free agency and trading various prospects of note away in efforts to get another World Series with an aging Core Four.
It wasn’t until they hit “relative” rock bottom in 2016 and sold at the trade deadline where things began to turn around. Acquiring then high-profile prospects like Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier turned the corner of the Baby Bomber movement and brought us to my favorite season in recent memory: 2017. Sure, that season didn’t end the way we hoped, but it was the most fun I’ve ever had watching a Yankees team. They were an energetic and youthful bunch who were always having fun, the way baseball was meant to be played.
While we haven’t approached those levels of youth on the MLB roster, there has been a noticeable shift in terms of prospect philosophy in the front office. Gone are the days of trading away virtually every single top prospect, which is great for people like me. We can actually look forward to drafting and developing top prospects and waiting for them to reach the Bronx instead of guessing who they’ll get shipped off to. There is an argument to be made that the pendulum has swung too far and now we’re in the territory of consistent prospect hugging (looking at you Frazier and Miguel Andújar), but we’ll take what we can get.
Then there is the fact that the Yankees have simply gotten better at player development in recent years. One of the reasons their farm systems were always ranking towards the bottom was because they consistently failed to get the most out of their prospects. That has changed. They have become a premier team in developing pitchers and enhancing arsenals, and their hitting development isn’t far behind either. New York’s farm teams are always at the top of their respective standings. Heck, a pair of Yankees farmhands just won MiLB Player of the Month awards for April (Benjamin Cowles and Trystan Vrieling).
Another plus is that the cream of the crop for our prospects are just flat out exciting players. Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez have huge potential, Anthony Volpe has graduated into our starting shortstop, Austin Wells’ luck is finally starting to turn around, Roderick Arias has legitimate five-tool potential, plus so much more. The farm system isn’t just two to three big names and then a steep decline anymore; it’s full of premier talent across all levels. It’s easily the most exciting time in recent memory to be a Yankees prospect fan.
That’ll pretty much wrap up my thoughts on the farm system, but just one more thing before I sign off. I wasn’t really here all that long, but I still had the time of my life. To everyone who ever read, commented on or shared any of my stuff, thank you, it means more than you’ll ever know. To go from writing as a hobby to writing on the best fan site out there for my favorite team in the world is such a unique and amazing feeling and I truly am grateful for the opportunity. While I prided myself on being one of the top guys for minor league coverage, there won’t be any decline. This site has the most talented group of writers I’ve ever had the privilege to work with, and I’m more than excited to see what the future holds for them.
This isn’t necessarily goodbye forever though; I have a sneaking suspicion our paths will cross again. But until that day comes, see ya around PSA. You’ll forever be one of the brightest chapters in my life.