Yankees Bright Future
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by MattB15
The New York Yankees have always been an organization to look down on there prospects, let the high-profiled ones (Jeter, Bernie, Posada) flourish amongst a team filled with nothing else. Trading away tons of great prospects through the years and not caring about their future, while filling their minor league rosters with bare-boned players fighting for their jobs. The past few years the tide changed with GM Brian Cashman and Owner George Steinbrenner's attitude. I guess they said "What the hell? Our major league team is stacked, don't need much - let's build up the farm system" This, they did.
It started back in the day when Brien Taylor and Hensley Muelens were huge prospects, and amounted to absolutely nothing. From that day forward, dump prospects has been their motto. It first started with the Yankees taking in Scranton Wilkes-Barre as their home for their AAA franchise (now closing in on 20 sell-outs, great for a AAA club). The pitching is very heavy. Joba Chamberlain rolled from Tampa (A) all the way up to the bigs in a year. He is now a go-to-guy in the pen and setting up Mariano Rivera after Scott Proctor's departure. Time will tell if the Yanks keep Joba starting or relieving. Dellin Betances is a lanky 19 year-old that stands at 6'8 and throws a 98 MPH heater. Also from the Bronx, and beloved by Yankees fans. Downside? His size and injury history. 6'8 and 190 lbs don't go together too well, plus he has a track record with injuries. Kevin Whelan is another prominent name (starter to reliever back to starter) and threw a no-hitter earlier in the season. Ian Kennedy is a Southern Cal grad who made his way from killing AA hitters and killing AAA hitters, now just patiently awaiting his arrival in New York. Edwar Ramirez has been hailed by NY teammates as having one of the best changeups in years, and is a great reliever at 155 lbs, going back-and-forth with AAA and MLB. Last and certainly not least of pitchers - Phil Hughes. The guy has filthy stuff and many think he's a little Roger Clemens. He could've been a huge trading piece for the Yankees at the trade deadline, but they hung onto him. The Yanks see something special in the 21-year old.
Now the hitting. Not as strong as the pitching, but still got a few gems. We saw Shelly Duncan evolve into an exciting DH/1B/OF for the Yanks this season and brought straight-up fire. He was having an MVP-type season in AAA Scranton and earning his stripes with the big Yankees now. Kevin Reese and Kevin Thompson are two nice outfielders battling in AAA, probably will spend their careers as platooning outfielders somewhere. Juan Miranda is a quick shortstop, destined to be a star in the big apple someday. Eric Duncan is another good guy at AAA, but was at one-time a HUGE prospect with the Yanks front office, but after a few years of failure and a position change, they are not too hot on him anymore. Omir Santos is a great story and one of the best defensive catchers minor league baseball has. Justin Christian is as fast as they come and did well in AA-AAA this year. Jose Tabata is another big name, but can't seem to stay healthy. Obviously, the hitting isn't nearly as good as the pitching, but pretty strong. We'll see the Yanks evolve over the next few years.
