SU says check out this piece by Andrew Marchand from espn.com on the baby Yankees in the pipeline. True, as he says, they could all fall flat but for the first time in a long time in Yankeeland, there is real hope on the way.
“The New York Yankees could be rolling out a long run of Rookie of the Year contenders. It might become an annual event.
Before you bookmark this page for future trolling, allow me a quick caveat: Nobody knows how good any player in the Yankees’ fine crop of minor league talent will become. There might be more Ruben Riveras than Mariano Riveras.
Still, with manager Joe Girardi’s giddy speculation that this collection could be more talented than the early to mid-‘90s group that resulted in the Core Four plus Bernie Williams, there is a feeling the franchise might have something special going on.
Last year, catcher Gary Sanchez was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year Award largely because he didn’t spend enough time in the majors. Aaron Judge, newly minted as the team’s starting right fielder, is next up. He begins the season as the Yankees’ top rookie. But he’s not alone; a progression of talent is set to follow him.
Next year, shortstop Gleyber Torres could be the man. In 2019, it might be left-hander Justus Sheffield. In 2020, it could be outfielder Blake Rutherford. And it goes on.
These young guys might push themselves to the majors earlier than that and compete with each other for the rookie award. The Yankees also have guys such as Clint Frazier, Jorge Mateo, Chance Adams, Jordan Montgomery and Tyler Wade fighting for their turn.
To repeat, there are no guarantees. Judge struck out 42 times in 84 at-bats last year, which is beyond awful. If you say he’ll be back at Triple-A by the end of April, it wouldn’t shock me. Judge, though, is an interesting case for Rookie of the Year — because if he is pretty good, he is going to be a huge star. He is 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds. He is built like a professional wrestler or a defensive lineman. He comes across as polite, which, if he performs, will allow his size to be his defining quality.
If he doesn’t perform at the big league level and Frazier rips it up at Triple-A, then the redhead with “legendary bat speed,” according to GM Brian Cashman, could get a shot instead. Of course, both would have to compete with this year’s AL Rookie of the Year favorite — Boston Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi.
Torres could move his timetable up, too. Even with the injury to Didi Gregorius, Torres never had a legitimate shot to the make the big league club out of camp. The Yankees want to do everything right with their 20-year-old gem, which means not rushing him from Single-A to the majors. He will begin this season at Double-A Trenton, his first experience playing in the cold. If he masters Double-A and Triple-A, he could be in the Bronx at some point this season, playing anywhere in the infield other than first base.
First base is held by Greg Bird, who would be yet another ROY candidate if he hadn’t made such a nice debut in 2015, hitting 11 homers in 157 at-bats and posting an .871 OPS. Bird looks like a budding star. He and Sanchez will bat No. 2 and No. 3 in the Yankees’ batting order.
It’s an impressive group, and a deep one. That is why Judge might be the Yankees’ latest Rookie of the Year candidate, but he’s almost certainly not the last.”
For those tennis fans out there, SU watched two of the top up and coming stars on the men’s side last night down in Miami: Nick Kyrgios (21 years old) and Alex Zverev who is 19. Kyrgios, who’s mental age is probably about 14, has moved up a level and faces Federer tonight in the semis down there. They pounded each other for 2 and a half hours last night in high quality tennis featuring 130 – 140 mph serves and some wild points. Kyrgios is on the cusp now and he seems to be having fewer of the mental meltdown moments this year. There are now several men in their early 20s ready to ensure a nice transition from the Big Four to Gen Next. Murray and Djokovic are breaking down now physically from having played too many 5-hour plus matches in the Grand Slams. If you watch Federer now, he is so smart: stands on the baseline to return serve and is charging the net whenever he can to shorten points. At 35, he knows that’s how he has to play to win and he is having a great 2017. SU says it’s good stuff. Time to make sure you have the Tennis Channel on your cable package.
SU fearless MLB predictions coming this weekend. For those of you keeping score at home, SU’s predictions over the years in baseball have been pretty good if I do say so myself. Be sure to check them out and then weigh in with your picks.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I like what Marchand has to say. But there’s no way all of the players he mentioned become major contributors. They’re probably not even going to all become major leaguers. I’m still trying to determine if the focus on the pipeline is a reflection of the quality of the pipeline or the quality of the major league roster. And the idea that the Yankees have the next 3 ROYs in their system is ludicrous. If he covered another team, he’d have a similar level of excitement about their prospects.
Much talk about the roster and the lineup and the rotation. While discussions about the lineup and who hits 2nd and who hits 5th help Mike Francesca fill an hour or two each afternoon, I say they are of little consequence. The lefty/righty balance and splitting up hitters and protecting others all seems well reasoned today but will go out the window by the 2nd game. Once you figure in rest days and injuries and matchups, there’s as good a chance as any that the opening day lineup will never appear again all season.
Thanks for posting the article. The Yankees are certainly on the upswing with a great bunch of young prospects. It has been the rare occurrence when we have had two playoff teams in NY and I hope we can look forward to an intensified rivalry and battle for New York. As a Mets fan there has not been much envy for a Chase Headly or Brett Gardner, but all of us Mets fan would give our right arm to have Gary Sanchez behind the plate!
I must admit, Aaron Judge has looked very good. He can cut down on his swing a bit to limit the strikeouts and still have immense power. Let’s hope he is more Dave Winfield than Dave Kingman.
I am still jealous of the Yankees management’s financial commitment vs the Mets. Like the move or not, signing Chris Carter and his all or nothing home run bat for $3 Mil was a cheap insurance policy for the Yanks investment. The Mets on the other hand would rather have a MLB minimum salary guy in Ty Kelly (Yeah Team Israel! – Who Knew?) than pay $1.5 Mil for a veteran bench presence like a Kelly Johnson. I guess they rather trade a couple of prospect and only pay 1/3 of his salary by picking him up in an August trade again. Penny wise pound foolish. These are the little things that can cost you a championship.
Can’t wait for opening day! LGM!!!!!
SU – Nice to meet you in person while in the NYC office this week.