The Future Keeps Getting Brighter

I'm loving how the Yankees have been focused more on the future.

That's kind of how I look when I see possible future rosters.

For the longest time the Yankees were constantly adding older players who were past their prime, hoping that the player could rekindle some of their previous magic.

For example, I'm sure you'll never forget the Stephen Drew experiment at second base. In 2013, the season before the Yankees traded for him, Drew put up a respectable batting line of .253/333/.443. And while he hadn't put up those type of numbers consistently from year to year, Stephen did have a couple other nice seasons under his belt. So Drew was made a Yankee in hopes of straightening him out for good. That didn't happen. Over two seasons, Stephen hit a sad .187/.257/.352.

Then there was 2012 when the Yankees brought Raul Ibanez aboard. Raul didn't hit as poorly for the Yankees as Stephen Drew would a couple of years later, but his triple-slash of .240/.308/.453 with 19
home runs was a far cry from the line of .287/.353/.505 while averaging 28 homers a season he put up for the Mariners and Phillies between 2006 and 2009.

Things are certainly different now.

During the 2014/2015 offseason, the Yankees traded for Didi Gregorius to play shortstop. Didi struggled a bit in his first season in pinstripes, however he has come along nicely in 2016, batting .297/.329/.464, to go along with some very nice defense. It looks like the Yanks may have found their long-term solution at the position that was left vacant by future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter.

Then you have this past offseason, which saw the Yankees deal for Starlin Castro. Sadly, like what happened with Didi in his first season with the Yankees, Castro is struggling. As of right now Starlin is batting a paltry .262/.295/.406. Hopefully his July numbers (.286/.321/.416) are a sign that he's coming around, and by this time next season it looks like he could be the long-term solution to losing Robinson Cano three years ago.

People like Daniel here will not let you forget that Rob Refsnyder could be a factor for the Yankees, either.

"I don't know who this 'Daniel' guy is, but I love how he supports me."

Now the Yankees added to their already respectable minor league system by trading Aroldis Chapman for top prospect Gleyber Torres, and another good prospect in Billy McKinney.

All this while holding onto possible 2017 starting right fielder Aaron Judge, possible 2017 starting first baseman Greg Bird, possible future starting catchers in Gary Sanchez and Luis Torrens, possible future star Jorge Mateo, and possible future key starters in Luis Severino and James Kaprielian.

*that's a lot of "possible" there, but that's why having prospect depth is so valuable.

I know of at least one person out there that can't be convinced that the future of the Yankees is looking pretty good, but I'm ready to tell him and everyone else that they are wrong. And yes... I have FACTS to prove it.