Saturday, June 3, 2017

Who Let the Kids Out?


The New York Yankees may need reinforcements at the trading deadline this season and unlike in years past the Bronx Bombers have a couple of choices. They can go out and get that big named rental by trading away prospects for the win now or they can stick to the plan, continue the youth movement and call up their own players for the playoff push. The Yankees have done this before, remember when Luis Severino was called up back in 2015 after the July 31st trading deadline? The only way this can happen though is if you have MLB-ready talent sitting and developing in Triple-A so let’s focus on those Scranton RailRiders players now that could help the Yankees in the second half of this season and beyond.

The Yankees system starts and ends with Gleyber Torres and we all know that. We have spent extensive time talking about him so I won’t spend too much more time here. Sources close to the New York Post have New York grooming him to eventually take over at third base for Chase Headley this season or next so it seems like we will be seeing the 20-year old sooner rather than later.

The Yankees second best prospect is Clint Frazier and after a slow start to his Yankees tenure in 2016 the red-headed outfielder who was the subject of so much drama and attention in spring training has put all that behind him and is putting together a strong 2017 campaign. At the time of this writing Frazier has nine home runs and is hitting the ball all over the place and for extra bases. Frazier has cut down on his strikeouts, although his strikeout tendencies will likely keep him from ever hitting above .300 consistently, while keeping a steady walk rate. Frazier is shifting to left field in Triple-A leading me to believe that a Brett Gardner trade may at least be discussed at this year’s July 31st trading deadline.

The man that has unseated Frazier in center field and moved him to left is also in Triple-A and also seems ready for the bright lights in the Bronx. Dustin Fowler is a name we have been hearing for years now and the time for all fans of the Yankees, not just the ones who follow the minor league system, may be coming in 2017. Fowler was drafted in 2013, the same season the Yankees drafted Aaron Judge, and has only gotten better since being drafted. Fowler also strikes out more than you would like but he walks, he hits for power and for extra-bases and he steals bases once he gets on. His defense is more than adequate and he is just an all-around good player. He reminds me a lot of the dynasty Yankees that weren’t necessarily “great” at anything but good at everything. Talent wins out and so does hard work and Fowler has and does both.

The final prospect we will showcase today is Tyler Wade, another prospect we have spoken of quite a bit here on the blog. Wade is a prospect that I have admittedly been extremely hard on and skeptical of during his tenure with the Yankees but he has done nothing to make me feel the need to post an “I told you so.” Wade is 22-years old and has been playing the field while with the Yankees, literally. Wade was drafted as a second baseman but the left-hander has played all over the infield and all across the outfield as the Yankees try to turn him into their own version of Ben Zobrist. Wade seems to be developing more power at the plate, although he will never be a huge home run hitter, but he can find gaps and use his speed to take extra bases. Wade already has 13 stolen bases at the time of this writing and has been wreaking havoc on the basepaths all season long. Wade may finally be to the Yankees what they wanted Rob Refsnyder to be, a player that can handle any position change, a player that just hits or gets on base and goes out and does his job on a nightly basis no matter what. Wade should be on the Yankees bench relatively soon if I were a betting man, and lately I have become one.

Keep an eye out for these men around July and August of this season. The July 31st trade deadline may allow us to see one or all of these men in the Bronx this season. Stay tuned.

Oh, and before I forget, do you guys want to hear about how much I am in love with Chance Adams in the starting rotation for the RailRiders? I mean I could go on and on again here on the blog about him and extend this post another few thousand words if you’d like. I just have a sneaking suspicion my stance on the Yankees right-hander is well known by now but I would feel remiss if I didn’t include him here on this list because he will definitely be in the Bronx very, very soon.


3 comments:

  1. I was thinking last night that the Yankees may pass on both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado

    I can honestly see Frazier, Fowler, and Judge manning the outfield for years to come. And the infield could be covered by Bird, Castro, Didi, and Torres.

    With Sanchez behind the plate, the 2018 offseason may just be about pitching (Dallas Keuchel, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, etc).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. frazier, fowler, and judge very well could man the outfield. Just like Austin Jackson could have very well held down centerfield for the past several years. The difference, we added a CF to hit 24HR 70 RBI, then 40+ HR, 100+RBI for the next two years.

      There's always room for a player that can go 30HR, 100RBI a season, especially when said player might put up those numbers for the next 10 years. it's not a necessity, but if you can land it, hell yea.

      Delete
  2. Use our own pitchers, we have pitchers that are showing they belong with about 4-5 more that could be on the AAA shuttle next year.
    I mean we will have; Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Chance Adams, M. Pineda, and Adam Warren just off the top of my head. There are a few more that may be pushing for a starters job also.

    ReplyDelete

Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)