Yankees Farm: The Cupboard is Never Really Bare

Last year, because of injuries and regression, the Yankee farm system stalled, and fell down the rankings.   But, the truth is: so what?    Both prospect rankings and system rankings are unscientific and specious conversation themes and little else.  The Yankee farm will either produce Yankees or it won't.   In the past, I've seen 3 times when it was thought to be bare but still produced, Guidry, Mattingly, Cano and Chien Ming Wang.   That's four all stars, one likely Hall of Famer,  2 just misses and a valuable starter who was ruined by inter league.

So, even though we have righteously complained about player and pitcher development that has seen high end prospects flame out at or before the major league level, doesn't mean there aren't still some Yankees hiding in the wreckage.

I posted a picture of Dellin Betances because I think he will help this year, and also because I don't think I have a picture of Jose Pirela.   Meanwhile, Pirela went off this year in the Venezuelan league (which, btw, the Yanks weren't letting players participate in for a few years during Venezuelan unrest).   Though it doesn't get a lot of media attention, winter ball has and should play a big part in player development.    Stars, including Mariano Rivera have first revealed themselves there.   So don't necessarily poo poo Pirela for doing it in a foreign league.  When he was a teenager, his bat was always compared to Cano's, and it played like his this winter.    He could well be a surprise in camp.   Now, he doesn't have Cano's glove, but, remember, the Yanks won a couple of pennants with Soriano playing 2B, and he couldn't turn a DP to save his life.

Further, though some were hoping to see Newman and possibly even Damon Oppenheimer replaced, the Yanks opted to keep both in their jobs.  What they did change was a lot of the player development personnel below the two executives.   To wit, they added a miniro league stat guru, they added and OF and base running coordinator, they promoted the Charleston coaching staff to Tampa and replaced the Charleston coaches, added both domestic amateur and international scouts, and they brought back Trey Hillman.

Longtime readers of the blog know that I am a big fan of Trey Hillman and had wanted him to be the manager of the Yanks before Torre was even dismissed.    Both he and Gil Patterson were around the Yankee system when it was productive (just before Lin Garrett and George Steinbrenner turned the draft into non tool for a period of years).   Hillman will help.   He is simpatico with preaching plate discipline and how to be a Yankee.

Back to the cupboard talk, and, it's not just guys like Betances and Pirela and JR Murphy who could give the Yanks a boost from the farm this year.   Ronnie Mustelier and Adonis Garcia and Corben Joseph could, too.  Even JRam could, if they idiotically make him a reliever.

So, while the farm should benefit from the changes that were made this offseason, it's never too soon to expect some help from the farm, and maybe one, two or three of them might even turn out to be core.   Betances and Murphy sure have a chance, and Pirela deserves one.