Yankees Draft: Next Week Begins the Great Crossroads

With next week's MLB rule 4 draft, the Yanks will embark on a crucially important passage in talent acquisition and development.   Derek Jeter, the last of the Core 4 is finally riding off into the sunset, and the Yanks,  for both competitive and marketing purposes will have to start developing a new identity around young stars, like their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, and their bullpen ace, Dellin Betances.

The problem, is of, course, other than a brilliant and long line of high quality relievers on the way, the Yanks don't have much in terms of sure thing plug and play young stars.  And the ones they might have, guys like Murphy,  Flores and Heathcott, are all blocked.  In fact, those three are specifically blocked by the deals given to McAnn, Beltran and Ellsbury last winter.  

It's been a bit of stunning mismanagement and myopia, but the problem is that the Yanks have high overhead, and thus have been trying to prop up their aging roster to fill the seats for so long, they don't trust any other way -- or believe that people will come out to see young Yankees develop.  Otherwise, why would they sign McAnn?  He has literally been no better than Russell Martin was, and the Yanks could have kept Martin for a relative song and term that would expire before McAnn's will.  They easily could have gotten by with Muprhy and some combination of Cervelli and Romine this year.  Or just Romine, if they'd been smart enough to trade Cervelli when things first started getting sketchy.

So we're heading into what could be a sort of long fallow period while we wait for CC, Tex, Martin, Beltran and Martin to expire.   Ellsbury is here forever.

Anyway, that's why it's so important for the Yanks to begin a massive young talent upgrade, and the latest wave has to start with this week's draft, followed by July's IFA period, and the various trade deadlines that will hit later in the summer.

And if the Yanks have been introspective at all, they might be a little more collegiate than usual in their picks, because they'll need some fast risers.   It's unlikely they'll be in position at 56 to get a Trout-like prep who can zip through the system and arrive at 20 or 21,

Also, it should be pointed out that the Yanks are probably feeling pretty good about their collegiate acumen these days.  O'Brien, Refsnyder and Dugas, are three fairly recent picks who could be up by September or next year.  Jagielo and Judge are behind them, but have the talent to move quickly as soon as the promotions start coming.  Also, if they're smart they will soon promote Kyle Roller, a former college pick who is in AAA and among the minors leaders in slugging.   That would be a much better move than signing Kendrys Morales after the draft.

So they might pick a few more college guys than we're all comfortable with.   And that might actually be alright for just this draft cycle, because they will be coming back in July with a monstrously talented and monstrously young IFA class, that will be years away, but will also be counted on to provide future star power or big trade chips for young stars (hopefully young stars).    

Actually, given this situation, I think the Yanks should perhaps consider breaking the draft rules, too.   I mean, you're not really breaking them if the penalties are already outlined.  In other words if the team does this, the league will do that.   Then that's actually just more rules to follow.   So if this class is historically deep, like some are saying, perhaps the Yanks should run a little wild in the draft, too.  It would be a really nice going away present for Comrade Bud.

I mean they're willing to punt picks over guys like McAnn, so why not sacrifice them if the talent now if better than the talent next year?

That's settled.

So the Yanks should use both the June Draft and the July IFA period to aggressively collect talent for the coming apocalypse.

Then they have to use the time between the draft and the trade deadline to seriously self scout and see which guys are good enough to be Yankees, and which might be good enough to collect a young Yankee from another team.

Notably, they should figure out if Manny Banuelos and Bryan Mitchell are both going to be good enough to join Tanaka in the rotation next year or whether they're tradable.   Eventually, they'll need 4 staters to go with Tanaka.  Phelps is sort of going to be on a long audition for the next year and whatever, to either be kept or surpassed and replaced.   But beyond that, Kuroda will be gone, CC will be a burden, and Nova may or may not be back next year.   So it's Tanaka and Phelps, and open auditions.   The first two up should be Banuelos and Mitchell, though they could also be Tracy and Bleich or someone else.   But they should keep pulling suspects or prospects from the farm unless they can make a trade for a young top of the rotation guy.  I don't know who that guy is right now, but  Yanks haven't shown any power to get a trade like that done.

Remember Jeff Weaver?  Remember Javy Vazquez, twice?   The Vazquez trade gave the Yanks a really bad reference.   They could have had Schilling for the same pieces,  but they rationally went for the younger pitcher and he was bad.   So if they can trade for a good young starter, it will be for the first time under the current administration.

It would be easiest for all concerned if Banuelos and Mitchell just developed, or if the light just went on for some of the younger starters and they started flying up the chain.

(Btw, Dante Bichette just had a game winning homer for Tampa.   He's playing a lot better in high A than he ever did in low A.    And that's a good sign.  We're gonna need 3B's.)

The pitching will probably be the easiest thing to figure out during this great transition, since they already have a sound BP for as far as the eye can see, as well as Tanaka.

Positions will be tougher since so many are blocked.

SS will probably the hardest position to fill, since Solarte or Refsnyder can be the new second baseman for at least next year.   That shortstop remains unknown.   I hope the Yanks try to find enough bandages till they get to one through the draft or IFA.   I don't want them trading for any big ticket SS's because by the time a guy becomes one and becomes tradeable he'll probably have no upside left.

The logjam in the OF should loosen up a bit as Sori and Ichiro expire or are traded.   And Flores is pretty close to ready if they need him this year or two start next.   Heathcott is injured again.   Williams has tumbled off the map since his DUI.   And Tyler Austin may finally be coming back around, and he too could be ready next year if that's the case.  Dugas probably will be.

Ultimately, the players they can start collecting next week, should be ready by the time several of the big, stupid contracts are done.   So the Yanks really have to go hard.   Because like it or not, they are at a crossroads.