Baseball|In Yankees' Farm System, Hope for a Better Yield – New York Times
The Yankees may not know for years whether Blake Rutherford can develop into a power-hitting center fielder, Nick Solak can blossom into a speedy second baseman or Nolan Martinez can become a mainstay of their pitching staff.
But sooner or later, the farm system must begin bearing fruit, and the Yankees must start relying on younger players — similar to what the Boston Red Sox have done — if they are to build the type of sustained championship contender they fielded for so much of the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Yankees’ farm system has not been entirely unproductive.
Two homegrown players, reliever Dellin Betances and left fielder Brett Gardner, have made an impact in the major leagues, and the Yankees flipped young pitchers they developed (Adam Warren and Shane Greene) for the team’s current double-play combination, Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius. They also sent several other prospects to Cincinnati in a trade for closer Aroldis Chapman.
There could be help on the way if first baseman Greg Bird successfully returns from shoulder surgery next season; pitcher Luis Severino recovers from his sophomore slump; and catcher Gary Sanchez, outfielder Aaron Judge and shortstop Jorge Mateo fulfill their promise.
But to date, the Yankees’ inability to develop elite prospects has been a significant hindrance in the age of the luxury tax, when young talent under a team’s long-term control is a virtual necessity for sustained excellence, even if your payroll exceeds $200 million.
The Red Sox’ emergence this season has been so promising because it has been fueled by three All-Star-caliber players — Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. — who are not eligible for free agency until at least 2020.
The Yankees hope they have a similar sort of prospect in Rutherford, a 19-year-old outfielder from Simi Valley, Calif., who was listed as a top-10 pick in several mock drafts but fell to the Yankees at 18th over all last week. That was the second-highest draft slot the Yankees had used on a position player since Derek Jeter was taken sixth in 1992. (They took shortstop C. J. Henry 17th in 2005.)
“Where we had Blake evaluated,” said the Yankees’ amateur scouting director, Damon Oppenheimer, “yeah, we were a little surprised he’d get to us.”
So surprised that the Yankees broke from their habit of avoiding high school players. Four of the Yankees’ past five first-round picks had been college players, and after they took Rutherford and Martinez among their top three picks this year, only 11 of their next 37 picks were high schoolers.
“When you’re dealing with the college guy, you obviously get more data and looks,” Oppenheimer said. “It does help.”
Solak, 21, a second-round pick who finished his junior season at the University of Louisville, is viewed as an excellent line-drive hitter who has the speed to be converted to the outfield if he cannot play adequate defense at second base. The Yankees expect Martinez, a third-round pick from Culver City, Calif., who turns 18 this month, to fill out his 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame and add oomph to his fastball and his curveball, which Oppenheimer described as plus pitches.
If Rutherford, Solak and Martinez contribute to the Yankees, they will be bucking a recent trend. Jacob Lindgren, who was taken in the second round in 2014, is the only player the Yankees have selected in the first three rounds since 2009 to have played for the major league team.
The Yankees continued to invest heavily in pitchers, using 23 of their 40 selections on them. That strategy has at least somewhat paid off, with several pitchers taken after the fifth round proving able to fill spots, at least temporarily, in the Yankees’ bullpen: Branden Pinder, James Pazos, Nick Goody and Nick Rumbelow have all been drafted since 2011 and reached the big leagues with the Yankees. Oppenheimer identified two pitchers who might fit that mold: Brooks Kriske, a sixth-round pick out of the University of Southern California, and Taylor Widener, a 12th-rounder out of the University of South Carolina.
The Yankees also drafted a pitcher they may see soon — but may not sign. Bo Weiss, a high school pitcher taken in the 29th round, is the son of Walt Weiss, the manager of the Colorado Rockies, whom the Yankees play on Tuesday in Denver.
Oppenheimer described the younger Weiss as a quickly developing pitcher but said his father had indicated that he was likely to attend North Carolina.
Oppenheimer also said two center fielders — Dom Thompson-Williams, a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina, and Jordan Scott, a 14th-round pick from the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. — were intriguing for their speed.
INSIDE PITCH
The Yankees, who sent Chad Green to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Sunday’s game, announced the signing of first baseman Ike Davis and added him to the roster, as expected. Pitcher Layne Somsen was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Davis on the 40-man roster.
