I sit here watching the 22nd Winter Olympic Games from Sochi and I smile with pride at the youth of the skaters, snowboarders and skiers. It’s awesome to see such talented young people out there fighting for their personal best on their journey to win the gold for the United States. With Yankee pitchers and catchers reporting date almost here, I sit here concerned about the value and talent of the teens and young people in our farm system these days. And I am not alone. ESPN New York posted their analysis questioning the “juice in the Yankee farm system.” “For a team that has shown remarkable success over the past two decades -- five World Championships, 13 AL East titles and 17 postseason appearances in the past 19 seasons - - the Yankees have also shown some remarkable weakness in their ability to draft and develop their own talent,” stated the article “Have the Bombers gone barren” by Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand. As much as I would like to disagree, they have a point.
ESPN Keith Law ranks the farm systems before each season. The St. Louis Cardinals have been in the top ten of overall farm rankings over the last couple of years. This year the pitching dominant Cards are listed at 7th. Perhaps the most surprising ranking is the Houston Astros, topping the list for 2014 with the Twins, Pirates, Cubs and Red Sox finishing the top five. According to Law, teams in the top five have a lot of depth. Where are the Yankees? We are ranked 20th out of 30 farm systems. Ouch! That hurts, but look at the history. We’ve only had one injury free, every day player come out of the farm system in ten years; the once-rumored trade bait, Brett Gardner. Before that, we had the Core Four and our very own fan favorite Bernie Williams. To say there has been a drought is an understatement.
Even our GM, Brian Cashman, agrees. “It's not as good as we need it to be in terms of results," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said when asked if it was fair to characterize his farm system as a bust. "There are a number of reasons behind that. At the end of the day, we've had some misses, without a doubt. We've had some guys who didn't make their projections, who failed to cross the finish line. So basically it's fair to criticize where we're currently sitting."
Some guys just aren't cutting it. There is concern that injury will hold back others. We even spoke extensively here about young stud Ty Hensley who literally over compensated in his delivery for years, not even realizing that he was. Eventually he had an abdominal strain, which led to hip surgery. Luckily now he's fully recovered, but that setback hurts. Back in August, this was the exchange BYB had with Ty:
Ty Hensley: Right now I am feeling better than I have in a very long time, my body is adjusting to the new rotation my hips have and I am working on building up muscle strength while doing a lot of PT to stretch out that area and increase flexibility. My doctors and I couldn't be happier with the progress I have made since my surgery, but I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say there have been some pretty tough days along the way. I am not throwing yet, outside of simulation, but I am not far off. I am able to start a running program soon and I can't wait!
Read NEW TY HENSLEY INTERVIEW: CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN for more and we'll get an update soon about Ty, because no doubt he's recovered and ready to roll, but that's just one small, positive part of a bigger troubling picture.
Many are worried about our farm. This season for instance, there is a "chance" we may see Manny Banuelos, but perhaps only in the pen. I have seen Slade Heathcott play in Trenton, but honestly, at this point, we don’t have room for another outfielder up here, even if he does stay healthy.
Beefing up the farm is hugely important for our future. We all know this but for me personally, I feel like it's just not happening. Remember, however, to be a Yankee, you have to be at the top of your game. There is a different level of competition. There is a higher standard. “So guys like David Phelps, Adam Warren or an Ian Kennedy aren't looked as good. It is either you are the next Derek Jeter or a failure”, states an AL scout quoted in the ESPN article.
According to Law, “Scouting and player development are still the best way to build a competitive major league team, and while some extra money in scouting helps, success in either area is far more a function of the people you employ than the money you throw at the players. Good organizations hire and retain good people, enact strong processes and then execute them -- even when fans or writers don't see the big picture.”
To that end, Hal Steinbrenner admitted at the Brian McCann signing in December that the organization is teaching scouts to look for “different things, things that maybe they hadn’t looked for before, things Cashman thinks are important.”
I hope so, because being ranked 20th in anything is not a "Yankee thing." Maybe we’ve shaken things up a bit in the youth market with the Tanaka signing earlier this year. Let’s hope we can seed the farm with a little bit more punch in 2014 and make some progress in our good ‘ol fashion home grown talent.
--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof
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