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New York Yankees: Reaction To Keith Law’s 2016 Farm System Rankings

By Kenneth Teape

Mar 6, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the fourth inning during of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2015; Clearwater, FL, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring in the fourth inning during of a spring training baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Yankees do not normally have a farm system to get excited about, but there are some great prospects that will soon be with the big league club.

Over at ESPN, Keith Law has released his rankings for all 30 MLB team’s farm systems. The New York Yankees are not normally a team touted or talked about for their farm system, but it is something they have been focusing on more in recent seasons. They haven’t spent as much in free agency and aren’t trading for older players, so they have been able to build a solid foundation for a farm system.

The efforts have not gone for nothing, as the Yankees had a solid showing from youngsters last season. Luis Severino looks like a top of the rotation arm, as he allowed three earned runs or more only three times, with two of those occasions coming against the high octane Toronto Blue Jays. Greg Bird looks like the future at first base, while Rob Refsnyder also showed he could be a useful player at second base.

Despite two of those players losing prospect eligiblity, the Yankees actually managed to move up in Law’s farm system ranking this season. After being ranked 20th in 2015, the Yankees have moved into the top half of baseball, coming in ranked at 13th this time around.

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Here is what Law has to say about the Yankees’ farm system going into the 2016 season:

"The Aroldis Chapman deal didn’t make much of a dent in the system; the Yankees bought the troubled reliever with quantity rather than quality, and a strong draft in 2015 helped make up for some recent promotions."

The Yankees traded away four players for Chapman in Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo, Tony Renda and Caleb Cotham; Davis and Jagielo were the only ones of that quartet ranked in the top-10 of the Yankees system last season, so it is fair to say they came away doing well in the trade for Chapman.

Despite not signing any big named free agents, the Yankees had a strong offseason adding via trades without having to move any of their top prospects. The biggest of those prospects is outfielder Aaron Judge. Judge is the Yankees’ top prospect and for good reason.

He has immense raw power thanks in some to his imposing size, standing 6-feet-7 inches and 275 pounds. He is also very athletic and has the best chance of the top-100 prospects the Yankees have to make an impact this season. There is a logjam in the outfield currently, but health is always a question mark for the older Yankees’ outfielders.

Joining Judge on the top-100 list is shortstop Jorge Mateo and catcher Gary Sanchez. Mateo is still a couple of seasons away from making an impact at the major league level, but Sanchez could land the backup catching job with a strong spring.

More ny sports: New York Yankees Prospects To Watch In 2016

For the first time in a while, the Yankees have a promising nucleus of younger players that they can begin to build around. We saw a glimpse of it last season, and we should get to see another glimpse of it this season.

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