Over the years the New York Yankees have been criticized for their anemic farm system, especially last season when no prospects stepped up when the team experienced a slew of injuries.
But now three key names - Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Aaron Judge - could be responsible for turning that around. Each prospect made their spring training debut on Tuesday and the future is looking up, to say the least. Scouts across the league are raving about the three young men, who have a chance at cracking the 40-man roster when September rolls around.
"I love all three of them," an NL scout told Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. "Bird, in my opinion, could be ready this year. I saw him in Trenton and then in the Arizona Fall League where he was the MVP and the kid can hit, with power. Severino's almost there, too. He's an accomplished pitcher, good poise, plus fastball and change. And Judge is just a great athlete, who can run and has a plus arm in right field. If he's got any weakness, it's the breaking ball, like all of them do. But he's smart and he'll make the adjustments."
New York faced the Philadelphia Phillies in their first spring training game. Bird went 2-for-3 with a double after coming on for first baseman Garrett Jones; Judge went 1-for-2 with a game-tying three-run homer in the ninth and a walk after he relieved Chris Young in right field; and Severino surrendered four hits and two earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of work to follow up Adam Warren's two-inning start.
However, Severino's first full inning with the Yankees opened the eyes of many. He retired three major league hitters - Cesar Hernandez, Cameron Rupp and Ben Revere - in a row before giving up four soft singles that resulted in his undoing. None of the seven hitters he faced made solid contact with any of the balls put in play, which isn't bad for a 21-year-old who hasn't pitched past the Double-A level.
Depending on how each of these men performs in the minors this season, it's possible we see them with the Yankees in September. What's interesting is that there may be demand for all three in the near future. Bird's position could be the first up for grabs being that Mark Teixeira has experienced a number of injury woes over the past three seasons and is set to hit free agency after the 2016 season; the wilting starting rotation may need Severino sooner rather than later; and it's unknown if Carlos Beltran's health will hold up over the next two seasons, which would create a need in right field for Judge.
We could soon see the first significant wave of homegrown Yankees since the Core Four.
