Player Profile : Gleyber Torres

Gleyber Torres is a top 5 prospect in all of baseball and is number one in the Yankees system. The 20 year old dominated the Arizona Fall League and won the Fall League MVP. Torres continues his dominance in Spring Training. Today Torres belted his second home run of the spring. His average for the spring is well over 400. Torres has dazzled at both shortstop and second base.

Torres is likely to spend majority of his time this year in Double A and Triple A. Torres is it 20 and spent most of his time last year in single A. It's possible that he forces the Yankees hand and gets promoted but I think it's likely Torres isn't a MLB player until 2018. It remains to be seen but if you listen to the Yankees they won't rush him. If Torres continues to dominate we might see him in the Bronx.

Projection - 316 average , 15 home runs , 68 RBI , 12 steals
** Stats are Double A/Triple A Projections

Player Profile : Clint Frazier

It's hard to say how many games Clint Frazier will play in the Major Leagues in 2017. Frazier will likely play majority of the season in Triple A. If Frazier is to make it to the Major Leagues this season it would probably be due to the Yankees trading someone or an injury occurred. Frazier has been the talk of town thanks to his hair which he finally cut. Frazier has been streaky this Spring however has has flashes of strong play.

Frazier has speed , power and the star quality. Frazier doe strikeout a lot but not nearly at the amount Judge does. The Yankees will look for more consistency from Frazier before he gets the major league call. I don't think we see Frazier until August unless Brett Gardner or Aaron Hicks gets traded or injured. Frazier needs some more grooming and maybe some more maturity before he makes it to the majors.

Projection - 45 games , 245 average , 6 home runs , 17 RBI , 4 steals

Player Profile : Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge is projected to be the Yankees starting right fielder if he wins the job. So far Judge has cut down on his strikeouts this spring training. Judge has slugged two homer runs thus far. The big man struck out in 50% of his at bats last year. This is an alarming rate for the Yankees. The Yankees can't have Judge striking out at a 50% clip. If he can get this rate down to 35% or better the Yankees will be rewarded.

Judge has 40 home run potential. He has a batting average floor in the low 200s however. If Judge can generate enough hard contact this season he can have a big year. I think Judge will have his ups and downs in 2017 but I think he ultimately sticks around full time. 2017 becomes the year Judge goes from potential star to the Yankees everyday right fielder.

Projected stats - 148 games , 228 average , 27 home runs , 75 RBI

2017 State of the Yankees

The State of the 2017 Yankees

Before we get into the state of the 2017 New York Yankees , let's take a look back at the state of the team the past few years.

Farewell Captain - 2014

Derek Jeter ended his illustrious Yankee career with a walk off single in his final home game. Jeter and the Yankees missed the playoffs and faced a lot of questions going into 2015.

A-Rod's Back - 2015

Suspended for a full year in 2014 , Alex Rodriguez was back in the Bronx. No one knew what to expect but Rodriguez delivered 33 home runs. Mark Teixeira also had a resurgence and the Yankees made the playoffs but went one and done.

End of an Era - 2016

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira retired and the Yankees were sellers at the trade deadline. The Yankees were still competitive but missed the playoffs. The Yankees would shift the focus onto getting great players for the future. Gary Sanchez emerged.


The Rebuild (kind of ) - 2017

The Yankees are rebuilding for sure. However they are not giving up on the season with a full tear down like the Phillies or Braves. The Yankees are loaded with young talent and prospects. Gary Sanchez , Luis Severino , Aaron Judge and Greg Bird are some of the youngsters the Yankees love who saw big league games the past year or two. The Yankees also have elite prospects like Gleyber Torres , Clint Frazier , Jorge Mateo , James Kaprilean , Blake Rutherford and many others. The Yankees are not giving up on this year. They resigned Aroldis Chapman to an $86 million deal. They also made one year commitments to guys like Matt Holliday and Chris Carter. The Yankees may not be a playoff team but they will compete. They need some quality starts from a uncertain rotation outside of Masahiro Tanaka.

Best case scenario - Yankees sneak into playoffs
Worst case scenario - Yankees youngsters all fall flat , team wins in the 70s
Most likely - Yankees are competitive and stay around in the Wild Card hunt before falling out in September

New York Yankees : Addition of Chris Carter

The Yankees signed NL Homerun leader for a ridiculously low $3.5 million. Carter belted 41 home runs and has great power. However Carter usually hits around 215-230 and usually strikes out upwards of 200 times. Carter will play first base against left handed pitching. I think Carter can also play DH sometimes when Matt Holliday needs a breathe. I think Carter will end up playing a lot more than in a platoon with Greg Bird. I like the move and don't think it will affect Greg Bird and Aaron Judge.

Yankees Year in Review

Yankees Year in Review

Tex and Arod's Careers end , Gary Sanchez's begins and the Yankees Begin to Rebuild the Empire

The interesting addition of Aroldis Chapman and No Runs DMC

The Yankees traded for Aroldis Chapman one of baseballs best closers following the Dodgers and Reds trade falling through. Chapman however would be suspended for domestic violence issues. The Yankees would face heat for the move. When Chapman returned he brought the heat throwing fastballs upwards of 100 miles per hour. Chapman , Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances would team up to be baseballs best bullpen ever when they pitched In the same games. The trio of No Runs DMC was short lived.

The Yankees Are Sellers ?

The Yankees did what they never do. They were big time sellers at the trade deadline as they traded Aroldis Chapman , Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran. The Yankees re stocked the farm system into one of baseballs strongest. Andrew Miller was one of the most loved current Yankees. The Yankees two best additions we're Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier. The Yankees traded Brian McCann recently in the winter continuing the selling trend.

Mark Teixeira Retires

Teixeira battled injuries once again and was a free agent to be come seasons end. Rather than test the market he decided to retire a Yankee. In the last week of the season he would hit a walk off grand slam against the Red Sox as his final Yankee moment.

Gary Sanchez and the Baby Bombers

When Gary Sanchez came up many people expected bing things. Sanchez delivered more than expected belting 20 homers in just 54 games. Sanchez was the most dominant hitter in the league for a brief time. The Yankees also got a taste of other prospects such as Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin. None of them had the impact of Sanchez but it was the step in the right direction.

The End of the Alex Rodriguez as a Yankee

Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees agreed that his career would end in August and he would move into a minor league coaching role. Rodriguez would play his last game as a Yankee on August 12th. The game would feature the largest Yankee crowd of the season. Mariano Rivera and other former Yankees were present. Rodriguez would hit an RBI double in his last game. The Yankees would win and Rodriguez would leave to a huge ovation of thankful Yankee fans. Considering how messy things got between the Yankees and A-Rod in 2013 and 2014 it was one of baseballs biggest comebacks to stardom ever.

The Best Players of 2016
1. Masahiro Tanaka was a dominant ace for the Yankees in 2016. He was a Cy Young contender.

2. Gary Sanchez hit 20 homers in 54 games and had a 299 average. He was also a dominant defensive catcher.

3. Didi Gregorius had a great year both offensively and defensively.

4. Dellin Betances had flashes of brilliance pitching in the 7th , 8th and 9th inning for the Yankees. He wore down towards the seasons end.

5. Starlin Castro had his best season power wise and played an excellent second base.

The future of the Yankees

The Yankees have one of baseballs best farm systems. They have a strong middle infield. They also resigned Aroldis Chapman pairing him back with Dellin Betances and Tyler Clippard. The Yankees have plenty of salary coming off the books and could make big splashes in the market along with the prospects they have.

Yankees Off Season Tracker

Yankees trade Brian McCann to Astros for two prospects

Yankees sign Matt Holliday to a 1 year $13 million deal