1. Those young Yankees
What a difference a year makes.
In 2016, the Yankees’ lineup was often older than the ones other teams were throwing out on old timers day. It featured players like Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, and of course, Alex Rodriguez. But things are different now. McCann and Beltran are on the Houston Astros while Teixeira and A-Rod have retired.
In their stead are youngsters like Aaron Judge, Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez. Gleyber Torres — MLB’s third-ranked prospect — is coming soon.
Torreyes had 2 hits, a HR and 4 RBI through the first 2 innings. Is that good? … https://t.co/0bhfw5kqWx pic.twitter.com/4nhR2sdthB
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2017
Now, are the Yankees a threat in 2017?
They’ll be good, but it’s hard to see them cracking into the American League Playoffs unless a few teams disappoint. The starting pitching is just not dependable outside of Masahiro Tanaka.
But for the first time in a great while, New York can say that it has a young, emerging roster.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how these youngsters develop through 2017. The Bombers may not have a huge impact on the 2017 season, but how well this team develops will have a lot to say about how things go in 2018 and beyond.