Bronx Bomber Ball

One of the young guns making a ton of noise early on in the Spring has been 2017 first round draftee Clarke Schmidt. Schmidt did not see any action at all in 2017, as he underwent Tommy John Surgery in April – just two months before the draft – but the Yankees still liked what they saw in him and decided the take the risk.   Photo Credit; Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post

Right-hander Deivi Garcia of the Trenton Thunder has been selected to represent the Yankees in the upcoming 2019 MLB Futures Game.   Garcia’s value has skyrocketed this season after starting the season in High-A Tampa before eventually being promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder.  Photo Credit: Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com

First acquired in a relatively small-time, 40-man sell-off move around this time last year that sent 1B Garrett Cooper and LHP Caleb Smith to Miami, Michael King was seen as a young right hander with promise, but one still years away from making any significant Major League impact.   At the time, the important part of that trade was the $250,000 international bonus pool money Miami included, which we all thought was to be used on Shohei Ohtani.   Ohtani, obviously, never ended up in the Bronx and will not pitch at all in 2019 after undergoing offseason Tommy John Surgery. Photo Credit: Todd Hiller/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders

When the Yankees shipped Carlos Beltran to Arlington in the summer of 2016, they received three minor league pitchers, most notably, Dillon Tate who was a former top-five draft pick. While Tate has flashed signs of his former self, there is another pitcher who is currently flying under the radar and proving why he could have been absolute steal. Meet Erik Swanson.   Photo Credit: Martin Griff

The Baby Bombers got a taste of the big leagues last year, most notably Gary Sanchez took the league by storm. Another Baby Bomber to make their Major League debut was big man Aaron Judge, who infamously went back to back with Tyler Austin in their debut. Judge has come into Spring Training looking to lock up the starting right field job, but will be competing with Aaron Hicks in the process. Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports

The 2016 Major League Baseball draft was considered by many to be a success for the Yankees. While the Yankees were able to pick up a lot of good draft prospects, the most attention was focused on the Yankees snatching up Blake Rutherford with the 18th  overall pick when Rutherford had top 10 potential. While the Yankees picked up a very good player in the first round, the Yankees were also able to pick up another good player in Nick Solak. Photo Credit: Austin Hart

The Yankees made several splashy moves this past season at the trade deadline, moving two prized relievers for packages of prospects that have already been dug into quite a bit. The deal that hasn’t been talked about quite as much however is the deal that flipped Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for a package of prospects including pitcher Dillon Tate. Photo Credit: Bill Mitchell

The year 2016 was a very good year for Yankees prospects. Not only were top notch prospects acquired, but some prospects took the necessary step forward in their development to reach the Major Leagues. I want to take a closer look at one of those prospects in Dustin Fowler. Photo Credit: MiLB.com

Trading Andrew Miller wasn't an easy decision. He may be the best reliever in all baseball and had a contract that's pocket change compared to what relievers are getting this offseason. As a result, the package the Yankees got in return needed to be a sizable one. And to their credit, the Yankees got just that. A few weeks ago I wrote about Clint Frazier , who highlighted the return for Miller. This week I'm going to cover Justus Sheffield, who doesn't seem to get the attention he deserves. Photo Credit: Mark LoMoglio

Signed as an undrafted free-agent in July of 2011 as a ripe young 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, Miguel Andujar has quickly risen the ranks in the New York Yankees' farm system.   He is currently considered the best third base prospect in the organization and is listed as the Yankees' seventh best overall prospect according to MLB.com . Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Montgomery is a left handed pitcher who was selected in the 4th round with 122nd pick in the 2014 MLB draft to the Yankees.   After his selection, Montgomery started working his way up the Yankees farm system. In just two seasons, he has risen from rookie ball all the way to Triple-A. It is only a matter of time before his name will be talked within Yankees fans. Needless to say, Montgomery has the track record to back up his sudden rise. In his career, Jordan sports a 2.61 ERA in 60 games (56 starts) and shares a solid 25-14 record. Those statistics combine all his time in the farm system, and if you just single out this recent season, you can see the improvement he made. In 2016, he started all 26 games he appeared in had a 2.13 ERA (AA & AAA combined) and claimed to a record of 14-5. photo via MiLB.com

When the Yankees decided to sell and traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, the biggest name everyone liked to talk about in the return was Gleyber Torres. While his name is definitely worth mentioning as the headliner, another name worth digging into from the trade is outfielder Billy McKinney. Photo Credit: Martin Griff | Pinstriped Prospects

The 2016 season was the year of the prospects for the Yankees as they have soared from the middle of the pack to the top spot in most farm system lists. Most of the newly acquired prospects highlighted were either acquired in blockbuster trades (Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, Dillon Tate) or high in the draft (Blake Rutherford, Nick Solak). One overlooked prospect that is actually making a name for himself is right handed pitcher Taylor Widener. Widener, who turned 22 on October 24, was selected by the Yankees in the 12th round of this year’s draft out of the University of South Carolina and dominated in the Yankees lower minor league levels. Photo courtesy of Pinstriped Prospects