Pride of the Pinstripes Vol. 2

Don’t look now AL East; but the New York Yankees are 6-1 in Spring Training. With notable wins over three strong AL East squads in the Blue Jays, Orioles and Red Sox. And not only are they 6-1,

but they’re 6-1 and playing well. Now, it is only Spring Training, and no teams really play their starting lineups all at once, but still...the fact that the Yankees are playing so well is a good sign.

With an interesting mix of veterans and young guys, the Yankees

are an interesting team to watch. Especially as Opening Day approaches, and the season-ready rosters become more and more clear, the Yankees could maintain much of the veteran, young guy presence come April.

Which is exactly what the Yankees need. A core group of seasoned veterans to help grow the young talent that is just a few short years from taking the League by storm. Gary Sanchez has already proven himself capable with his standout performance last year. And Aaron Judge and Greg Bird have had tremendous springs thus far, showing vast improvements from their short stints in the League in 2016. And with the veterans the Yankees have, both new and old, the young crop of prospects have near unlimited resources to prepare themselves for the jump to the Show. Whether that be this year, next year or the following, the Yankees future is promising.

Now, this hot start, in the grand scheme of things, really means nothing. So, in all honest reality, the AL East doesn’t have much to worry about. However, with the Yankees officially in a rebuilding stage, the 6-1 start is a positive sign that the rise out of the rebuild may be closer than perhaps originally thought. Granted, there really isn’t any direct relationship to how well Spring training goes to how well the regular season will go. More than likely the Yankees will be a mediocre team; similar to last year and contending only for a Wild Card spot. This is, in large part, due to the fact that many of their prospects are not quite Big League ready. However, give it another spring or two to prime the prospects for the Show and the Yankees will once again be on the rise. As painful as it is for fans to see, the Yankees won’t be title contenders for another couple of years. Fans have always had the “win now” mindset, however, at this point in time, the name of the game for fans should be patience. The Yankee organization’s top priority should be to continue to grow the farm system and build up the slew of young talent this franchise has in its pocket. Even if it means disbanding the “win now” conceptual idea for a few years. Up to this point, the hot start for the Yankees has one major inclination...the future is nearer than it seems.