Getty Yankees OF Aaron Judge celebrates first homerun of the season against Diamondbacks.
The New York Yankees have been a perennial contender for the last three decades and have not had a losing season since 1992. However, heading into the 2024 season it seems any potential 2024 success could be attributed to their ability to bring players in through free agency or trades rather than the draft process according to Bleacher Report.
BR’s Joel Reuter ranked all 30 MLB teams “Homegrown Talent” for the 2024 season and ranked the Yankees as 19 out of 30.
Reuter wrote, “To be considered homegrown, a player must have been drafted by an organization or signed by it as an amateur free agent and subsequently developed in its minor league system.”
Diamondbacks: Yes there’s a base open and it’s Aaron Judge, but we’ll probably get him out
Aaron Judge:
According to Reuter the top five homegrown players include, “1. OF Aaron Judge, 2. SS Anthony Volpe, 3. RHP Clarke Schmidt, 4. C Austin Wells and 5. IF Oswaldo Cabrera.”
The current 40-man roster of the Yankees includes 11 homegrown players, meaning 29 of them were brought in through other means. The Yankee dynasty of the 90s/early 2000s were highlighted by the “Core Four” of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, which won four World Series.
Yankees Have Serious Star Power in Their Homegrown Players
Yankee fans have clamored for a new homegrown group of players since the “Core Four” retired. In 2017, there were the “Baby Bombers” headed by superstar Judge and included, catcher Gary Sanchez, IF Tyler Austin, and RHP Luis Severino.
Judge is the only member of that group remaining as Sanchez is with the Milwaukee Brewers and Severino joined the crosstown New York Mets.
However, as Reuter puts it, “Few teams have a bigger homegrown superstar than Aaron Judge, while young shortstop Anthony Volpe and right-hander Clarke Schmidt both emerged as key contributors during the 2023 season.”
Judge broke onto the scene in 2017 (after limited at bats in 2016) and won the AL Rookie of the Year (runner-up in MVP voting) hitting a rookie record at the time 52 homeruns.
Since then, Judge has become one of the faces in the league, the captain of the Yankees, and won an MVP in 2022 with an AL record 62 homeruns in a season.
Volpe had a lot of expectations heading into his 2023 rookie season and had mixed results but was a solid contributor and has started 2024 off strong.
Reuter explained, “Catcher Austin Wells and outfielders Jasson Dominguez and Everson Pereira have the potential to be everyday players in the big leagues, and it will be interesting to see how the team uses Dominguez when he returns from Tommy John surgery.”
Dominguez, nicknamed the “Martian,” could be the next star coming up in the system once he returns from Tommy John, and prospect Spencer Jones had a strong showing in spring training.
The Yankees Have Always Supplemented Roster With Outside Talent
It is almost impossible to completely rely on just homegrown talent in today’s age. Under George Steinbrenner, the “Evil Empire” that bought free agents was born.
The Yankees have supplemented their rosters with trades and free agent talent over the last three decades. Players like Roger Clemens, David Wells and David Cones were brought in during the 90s dynasty.
The Yankees famously signed CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixiera in the 08-09 spending spree to help win the 2009 World Series.
The Yankees are currently ranked second in team payroll for 2024 and are projected to win 95 games this season. They have built around Judge by bringing in ace pitchers Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, and filling the lineup with IF Anthony Rizzo, OF Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu.
Through trades, they brought in superstar Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres during the offseason. They also acquired IF Gleyber Torres, who has developed into a top second basemen, when he was a top prospect from the Chicago Cubs.
They may be ranked in the bottom half, but the Yankees are one of the favorites to win the 2024 World Series through a blending of homegrown talent and acquisitions.