Homegrown talent making history during Yanks' stretch drive

The Yankees made franchise history earlier this month, but it wasn’t on the field. It took a close look at the lineup card to notice it.

In back-to-back games on Sept. 11 and 12 vs. the New York Mets, the Yankees' starting lineup included five players whom they selected and signed that were chosen in the first round of the MLB Draft.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that had never been done in Yankees history, dating back to the first year of the Draft in 1965. This season, only one other Major League team (the Minnesota Twins) boasted that much high-end homegrown talent in its lineup.

The historic Yankees batting order included Aaron Judge (2013 Draft, 32nd overall pick), Anthony Volpe (2019, No. 30 pick), Austin Wells (2020, No. 28 pick), Spencer Jones (2022, No. 25 pick) and George Lombard Jr. (2023, No. 26 pick).

With Judge and other veterans missing significant time due to injury this year, the Yankees have certainly relied on pitching to build the second-best record in the American League. But the young position players have also played an important role.

It’s a homegrown look that not even the Core Four dynasty teams of the 1990s and 2000s or the Baby Bombers of a decade ago could claim.

What does bringing that much first-round talent to the Bronx mean?

“Obviously, it means we’re doing something right,” senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman said. “That is the ultimate goal every time you make a selection. You're betting on them playing a role in the future in New York and helping us compete for championships.”

Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' vice president of domestic amateur scouting, also thinks it speaks well to their draft process.

“We know how hard it is for a player to become a Major Leaguer of any sort,” Oppenheimer said. “But it’s more special here, because on top of having talent, they’ve had the grit and the fortitude to battle through the gauntlet that it takes to become a Yankee.”

While the Yankees have strung together 34 consecutive seasons with a winning record, that sometimes presents challenges in the first round of the MLB Draft. The five players noted above were chosen with picks ranging from No. 25 to No. 32 overall. There is a higher risk factor in judging elite talent outside the very top of the Draft, and the Yankees haven’t always fared this well when selecting position players.

Between 1992, when the Yankees chose Derek Jeter with the sixth overall pick, and 2013 when they drafted Judge, the Yankees used 14 first-round selections on position players. Of those, only two ever suited up for the Yankees -- Bronson Sardinha (2001, 34th overall) and Slade Heathcott (2009, 29th overall). Sardinha and Heathcott combined to make only 42 plate appearances over 28 games, the only Major League games they ever played.

While some teams can give prospects a little more runway to grow into big league regulars, the scrutiny and pressure to win in New York adds a layer to every young player’s journey. For some, their pathway leads them elsewhere as they become trade chips. Many of those prospects the Yankees missed on during that period between Jeter and Judge helped the organization by having trade value.

Brian Buchanan, a first-round pick in 1994, was part of the trade that brought Chuck Knoblauch to the Yanks in 1998. C.J. Henry, a 2005 first-rounder, was part of the package in 2006 that landed Bobby Abreu. And Eric Jagielo, chosen six picks ahead of Judge in 2013, was part of the 2015 deal to acquire Aroldis Chapman.

As they see it, it isn’t just luck that has turned the tide for the Yankees in scouting and player development. The Yankees have put a concerted effort into building their performance science and mental skills programs throughout the entire organization, as well as hiring what Cashman called “high-end specialty coaches” in player development.

“The more recent success is just more of a recognition that we are doing things better if we continue to evolve and grow,” Cashman said.

Oppenheimer, now in his 34th year with the Yankees, has run the Draft since 2005. Coming from a scouting background, he has driven the marriage between old school and new school, and he believes that the common factor in all these success stories is the work that goes into knowing each Draft prospect before they are selected. That process includes interviewing everyone from travel-ball coaches to Cape Cod League host families.

“Every single one of them, we’ve done our due diligence and gotten to know them over time,” said Oppenheimer, who also noted lower round selections like Ben Rice and pitchers Cam Schlittler and Will Warren. “That we have that many drafted, homegrown guys on a World Series contender makes it even more special.”

With one bit of history to hang their hat on as they head into October, the Yankees are hoping this young core can begin the march toward a championship.