2014 MLB Draft Compilation Board #2

by: Ben Embry

Amateur baseball seasons are starting to get under way, and all of the big draft scouts/writers that I follow have updated their prospect rankings recently.  Between now and June 5, we can expect a lot of changes.  There will be some pop up guys, like Jonathan Gray from last year, and movement up and down the rankings for a lot of guys.  Some prospects predicted to be first round talents could easily fall multiple rounds based on how they look this Spring.  But right now, we're only two weeks into the season and there really hasn't been much opportunity for that to happen, so this is kind of like a jumping off point.

This compilaton board is a little thing I like to do to stay up on who the big names are in the draft pool. What I do is take rankings from 6 different sources that I trust the most on the subject of draft prospects and I compile them into one board.  And honestly, it is very difficult to find a lot of information on the MLB Draft on the internet, at least compared to the more popular NFL and NBA Drafts.  The MLB Draft is more niche-y, so if anything I'd like to consider what I do a service to those other MLB draftniks out there who are looking for some good information.

My previous board can be found here.  Here's the second board for the 2014 draft:

Rnk	Name	Pos	School
1	Carlos Rodon	SP	NC State
2	Jeff Hoffman	SP	E Carolina
3	Alex Jackson	C	H.S.
4	Tyler Kolek	SP	H.S.
5	Tyler Beede	SP	Vandy
6	Trea Turner	SS	NC State
7	Derek Fisher	OF	Virginia
8	Nick Gordon	SS	H.S.
9	Jacob Gatewood	SS	H.S.
10	Brady Aiken	SP	H.S.
11	Grant Holmes	SP	H.S.
12	Max Pentecost	C	Kensaw St
13	Braxton Davidson	1B	H.S.
14	Luis Ortiz	SP	H.S.
15	Sean Newcomb	SP	Hartford
16	Touki Toussaint	SP	H.S.
17	Brandon Finnegan	SP	TCU
18	Kyler Schwarber	C	Indiana
19	Erick Fedde	SP	UNLV
20	Michael Gettys	SP/OF	H.S.
21	Luke Weaver	SP	Florida St
22	Alex Verdugo	SP/OF	H.S.
23	Sean Reid-Foley	SP	H.S.
24	Aaron Nola	SP	LSU
25	Kodi Medeiros	SP	H.S.
26	Brad Zimmer	OF	San Fran
27	Michael Cederoth	SP	SD State
28	Mac Marshall	SP	H.S.
29	Scott Blewett	SP	H.S.
30	Cobi Johnson	SP	H.S.
31	Justus Sheffield	SP	H.S.
32	Nick Burdi	RP	Louisville
33	Michael Conforto	OF	Oregon St
34	Kyle Freeland	SP	Evansville
35	Derek Hill	OF	H.S.
36	Matt Chapman	3B	CS Fuller.
37	Michael Chavis	3B	H.S.
38	Dylan Cease	SP	H.S.
39	Ti'quan Forbes	SS	H.S.
40	Forrest Wall	2B	H.S.
41	Jackson Reetz	C	H.S.
42	J.D. Davis	SP/1B	CS Fuller.
43	Monte' Harrison	OF	H.S.
44	Dylan Davis	SP/OF	Oregon St
45	Keaton McKinney	SP	H.S.
46	Jake Godfrey	SP	H.S.
47	Marcus Wilson	OF	H.S.
48	Sean Bouchard	3B	H.S.
49	Greg Deichmann	3B	H.S.
50	Taylor Sparks	3B	UC Irvine
51	Jeren Kendall	OF	H.S.
52	Alex Blandino	3B	Stanford
53	Matt Imhof	SP	Cal Poly
54	Jordan Brink	SP	Fresno St
55	Chris Ellis	SP	Ole Miss
56	Michael Kopech	SP	H.S.
57	Josh Morgan	3B	H.S.
58	Cameron Varga	SP	H.S.
59	Jack Flaherty	SS	H.S.
60	Chase Vallot	C	H.S.
61	Austin Davis	SP	CS Baker.
62	Stone Garrett	OF	H.S.
63	Spencer Turnbull	SP	Alabama
64	Turner Larkins	SP	H.S.
65	Chad Sobotka	SP	SC Upstate
66	Spencer Adams	SP	H.S.
67	Lane Thomas	OF	H.S.
68	Kel Johnson	OF	H.S.
69	Tate Blackman	2B	H.S.
70	Luke Bonfield	SP/OF	H.S.
71	Andrew Suarez	SP	Miami (FL)
72	Grayson Greiner	C	South Car
73	Joey Gatto	SP	H.S.
74	Milton Ramos	SS	H.S.
75	Travis Jones	OF	H.S.
76	Dillon Peters	SP	Texas
77	Jake Cosart	SP	JUCO
78	Scott Heineman	OF	Oregon
79	Evan Skoug	C	H.S.
80	Foster Griffin	SP	H.S.
81	Chris Oliver	SP	Arkansas
82	Zach Shannon	SP/OF	H.S.
83	Carl Chester	OF	H.S.
84	Austin Byler	3B	Nevada
85	Karsten Whitson	SP	Florida
86	Lukas Schiraldi	SP	Texas
87	Joey Pankake	3B	S Carolina
88	Casey Gillaspie	1B	Wichita St
89	Brandon Downes	OF	Virginia
90	Devon Fisher	C	H.S.
91	Gareth Morgan	OF	H.S.
92	Adam Haseley	SP/OF	H.S.
93	Sam Coonrod	SP	So Illinois
94	Keith Weisenberg	SP	H.S.
95	JJ Schwarz	C	H.S.
96	Grant Hockin	SP	H.S.
97	Brett Austin	C	NC State
98	Justin Bellinger	1B	H.S.
99	Blake Bivens	SP	H.S.
100	Riley Ferrell	RP	TCU

The Yankees currently have the 47th pick, with a slot of about $1.03 million.  That's actually about 10 spots better than I was thinking they would have.  In theory, they should wind up with 2 guys off this list.  In the 40-50 range, you see a lot of high school kids, which I don't think would be a bad way to go.  Based on what talent they have in the system, a HS OF would work.  HS pitchers are never a bad way to go.  I'd advocate for some college pitching, but generally the pickings get slim in that area after the first round, (if not sooner).  They can afford to stay away from advanced catchers and outfielders, and young infielders based on what they did last year and what they're working on in the international free agent class, (although it never hurts to get a good young SS if they're available).

I'm a big fan of Dylan Cease for New York right now.  He really impressed me in the Under Armour game last Summer, particularly in his strike out of 2015 stud Daz Cameron.  Baseball America said he has an athletic delivery and "produces easy velocity, with a fastball up to 97 mph" and they recently ranked his fastball as one of the best in high school.  He's currently ranked 38th, so it wouldn't be a big stretch to see him end up with the Yankees.  I think that would be a really good value for a team picking halfway into the second round, although $1 million may not be big enough to lure him away from his Vanderbilt commitment.

I should say I find it a little self defeating to have these specific guys you want your team to draft, because the chances are very slim when you draft where NY always drafts.  Last year is a prime example; I had hoped all Spring that Ryne Stanek would be available when the Yankees drafted at 26 even though no one predicted he'd last that long.  Somehow he did and yet NY took Jagielo instead.  I'll refrain from saying whether I think that was a mistake, but it was a little bit of a gut punch for me.  Still, what fun is it if you can't dream, know what I mean?

I want to make sure I give credit where credit's due, that being the six writers/publications I use to assemble my board.  Some are subscription based, some are free.  I encourage everyone to check them all out.  They are:

Big League Futures (Kevin Gallo, Matt Grabusky)

Baseball America (various writers)

ESPN (Keith Law)

MLB.com (Jim Callis, Jon Mayo)

Scouting Baseball (Kiley McDaniel)

MLB Draft Insider (Chris Crawford)

My next board will be available at the end of April.  At that point I'll have enough info to do a deep dive on some of the top prospects and some guys that are being predicted for New York.  You can expect a lot of changes and the board should get to at least 125 maybe 150 at that point; I actually have 109 names now but I don't like odd numbers like that so I cut it off at 100.  The last board, which will be available within a week prior to the draft, will expand to 250.

Email me or hit me up on twitter with any questions: info@thebronxempire.com or @thebronxempire.  Have a good day!

2014 Yankees Prospects: 5 Buy-Low Candidates

by: Ben Embry

This weekend I posted my lists for the Yankees' farm systems top 25 hitters, pitchers and overall.  Before I completely turn the page, there are 5 prospects I think will have good years and will therefore elevate their positions on the list.  In order of current ranking:

Aaron Judge, OF (rank: 7) - Judge is the classic boom or bust candidate...the kind of guy you can feel comfortable taking early when you have three first round picks.  The rumors linking Judge to the Yankees started early and at first I was concerned.  This is a guy who was supposed to be a power hitter but only had 6 HR in his first two college seasons.  His 6'7 frame suggests he probably won't be able to stick for long in CF, the position he played at Fresno State.  But he hit and played very well in 2013, (.369/.461./655 with 12 HR in 206 AB).  And just the fact he played CF makes me think his defense will be at least above average for some time when he eventually moves to one of the corners.  I have a feeling he'll play very well this year, probably in Charleston, and make all the big Top 100 lists next year.

Ty Hensley, SP (rank: 16) - Ty has everything you're looking for in an elite pitching prospect: frame (6'4, 220 lbs), repertoire (92-95 MPH fastball with big 12-to-6 curve and developing change-up), and accolades (ESPN and Gatorade Oklahoma player of the year in 2012).  Add to that being the son of former professional pitcher Mike Hensley and you get a very entriguing prospect.  He did very well in the 12 IP following the 2012 draft (3.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.50 K/9) and this time last year I was eagerly anticipating Ty getting assigned to Charleston.  Well unfortunately that assignment never came due to injuries that required surgeries on both hips.  Missing all of 2013 has led to Ty being sorta forgotten the way I see it.  I predict he'll have an excellent season and distinguish himself as the top pitching prospect in the system and put himself in the conversation of Top 100 overall.

Luis Torrens, C (rank: 18) - I've really been intrigued by Torrens since 2012 when Baseball America ranked him the second best IFA prospect that year.  He hit ok, despite the slash line (.248/.348/.299 in 174 AB), especially considering he was just 17 years old).  Miguel Andujar went through a similar situation the year before and last year he was outstanding (.323/.368/.496 in 133 AB).  I expect the same thing for Torrens. Plus, Keith Law mentioned recently that Luis has shown the ability to be excellent defensively behind the plate, something I was not aware of.  He should be a top 10 system prospect next year.

Peter O'Brien, C/3B/1B (rank: 20) - POWER, POWER, POWER.  He's a huge man with pop to spare.  Squating down for 150 or so pitches every day probably not easy on a 6'3" dude, which is what I'm telling myself as I hear about them moving him around the diamond.  Fact is when you can hit 22 HR in a year it doesn't really matter where you play.  And a .265 career average is more than acceptable when your OPS is .819.  The Yankees really believed in O'Brien when they took him in the second round and gave a college Senior a $460,000 bonus.  And the way he's moving through the system, you can tell their opinions haven't changed.  If he keeps posting a .265/.321/.498 line with HR to spare.

Leonardo Molina, OF (rank: not ranked) - Ok, this kid's about as far away from the bigs as you can get.  Hasn't even played one professional game yet.  Doesn't turn 17 until August.  But he's a big bonus baby with good bat speed and plus defense.  He was ranked 4th best July 2 prospect by Baseball America last year and scouts who have seen him in working in Tampa are gushing.  He'll be top 25 easy next year.

2014 Pre-season Yankees Prospect Rankings (by position)

by: Ben Embry

Yesterday I gave you my thoughts on the Top 25 overall prospects in the Yankees farm system.  I actually go much deeper in rankings, with about 61 players on my watchlist.  So I thought I'd give you a further breakdown by rankings pitchers and hitters seperately.  First the pitchers:

Rank	Player	Position
1	Ian Clarkin	SP
2	Rafael de Paula	SP
3	Manny Banuelos	SP
4	Luis Severino	SP
5	Jose Ramirez	SP
6	Jose Campos	SP
7	Ty Hensley	SP
8	Gabe Encinas	SP
9	Nik Turley	SP
10	Bryan Mitchell	SP
11	Mark Montgomery	RP
12	Caleb Smith	SP
13	Omar Luis	SP
14	Nick Goody	RP
15	Rookie Davis	SP
16	Brady Lail	SP
17	Dietrich Enns	SP
18	Jordan Cote	SP
19	Cesar Vargas	SP
20	Angel Rincon	SP
21	Cale Coshow	SP
22	David Palladino	SP
23	Zach Nuding	RP
24	Evan Rutckyj	SP
25	Daniel Camarena	SP

The hitters are as follows:

Rank	Player	Position
1	Gary Sanchez	C
2	Mason Williams	OF
3	Eric Jagielo	3B
4	Tyler Austin	OF/1B
5	Slade Heathcott	OF
6	J.R. Murphy	C
7	Aaron Judge	OF
8	Greg Bird	1B
9	Gosuke Katoh	2B
10	Abiatal Avelino	SS
11	Luis Torrens	C
12	Miguel Andujar	3B
13	Peter O'Brien	3B/C
14	Angelo Gumbs	2B
15	Mike O'Neill	OF
16	Ben Gamel	OF
17	Rob Refsnyder	2B
18	Ramon Flores	OF
19	Tyler Wade	SS
20	Thairo Estrada	SS
21	Jake Cave	OF
22	Alexander Palma	OF
23	Cito Culver	SS
24	Dante Bichette, Jr.	3B
25	Austin Aune	OF

After today, I'll turn my attention back to draft rankings, begrudgingly since New York will not have a first round pick.  Still, there will be about 250 players on my list so there should still be a few prospects that end up Yankees.  And who knows, maybe a Top 25 player will inexplicably slide to the Bombers like Jon Denney did for Boston last year, (lucky bastards).  I'll also be keeping an eye on the July 2 prospects, which New York has been purported to be in VERY DEEP on.  Like, they may sign all of the top guys, who knows.  There's been a lot of information already, but only from Kiley McDaniel over at Scouting Baseball and most of what he has said has been in his premium service, so out of respect for him, I'll keep it to myself.  All I can say is...be excited.  Or as excited as you should be about kids who won't play in the majors for at least another 4-6 years.  But seriously, if you have any kind of interest in July 2 prospects, Kiley's articles are worth the subscription.

Take care everybody and have a good weekend.

2014 Pre-Season Top 25 Yankees Prospect Rankings

by: Ben Embry

Ladies and gentlemen, it's prospect season!  And every high profile baseball publication/website is in the process of issuing their Top 100 overall and top 10 system rankings.  I am not one of those sites, but I do read them and they do affect my opinion so you can consider my top 25 a hodgepodge of the other sites, mixed with some personal subjectivity based on following these guys 12 months a year.

Please remember, I'm not a scout.  I don't even have direct contact with scouts.  I do not attend games for any of New York's minor league affiliates.  I am only a consumer of baseball news and editorials, specifically articles regarding the Yankees.  That does not make me an expert, but it does allow me to form opinions.  Basically you can say, I'm simply an educated fan.  Without further delay, here are my top 25 Yankees prospects heading into the 2014 season:

Rank	Name	POS
1	Gary Sanchez	C
2	Mason Williams	OF
3	Eric Jagielo	3B
4	Tyler Austin	OF/1B
5	Slade Heathcott	OF
6	J.R. Murphy	C
7	Aaron Judge	OF
8	Ian Clarkin	SP
9	Greg Bird	1B
10	Rafael de Paula	SP
11	Manny Banuelos	SP
12	Luis Severino	SP
13	Gosuke Katoh	2B
14	Jose Ramirez	SP
15	Jose Campos	SP
16	Ty Hensley	SP
17	Abiatal Avelino	SS
18	Luis Torrens	C
19	Miguel Andujar	3B
20	Peter O'Brien	3B/C
21	Gabe Encinas	SP
22	Nik Turley	SP
23	Bryan Mitchell	SP
24	Mark Montgomery	RP
25	Angelo Gumbs	2B

Sanchez was the easy choice for #1 prospect.  He's the only guy to make all the big Top 100 prospect lists.  He's ranked number one on every system list.  He has possible league MVP tools if you look hard enough.  The opinion on his catching ranges wildly; some say its adequate, some say it's pretty poor.  Specifically his arm is plus but receiving and game calling are, let's say...debatable.  His calling card is his power, though doesn't show in games as much as you'd hope.

Williams is a super talented CF that has potential at the plate.  I've heard more than once he could be a good defender in MLB right now and projects as gold glove.  His issues are strike zone awareness and "makeup".  He came into Spring Training last season over weight and was arrested last April for DUI.  He's still fairly young, (turns 23 in August), but this is a make-or-break season for his prospect status.

Jagielo was the first of three 1st round picks New York made in the 2013 draft.  His strengths are a power bat that could hit for average.  There is some debate regarding his ability to stick at 3B, but it seems most people believe he can play it adequately.  He played well last yr following the draft (.264/.376/.451 with 6 HR in 193 AB).  I think he'll start the season at A- Charleston, supplanting Dante Bichette, (I'm curious to see where they'll move DB).

Austin and Heathcott have similar stories.  Both had injuries last year that derailed seasons that were believed to be promising.  Austin's an offense first RF who may have to move to 1B, which is scary because it raises the bar offensively.  That move is far from certain but something NY has experimented with.  Heathcott is a plus defender in CF but the big knock on him is that his all-out playing style may prevent him from ever staying healthy consistently.  Makeup used to be an issue but I believe his off-field troubles are behind him.

Murphy is a C that Keith Law said recently will definitely play for someone in the bigs.  Judge and Clarkin are the other 2 first rounders from last year that saw little-to-no playing time last year due to injuries.  Greg Bird has a tremendous season offensively (.288/.428/.411 with 20 HR in 458 AB) but will have to keep those kind of numbers up due to the aforementioned high bar offensively that 1B are judged by.

De Paula is interesting to me in that he played extremely well in Charleston, (good enough to make an appearance in the Futures Game), but was dominated in A+ Tampa.  I gave him too much credit for the Charelston performance, apparently, when I ranked him 2nd at the end of last season.  He hasn't made a single Top 10 list, which forced me to adjust my opinion.  I still have him in the Top 10 and if he can improve on that Tampa performance he can move back up quickly.

Banuelos is scheduled to participate in Spring Training, and hopefully knock the rust off from being gone for two years quickly, possibly making it to the Bronx in the second half of the season.  Severino and Katoh are two youngin's that performed exceptionally well in rookie ball last year.  Both will have a chance to make a name for themselves this year and crack the top 10, if not the top half of the top 10.  Ramirez and Campos are both talented pitchers but may have to move to the bullpen, (Ramirez more-so than Campos).

Ty Hensley is a guy that I refuse to totally turn my back on, despite the fact he's still only pitched 12 innings thus far in his pro career.  He missed last season due to hip surgeries, (one each per side), and questions about his "abnormal" shoulder still linger.  It goes without saying probably, but this will be a big year for Ty.

Avelino, Torrens, and Andujar are all international signees from 2011-2012 that have performed well in rookie ball here in the States and have people excited.  Torrens received praise from Keith Law for the exceptional way he has handled a move to C, (he was a 3B when NY signed him but the plan all along was for him to move behind the dish), and said he can be a plus defender.

O'Brien is a former college C but some said 3B, maybe even 1B, are much more likely.  Man does he hit for power, though!  Encinas has always been a system favorite of Law's (or at least a notable "sleeper").  Turley and Mitchell are both A+/AA pitchers that, with solid seasons, could be next year's David Phelps or Adam Warren.  Montgomery is on the door step to the majors for the second consecutive year.  Angelo Gumbs is a talented 2B that really took a step back last year but is still top 25 worthy prospect, in my opinion.  If he's not careful, he'll join the Cito Culver-Dante Bichette-Austin Aune club.

Ok, there ya go.  I'm sure my opinions could be picked apart, but then again so can anybody else's.  Feel free to tweet or email me or leave a comment, regardless of whether you agree or not.

Twitter: @thebronxempire

Email: info@thebronxempire.com

The Trouble with Yankee fans

by: Ben Embry

I've seen some talk on my twitter feed regarding the not-so-great state of New York's farm system, including what is the cause and what are the short and long term implications for the big league club.  I really wanted to join the conversation but my opinion far exceeded twitter's 140 character limit.  Before I give my opinion about what I perceive is New York's problematic farm system, let me provide some context.

Baseball writers are in a period that I like to refer to as "prospect season" in which several high profile writers and publications rank baseball's prospects and farm systems.  Usually it's a lot of fun for me but this year, there's not a lot to say about Yankee prospects.  Or I should say there's not a lot of good things to say about Yankee prospects.  Almost all of our top prospects were injured last year or their development was simply stuck in neutral.  Gary Sanchez is the only player to universally make the top 100 lists this year, and a few instances he was the only player to make the list.  Other guys like Tyler Austin and Mason Williams appeared on a list or two but for the most part Sanchez was the lone Yankee.  Also, Keith Law ranked NY's farm system 20th out of the 30 team league, and he was one who actually had three Yankees on his individual Top 100 list.

So right now New York has a farm system problem.  And I call it a problem because this is a time where the Bombers could really use an infusion of major league ready youth.  They are set to not only have the oldest roster in the majors this year, but the second oldest roster EVER behind the 2009 Phillies.  Short, first, and second are being manned by Jeter, Teixeira, and newcomer Brian Roberts, all of which have missed significant amounts of time with injuries lately and their ability to play most of a season this year is far from certain.  And another newcomer Kelly Johnson would ideally play a super-utility role backing up these guys but he is penciled in at 3B due to the season long suspension Alex Rodriguez received this winter.  So this is a time when a club could really benefit from a kid in the minors ready to step in and carry the load for half a season or possibly the whole season.  Well, sorry Yankee fans, the cupboard is bare, so get ready to see Brendan Ryan, Eduardo Nunez, and possibly Dean Anna play a lot more games than a championship-aspiring club would like for them to play.

The perceived reasons why the farm system is in its current state are numerous but, in my opinion, can be narrowed down to one simple fact: the fans of the New York Yankees have zero tolerance for losing.  They simply demand excellence and championships year-in and year-out.  The team is not allowed to go through the natural life cycle of a professional sports franchise, which is this:

Phase 1. be bad, and as a result get high draft picks;

Phase 2. draft the best possible talent with those picks, and as a result put a more talented team on the field;

Phase 3. win games and compete for championships with your more talented teams, and as a result get low draft picks;

Phase 4. draft less talented players with those picks, and as a result put a less talented team on the field and go back to phase 1.

Now, the duty of any franchise's front office is to maximize the amount of time you're in phase 3 and minimize the amount you're in phase 1.  But Yankees fans demand the team simply stay in phase 3 and if they ever slip to phase 1, God help us all.  "Fire everyone!  Sign the best free agents!  Trade for the best players in the league!  Do it before the next season starts OR ELSE!" Our team's legacy and vast resources simply forbid this.  If any fan base beleved it deserved championships...that they were OWED championships...it's us.

To be fair, ownership has spoiled us, engraining this idea within us.  It's known as the (George) Steinbrenner Doctrine, named after the polarizing figure who owned the team for 37 years and held himself and the franchise to the highest of standards. "Win a championship or consider the season an utter failure."  I really believe this mandate is counter-productive.  It forces management to make decisions where the end-result may be to make today's team better but at the expense of the future.  Keep passing the buck, we'll figure it out later.  And the only option is to spend more and more money, which is unsustainable because contrary to popular opinion, the Steinbrenners do not have limitless resources.  One day, the well will run dry and all of the problems they kept passing forward will crush the on-field product.  An analogy could be made to our federal government, but I don't pretend to know as much about running a government as I pretend to know about running a professional sports team, so I'll let the analogy end there.

Heading into this offseason, we were in a good position to course correct this unsustainable model for one that was more reasonable and probably beneficial: approximately $100 million in yearly salaries came off the payroll, which would go a long way towards course correction.  I wrote last October that if I owned the Yankees, I would slash payroll, divert the funds to player development, and also cut ticket prices and concession prices.  Because if there is an validity to the fans' demand to win every year, it's due to the cost of attending games.  Yankee tickets are the highest in the league, and if you pay the most you should expect a good product.  But a good product can still be had if the team purged itself of its glutinous, cost INeffective contracts.  The team would lose in the interim but they could collect draft picks and young talent and be back very soon, in my opinion.  Because what I'm advocating is not falling back to the middle of the pack, spending -wise.  I would suggest staying right below the luxury tax threshold, which still puts the team as a top 2 or 3 spender.  The money saved from not paying the tax could also go into player development.

And, let me just add that as a personal preference, it's far more enjoyable to watch players that came up through your own system as opposed to someone else's that you just threw money at.  Signing one big money free agent after another takes the fun and challenge out of building a team.  That's why people hate us; not because we win but because we win with THEIR favorite players!  And also there would be no awkwardness or mixed feelings around rooting for a guy who used to beat the snot out of your team playing for their rival.  "I used to HATE this guy but now he's one of us (because we just gave him a ton of money) so yay!!"

The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) really punishes teams who want to sign top free agents, which is having a three pronged effect on baseball economics in general.  The first is that salary demands for the good but not elite free agents are being severly hamstrung because of the imposed loss of draft picks, (IF said free agent was issued a qualifying offer by their former team). The second is that elite players are re-signing with their current teams before they hit free agency in order to avoid the "hamstring effect" I just mentioned.  This causes the free agent wells to dry up, so any team (like the Yankees) that live off of free agency to have slimmer pickings, so to speak.  The third is that teams who bite the bullet and forfeit draft picks in order to sign someone they really want experience a deficit of young talent.  The more qualifying free agents (QFA) you sign, the more talented your team is right now but the less talented your farm system is, which is the well for any successful franchise.  It's all in the league's attempt to restrain and dissuade big spending (i.e. giving the owners' money to the players), and I believe it's affective.

In my opinion, if the Yankees implemented a strategy of only signing the truly elite QFA, who are worth the lost opportunity to select young prospects, and otherwise hoarded their draft picks to develop a farm system that could be counted on to supplement these few free agent signings.  And if free agency is still the dry well I described in the previous paragraph, then you should have an abundance of valuable chips with which they can make a trade.

Now I don't believe for one second this will happen, and I'm ok with that.  We'll continue to see big spending by the big league team and I'll just hope that I'm wrong, or that the league will change its CBA back to a system that encouraged spending on players, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that.