Yankees talent development

[mikelink45]

Not sure where to post this today, but as I look at the Twins record for developing some of their talent - like Buxton - I saw this posting on ESPN and continue to hope that the new FO has fixed the system:

 

The New York Yankees' other mashing outfielder. Aaron Judge is hitting .326/.427/.680. He's getting a lot of attention. He deserves the attention! Teammate Aaron Hicks, after going 4-for-5 with three doubles in six RBIs in a 12-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, is now hitting .317/.437/.579. Hicks has been the club's fourth outfielder, but has been playing every day of late with Jacoby Ellsbury on the DL. Ellsbury may be the fourth outfielder when he returns the way Hicks has played. He has eight home runs and 30 RBIs in just 126 at-bats, numbers that project to 25 and 95 over just 400 at-bats. With one of the strongest arms in the game and decent range, he may even be a defensive upgrade over Ellsbury.

Give Brian Cashman credit for this one. Hicks had been a first-round pick by the Minnesota Twins, but over three seasons with them he hit just .225. Still, he had good discipline -- some scouts considered him too passive -- and the Twins had kind of fooled around with him, never running him out there for 500-plus at-bats in a season. The Yankees got him for backup catcher J.R. Murphy, currently hitting .225 in Triple-A. How much of this is legitimate for Hicks? The stat I like is 28 walks and 27 strikeouts -- one of only a handful of players with more walks than strikeouts, a list that includes Buster Posey, Mookie Betts, Joey Votto and Anthony Rizzo. While there is some good fortune going on -- his average exit velocity is league average and his launch angle is below average -- there's some real improvement. The rich just got richer. (Written by Schoenfield) http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/80070/real-or-not-adam-wainwright-is-awesome-again-yankees-have-a-great-outfielder