4 Things Yankees: Homegrown Stars Killing the Narrative

HOMEGROWN PLAYERS
The reports of the demise of the New York Yankees farm system have been greatly exaggerated. 11 homegrown players have contributed this season, including three of the team’s four American League All-Stars.

Generational Talent
Aaron Judge

2026 All-Stars
Ben Rice
Cam Schlittler

Potential Stars
Spencer Jones
George Lombard Jr

Solid Starters
Clarke Schmidt
Will Warren
Austin Wells

Contributors
Jasson Dominguez
Luis Gil
Anthony Volpe


BABY BOMBERS
Led by Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler, those 11 players have helped the Yankees to an 81-62 record, second best in the American League. That raises the question? Why does the Yankees’ development process have such a bad reputation?

I believe it traces back to the “Baby Bombers Era” from the mid-2010s. While Aaron Judge exceeded expectations by becoming a generational talent, the others failed to live up to their minor league hype, including Tyler Austin, Greg Bird, Jorge Mateo, Rob Refsnyder, and Gary Sanchez.

Tyler Austin played 209 MLB games with the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers before spending six years in Japan. Currently, he’s on the Chicago Cubs injured list following right knee surgery.

Greg Bird played 186 games with the Yankees but was plagued with injury problems. He bounced around the minors with the Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies before finding a baseball home in Australia.

Jorge Mateo never made it to the Bronx, but has managed to play 568 games across seven seasons with the San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and currently the Tampa Bay Rays.

Rob Refsnyder recently retired after playing in 594 games across 11 MLB seasons with the Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay, Texas Rangers, Minnesota, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners.

Prior to Anthony Volpe’s arrival, Gary Sanchez was New York’s most criticized homegrown player. After seven roller-coaster seasons in the Bronx, he made quick stops with Minnesota, the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Milwaukee again. While he never lived up to his “Kraken” debut — when he hit 20 home runs in his first 53 games — he recently hit his 200th career home run.


CAM VS GATOR
Ron Guidry set the standard for all future Yankees starters to chase when he went 25-3 in 1978. He followed that with a wins in both the ALCS and World Series, leading the Bombers to a World Championship.

Obviously, it’s a different game. No starting pitcher is likely to approach Guidry’s 16 complete games, 273 innings pitched, or 25 wins. However, Cam Schlittler’s season is right up there with the best in Yankees history.

Schlittler will make his 30th start on Tuesday, September 8 at the Stadium against the Colorado Rockies. Here’s how his first 29 starts compare to Guidry’s legendary season:

WHEN #99 RETURNS
There’s a strong possibility that Judge will return to right field this week during the Yankees homestand against the Rockies and Mets.

Our Real Take is that once the playoffs start, five homegrown hitters will be in the lineup every day — Aaron Judge, Spencer Jones, George Lombard Jr, Ben Rice, and Austin Wells.

Against Righties:

1. Ben Rice, DH (L)
2. Aaron Judge, RF (R)
3. Cody Bellinger, LF (L)
4. Luis Garcia Jr, 1B (L)
5. Jazz Chisholm Jr, 2B (L)
6. Spencer Jones, CF (L)
7. George Lombard Jr, SS (R)
8. Austin Wells, C (L)
9. Ryan McMahon, 3B (L)

Against Lefties:

1. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B (R)
2. Ben Rice, DH (L)
3. Aaron Judge, RF (R)
4. Cody Bellinger, LF (L)
5. Amed Rosario, 3B (R)
6. Spencer Jones, CF (L)
7. George Lombard Jr, SS (R)
8. Austin Wells, C (L)
9. Jose Caballero, 3B (R)

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