Future of the New York Yankees Bullpen
The New York Yankees are gearing up for the upcoming season with a younger roster compared to in past seasons as well as a roster that features a tremendous amount of depth around the diamond, a sub-par starting rotation, and a bullpen that is deep and very talented.
Last summer when the Yankees traded Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians, they received a nice haul in return which included outfield prospect, Clint Frazier, along with left-handed reliever, Justus Sheffield, and right-handed relievers, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen. While the entire package was a great pickup for New York, both Feyereisen and Heller were regarded as high end pitching prospects as they experienced a couple of great seasons with Cleveland.
Before being acquired by the Yankees, Feyereisen had a cumulative ERA of 1.83 in 211 IP all between the age of 21 and 23 in two-and-a half years in the minors. Add to that, Heller, who also put together a nice track record of success with the Indians, putting up a 2.70 ERA in 313.2 IP. Many scouts believe that Feyereisen will play an integral role at the back end of the Yankees bullpen once again in 2017 and Heller will eventually build up enough experience to provide a bridge for the Yankees between Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman.
Besides Feyereisen and Heller, the Yankees also have a few other young arms that should provide some extra force for the team this coming season.
One of those is 24-year old, Johnny Barbato, who struggled at the major league level last season posting a 7.62 ERA in 13.0 IP, but put together a nice minor league record with a 3.42 ERA in 365.1 IP between Short-Season A Ball and Triple-A. Another up and coming arm in the Yankees organization is, 25-year old left-hander, Dietrich Enns. Enns hasn't pitched at the major league level before, but does come with an impressive minor league track record posting a 1.66 ERA in 344.1 IP dating back to 2012.
In addition to these attractive options, the Yankees will also likely rely heavily upon Domingo German, who was regarded as a promising bullpen prospect back in 2014, but faced an injury last season. Still, German has a minor league career ERA of 2.44 in 343.1 IP and is considered a flame thrower with 324 strikeouts in that span.
If none of those options seem attractive enough, there is always 23-year old right-hander, Jonathan Holder, another promising prospect that looks to provide the Yankees with depth in 2017 and beyond. Holder is regarded by scounts as being an impressive bullpen prospect, has previous experience closing as he locked down 16 saves in 17 save opportunities alone last season in Double and Triple A, and has an impressive 2.50 ERA in 219.2 IP.
Although the Yankees currently have Aroldis Chapman slated into the closer role for the next three seasons, due to his no-trade clause as part of his deal, along with Tyler Clippard and Dellin Betances, it appears as though they have several different routes moving forward as well as a fantastic amount of depth. However, based on the amount of success that each of the names listed above has faced over the seasons, the youngsters are knocking on the door and the future of the Yankees bullpen is beginning to take shape and will continue to build it's identity coming up this season.
