The spotlight on the New York Yankees will be a little bit dimmer this season, with fans eager to watch some hot prospects develop.

The New York Yankees aren’t built to win right away. We’ve been over this before and we’ll likely go over this again.

They are rebuilding and that might mean they have growing pains to work through. It’s hard to expect too much when the Yankees have a fresh, young team hitting in the field.

That’s why this season might be difficult to watch for some lifelong fans who are used to success. Even if the Yankees aren’t winning at the big league level, Yankees fans might be focusing more on the minor leagues.

That’s right. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders might just steal some fan attention away from the Yankees this season.

Fresh off an impressive year last season, the RailRiders are gaining traction in terms of attention. Not only did they win the Governor’s Cup and the Triple-A National Championship with a league-best 91 wins, they also won the coveted award for the 2016 Best MiLB Team.

If the Yankees start struggling this season, you can guarantee all the attention will be on the RailRiders and the slew of prospects their talented team will be developing. Following these young prospects will distract fans from present struggles and help them focus on the exciting future coming to the Bronx.

Sep 6, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Tyler Austin (26) is congratulated in the dugout by right fielder Aaron Judge (99) after hitting a two run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The RailRiders look like the Yankees in the late 1990s. They have some extremely talented youth who are still learning. They have veterans and former Yankees playing and coaching to help guide these youngsters to the big leagues.

They have everything that fans love about the Yankees. And they might actually have more success than their big league brothers.

Although prospects like Gleyber Torres and Justus Sheffield likely be starting their season in Double-A Trenton, their quick rise through the system shows they’ll probably be making an appearance in Scranton in the very near future.

Torres, who was recently ranked fourth on ESPN’s Top 100 Prospects list, also showed his chops during the Arizona Fall League, where he won the MVP award. When he comes to Scranton, you’ll bet all fans will be watching in anticipation of getting a glimpse of the future.

Clint Frazier, a product of the Andrew Miller trade with the Cleveland Indians, will be trying to improve on last season’s less-than-impressive outing for the RailRiders. However, if his Twitter videos of workouts are any indication, he is looking to make a splash in the Yankees’ system.

Right-handed James Kaprielian may have spent last season with the Single-A Tampa Yankees, but he has already flown through the ranks and could find himself in Scranton by the year’s end.

The future may have arrived in the Bronx when it comes to Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge but the youth movement is nowhere close to done yet. There is more to come from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the next few years. Luckily, we get to witness this youthful transition in person.

While the youth movement will be an ongoing event, we might just be witnessing the cream of the crop this season in the minor leagues. There will be so many exciting progressions happening in Scranton that the fan base might just be more interested in Triple-A than the Major Leagues.

Fans might be interested in the Yankees but they’ll likely be turning their eyes towards the future in Scranton this season.


Allison is just a girl with an enormous passion for the game of baseball and the written word. Based in Upstate New York, her life-long relationship with the New York Yankees is something that she developed through close relationships with her mother and grandfather. An aspiring sports writer, she graduated with a journalism degree and is finding places to share her excitement about the sporting world and how it affects us all.