Excess Talent

 

A big reason for baseball's annual Rule 5 draft was to prevent teams from hoarding minor league prospects. So every winter, teams have to set their 40-man organizational rosters -- meaning that some promising players will be available to the other teams. The Yankees, with their wealth of impressive prospects, were targeted by other clubs.

Thursday, the Yankees lost a couple of impressive youngsters I'd seen this season with Trenton. Lefty Nestor Cortes (above) climbed thru three levels of the Yankee system in 2017, striking out a batter an inning, and going 7 - 4 with an ERA just above 2. He'll go to camp with the Orioles.

First baseman Mike Ford belted 20 home runs between Trenton and AAA Scranton while his keen eye drew notice -- he's the rare player who walked more often than he struck out. But with Greg Bird and Tyler Austin ahead of him within the organization, the Princeton University product wasn't a Yankee priority. The 25-year old will get his shot at the majors with the Mariners.

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