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Because if I’m trading the farm system, then I’m literally trading the farm system. Not the organizational filler, though. Those guys aren’t really worth much in trade. Just the actual prospects. Who are they? Not just everybody in MLB.com’s top-30—that list could exclude prospects or include non-prospects, depending on how deep the team’s farm is. Fangraphs published a list of all the Yankees’ prospects valued 40 or higher. Just the excuse I was looking for the put a number on the Yankees’ whole system. Let’s take a look:
| Rank | Player | Position | Future Value | FV ($M) |
| 1 | Gleyber Torres | SS | 60 | 60 |
| 2 | Clint Frazier | OF | 55 | 38 |
| 3 | Blake Rutherford | OF | 55 | 38 |
| 4 | James Kaprielian | RHP | 55 | 22 |
| 5 | Aaron Judge | RF | 55 | 38 |
| 6 | Jorge Mateo | SS | 50 | 20 |
| 7 | Dustin Fowler | CF | 50 | 20 |
| 8 | Justus Sheffield | LHP | 50 | 14 |
| 9 | Albert Abreu | RHP | 45 | 13 |
| 10 | Chance Adams | RHP | 45 | 13 |
| 11 | Miguel Andujar | 3B | 45 | 11 |
| 12 | Dillon Tate | RHP | 45 | 13 |
| 13 | Tyler Wade | UTIL | 45 | 11 |
| 14 | Jordan Montgomery | LHP | 45 | 13 |
| 15 | Chad Green | RHP | 45 | 13 |
| 16 | Estevan Florial | CF | 45 | 11 |
| 17 | Jonathan Holder | RHP | 45 | 13 |
| 18 | Domingo Acevedo | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 19 | Wilkerman Garcia | SS | 40 | 6 |
| 20 | Dermis Garcia | 3B | 40 | 6 |
| 21 | Nolan Martinez | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 22 | Ronald Herrera | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 23 | Ian Clarkin | LHP | 40 | 9 |
| 24 | Gio Gallegos | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 25 | Kyle Higashioka | C | 40 | 6 |
| 26 | Tyler Austin | OF | 40 | 6 |
| 27 | Rony Garcia | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 28 | Kyle Holder | SS | 40 | 6 |
| 29 | Jeff Hendrix | CF | 40 | 6 |
| 30 | Ben Heller | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 31 | Billy McKinney | OF | 40 | 6 |
| 32 | Johnny Barbato | RHP | 40 | 9 |
| 33 | Leonardo Molina | OF | 40 | 6 |
| Total | 481 |
This list is almost four months old, and already totally out of date. Recent graduates include Aaron Judge, Jordan Montgomery, Chad Green, and possibly Jonathan Holder. I think Gallegos and Barbato are no longer with the organization. This year’s draftees are not included. Let’s adjust by simply rounding the total down to $450M. Recent graduates stay and recent draftees go.
Well, as expected, the farm system is way too valuable to trade for any one player. Let’s have a look at Fangraphs’ most recent trade value leaderboard to see who we should get. Mike Trout and Carlos Correa are great, but we like three of our outfielders and our shortstop. Kris Bryant is another superstar, plus he plays third base, where displacing the incumbent isn’t painful. Also, he can play some outfield. Perfect player to start with. $200M left.
Next, we need a pitcher. Since I committed to trading away our entire farm system, the rotation depth is abysmal, so we need a dependable ace. Syndergaard and Bumgarner are injured. Fernandez is also out. Kluber is over 30, Kershaw has that contractual clause, I’m gun-shy about Archer, Quintana has been bad this year, and ZIPS doesn’t like deGrom for some reason. Chris Sale it is, then. There is no better option for the next two-plus years. $67M left.
Finally, I think, a first baseman. I had Anthony Rizzo in mind initially, but at this point, the only prospects the Yankees have left are Jorge Mateo, Domingo Acevedo, and Blake Rutherford (who should be exempt from trade talks due to how the Yankees were able to draft him). Paul Goldschmidt could be within reach if the Yankees include Greg Bird. Otherwise, eh, Brandon Belt? That should work.
That’s who I would trade the entire farm system for. Kris Bryant, Chris Sale, and Brandon Belt.
(I totally guessed what a 40 FV prospect would be worth.)
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