I never want to root for my team to lose, but that doesn't seem to matter for the 2013 Yankees. They are currently one game over .500, fourth in the division, well behind several teams for a wild card spot, and have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball. I would gladly love to see the Yankees turn it around, catch fire, have Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez go on a tear, and Derek Jeter finally stay healthy. That just doesn't seem to be happening.
Instead of rooting for them to lose, I'm using the MLB Reverse Standings as a way to cope with a season of disappointment. Now I can turn loses into positives and hope for a brighter future. Would I rather have a playoff birth in 2013? Yes, of course, but this is better than nothing.
According to Baseball America's Reverse Major League Standings tracker, the Yankees rank No. 16, which means they will have a very high pick in the 2014 draft. It's highly unlikely they will have a protected pick, which go to the ten worst teams in baseball, but the Yankees have not had a pick this high since 1993, when they chose right-handed pitcher Matt Drews 13th overall. Since then they haven't had a pick in the teens since they drafted C.J. Henry 17th overall in 2005. Obviously, neither of those picked worked out, but after the draft they had this year, I have more confidence in what they can do with the 16th overall pick.
This doesn't mean much, but just to get an idea of what kind of talent the 16th overall pick can generate: Brett Lawrie in 2008, Chris Volstad in 2005, Nick Swisher in 2002, Lance Berkman in 1997. This past season, J.P. Crawford was taken 16th overall by the Phillies and Baseball America ranked him as the 15th best prospect in the draft. Lucas Giolito was picked by the Nationals the year before that and ranked No. 67 at the end of the 2012 season. The pick is not in slam dunk top prospect territory, but it gives a mediocre organization the chance at finding some top-rated talent.
There is plenty of time for the Yankees' position to change, since they are only one game "ahead" of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It doesn't look like they will go any higher than this with the Washington Nationals sitting at six games under .500 and then the Toronto Blue Jays at eight games under .500. "Beating out" the Blue Jays would mean finishing dead last in the American League East and I don't see that happening, but there would be a nifty consolation prize if they did.