Yankees’ pitching program paid dividends again in Juan Soto deal

Since the 2022 trade deadline, the Yankees have lost 20 pitchers to trade or the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

It took Chandler Champlain (one), T.J. Sikkema (two) and Beck Way (three) to land Andrew Benintendi.

Ken Waldichuk (four), JP Sears (five) and Luis Medina (six) helped bring back Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino.

Hayden Wesneski (seven) was the price for Scott Effross.

Wilking Rodriguez (eight) was lost in the 2022 Rule 5 draft.

Diego Hernandez (nine) brought Greg Allen to The Bronx.

Juan Carela (10) returned Keynan Middleton.

Adding Alex Verdugo meant giving up Greg Weissert (11), Richard Fitts (12) and Nicholas Judice (13).

Michael King (14), Drew Thorpe (15), Randy Vásquez (16) and Jhony Brito (17) were the bulk of the package for Juan Soto.

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In this week’s Rule 5 draft, plucked were Mitch Spence (18), Matt Sauer (19) and Coleman Crow (20).

Perhaps the biggest strength in the organization has proven to be an ability to continually churn out intriguing pitching prospects whom the club helps turn into major leaguers — predominantly through trades.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” said Sam Briend, the Yankees’ senior director of pitching, who pointed at Spence (drafted by the A’s) in particular as inspiring both a feeling of pride and of loss. “He’s done everything we’ve asked. He’s worked his tail off and for him to finally get that opportunity — [prospects] feel like family at a point. You can’t not be excited for them to get a shot.

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“And you know the next wave is coming up.”

The next wave continues to rise in a Yankees system that is leveraging its most reliable pipeline for immediate major league help.

Briend’s team is excelling at maximizing prospects in different ways: helping fliers with new pitches, high-end arms reach their potential and the vast majority of pitching prospects see velocity gains.

Briend left the data-heavy, player-development center Driveline Baseball to join the Yankees in June 2019.

In the four-plus years since, he has helped create what on the outside resembles a factory — a word he disputes.

“The better word would be ‘school,’ ” Briend said over the phone on Friday. “We joke about it and call it ‘Yankee University.’ It’s just about getting these guys to learn.

“We have an ability to help guys learn who they are, what they do, how they move, how they need to move. It’s just learning.”

A “factory” implies a more regimented, one-size-fits-all nature of manufacturing.

Instead, Briend takes pride in the player-development department’s ability to work with whatever appealing traits a pitcher already possesses.

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Thorpe — “sucks to see him go, but Soto is a generational talent,” Briend said — was a second-round pick whose best weapon is a changeup.

Several Yankees prospects (including mid-round draft picks Wesneski, Waldichuk and Sears) have improved their arsenals by adopting sweepers.

Vásquez (signed for $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic) broke out when his velocity jumped.

Fitts’ go-to pitch is a four-seamer with ride.

Many Yankees prospects add cutters when they enter the system.

Upticks in velocity are the most noticeable trait in the system, but it’s not where Briend believes the organization is strongest.

“Maximizing pitch shapes — that might be our biggest separator and doing what is best for that individual,” Briend said from his home in Tampa. “Instead of like, ‘OK, we’re a four-seam fastball org — you see that a lot — or like the Mariners are a two-seam org. Everybody kind of falls into these buckets.

“But it’s: How do you move? How does it come out of your hand? Let’s shape everything around what you’re naturally doing well and then go.”

Briend credited the amateur scouting department that identifies the prospects, Cashman called “the most important” factor in the pipeline the fact that each department works in conjunction.

“Everybody’s in alignment because the connectivity between amateur scouting and development,” Cashman said Thursday. “Knowing what can be developed, what can be enhanced, what can be improved upon versus knowing to stay away from what can’t.”

When Cashman was in the middle of trade talks for Soto, Briend was among the brain trust whose input was sought.

“It’s probably Cash’s superpower, honestly,” Briend said. “Being able to take all of the information from a whole bunch of sources and being able to make the best decision.”

The Yankees were comfortable with the heavy prospect cost in the Soto swap in part because they have shown pitching prospects can generally be replaced.

Who will make up the next crop?

Current top pitching prospect Chase Hampton is “outstanding,” Briend said.

Will Warren, who finished the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, likely will be one of the first depth arms the Yankees try out.

Lower down the system, Briend singled out lefty Kyle Carr, a third-round pick this year who has yet to make his professional debut, and a few power arms who pitched in the Florida Complex League this season: 20-year-old righty Carlos Lagrange and 19-year-old lefty Henry Lalane.

“They’re both 6-8, big, young,” Briend said. “Lagrange might have sat [97 mph], touches 100. Lalane is around 94. … They’re young, really talented arms that I think people would be excited about. They’re probably under the radar.”

Depleted yet again, the Yankees will need more to pop up on the radar.