Scranton opened its season yesterday and - sorry, folks - but there's nothing much to see.

Yesterday, amid the gaiety and hoopla of Opening Day in Allentown - (fun facts: it's the third largest city in Pennsylvania and birthplace to Lil Peep) - the Scranton Railriders launched 2025 with a loss to the always-tough IronPigs of Lehigh Valley. 

Don't worry: This is not a game write-up. 

Instead, for a brief exercise in self-torture, take a long, lingering glance at the roster to the right. Focus on each name. Do you feel lost? Do you feel tired? Wanna feel old? Consider this: Brandon Leibrandt - who started yesterday for Scranton - is the 32-year-old son of Charlie Leibrandt, who once pitched for the KC Royals.

"A veteran pitcher who understands how to pitch," summarized manager Shelley Duncan, who also might make you feel ancient.

Three active Railriders - Eric Reysaleman, Jorbit Vivas and Everson Pereira - were born in this millennium. Everybody else is side-eyeing 30, either having languished in the Yankee system, or having hooked up this winter, when they realized the franchise would be going through pitchers like Lucy devouring chocolates on a deranged assembly line. 

What you don't see is Spencer Jones, the former first-round pick, who hit .250 this spring with three HRs in Tampa, and who played 122 games last year at Double A Somerset, where he hit .259. Apparently, Jones did not make the Triple A roster. Not sure why. Would it be optimism to hope that he's got the measles? 

Whatever. Either way, Jones' absence denied Yankee fans their chance to follow a legitimate top 20 franchise prospect. 

The current Railriders are a collection of journeymen, spare parts and and third-chancers, such as Vivas and Pereira. I don't mean to demean them; either could play an important role in 2025. But they are not youngsters who generate long term hope. The franchise does have a few distant stars - George Lombard Jr. and Roderick Arias top the list - but aside from Jones, Scranton might not see any of them this summer. (And let's face it: If Jones doesn't hit in Somerset, his Triple A arrival could be delayed.)

I don't mean to be negative. But it's now been about five years since the Yankees boasted a top-rated farm system, which was Brian Cashman's original long term management strategy.  Eons ago, when Cashman assumed control, he vowed that the Yankees would build up their core from the minors and supplement through free agency. 

What a joke. What a complete and utter failure. Instead, for the last 15 years, the Yankees have been consistently hogtied by horrible contracts to aging players, and here we are, watching a Triple A team that cannot even field one major impact prospect.

And by the way, it can be done. Year after year, the Dodgers and Tampa Rays maintain some of most fruitful farm systems in MLB. The Dodgers supplement with free agents. The Rays are just too cheap.

This year, we can also beware of Boston, which is stocked to the gills with young players. 

And Spencer Jones will start - gulp - in Somerset? WTF? He had 482 ABs there last year. Four hundred eighty two. He hit 17 HRs. He's going back for year II? WTF?