New York Yankees' 2014 Minor League Awards

Only a dozen games separate the New York Yankees from the culmination of a disappointing 2014 season. They remained in the wild-card hunt into the month of September, but at six games back of the second spot as of Wednesday morning, they've simply run out of rope and reinforcements.

When it comes to criticism and blame for the current state of the Bombers, no one has been immune this season—including the eyes and ears of scouting and development. The narrative, especially in 2014, tends to go like this: The Yankees' best prospects aren't strong enough to make real impacts; the front office then resorts to signing mediocre-at-best big leaguers before the deadline as a result; the additions are expensive and often fail to help.

The New York Post's Joel Sherman writes that the results of their farm "have defined underwhelming." The Daily News' Bill Madden wrote, "Ding dong, the witch is dead! Yankees fans should rejoice," after Mark Newman, the Yanks senior vice president of baseball operations since 1996, announced his retirement; Madden calls the system "feeble."

Mostly unsuccessful? Yes. But totally bereft of high-caliber talent? Not the full story.

Former under-the-radar prospects like David Phelps and Shane Greene have played tremendous roles in keeping the Yankees alive this year, while in-house relievers David Robertson, Adam Warren and Dellin Betances have excelled. And all season, we've highlighted several bright spots in the lower rungs of the organization, noting pitching and positional prospects who could still very much factor into the Yankees' future.

Just a week ago, we selected a 10-man All-Prospect team comprised of the Yankees' best minor leaguers for the 2014 season. Alongside familiar names like catcher Gary Sanchez and outfielder Aaron Judge, though, a few surprise faces earned recognition for standout performances.

That trend continues this week, as we hand out five end-of-season minor league awards, a few of which go to some under-appreciated assets. Similar to Major League Baseball's year-end categories, we'll award the organization's Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Top Reliever and Comeback Player of the Year before concluding with a "Breakout Star" category to round it out.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com unless noted otherwise. Top prospect rankings from Baseball America and MLB.com's Prospect Pipeline.

Most Valuable Player: Kyle Roller

Kyle Roller put together a phenomenal fifth season in the Yankees organization. Spending time at first base (87 games) and designated hitter (38) in 2014, the large (6'1", 250 pounds) left-handed hitter easily earned recognition as the Most Valuable Player on the farm. 

Along with a combined (AA, AAA) .300 average, Roller mashed 26 homers, 30 doubles and 74 RBI in 125 games. His outstanding 160 wRC+, via FanGraphs, was the highest among viable candidates for the award, and he led both the Trenton Thunder and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in slugging and OPS.

Drafted in the eighth round in 2010, the 26-year-old had never eclipsed .300 over a full season, and he finished at only .253 in a full year with Double-A Trenton a season ago. 

Roller adds excellent organizational depth at first base in addition to players like Greg Bird (A+, AA) and Mike Ford (A, A+).

Runners-up: OF Aaron Judge (131 G, .308, 17 HR, 24 2B, 78 RBI, 158 wRC+); 2B Rob Refsnyder (137 G, .318, 14 HR, 38 2B, 63 RBI, 146 wRC+); 1B/DH Mike Ford (105 G, .292, 13 HR, 19 2B, 56 RBI, 138 wRC+); UTIL Adonis Garcia (86 G, .319, nine HR, 45 RBI, 11 SB, 127 wRC+); UTIL Jose Pirela (130 G, .305, 10 HR, 21 2B, 11 3B, 60 RBI, 15 SB, 117 wRC+).

Cy Young: Luis Severino

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Twenty-year-old Luis Severino was certainly on the radar coming into 2014, but he'll enter 2015 at the center of everyone's. MLB.com, for instance, ranked him their No. 10 preseason Yankees prospect and bumped him to No. 1 following his year across three levels of the minors.

Between Low-A (14 GS), High-A (four GS) and Double-A (six GS), the 6'0", 195-pound flamethrower went 6-5 with a 2.46 ERA, 2.40 FIP and 1.06 WHIP. Severino struck out 127 in 113.1 innings, good for a 10.09 K/9, walked just 27 for a 2.14 BB/9 and gave up only three home runs.

Opponents hit .218 against him, with righties a combined .236 and lefties barely touching him at .197. In five of his starts, he worked six innings and gave up three or less hits. In four starts he totaled at least eight strikeouts. In his first start after a promotion to High-A Tampa, he struck out eight in 4.2 innings.

Severino's month of July was easily his best, as he went 2-0 in five starts with a 1.09 ERA, 34 strikeouts and three earned runs. He'll be 21 in February and will likely begin 2015 in Trenton, poised to become a big part of the rotation in the Bronx.

Runners-up: RHP Shane Greene (13 GS, 5-2, 4.61, 3.40 FIP, 7.7 K/9); LHP Ian Clarkin (16 GS, 4-3, 3.12, 1.253 WHIP, 9.0 K/9); LHP Nik Turley (13 GS, 5-3, 4.43, 1.600 WHIP, 6.6 K/9); LHP Manny Banuelos (25 GS, 2-3, 4.11, 1.239 WHIP, 8.3 K/9).

Top Reliever: Tyler Webb

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Tyler Webb is a big-bodied, big-time lefty reliever who made appearances and recorded saves in all three upper levels of the Yankees system. Selected in the 10th round of the 2013 draft, Webb shone in his second year of pro ball.

The 6'6", 225-pounder logged 68.2 innings over 48 games, picking up 12 saves while posting a 3.80 ERA, 2.71 FIP and 1.18 WHIP. He struck out 94 batters for a 12.32 K/9, walked 22 at a 2.88 per-nine clip and surrendered the long ball five times for a 0.66 HR/9. 

The only organizational reliever with more saves was Cesar Vargas (14), who worked 69.2 innings, picking up 11 of them at the High-A level. Webb, a former South Carolina Gamecock, recorded four saves in Tampa (A+), seven in Trenton (AA) and an additional one in Scranton (AAA), as he steadily rose through the system this summer, even earning a trip to the Eastern League All-Star Game. 

He uses a low-90s fastball that appears much better because of his deception and a still-improving breaking ball, per Baseball America (subscription required). In 28 SEC appearances during his final collegiate year, he recorded 16 saves, 52 strikeouts and 11 walks in 36 innings.

Runners-up: LHP Jacob Lindgren (19 G, 25 IP, one SV, 2.16 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 17.3 K/9); RHP Nick Rumbelow (44 G, 58.1 IP, eight SV, 2.62 ERA, 1.080 WHIP, 12.5 K/9); LHP James Pazos (46 G, 67 IP, 10 SV, 2.42 ERA, 1.134 WHIP, 10.9 K/9).

Comeback Player: Tyler Austin

Tyler Austin could be the top feel-good story of the year for the Yankees system. After going to the Yanks in the 13th round of the 2010 draft, the outfielder erupted in his first full-season year of pro ball in 2012. He hit .322/.400/.559 (161 wRC+) with 17 homers, 35 doubles, 80 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 110 games that saw him reach Double-A Trenton. 

Baseball America ranked him the No. 77 prospect in baseball following the season, as well as the Yankees' No. 4 prospect and their system's best hitter for average. 

Thumb and wrist injuries in 2013 derailed his progressions, however, as he was limited to 83 games with Trenton in which his production dropped significantly to .257/.344/.373 (110 wRC+) with six homers. Noted in the video above, you can't hit professional hitting without good hands, and Austin's simply weren't healthy. He fell off the top of a number of prospect rankings, sliding to Baseball America's No. 17 spot on the Yankees. 

But Austin, who turned 23 this month, played 105 games this season—all for Trenton—and no doubt bounced back. He finished at .275 (110 wRC+) with nine home runs, 20 doubles, five triples, 47 RBI and only 80 strikeouts.

The numbers don't sparkle, but consider that if it weren't for a hot second half, he may have permanently etched a "bust" label beneath his name. In his first three months (60 G), he hit just .254/.324/.371 (94 wRC+) with three homers and 22 RBI. But in July and August (45 G), he jumped up to .302/.353/.483 (131 wRC+) with six homers and 25 RBI.

Runners-up: OF Michael O'Neill (2013: .219/.282/.293, 0 HR, 14 RBI, nine SB; 2014: .256/.333/.384, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 42 SB); 1B/DH Mike Ford (2013: .235/.346/.374, three HR, 17 RBI; 2014: .292/.383/.458, 13 HR, 56 RBI).

Breakout Star: Rob Refsnyder

Selected in the fifth round of the 2012 draft, Rob Refsnyder exceeded most expectations and grabbed significant newfound attention in 2014, a season in which he reached Triple-A Scranton for the second half.

Missing a spot on most top-prospect rankings prior to the year (Baseball America listed him No. 29 after 2013), the 23-year-old second baseman opened scouts' and fans' eyes with a .318/.387/.497 line (146 wRC+) alongside 14 homers, 38 doubles, six triples and 63 RBI—all career highs (other than a .413 OBP in 2013).

Though his transition on defense from the outfield to second has been a work in progress, the former Arizona Wildcat has improved at every step of the minors. He hit .241 (91 wRC+) in 46 Low-A games in 2012, then .283 (144 wRC+) in 117 High-A games in 2013. He began 2014 in Double-A, where he hit .342 (159 wRC+) in 60 games, then finished in Triple-A at .300 (137 wRC+) over 77 games. 

"He's an extremely patient hitter...who recognizes spin well and knows when and how to go with a pitch," remarks Baseball America. "Refsnyder sprays line drives all over the field and has the ability to keep the head of the bat in the zone for a long time."

"He could make a case for a big league job as soon as spring training," says the Journal News' Chad Jennings.

Runners-up: OF Aaron Judge (.308/.419/.486, 17 HR, 24 2B, 78 RBI, 158 wRC+); OF Taylor Dugas (.299/.399/.390, 23 XBH, 40 RBI, 126 wRC+); OF Jake Cave (.294/.351/.414, seven HR, 28 2B, nine 3B, 42 RBI, 118 wRC+). 

Think we snubbed someone? Did one of the runners-up deserve to earn a 2014 award? Make your case and let us know in the comments.

Peter F. Richman is a Yankees Featured Columnist and Copy Editor for Bleacher Report. Follow on Twitter: Follow @Peter_F_Richman