2010 Minor League Thread!

[Mecca]

He is definitely a legit prospect, unfortunately there isn't much space for him with the Yankees in the near future. He isn't good defensively, and he isn't nearly athletics enough to play a corner OF spot, so he is pretty much locked into 3B/1B/DH, which don't have many openings with the major league club.

I would say he is mostly trade bait, and his enormous power numbers will definitely draw interest. He isn't a top prospect because of his positions/defense, but his bat can hang with anybody.

Even Montero's future is up in the air, he leads his league with 10 passed balls and is throwing out about 20% of base stealers. For a while now, I've been saying that Montero will be moved off the catching position but mainly due to Austin Romine being such a complete player. That only leaves the DH spot for Montero. Ideally, I think Montero/Romine will split time at C/DH to keep both fresh while keeping their value high as players.

With the success and impact of Cervelli's defense compared to Posada's lack of defense, I don't know if people would be willing to put up with Montero's defense behind the plate...but lets not forget, he is still only 20 years old. If the Yankees are as dedicated as they seem to be to keep Montero as the catcher, then that may make Romine trade bait as well.

Can't Montero hold down the fort for the corner outfield positions?

[jack_theripper]

He is definitely a legit prospect, unfortunately there isn't much space for him with the Yankees in the near future. He isn't good defensively, and he isn't nearly athletics enough to play a corner OF spot, so he is pretty much locked into 3B/1B/DH, which don't have many openings with the major league club.

I would say he is mostly trade bait, and his enormous power numbers will definitely draw interest. He isn't a top prospect because of his positions/defense, but his bat can hang with anybody.

Even Montero's future is up in the air, he leads his league with 10 passed balls and is throwing out about 20% of base stealers. For a while now, I've been saying that Montero will be moved off the catching position but mainly due to Austin Romine being such a complete player. That only leaves the DH spot for Montero. Ideally, I think Montero/Romine will split time at C/DH to keep both fresh while keeping their value high as players.

With the success and impact of Cervelli's defense compared to Posada's lack of defense, I don't know if people would be willing to put up with Montero's defense behind the plate...but lets not forget, he is still only 20 years old. If the Yankees are as dedicated as they seem to be to keep Montero as the catcher, then that may make Romine trade bait as well.

Can't Montero hold down the fort for the corner outfield positions?

why when Swisher is an allstar candidate and Gardner is one of the MOST valuable MLB outfielders? Give Montero another full year in Scranton before calling him up. I wouldn't be surprised if he's called up next year to play backup C with Cerv as the main catcher and Posada getting most reps at DH.

Montero can catch 2 times a week, Cervelli, 4, Posada 1
Montero can DH 2 times, Posada 4 and another day for ARod, Jeter etc.

[jack_theripper]

i havent read the rest of the posts but i hope you guys aren't forgetting about jairo heredia who was arodys vizcaino before arodys vizcaino and JR Murphy, probably the best combination hitting tools and athleticism behind the dish... better than Romine.

[Ed_The_3rd]

i havent read the rest of the posts but i hope you guys aren't forgetting about jairo heredia who was arodys vizcaino before arodys vizcaino and JR Murphy, probably the best combination hitting tools and athleticism behind the dish... better than Romine.

Heredia hasn't been the same since missing all that time last season but he's still only 20 and he's made some progress over his last few starts. Doesn't have quite the prospect status that he did after his strong '08 but he certainly still bears watching.

In terms of low-minors arms worth paying attention to, I'd add Jose Ramirez (20-years-old, pitching well is his first taste of full-season ball but has stumbled in June), Graham Stoneburner (14th rounder last season, excellent, power stuff, has been absolutely brilliant in 80 IP split between Tampa and Charleston) and Manny Banuelos (undersized lefty, doesn't have great stuff but plays it up with strong command, killed it at Charleston last year and but missed almost all of April, May and June after an appendectomy). However, I think the most intriguing pitching developments this year have been the strong return of Betances and Brackman all of a sudden learning how to throw strikes.

[nykgeneralmanager]

Yeah if you go through this thread there is a lot of talk about all of those guys, the system has really rebounded well from a slow start.

[nykgeneralmanager]

The games are going on right now but some quick numbers from the past couple of days

Betances - 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K...his worst start of the season, seriously. That puts his season totals at 28 innings, 10 hits, 5 BB, 33 K, 0.64 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, hitters batting .106 off of him. At this rate he should be tested in AA by the season's end, only problem is so should the rest of the Tampa rotation and others may get the promotion first.

Banuelos - 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K...game was suspended due to rain

[thebuzzardman]

So, Murphy, Romine, Monetero, Cervelli....and Knicks can't see dealing one for Cliff Lee (not Cervelli, won't get it done, but that's 3 stud catching prospects behind Cervelli, who at the least has proven to be a more than competent 2nd catcher.

[nykgeneralmanager]

I think the only one to get traded out of that bunch would be Romine. Montero is too good, we didn't even want to trade him for Halladay. Cervelli isn't good enough, and Murphy is too unproven for the Mariners to take as a centerpiece since he has only had a few weeks down in low-A.

The Yankees may be willing to trade Romine, but who knows what else the Mariners want? What if they ask for some combination like Banuelos and Noesi, or some other combination of pitching prospects?

[Ed_The_3rd]

Put me in the "against dealing for Lee" camp. The starting pitching has been the one truly consistent part of this team and dealing for someone in the last year of their contract and who's a likely target in free agency is a poor allocation of resources.

Be happy to go to war with what's already a very strong rotation and if you're going to explore a deal, make it for someone to fill the DH slot.

[Ed_The_3rd]

Sanchez hit another HR today. .393/.470/.696...huge and obvious small sample size warning but...damn, son.

[Mecca]

Sanchez hit another HR today. .393/.470/.696...huge and obvious small sample size warning but...damn, son.

We should sell high right now. We have Romine/Montero and even Cervelli as a backup. We can use a high quality bullpen arm and a righty off the bench.

[Mecca]

Sanchez hit another HR today. .393/.470/.696...huge and obvious small sample size warning but...damn, son.

We should sell high right now. We have Romine/Montero and even Cervelli as a backup. We can use a high quality bullpen arm and a righty off the bench.

[nykgeneralmanager]

I don't think its physically possible to sell high on a player who hasn't even reached A-ball yet

[nykgeneralmanager]

Alright its been a while because of the free agency non-sense, so I'll give a little rundown of how guys are performing to date after the scare we had today of almost losing Jesus to Seattle...

My personal top 25 list:

1. Jesus Montero - .253/.329/.408, 19 doubles, 3 triples, 6 homers, 35 RBI, 32/54 BB/K. The overall numbers are still low, but he hit .283 in June and so far .286 in July with an OPS over .820 in that time. In his last 10 games he has racked up 11 walks as well.

2. Austin Romine - .281/.360/.421, 21 doubles, 6 homers, 44 RBI, 33/62 BB/K. Has had a tremendous season, but is hitting .200 in July which has brought his numbers down. He's really established himself as a top catching prospect and is a huge reason why the Yanks even considered dealing Montero.

3. Manny Banuelos - 12.1 innings, 6 hits, 6 BB, 15 K, 1.46 ERA. After recovering from an emergency appendectomy the day he was supposed to make his season debut, this has pretty much been his spring training and the Yanks are taking it slow with just 3-4 innings per start right now. He'll be let loose him and continue to impress. Should be a stud.

4. Slade Heathcott - .256/.336/.331, 4 doubles, 4 triples, 1 homer, 11 RBI, 13/33 BB/K, 7 SB. No power yet, but he has flashed all 5 tools. Got off to a hot start but is 7 of his last 39.

5. Zach McAllister - 95 innings, 110 hits, 20 BB, 57 K, 4.45 ERA. He has been really inconsistent this year and his inability to strike people out has turned him into trade bait or a back of the rotation guy, certainly doesn't deserve the #5 ranking I gave him anymore.

6. Gary Sanchez - .393/.470/.696, 5 doubles, 4 homers (2 grand slams), 20 RBI, 8/14 BB/K, 1 SB. He is putting up video game numbers and is just 17 freakin years old, even though it is in the GCL it is still mind boggling. So far, he looks absolutely legit.

7. DJ Mitchell - 88.2 innings, 90 hits, 45 BB, 60 K, 4.67 ERA. Too many walks, not enough Ks, recipe for disaster. But an incredible GO/AO ratio, maybe a shot in the bullpen down the road? I had much higher expectations before the year as you can tell by the #7 ranking.

8. Corban Joseph - .314/.384/.458, 24 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR, 46 RBI, 34/65 BB/K, 3 SB. One of my favorite hitters in the system, just a pure hitter and has been incredibly consistent since he began his career.

9. Andrew Brackman - 76 innings, 86 hits, 13 BB, 66 K, 5.09 ERA. His peripherals are really strong, although the ERA is not. He has been healthy, striking guys out, and not walking batters...to me that is all that matters and the rest will take care of itself. He has revitalized his career, hopefully he picks it up in AA though.

10. JR Murphy - .245/.278/.337, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 28 RBI, 10/34 BB/K ratio, 4 SB. Not showing much power or discipline, but I don't think anybody will worry about an 18 year old in A-ball.

11. Dellin Betances - 34 innings, 13 hits, 6 BB, 39 K, 0.53 ERA. What can be said? He is the #1 pitching prospect in this farm system as long as he remains healthy.

12. Abraham Almonte - Season ending injury a couple of weeks into the season

13. Eduardo Nunez - .304/.352/.403, 19 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, 40 RBI, 22/52 BB/K, 22 SB. Really solid year, and his defense has improved as well. No position for him in the majors with Jeter blocking him, but he can definitely be awesome trade bait.

14. Graham Stoneburner - 89 innings, 56 hits, 22 BB, 89 K, 2.43 ERA. Has put himself on the map, he will get bumped to AA eventually I hope.

15. Jose Ramirez - 81.2 innings, 72 hits, 26 BB, 72 K, 3.42 ERA. Pitching as well as expected.

16. Jairo Heredia - Since being sent down to Charleston: 47 innings, 51 hits, 13 BB, 41 K, 4.40 ERA. Has to be able to pitch in Tampa eventually, but was miserable there this season and has bounced back nicely. Wish I could still have high hopes for him but I just don't see it.

17. David Adams - .309/.393/.507, 15 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, 32 RBI, 18 BB/31 K, 5 SB. An awesome year so far, but he is probably just trade bait since he obviously isn't passing Cano anytime soon.

18. Kelvin De Leon - .256/.318/.397, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 15 RBI, 7/23 BB/K. Had a terrible start, but .333 in his last 10 games. The strikeouts are very disturbing though.

19. Jeremy Bleich - Injured since May

20. Ivan Nova - 97.2 innings, 94 hits, 36 BB, 73 K, 3.04 ERA. Real solid pitcher having a solid year, I think he'll always be one of those guys who is first in line to replace an injured starter. There is a chance he can compete for a rotation spot next year if Andy/Javy both leave.

21. Christian Garcia - Umm, yeah...

22. Eduardo Sosa - .316/.381/.461, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 9 RBI, 8/17 BB/K, 6 SB. Showing all the tools, but too many Ks.

23. Wilkins De La Rosa - 48.2 innings, 52 hits, 29 BB, 34 K, 5.36 ERA. Has been starting recently and pitching much better, but if he has any future in the majors it is still probably just out of the bullpen.

24. Brad Suttle - .246/.309/.342, 16 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 40 RBI, 28/79 BB/K, 6 SB. Not enough power, too many strikeouts, 24 years old in high-A...meh.

25. George Kontos - 12.2 innings, 9 hits, 3 BB, 8 K...so glad to see him come back


Two guys I didn't have in my top 25 but deserve plenty of recognition...
Hector Noesi - 105 innings, 83 hits, 17 BB, 108 K, 2.14 ERA. Hasn't missed a beat since being promoted to AA, in fact he has gotten better.

Brandon Laird - .281/.340/.515, 18 doubles, 3 triples, 19 homers, 81 RBI, 29/69 BB/K. He has been the best power hitter in the minor leagues this year, but no place for him in the majors as a 1B/3B

[Ed_The_3rd]

Not a bad list...I'm not totally in agreement with it, but prospect lists are so subjective that if you ask 5 people they can all have drastically different takes depending on what they value most (tools, production, age vs. level, etc). Couple of thoughts:

I think Mitchell and McAllister are a little too high (I've never been a huge ZMac fan), WDLR and Garcia should probably be on the outside looking in and Laird and Noesi deserve to not just be top-25 but probably top 15. Neither are great bets to be impact major leaguers but Laird has hit at pretty much every stop in the minors (excluding the first two months of last season) and Noesi's production combined with improved reports on his stuff should buy him some attention. I also think David Phelps, who falls in the same "great numbers, so-so stuff and projection" should get some love. I love CoJo and Stoneburner and I think they're both poised to make serious jumps when the off-season rankings come out.

Again, this stuff is all so subjective and based on opinion and personal preference but I figured I'd throw my 2-cents in.

[nykgeneralmanager]

Yeah, that was my list before the season started. I was low on Betances/Brackman, and Noesi was a complete unknown and there was still hope for Garcia. Mitchell and ZMac definitely will be outside the top 15 probably at this point.

I love seeing other people's lists and opinions, so the more the better.

[nykgeneralmanager]

Scranton had a double header...
Montero - 1 for 2, R, HR, 2 RBI, K. HR went to right field, the Scranton writer said that he has never seen a righty hit a ball that far to right field. Montero did not play in the second game.
Nunez - 2 for 6, 2 R, 2B, K
Melancon - 1 inning, 2 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, K

Laird - 0 for 4, 2 K
Brackman - 4.2 innings, 5 hits, 4 ER, 3 BB, 8 K - reportedly hit 99 on the gun, still hasn't settled into AA yet

Joseph - 1 for 6, 2B, 3 K
Almonte - 2 for 4, BB, K
Warren - 5 innings, 4 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K - has given up 0 runs in 3 of his last 4 starts.

Murphy - 1 for 4, 2B, 2 RBI, K

Sosa - 3 for 4, 3 R, 2B, 2 SB (8 in 20 games)
De Leon - 2 for 3, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB

Sanchez - 1 for 2, BB, K

[HCYanks]

Sanchez hit another HR today. .393/.470/.696...huge and obvious small sample size warning but...damn, son.

We should sell high right now. We have Romine/Montero and even Cervelli as a backup. We can use a high quality bullpen arm and a righty off the bench.

A surplus in catching prospects is never a bad thing to hold on to. Besides, the odds are still against Montero sticking at catcher and Cervelli is never going to be full-time starter material.

[nykgeneralmanager]

Warren promoted to AA

[nykgeneralmanager]

Montero - 3 for 4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Nunez - 3 for 5, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI

Romine - 0 for 4, K
Laird - 0 for 4, 2 K
Brackman - 5 innings, 3 hits, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Joseph - 2 for 3, 3 R, 3B, BB

Paredes - 2 for 3, R, 2 3B, 3 RBI, BB
Murphy - 1 for 4, K
Ramirez - 3 innings, 4 hits, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Sosa - 1 for 4, 2B, 2 K
De Leon - 1 for 4, R, 2B

Sanchez - 2 for 3, R, 2B, RBI
Flores - 0 for 4, 2 K