Yankees minor league notes

[Cocos Disciples]

You won't get the best pitcher in baseball without Hughes. Guaranteed.

[jacksonianmarch]

You won't get the best pitcher in baseball without Hughes. Guaranteed.

 

I disagree wholeheartedly. Our minor league pitching is so deep that bundling a few together can out-shine any other offer out there. And we have the wildcard in Tabata who I would assume would be a part of any Santana deal.

[schillingouttheks]

Just remember that if Steiny takes control from Cashman...he'll do whatever it takes to get the best pitcher in baseball. Just remember that other teams don't need to settle for anything less than what they want. I'm sure they wouldn't be bothered if they had to keep the best pitcher in baseball because they didn't like an offer.

[jacksonianmarch]

Just remember that if Steiny takes control from Cashman...he'll do whatever it takes to get the best pitcher in baseball. Just remember that other teams don't need to settle for anything less than what they want. I'm sure they wouldn't be bothered if they had to keep the best pitcher in baseball because they didn't like an offer.

 

and by whatever it takes, it doesnt mean letting a major league player go. You have to remember that Hughes is a major leaguer now. Steinny hasnt always been huge on dealing his major leaguers. His minor leaguers? He'd deal the whole lot for Santana. And to be honest with you, if he dealt Betances, Tabata, Kennedy and Chamberlain for Santana, I'd be more pissed than if he got rid of Hughes.

[jacksonianmarch]

Joba 5IP 6H 9K 0BB 1ER This guy is something else.

[26 Reasons to Hate Us]

by NoMaas' Lane Meyer

Minor League Correspondent

The Yankees made a stunning group of selections in the 2007 amateur draft. Once Austin Romine was selected in the 2nd round, it was clear that the organization had taken a different tact this year. Romine was not a sexy name, nor was he well known in scouting circles. What he was, however, was relatively undervalued. Having broken his receiving hand earlier in the year, he was unable to play catcher, and converted himself to the team’s closer. The Yankees did their scouting and concluded that his rocket arm and quick release were worth the pick. They didn’t adhere to this notion of undervalue throughout, though. In fact, they managed to select a player that was valued at more than slot in almost every round after the 3rd up through the 18th. Because of this, there will be a lot of debating as to which guys are actually worth signing and which guys aren’t. At NoMaas we have counted 14 draft picks that will require more than slot money to sign, and we have ranked them according to our desire to see them signed. We will track the Fourteen of the Future on the front page right up until the August 15th signing deadline. If the Yankees can sign 10 of these guys (in addition to their at slot selections in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th) it will have been an absolutely incredible draft..

 

 

Fourteen of the Future

 

1) 1st round pick, Andrew Brackman. The nearly 7 foot righthander has shown the makings of an ace. However, he has also shown the makings of a bust. An important point here is that the Yankees already have one legitimate, ace-potential arm on the cusp of establishing himself in the majors in Phil Hughes, and another one quickly working his way up in the recently promoted Joba Chamberlain. Thus, Brackman is not a necessary compnent to validating the Yankees farm system, but instead a luxury. The track record of pitching development under Nardi Contreras has enough positive results to make us think Brackman has a very good chance to develop. He isn’t a project as much as many detractors would have you believe. His fastball can’t be tought, and he already has a filthy breaking pitch, so there is no pressing need to develop his natural stuff. It is more an issue of conditioning, helath, and mechanical repetition, and those are the things that can be worked on and permanantly corrected. Brackman is by no means a sure thing, but given the current state of the Yankees minor league pitching, he is a risk well worth taking. Additionally, if the Yankees were willing to actually select him in the draft, the conclusion has to be drawn that they are either confident in his health and/or feel that even if he needs Tommy John Surgery his talent is still too good to pass up.

 

2) 4th round pick, Brad Suttle. The Texas third baseman’s last name is incredibly appropriate for this selection, as it was the subtle hint that the Yankees were about to start selecting players that were asking for more money than the slot they would be chosen in suggested. Suttle is a switch hitter with decent-at-best defense and a very nice arm. The biggest qualm with him is that he doesn’t run well, but he’s a switch-hitter with a pure hitting tool that Baseball America rated as the best of all the college bats in the draft. He also has shown success with wood, making his projection into the professional ranks much more clear. Suttle is the kind of player that is fairly well along in his development as a hitter, showing great patience and an inate ability to make contact. If everything goes smoothly, he is the type of prospect with .300 / .400 / .475 potential within the next two years. Suttle scared off a lot teams by asking for more money than his 2007 season dictated, and since he had two more years of eligibility left, he didn’t stand to lose much if his demands weren’t met. Couple the demands with a lack of eye-popping power, and teams passed. The Yankees have a chance to bring a potential All-Star level hitter into the system, and to do so at the price of $1 million or less. This is a move that would really galvanize the 2007 draft for the organization, and because of this it is the second most important signing of the draft.

 

3) 18th round pick, Chris Carpenter. Sure, he was selected in the 18th round, but his drop was purely a factor of money, injuries, and remaining eligibility. Carpenter had Tommy John surgery in 2005 and related setbacks in 2006. He returned to the mound fully in 2007, showing mid 90s sitting velocity and average secondary pitches. However, the big knock on him has been terrible command, which is funny because anyone who knows baseball will tell you that this is what elbow problems in general, and specfically TJ, rob a pitcher of. Carpenter didn’t fully return to the mound until this spring, and even then only made six starts and threw less than 50 innings. Carpenter has the build, the velocity, and the drive to become a successful Major League pitcher. He is a chance for the Yankees to get another early round arm without having to actually use an early round pick, and an opportunity to possibly buy low on a guy that has two years of eligibility left to improve his stock and re-enter the draft. Talking him out of returning to Kent State would be a coup for the Bombers, and even if it took supplemental money, a potential bargain in the long run.

 

4) 10th round pick, Carmen Angelini. A strong commitment to college powerhouse Rice, a large pricetag, and debate about his true upside caused Angelini’s slide in the draft. The universal negative seen in Angelini is his potential to develop, not his current skills. Almost everyone agrees that the kid is smooth defensively, has range and a great arm, and can hit, with power evident. He also has speed to go along with the rest of his positive attributes, making him relatively free of weaknesses, which Carmen himself agreed on in a recent interview at Pinstripes Plus. He is very confident and is the type of kid who just loves to play baseball. Supposedly he is asking for $1 million to break his commtiment to Rice, and the Yankees would be best served to pony up the cash. Angelini is one, if not the most intriguing prospects that the Yankees selected, and his positioning as the 4th most important signing is the absolute lowest he could have been – he easily could be in the top three.

 

5) 8th round pick, Taylor Grote. Grote is a product of The Woodlands High School in Texas, the largest high school in the United States. Texas is a hotbed for football, and Grote was a two-sport star, getting recruited for football as well as baseball. Coming into the 2007 season, he was listed on most services’ top 100 prospects lists, however a relatively down year, and a dual commitment to both a JC and the University of Texas caused him to fall out of favor. Grote is a lefty batter who plays CF and has all the skills needed to be a succesful baseball player: solid size, power, speed, and instincts. The question is, do the Yankees have the ability to develop him? He’s the first truly raw player on this list, but the Yankees need a few high-ceiling, raw bats in their system. They can afford to take the chance with Grote, who would be another potential buy-low option due to a lack of performance. Our opinion at NoMaas, and it seems the Yankees share it as well, is that the talent doesn’t disapear. If it was on display once, it can be coaxed again. Grote has shown the talent, and the Yankees need to wrap him up.

 

6) 35th round pick, Greg Holle. From the Yankees own backyard, Holle was a two-sport standout at Christian Brothers High School in New York. Standing 6’8” and weighing 210 lbs, Holle throws a fastball that tops out at 92-93 mph. He also has shown immense power at the plate, but wasn’t able to perform to the level many hoped this year after injuring his back swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle. There is so much projection in this kid as a RHP that it would be crazy to let him honor his commitment to TCU. This is exactly the kind of guy the Yankees need to snap up before he has a chance to put himself out of their reach in the 2010 draft. Signing him would show a willingness to start picking off potential studs before anyone else is able to. To the Yankees, spending a couple hundred thousand dollars on a prospect with Holle’s potential should be worth it.

 

7) 24th round pick, Greg Peavey. Peavey has been known by scouts since he was a freshman in high school. From Vancouver, Washington, he has excellent command of his pitches, and scouts describe him as being relatively polished. The problem is that he has been so good since his freshman year in high school that peple expected him to become transcendent by the time he graduated. As it stands, Peavey has Scott Boras as his advisor in addition to a commitment to nearby powerhouse, Oregon State. You can never have too many well-regarded arms in the pipelines. If Peavey is at instructs this offseason, Yankee fans should consider themselves very lucky.

 

8) 34th round pick, Drew Storen. Storen is out of Brownsurg High Scool in Idiana, just outside of Indianapolis. He has a commitment to Stanford, a place PGCrosschecker.com’s Patrick Ebert called one of the toughest schools to break a high school kid from. Storen has shown good control and polish to all of his offerings (90ish fastball, slider, changeup) and there is certainly room to improve his velocity. He has the potential to be a Tyler Clippard type, and possibly more if he can add a few MPH onto his fastball. The Yankees need to offer Storen enough money to break him from going to Palo Alto, although it shouldn’t be as much as many think necessary seeing as he is almost two years older than other HS seniors. At nearly 20 years old and with a chance to go to a premiere organization, he should be able to be talked out of his commitment, and the Yankees could end up with a fairly refined RHP.

 

9) 6th round pick, Richard Weems. Another athletic, strong-armed, lefthanded bat on whom the Yankees very clearly did their due diligence, Weems made it clear that he was seeking early-round money in order to break his commitment to Alabama. Currently a catcher with a arm that grades a 65 on the 20-80 scale according to Baseball America, Weems may not be able to stick at the position. This may not be bad, however, considering he is seen as being a sound athlete. As mentioned earlier, the weakness of developing bats in the farm system will start affecting the Yankees shortly, and signing a talent like Weems would be a solid way to start addressing that. His father told reporters that the Yankees had already been in contact and given the family a plan for his son, so it is pretty obvious that they are being aggressive. Hopefully it is enough to lure him to the GCL.

 

10) 9th round pick, Austin Krum. Krum was presumed by many to have gone in the first 5 or so rounds, but when he didn’t the Yankees took the Dallas Baptist CF despite knowing his bonus demands exceeded slot at that point. Krum is another all around athlete who wasn’t more highly regarded because he didn’t show a single, dominant offensive skill. This seems to be a running theme with the hitters the Yankees selected this year, and could suggest a movement to get true, patient hitters, who are still athletic, into the system rather than raw “run and jumpers.” That he fell to the 9th round was fortunate. Now it’s a matter of getting him to Staten Island.

 

11) 17th round pick, Ryan Wehrle. From a sheer human interest standpoint, this is the most intriguing pick the Yankees made. Wherle was a stud shortstop at Nebraska just two years ago, hitting .367 while showing great gap power, good speed, and terrific instincts (14 SB, 0 CS). Being a draft-eligible soph, there were major questions about his signability, so he dropped in the 2006 draft to the 18th round and went back to Nebraska for his junior year. It turns out to have been an awful decision. Early in the Cornhuskers’ season, Wehrle was dismissed from the team for what amounted to being a complete jerk. Being overweight, lollygagging, and general indifference led to his demise. A DUI his freshman season didn’t do him any favors, either. Supposedly he is going to head to Cal State Fullerton and their bigtime baseball program if he doesn’t get the money he wants, but we think he will be fairly easily pursuaded to sign with an organization like the Yankees. Wehrle has all the talent, but all the baggage, too. Taking a shot on a guy with talent like this would only cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars at most, I mean it’s not $39.95 million or anything…

 

12) 7th round pick, Damon Sublett. A junior from perennial powerhouse Wichita State, Sublett was another pick that the Yankees scouted heavily and potentially picked up on the cheap. They drafted him as a second baseman, but he also was a pitcher for the Shockers, dominating at times with low 90’s heat and a fantastic, hard curveball. The problem for Sublett was the injury bug, though. Injuries to his back, shoulder, knee, hamstring, wrist, and a bout with mono robbed Sublett of his chance to pitch, and certainly hindered his ability to perform at his peak as a hitter. Had he been healthy, he probably would have gone in the first three rounds as he had shown good power and plate discipline. If the Yankees pay him above slot and prevent him from going back for his senior season, Sublett should be a nice player to develop.

 

13) 12th round pick, Manuul Barreda. Barreda is our favorite pick of the draft from a physical appearance standpoint. Standing no taller than 5’11” on a good day, he throws gas from the righthand side, maxing out at 96 MPH. Barreda was commited to Arizona, but the Yankees have already broken his commitment, signing Barreda this past weekend. From here on out, Barreda will be known as DF, short for Diminutive Fireballer. Who doesn’t love a smallish guy who throws mid-90s getting passed over because of his size, and eventually signing with your organization? We’re very excited about Barreda and look forward to following him in the future.

 

14) 17th round pick, Ryan Zink. A great, later round selection by Oppenheimmer. Like Chris Carpenter, Zink was another guy who had his draft stock drop because of Tommy John surgery, and he is still working his way back to total health. If he can regain the pre-surgery stuff and velocity that made him the #1 rated HS prospect coming out of Wisconsin in 2003 and a very good starter his freshman year at UIC, he could be a solid starter in the Major Leagues in a few years. At the worst he should make it to the bigs as a longman.

 

http://www.nomaas.org/14.html

[jacksonianmarch]

the Barreda pick is very interesting.