Yankee Minor League notes

[jacksonianmarch]

So instructs have started and a few happenings seem to be going on with the demotions of a few players.

 

First of all, the guys who are coming stateside seem to be the following...

 

Gary Sanchez, Fernando Perez, Damien Taveras, and Eladio Moronta are now in camp.

 

Sanchez was the big fish from last yrs INTL FA period who will be slotting into the starting catching role in the GCL. Fernando Perez was previously Damian Arredondo, who was signed, but then voided and suspended for identity fraud. He was re-instated in January and quickly signed. He is really 18 or 19 by now and apparently runs a 6.3 60 yd dash, which is incredible. He'll be a starting infielder for the GCL team as well. Taveras is a DSL holdover who just mashed last yr at the catchers position. Reports say that he has been killing the ball this spring in the Dominican, and he has a real chance of platooning with JR Murphy in SI or with Sanchez in the GCL. And Eladio Moronta is a 20 yr old that we signed in November. He was coming off a suspension as well for lying about his age and signed for a 570K bonus. He is being compared to Raul Mondesi, a guy with a big bat and a bit arm. He'll probably also start in the GCL with a chance for promotion to the long season leagues should he show he can hit.

 

Other info on two pitchers that the yankees have their eyes on. One is Carlos Mattias, a hard throwing latin pitcher who was initially signed by Boston, but got suspended for lying about his age. He's short statured (5'11") and presumed to be 18 or 19, but throws upwards of 99mph. He is expected to receive a 7 figure bonus and looks like the Yankees are the frontrunners at this time.

 

The other is Rafael Depaula, the tall, slender dominican pitcher who was suspended for lying about his age. He's back on the market now and has been squarely in the sights of the yankees. He tops out in the high 90s and has a plus potential curve already. Sounds like he'll be another 7 figure bonus guy. He has a workout planned with the yankees on the 23rd which could rapidly turn into a contract

 

Other notes...Christian Garcia is looking healthy and strong after another injury plagued yr. Colin Curtis is just mashing in big league camp and with his strong AFL season, he might be putting himself back onto the prospect map. Slade Heathcott is surprising a lot of people in camp with his advanced bat and is quickly looking like a lock to being in the long season leagues. And of note, it looks like JR Murphy is going to be in extended spring training and eventually SI for 2010. His grouping in instructs has given him away, with Kyle Higashioka in Charleston.

[jacksonianmarch]

Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, and Colin Curtis were re-assigned today. Montero went 3 for 8 with 2 doubles in his spring.

[yankees228]

Jacko, what can you tell me about Ryan Pope?

 

Only reason I ask is that, when I was in Florida last week, I was at a restaurant where the waiter told me he was very good friends with Pope.

[jacksonianmarch]

He's a guy from a small school who came out of college with promising stuff. Low 90s heat, good curve, passable change, workable slider. Kinda got pushed too quickly, saw a massive drop in velocity last yr leading to horrible numbers. Started to get the velocity back by season's end and from what I have been told, he's got his old velocity back and looks like a new pitcher this spring. He went from possibly being cut to being back in the prospect discussion. Interesting guy to keep an eye on, but my guess is he ends up a middle reliever or a back end starter in another organization

[yankees228]

He's a guy from a small school who came out of college with promising stuff. Low 90s heat' date=' good curve, passable change, workable slider. Kinda got pushed too quickly, saw a massive drop in velocity last yr leading to horrible numbers. Started to get the velocity back by season's end and from what I have been told, he's got his old velocity back and looks like a new pitcher this spring. He went from possibly being cut to being back in the prospect discussion. Interesting guy to keep an eye on, but my guess is he ends up a middle reliever or a back end starter in another organization[/quote']

 

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for.

[jacksonianmarch]

There's good and bad coming from the yankee minor league camp.

 

The Good: Jairo Heredia looks like a beast these days and seems poised to overcome his injury plagues 2009 season

 

The Bad: Alan Horne tore his rotator cuff and is due for surgery. His season, and likely his career, is done

[jacksonianmarch]

A few notes from camp...

 

Caleb Cotham tweaked his surgically repaired knee and will likely miss the first few weeks of the season. It is being billed as precautionary, which is understandable

 

David Adams, who hasnt played in a game this spring, will be ready to start the season. He's been dealing with an ailing elbow.

 

Christian Garcia has been downright filthy in the spring. He is slated to start again this season in the Trenton rotation, although IMO the pen is a better idea since he's made of glass

 

Jeremy Bleich has seen his stuff improve since he's had a few mechanical tweaks. Should be interesting to see how he bounces back from his second half slaughter in AA

 

Slade Heathcott looks like a pest in the making. He's now had a week of multi-hit games, making seasoned minor league pitchers look foolish. His biggest problem seems to be reading pitchers, as he's been picked off a few times. Regardless, he's set to slide into the starting CF role in Charleston and should be a lot of fun to watch

[jacksonianmarch]

Jesus Montero drills a double in his first AAA at bat.

[redsoxrules]

:sleep:

[jacksonianmarch]

you wont be saying that when he starts doing this in the Bronx. Which will be coming soon

[jacksonianmarch]

Also, even though he dominated minor league camp, Slade Heathcott is in extended spring training and will be starting the season in June with the SI Yankees

[BoSox21]

http://smaskerfall09.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/633492346461806528-no-one-cares.jpg

[jacksonianmarch]

btw, why do you feel the need to ruin the thread?

[BoSox21]

Ruining the thread would imply it was once good. That being said, I won't "ruin" your Yankees minor league notes thread on a Red Sox forum by dragging this spat on further. Good day, sir.

[jacksonianmarch]

Good day to you too....troll

[redsoxrules]

this is a red sox forum

 

the thread was ruined as soon as you posted it, not because of me or bosox21

[diony]

Also' date=' [b']even though he dominated minor league camp[/b], Slade Heathcott is in extended spring training and will be starting the season in June with the SI Yankees

Link?

[jacksonianmarch]

http://yankees.scout.com/2/958640.html

 

need a password

 

Also, Christian Garcia is hurt again. Seriously, the yankees screwed the pooch on this one leaving him in the rotation. He threw 5.2IP of scoreless dominance before being taken out, escorted by a trainer with 2 strikes on the hitter. No idea what it was.

[yankees228]

Thing is, you guys can talk all you want about how it's Yankees' talk on a Red Sox forum, but the talksox.com, as it is structured, encourages us to talk about the Yankees.

 

EDIT: At BS21, rsr, and anyone else who plays that card.

[jacksonianmarch]

Garcia left with tightness in his elbow. He says he thinks it's serious. Might be time to write him off, unless it's just se scar

tissue breaking up

[jacksonianmarch]

He tore his UCL again. He needs Tommy John again. I think this is it for him. What a waste of great talent

[ORS]

Thing is, you guys can talk all you want about how it's Yankees' talk on a Red Sox forum, but the talksox.com, as it is structured, encourages us to talk about the Yankees.

 

EDIT: At BS21, rsr, and anyone else who plays that card.

This sub-forum was created as a catch basin for all the Yankee related talk that was spilling into the general MLB forum a few years back. It was not created as a platform for the modern day baseball version of Joseph Goebbels.

[jacksonianmarch]

So, seeing as it was created due to a lot of the Yankee talk, then there was a need for its creation. Regardless of what it was created for, you now have enough Yankee fans here to necessitate its use.

[yankees228]

This sub-forum was created as a catch basin for all the Yankee related talk that was spilling into the general MLB forum a few years back. It was not created as a platform for the modern day baseball version of Joseph Goebbels.

 

I was here, and I understand, but it's obvious that once you create a separate forum, it's pretty clear that you're going to get all kinds of Yankees' talk (ranging from minor league players to the big league club). If the forum's administrative team didn't want that, they never should have created a sub-forum, instead they should have taken measures to limit the Yankees' talk in the general baseball forum.

 

Jacko wants to talk about the Yankees' minor leaguers in the Yankees' sub-forum. I'll say this, it says a lot about people if they are actually bothered enough by this to come into the thread and make posts that demonstrate how bothered they are.

[ORS]

I'll say this' date=' it says a lot about people if they are actually bothered enough by this to come into the thread and make posts that demonstrate how bothered they are.[/quote']

And I'm of the opinion it says even more about the person they are responding to. If you make this thread, there's likely very little comment. Jacko's a lightning rod here for a reason. His tantric ballwashing of Yankee prospects is tantamount to standing on top of the highest building with a 20' copper pole strapped to his back, and I'm confident the complaints are geared more toward a loathing of what this thread will become, a place where every 3/4 by some going nowhere scrub is met with pseudo-scouting gibberish about how awesome he will be for the Yankees in 1-3 years, than they are toward the overall thread concept.

[yankees228]

Thing is, we completely disagree about Jacko. Yeah, he has said some ridiculous things. But in reality, that's no different than most of us. He says positive things about some guys, and negative things about some guys. He has this reputation because he's a positive Yankees' fan on a Red Sox's forum, more so than someone like me, for instance.

 

Thing is, everyone just knocks Jacko's optimism on here, and they completely ignore when he's right, which is a decent amount of time. Want a huge example of this? When the Yankees were scuffling at times in April and June of last year, Jacko was very positive about this team. He was knocked by a lot of posters on this site, including yourself. But in the end, Jacko was right, and everyone who knocked him was wrong. Unfortunately these things are never noticed. Jacko is like a politician who has made a couple mistakes and miscalculations, but whenever that politician makes positive contributions, they're just completely ignored.

 

So, in this case, he wants to talk about some Yankees' prospects, some of which he'll inevitably overhype. That bothers people. That actually bothers people. I feel like this needs to be repeated a few times to sink in. Jacko wants to talk about Yankees' prospects. That bothers people. It bothers people that Jacko wants to talk about Yankees' prospects. People are bothered that Jacko wants to talk about Yankees' prospects. Maybe a couple people will read this and think to themselves, "Hey, it's pretty ridiculous that it bothers me that Jacko wants to talk about some Yankees' prospects". I won't hold my breath.

 

You want to know what's even more ridiculous? That Jacko's optimism about the Yankees' have become one of the biggest themes on this board. People have been talking for awhile on here about the declining nature of the board. You want reasons? Start there.

 

Jacko, I like this thread. While I don't take everything you say as gospel, it gives me a chance to hear about some of the up and coming Yankees' prospects, as I don't go out of my way to read about these things. Additionally, it gave me a nice opportunity to ask your opinion on someone whose friend I met in Tampa.

 

However people have a problem with these things. There are plenty of things that boggle my mind in this world. Why did John Wilkes Booth intentionally cost himself time and distance while trying to flee down South? Why did Lee Harvey Oswald corner himself in a movie theatre, and draw attention to himself by going in without paying (I'm fascinating by famous assassinations)? But lately there is one more thing that has crept into this category. Why does Jacko talking about Yankees' prospects bother people so much? It has truly become a great mystery.

[ORS]

Thing is' date=' we completely disagree about Jacko. Yeah, he has said some ridiculous things. But in reality, that's no different than most of us. He says positive things about some guys, and negative things about some guys. He has this reputation because he's a positive Yankees' fan on a Red Sox's forum, more so than someone like me, for instance. [/quote']

Yes, he says positives and negatives. The chart captures this very well, and it is the reason he rubs people the wrong way. Death, taxes, the chart, Gom trolling.....these things you can count on.

 

Thing is, everyone just knocks Jacko's optimism on here, and they completely ignore when he's right, which is a decent amount of time. Want a huge example of this? When the Yankees were scuffling at times in April and June of last year, Jacko was very positive about this team. He was knocked by a lot of posters on this site, including yourself. But in the end, Jacko was right, and everyone who knocked him was wrong. Unfortunately these things are never noticed. Jacko is like a politician who has made a couple mistakes and miscalculations, but whenever that politician makes positive contributions, they're just completely ignored.

Let me help you out here a little bit. Jacko did the same thing in '05, '06, '07....get the point. Sure, he was right in '09, but it's the same message every year. Color me unimpressed.

 

So, in this case, he wants to talk about some Yankees' prospects, some of which he'll inevitably overhype. That bothers people. That actually bothers people. I feel like this needs to be repeated a few times to sink in. Jacko wants to talk about Yankees' prospects. That bothers people. It bothers people that Jacko wants to talk about Yankees' prospects. People are bothered that Jacko wants to talk about Yankees' prospects. Maybe a couple people will read this and think to themselves, "Hey, it's pretty ridiculous that it bothers me that Jacko wants to talk about some Yankees' prospects". I won't hold my breath.

 

You want to know what's even more ridiculous? That Jacko's optimism about the Yankees' have become one of the biggest themes on this board. People have been talking for awhile on here about the declining nature of the board. You want reasons? Start there.

 

Jacko, I like this thread. While I don't take everything you say as gospel, it gives me a chance to hear about some of the up and coming Yankees' prospects, as I don't go out of my way to read about these things. Additionally, it gave me a nice opportunity to ask your opinion on someone whose friend I met in Tampa.

 

However people have a problem with these things. There are plenty of things that boggle my mind in this world. Why did John Wilkes Booth intentionally cost himself time and distance while trying to flee down South? Why did Lee Harvey Oswald corner himself in a movie theatre, and draw attention to himself by going in without paying (I'm fascinating by famous assassinations)? But lately there is one more thing that has crept into this category. Why does Jacko talking about Yankees' prospects bother people so much? It has truly become a great mystery.

There is no mystery. It's the chart.

[yankees228]

http://www.talksox.com/forum/damn-yankees/9017-crunch-has-been-waiting-blow-up-yankees.html

 

That thread is from 2007. There are similar ones from other years.

 

Anyway, this is just silly. Jacko bothers you guys. That is truly ridiculous. But hey, the board, as a whole, will continue to attack all of Jacko's posts, no matter what they say. It really is too bad.

[Dipre]

You convenientely ignore the "Red Sox pessmism" that goes along with the "Yankee optimism".

 

You don't like it when we say it, but it IS a Red Sox forum. He could refrain from making some statements that he knows will rub people the wrong way, but makes them regardless. The Ellsbury assesment today is a clear example. I personally don't root for him to go, and i don't care about his analysis of Yankee prospects etc etc etc, but the relentless negativity about the Sox as a team and as an organization is tiring.

 

Read his post about the opening day festivities at Fenway for a textbook example. They're cheesy, Pedro throwing the first pitch sucked etc etc etc. Jesus Christ.

[yankees228]

You convenientely ignore the "Red Sox pessmism" that goes along with the "Yankee optimism".

 

You don't like it when we say it, but it IS a Red Sox forum. He could refrain from making some statements that he knows will rub people the wrong way, but makes them regardless. The Ellsbury assesment today is a clear example. I personally don't root for him to go, and i don't care about his analysis of Yankee prospects etc etc etc, but the relentless negativity about the Sox as a team and as an organization is tiring.

 

Read his post about the opening day festivities at Fenway for a textbook example. They're cheesy, Pedro throwing the first pitch sucked etc etc etc. Jesus Christ.

 

Yes, he says some things that rub people the wrong way, that he probably shouldn't say. There is no denying that. But so many other people on this forum are guilty of the exact same thing. Jacko frequently credits the Red Sox, it is just always ignored because people hear what they want to hear, and everyone wants Jacko to live up to the pre-conceived notions they hold for him.