Yankee Minor League notes

[Dipre]

Yes' date=' 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.[/quote']

 

Well i can see your point, but from my side, i'll call people out on extreme bias or downright stupidity regardless of team affiliation, but i can only speak for myself.

[yankees228]

That's fair. My comments were not directed towards you, or anyone specifically. I just feel that what I've outlined is the overall view point of many of the active members on this board.

[Dipre]

That's fair. My comments were not directed towards you' date=' or anyone specifically. I just feel that what I've outlined is the overall view point of many of the active members on this board.[/quote']

 

It's a "make your bed, then lie in it" type of situation. Same goes for Gom. Changing people's perception is difficult.

[Keeper]

Jacko runs his mouth off a lot to piss off Sox fans. That's really not up for debate. That said, I do think people jump on him too much. As biased as he is, he does have moments where he tries to look at things objectively. He doesn't always succeed at being objective (who does?), but the effort is there - sometimes.

[jacksonianmarch]

Speaking of Yankee prospects, Manny Banuelos had an emergency appendectomy last night and will miss 5-6 weeks recovering from surgery.

[jacksonianmarch]

Jesus Montero hit his first AAA homer last night. He's now at an even .300 with an OPS of .814.

[jacksonianmarch]

2 week update

 

AAA

Eduardo Nunez has been on fire. After a 3 for 5 game, he is now hitting an even .370 on the young season. What has been so refreshing about his start, though, is his plate discipline. 5 walks to 3K's, which is definitely a change from a yr ago. Currently, his OPS is .964

 

Jesus Montero took a week or so to get going, but he's back in the swing of things. He hit his second homer tonight. Currently, he's hitting .295 with 2 homers, 9 RBI and 5 walks. His OPS is .867.

 

Juan Miranda keeps languishing in the minors. He it hitting .289 with 1HR and 9 walks. His OPS, as per usual, is well over .800.

 

Ivan Nova has started to turn that corner that he has shown glimpses of. Through 3 starts, he has an ERA of 2.04, which isnt that surprising. The great thing to see is the K rate. A guy blessed with incredible stuff, he never used to K people. Well, through 17IP, he has 18K's. He is on the 40 man, meaning that he will probably see some time in NY this yr

 

Zach McAllister has been just as impressive. Through 3 starts, he has an ERA under 3 and a WHIP of 1.15. He just continues to pitch very well under the radar. He also should be on the short list to come to the Bronx, although Nova undoubtedly has the better stuff

 

Mark Melancon has also had a great start to the yr. He's thrown 10.1IP through 6 games, with an ERA under 2, 9K, and a WHIP at 1.16. He is also on the short list to the Bronx.

 

AAA isnt without it's disappointments thus far. Romulo Sanchez, the fat righty who throws 99-100mph has sucked thus far as a starter. He has an ERA of 9, a WHIP of 2, and almost as many walks as IP. Once one guy from AA is ready to come up, I expect Sanchez to go back to pen work, where he could be useful

 

Colin Curtis, the OFer with all the talent and none of the production came into this season with some fanfare. After dominating the AFL, it was expected that Curtis would finally turn the corner. Well, he's been exactly what he was last yr in Trenton. A solid D OFer with an OPS under .700. His time is just about up

 

AA

 

Well, the offense has been spurred by one player for the most part. David Adams has been dominating AA. His line thus far is as follows... .370/.408/.565. In 12 games, he has 6 doubles and 1HR. Not bad for his first run at AA.

 

Austin Romine, the prize prospect at this level, has started off slowly. .250BA with no power or OBP.

 

Brandon Laird has started off about the same. He does have a homer, but that's about it. BA of .244

 

Damon Sublett, the Trenton CF (converted from 2B last yr) hasnt had a high BA, but his BB and power have showed up early. He's got a BA of .231. but the 2 homers, 1 double, and 6 walks have his OPS in the .875 range

 

The only other offensive prospect at this level, Dan Brewer, has also started slowly. He's OPS'ing under .600 as well

 

On the pitching side, Christian Garcia went down with a torn UCL and will miss the season.

 

Jeremy Bleich has been much better, even though he walked 6 batters in tonight's game. He has an ERA of 2.04, but the 11 walks in 17 innings are a concern

 

Ryan Pope has also seen a resurgence. His ERA of 4.20 isnt great, but his WHIP of 1.13 and 13K's in 15IP look pretty nice out of the get-go.

 

Wilkin de la Rosa was FINALLY converted to the pen, and he has been dominant. He's thrown 9IP, and has allowed only 5 baserunners and 1ER.

 

David Phelps has only made 1 start, 5.1IP 1ER 7K, and has been pushed back by the rain thus far.

 

Grant Duff has been dominant as well. The tall righty who regained his velocity last yr, has thrown 6IP thus far, striking out 12 and walking only 2. Might be time for a promotion

 

DJ Mitchell has started off poorly. His ERA of 4.15 is not indicative of how shaky he has been. He has 8.2IP in 2 starts. He has walked 5 and only struck out 2, and he has allowed 9 hits. Last yr, Bleich struggled at this level on promotion, so this might just be a right of passage. But nothing looks good from him thus far

 

A+

Offensively, this level has had little to write home about. Then again, the FSL is considered a pretty strong pitcher's league, so the numbers might be suppressed on the offensive side. But the brightest spot is Corban Joseph. He is hitting an even .300 on the yr with 5 doubles and a homer. That's the good. The bad is that he has struck out 15 times in 13 games and hasnt drawn a walk. Last yr was his first professional season out of HS, so his approach needs some seasoning.

 

Abraham Almonte, the 5 tool switch hitting CFer, has shown speed early with 1 triple, 3 doubles, and 5SB. But the approach has been miserable as well. He's hitting .267, but he has 14Ks to 4BBs and owns an OPS right at .700. He needs some seasoning as well.

 

Bradley Suttle has come out rusty. 16K's in 13 games is one thing, but hitting .222 with only 1 double to his name is even worse.

 

Neil Medchill, the phenom from Oklahoma State who set the NYP HR record last yr, has started slowly as well. He's batting an even .200 with only one EBH to his name. The only good thing is he has drawn 7 walks in 12 games.

 

From the pitching side, there are really only 4 solid prospects to talk about, with half of them sucking and half dominating. Starting with the good, Adam Warren (Yankee 4th rounder from last yr who jumped the SAL to Tampa) has been dominant. In 3 starts, he has thrown 17IP, and has now had 2 starts where he went 6IP and allowed only 1 hit. Overall, he has a WHIP of 0.71 and 12K's to his name. He is on the short list to a promotion

 

Hector Noesi, the dominican pitcher who finally got his breaking pitches under his control last yr, has started out hot as well. He has struck out 18 in 17IP to only 1 walk. He has an identical 1.06ERA to Warren, but has a 0.57WHIP

 

On to the bad. Andrew Brackman has only walked 1 man in 8IP thus far. But he's allowed 16 hits and has only struck out 5. He is also on the DL with an undisclosed injury. Sounds like his time in the rotation should be coming to a close

 

And Jairo Heredia, the highly touted Dominican pitcher who went down with a shoulder strain last season, was apparently looking well in ST. Well, he hasnt turned that into performance early. He has an ERA over 8 and a WHIP near 2. The good news is that he has been able to avoid the walk, but that is mostly because the hitters just arent missing.

 

On the sideshow note, Pat Venditte-switchpitcher, continues to get it done. He has now K'd 15 in 9IP, has an ERA under 3, and a WHIP of 0.54.

 

A

Zoilo Almonte had a day today, and thus far has a nice line. He's now hitting .316 with an OPS over .900. 2 homers and 7 walks in 11 games isnt too bad for the 20 yr old.

 

DeAngelo Mack, the RF from South Carolina, has started well also. 3 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR and 10 walks helped pace his OPS to .924 through 2 weeks.

 

Aside from those 2, the Riverdogs havent had much on offense. Taylor Grote, an 8th round pick from 2007, has shown glimpses with 4 doubles and 8 walks, but otherwise has been missing the ball.

 

Robert Lyerly, the Yankee 6th round pick has an OPS around .600.

 

Luke Murton, the powerful 1b who burst onto the scene in the NYP last yr has an OPS around .660.

 

Kyle Higashioka, the highly touted HS catcher drafted in 2008, has 2 homers, but is hitting under .200.

 

Jimmy Paredes, the middle infielder who was touted as a 5 tool signee has started slowly. He has 5 steals, but currently an OPS under .500.

 

And Garrison Lassiter, a late HS signee from 2008 has done nothing. He has started out 4 for 32.

 

In terms of pitching, three of the Yankee pitching prospects are in mid-season form with one struggling out of the gate. Jose Ramirez is the young Dominican righty who made Arodys Vizcaino expendable. He has struck out 15 in 10.1IP, has an ERA of 3.48 and a WHIP of 1.26.

 

Graham Stoneburner, the tall righty power pitcher from Clemson has been as advertised. He has struck out 22 in 17IP, with an ERA of 2.65 and a WHIP of 1.29.

 

Kelvin Perez is an interesting prospect. He is 24 in the SAL, so he is old for the league. But he did have TJS in 2007 which essentially put him out for all of 2007 and 2008. He came back in 2009 as a different pitcher, with more velocity and a much better slider. Thus far, he has been dominant. 0.66ERA in 13IP with 13K's and only 1 walk.

 

Onto the bad. Sean Black, the righty from Seton Hall who was highly touted out of HS but fell off a bit due to a poor college career has been a disappointment thus far. ERA over 7, WHIP fo 1.8 and 2 more walks than K's.

[jacksonianmarch]

Another week has passed, so another update!

 

AAA

Jesus Montero cooled off this past week, and his line has dropped to an unimpressive .237/.308/.407.

 

Eduardo Nunez continues to just pound the ball. His .385/.459/.523 line is best on the team, but the most impressive thing continues to be his plate discipline. 8 walks and only 4Ks in 17 games is really good.

 

Colin Curtis rode a hot week to a solid overall line. Now, his line sits at .315/.422/.426. His patience is definitely a plus aspect, but the power has still yet to come (0HRs, 6 doubles).

 

Juan Miranda also cooled off this week. He's now hitting an even .250 with an OPS in the mid .700s.

 

Ivan Nova continues to flat out dominate. His last start, 6.1IP 1ER 7K continues the trend of Nova allowing fewer hits and striking out more batters. The only concern is his location, as he has walked 7 batters in his last 2 starts

 

Zach McAllister had a rough start last time out, allowing 6ER and 10 hits in 6.1IP. Overall, his ERA sits at 4.50 and he still maintains a rather solid 2.5K/BB ratio and a pretty good 1.31WHIP despite the poor outing.

 

Mark Melancon had an uncharacteeristic week in terms of location, but still carries a nice 2.03ERA and 1.28WHIP around with him. He might need a bit more seasoning, though, to drop his runners per inning a bit.

 

AA

This team has shown a bit of an awakening on the offensive end this past week.

Austin Romine is up to .296/.367/.407, although he is still looking for his first AA homer. But the improvement in approach, with 4 walks in his past 5 games, shows some improvement

 

Brandon Laird has woken up too. He leads the team with 3 homers and 14RBI. His 6 walks are also a pleasant surprise for someone who usually doesnt take many pitches.

 

David Adams continues to dominate. He is now hitting .344 with a team leading .978OPS. He has walked 7 times, hit 2 homers, and has 7 doubles.

 

Damon Sublett has cooled a bit. His BA is coming up, but he had a week with minimal power or OBP. His OPS is down to .810

 

On the pitching side, Jeremy Bleich had another good start, 5IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 2K. The diminished walks is a good sign for a pitcher who has shown a propensity to allow them this season

 

DJ Mitchell has now strung 2 good starts together, allowing only 10 baserunners in 11IP over the span. His biggest problem continues to be location, as he has now walked 9 in 14IP.

 

Wilkin de la Rosa got touched up this past week. 3.1IP 3ER 7H and 3BB. He might need a bit more seasoning in AA than I initially thought

 

After a 10 day sabbatical due to rain, David Phelps threw 6 innings of shutout ball in his last start. He now has 13Ks in 11.2IP with only 1 walk and 7 hits. His improvement in stuff from 08 to 09 seems to have stayed around

 

A+

This lineup started picking it up a bit. Corban Joseph has started to turn it on. He walked 3 times this past week, homered, and had 3 doubles to bring his OPS over .800

 

Abraham Almonte has continued to slump. He's still walking, but he is hitting for no power at all. His OPS has now slipped under .700

 

SS prospect Jose Pirela has picked it up a bit after a dismal start. He has a 5 game hitting streak and has a poor, but improving OPS in the mid .600 range

 

Bradley Suttle had a rough 2 weeks. But he had a strong last one. He had a 7 game hitting streak snapped last night. In that time he had 2 doubles and a homer to bring his OPS to the low .600 range. Not good at all, but much better than low .500s.

 

On the pitching side, much better stuff

Adam Warren dominated again last night. He has now allowed only 3ER in 23.1IP, striking out 16 and has a WHIP under 1

 

Hector Noesi had a doozy of a start last time out. 4IP 9ER 10H is not a good way to start the week. After 3 dominating performances, that one line has completely distorted his line

 

Pat Venditte continues to dominate. He had a great week, 5IP 4H 5K and no walks or runs as he continues to be the sideshow that gets everyone out. It might be time for Trenton for this kid

 

Onto the bad. Nobody has said anything about Brackman's injury, but he is still on the DL

 

Jairo Heredia continues to get abused. His last start, he allowed 10 baserunners and 6 runs in 3IP. His shoulder may be more injured than he let on. Regardless, he might need some extended ST time to recoup whatever value he had. Something isnt right

 

A

Very interesting level. The 3 best offensive prospects tools-wise are absolutely sucking it hard. Kyle Higashioka is hitting .200. Jimmy Paredes is also hitting .200. And Garrison Lassiter is hitting under .100.

 

But they do have a few guys who are pounding the ball, starting with 3 college draftees from a yr ago.

 

Robert Lyerly has his BA up to .288 to go along with a near .400OBP

 

Luke Murton leads the team in homers (3) and is second in RBIs at 9. His near .500SLG is the drive for his .800+OPS

 

The best of them all seems to be DeAngelo Mack. He may only have a .263BA, but his .391OBP and .491SLG is good for his team leading OPS. His 12 walks and 10 RBI lead the team

 

Onto the pitchers

 

Graham Stoneburner. Remember this name. He is dominating this level. 25IP 19H 6ER 30K 6BB. He throws a dynamite mid 90s sinker and a power slider. He is just too much for this level

 

Sean Black had his first good start last time out, lasting 7.1IP allowing only 2ER on 4 hits. But the interesting thing with him is his lack of K's. He's big, he has a hard fastball and a great curve. But he has only struck out 10 batter in 21.1IP.

 

Kelvin Perez continues to be lights out nasty. ERA of 1.37, 18K in 19IP and 15 baserunners allowed in 19.2IP. He might be the first to get promoted due to his age, but he certainly deserves it

 

And last but certainly not lease, Jose Ramirez continues to dominate. In his last start, he went 7IP of 1ER ball allowing only 5 hits. He has now struck out 20 in 17.1IP and has allowed only 19 baserunners. He just turned 20, so they will probably take it slow with him, but he looks really good.

[jacksonianmarch]

Interesting game in Charleston tonight. Charleston vs the Braves A ball affiliate. Jose Ramirez vs Arodys Vizcaino. Ramirez' emergence last yr made Vizcaino a bit more expendable. Well, chalk one up for the good guys. Ramirez went 6IP allowing 3H, 0ER and striking out 9. Vizcaino was knocked out after 3 and the Riverdogs took the W.

[yankees228]

Montero is off to a very slow start.

 

.228/.299/.354

[diony]

Jesus will resurrect.

[Dipre]

Montero is off to a very slow start.

 

.228/.299/.354

 

.310/.400/.550 by the end of May. Book it.

[jacksonianmarch]

The Yankees signed tall RHP Erik Olivo out of the DPL last week. He's 19 and will jump right into DSL ball. He apparently throws 90-94mph with some pretty good offspeed offerings. The Yankee brass loved him as well. He was considered one of the top pitching arms in the DPL this yr. He signed for 300K

[jacksonianmarch]

.310/.400/.550 by the end of May. Book it.

 

2 for 5, 2 doubles today. He'll warm up.

 

One thing that is pretty encouraging is the emergence of 4 position prospects this yr and their fast starts. Austin Romine is hitting .354 with an OPS well into the .900 range. Corban Joseph is hitting .330 with an OPS in the high .800 range. Brandon Laird is showing both patience and power as evidenced by his 5 homers and much improved IsoPatience. And David Adams has picked up after a lull, to keep his AVG at .330. 3 of the 4 are doing this at AA, meaning they are primed to jump right onto the prospect map.

[Chamomile]

.310/.400/.550 by the end of May. Book it.

 

To be honest, that's not very likely. He'd have to hit over .400 the rest of this month to to match that AVG alone and his .182/.250/.364 start to May, including his 2-for-5 today isn't very encouraging.

[jacksonianmarch]

He'll end up with a BA .300 or higher with around 20 bombs by seasons end. He always starts a bit slow, just this yr is a but slower than the last 2

[Chamomile]

He'll end up with a BA .300 or higher with around 20 bombs by seasons end. He always starts a bit slow' date=' just this yr is a but slower than the last 2[/quote']

 

Jesus Montero actually got off to fast starts the last two years and then cooled off as the year went on. This is really the first time in his minor league career that he's struggled, and that's a moment that really defines prospects. That said, I agree that he has the potential to finish the year with a .300+ AVG and 20 home runs.

[jacksonianmarch]

I meant in the first few weeks. Over the past 2 seasons, his first 2-3 weeks would have him in the mid .200s somewhere with a homer or two, then he would massacre the ball from late April to the end of the yr. This yr, it is a bit late in coming

[jacksonianmarch]

and Hi Dutchy. I knew it was you from day 1, but just figured I'd wait until the rest of the board figured it out. For your next SN, you should use the letter 4 or something that signifies 4 of something, since it'll be your 4th one. It is obvious that you have access to either multiple CPUs, have a good handle on computing, or have shadow software that lets you hide or change your IP with every login

[Spudboy]

Lol.

[Chamomile]

I meant in the first few weeks. Over the past 2 seasons' date=' his first 2-3 weeks would have him in the mid .200s somewhere with a homer or two, then he would massacre the ball from late April to the end of the yr. This yr, it is a bit late in coming[/quote']

 

In 2007 he was hitting .373 with a .566 slugging percentage on April 23rd and in 2008 he was hitting .395/.452/.658 on April 20th. That's closer to the .400's than the .200's.

[jacksonianmarch]

http://www.diarioelprogreso.com/edi-060510/html/pag13-a.htm

 

Yankees sign Venezuelan catcher Rainer Coa. Apparently showed a good stick in INTL play but shows promise defensively. He'll probably start in the DSL immediately

[Chamomile]

http://www.diarioelprogreso.com/edi-060510/html/pag13-a.htm

 

Yankees sign Venezuelan catcher Rainer Coa. Apparently showed a good stick in INTL play but shows promise defensively. He'll probably start in the DSL immediately

 

Do you have any more info on him? I don't speak Spanish and I can't find much other than the fact that he's 17, he recently converted to catcher and he's got a good arm.

[jacksonianmarch]

Graham Stoneburner, a 2009 draftee out of Clemson, was promoted from Charleston to Tampa today.

 

Stoneburner has started 7 games. 39IP 24H 9ER 10BB 44K for a WHIP of 0.95 and a 2.08ERA. He's been nothing short of amazing thus far.

 

Going down is Jairo Heredia, who has absolutely fallen apart since returning from a shoulder injury

[Chamomile]

Graham Stoneburner, a 2009 draftee out of Clemson, was promoted from Charleston to Tampa today.

 

Stoneburner has started 7 games. 39IP 24H 9ER 10BB 44K for a WHIP of 0.95 and a 2.08ERA. He's been nothing short of amazing thus far.

 

Going down is Jairo Heredia, who has absolutely fallen apart since returning from a shoulder injury

 

We'll see how he does against hitters his own age.

[jacksonianmarch]

He's in his first full yr as a pro. It isnt like he's been languishing in the low levels as a veteran minor leaguer. Seriously Dutchy, you rag on us Yankee fans for being homers, but you might want to look at yourself.

 

That being said, I think his career is as a closer type. He throws 2 plus pitches and his change is pretty far off.

[Chamomile]

He's in his first full yr as a pro. It isnt like he's been languishing in the low levels as a veteran minor leaguer. Seriously Dutchy, you rag on us Yankee fans for being homers, but you might want to look at yourself.

 

That being said, I think his career is as a closer type. He throws 2 plus pitches and his change is pretty far off.

 

He's a pitcher out of college facing mostly high school guys, isn't he? It's not like I said he sucks, I just pointed out a fact. Deep breaths...

[diony]

You probably never heard of the Stoneburner until Jacko's post. Nice googling.

[Chamomile]

You probably never heard of the Stoneburner until Jacko's post. Nice googling.

 

I'm not pretending I knew about the guy. He had impressive stats so I looked him up.

[jacksonianmarch]

He's a pitcher out of college facing mostly high school guys' date=' isn't he? It's not like I said he sucks, I just pointed out a fact. Deep breaths...[/quote']

 

How is he facing mostly high school kids? Long season A ball is typically where your first yr college players start.