On this rainy Hawaiian morning, I figure I would go for another minor league update prior to the start of rookie ball and the draft in 2 weeks.
AAA
Colin Curtis started out hot, but has been on the DL with an ankle injury since the end of April
Jesus Montero is starting to turn it on. His near .900OPS over the past 10 games shows improvement. Would like to see more balls driven over the fence, but he is starting to hit a few doubles as well as a significant improvement in the walk department.
Eduardo Nunez continues to hit, but the peripheral department is starting to suffer. His AVG sits at .327, which is solid for a SS. But he hasnt walked in 10 games and has seen his OPS slip to .788. Regardless, with Russo and Pena in the bigs, Nunez has definitely been pegged to stay in AAA all yr, which may not be that bad of a thing for the 22 yr old.
Zach McAllister seems to be turning a corner. After an abysmal start to begin the month (7ER in 3IP), he has strung together 3 consecutive 7 inning performances. Overall, a respectable 4.33ERA in AAA and a 1.36WHIP, but the concerning thing for me is his GO/AO. He's a sinkerballer, so the BAA of .292 isnt too bad, but the GO/AO of 0.7 is.
Romulo Sanchez is starting to turn himself around. He came up to NY and had a strong outing before going back down. And now, over his past 3 starts, he's been untouchable. 20IP 3ER 9BB 24K. His control isnt great, but he is getting more swings and misses. He is starting to round into a big league option out of the pen.
Ivan Nova got a little messed up by his stint in the bigs. He went 17 days inbetween starts and it showed, only lasting 2.1IP and giving up 5ER.
Mark Melancon continues to dominate and the Yankees keep f***ing around with him. In his last 4 appearances, he's struck out 13 in 5.2IP without allowing a run. Might be time to give him a chance and send down Logan, since Logan has no future and this kid looks to have a good one
AA
Austin Romine is killing the ball. .323/.386/.512 line is solid for the first time AA player. Romine continues to show that he has a big league future as a solid all around catching prospect.
David Adams also was killing the ball, although an injury 2 days ago looks like he might be missing some time due to an ankle injury. His .900OPS, 15 doubles, and 18 walks leads the team
Brandon Laird is also swinging the stick very well in AA. Laird smacked his team leading 8th homer today, which brought his BA up to .293 and OPS to .842.
Losing Jeremy Bleich hurts this team, as he looks to be having shoulder surgery.
Wilkin de la Rosa, a converted starter to reliever has been absolutely terrible. He looked like a future lefty reliever for the big club, but his conversion hasnt been smoothe.
David Phelps is jumping up the Yankee prospect sheet, albeit had a rought game today. He sits at 3-0, 2.59ERA and a WHIP under 1 after 8 starts.
DJ Mitchell continues to be lackluster in AA, with an ERA north of 5 and a WHIP north of 1.5. The sinkerballer continues to keep the ball in the yard (only 1 homer) and continues to get grounders (2.07GO/AO), but he continues to struggle with command.
A+
Well, we lost Abraham Almonte for the season after shoulder surgery.
Corban Joseph continues to swing the bat well, with a .296BA and .764OPS in a pretty tough offensive conference.
The rest of the offense has been non-existant. Bradley Suttle has been bad and Neil Medchill has been incredibly bad.
The pitching has been solid. Adam Warren continues to dominate. A sub 2ERA and a 1.12WHIP have him leading the staff. He looks primed to be promoted with Bleich down due to injury.
Hector Noesi got promoted last week after putting up 53K in 43IP and a sub 1WHIP
Andrew Brackman has started to turn it around. He's put up 16IP 13H 5ER 2BB 12K over his last 3 starts. He still remains a massive project and a likely pen candidate, but they are starting to see a healthier, more controlled pitcher
And for the sideshow, Pat Venditte continues to dominate. WHIP under 1, 29K in 23IP as well.
A
Charleston got a real prospect this past week with JR Murphy being promoted. He's 8 for 24 in his first 6 games.
Zoilo Almonte continues to hit. His OPS of .833 has been a nice continuation of his progress from last season's impressive SI season
Luke Murton is probably the best hitter on the team, although he is probably more of a filler prospect. He leads the team with 6 homers and an .839OPS
DeAngelo Mack fell off the map.
Jimmy Paredes and Robert Lyerly are starting to swing the bat a bit better, but both are still projects
Graham Stoneburner got promoted after dominating A ball and has started off okay with a 1.1WHIP, but his 5+ERA and 6BB in 10IP could be improved upon
Jose Ramirez continues to dominate. WHIP right around 1, ERA in the mid 2's and about a K per inning
Kelvin Perez is about ready for a promotion. 2.59ERA and a 1.19WHIP for the 24 yr old, probably time to see him pitch in the FSL.
Sean Black seems to be turning it around after being bombed through April. His overall numbers still suck, but he should turn in a pretty good yr should his improvements continue
On the injury front....
George Kontos (Tommy John) is throwing off flat ground. He should be ready for instructs after the season and be ready for AAA action again for 2011.
Manny Banuelos (appendectomy) is still about a week away from playing in Tampa
Dellin Betances (Tommy John) is pitching in extended and should be seen in a short season game by season's end.