Time to ditch the old thread and move into a new one for the 2011 season, and also time for a 2011 update one month in...
AAA
Jesus Montero continued to light it up. He missed a handful of games after a ball bounced off his cup behind the dish, but he returned rather well. He's hitting .370 thus far this season, although his patience (3BB's) and his power (IsoPower .087) are a little late to the party. Regardless, once the power starts coming back, they will be clamoring for him to come to the bigs and take over the DH spot and garner some time behind the dish
Jorge Vazquez also has been hitting well. He was being considered as a possible replacement for Chavez before they went with Pena. Vazquez is hitting .294 with 9HR, which is pretty solid
Justin Maxwell was acquired from the Nats before the season. He was a flop in the bigs, so the Yanks took a flier on him and it looks to be a good investment thus far. He leads the team with 10HRs and a .971OPS, and is second on the team with 5SBs. The AVG could use some help, though, as he's only hitting .237 and has struck out 44 times. Yikes
Adam Warren has been solid at times and awful at others. His 3.97ERA doesnt accurately portray the peripherals as his WHIP is 1.53 and he's struck out only 19 in 34IP. My guess is that he will heat up as the summer moves along
David Phelps has been the horse. Averaging over 6IP per start, he owns a 3.47ERA, a 1.18WHIP and a 30:9 K/BB ratio over 36.1IP. Wouldnt be surprised to see him in the bigs should another pitcher falter or get injured. He's looking big league ready
DJ Mitchell is a guy who keeps getting bumped for rehabbing pitchers, well he was bumped twice for Deadwood who is off the team now. His ERA of 2.82 doesnt accurately portray his peripherals either. 1.30WHIP, but a 15:12 K/BB ratio is a bit troubling for 22IP and for a guy who is known for typically good command
Hector Noesi took the train up to the bigs for a little while and it obviously affected him. Known as a guy with impeccable control, he's walked 8 batters in 13.2IP and has a WHIP near 2. He has yet to get on track
Andrew Brackman joins the list of underachieving starters. His ERA is north of 5, he's walked 17 in 26IP and has given up a hit per inning. His command issues looked to be in check last season, but through one month, they have appeared to crop up again.
Onto the pen..
George Kontos is a former highly touted starter who was pretty much the next pitcher in line for callup in 2009 when he blew out his elbow has come back on the scene as a reliever. 9K/9IP, 1.19WHIP and a 2.79ERA plus the return of a solid fastball-slider combo makes him a possible callup candidate later in the yr if one of our pen arms go down
Kevin Whelan is the last holdover from the Sheffield trade with Detroit. Well, he's always been a guy with lights out stuff who cannot find the plate. This yr, as the SWB closer, he is finding the plate. 16K in 14.2IP, 1.23ERA, 0.75WHIP and only 4 walks in those innings. He has found it, and the question is going to be how long does he stay in AAA.
AA
Austin Romine has shown a resurgence of late. He's hitting .287 with 3HR, tied for the team lead with 17RBI and has also showed an improve eye (10 walks). Once Montero moves up, this kid is ready to be promoted to AAA
Corban Joseph shook off a rusty start to get back to productivity. .281/.352/.406 is a respectable line for a guy who couldnt hit for the first 2 weeks of the season. The biggest improvement thus far, though, has been his D. If he can continue to play solid D, then he might stick in the IF
Bradley Suttle has also been hot of late. He's tied for the team lead with 3HR and 17RBI, but he also leads the team with 9 doubles and a .495SLG. He's also looking very comfortable at the hot corner. He is also in line for a callup and finally seems healthy after missing 1.5yrs due to a labrum issue and complications from diabetes
Melky Mesa, Jose Pirela, and Cody Johnson were guys the Yanks were hoping would be able to prove themselves in AA. Well, all three have been collosal failures thus far. Mesa is hitting .139 and has struck out almost 40% of the time. Pirela is hitting .161 with a sub .500 OPS and has made 10 errors already. Cody Johnson has struck out more than half the time and has only smacked 3 homers.
Shaeffer Hall is a guy who just doesnt go away. Craftly lefty who tops out in the 88-90mph range, he's once again proven to be solid. Only 3 walks in 37IP, and the owner of a solid 1.08WHIP and 2.92ERA, he's been an anchor on the staff
Manny Banuelos was lost for a little while with a family issue, then some blister issues. His command has yet to come around as he's walked 11 in 21IP, but they are being very cautious with him, letting him go on average, 4IP per appearance. They will start to let him loose a little more this month
Graham Stoneburner started off the yr well (1.69ERA, 1.19WHIP) but is on the shelf for an indeterminate amount of time right now.
Dellin Betances also missed time with a blister issue, but he's been lights out. 1.38ERA, 11:2 K:BB ratio, 1.00WHIP and only 2 walks in 13IP. If he keeps pitching like that, he wont be in AA for long
Also, the sideshow looks to be coming to a close. Pat Venditte, the switch pitcher has been smoked thus far this yr. 1.84WHIP and an ERA north of 6. The only bright side is that he is still striking out a batter per inning.
A+
Luke Murton is having a solid season, hitting .306 with 2 homers.
Robert Lyerly is also hitting well, with a .297AVG, although the walks arent there for a corner IFer
Other than that, their offense has been completely forgettable. Zoilo Almonte and Kyle Higashioka are hitting in the .210 range with little or no poer. Abraham Almonte has been in a ridiculous slump coming off a labrum tear that cost him 2010.
Brett Marshall can really be described in 2 starts. In start #1 and #4, he allowed a combined 14ER, 12H, 3BB in 5.2IP. In the other 4 starts, he's had this line: 26.1IP 24H 10ER 9BB 25K (1.25WHIP 3.41ERA). He is in his first full yr back since TJS, so he is also dealing with a little dead arm, but he's been solid over his last 3 starts and should see the ERA drift downward
Sean Black has been awful of late. He threw 3 very solid outings to start the yr, then his last 3 outings have seen him allow 16ER in 15IP. He struggled out of the gate last yr before becoming lights out late, we'll see if the recent run of suck becomes a trend
Jose Ramirez has been terrible. 22ER in 24.1IP. The only good thing is, he has 25Ks in those innings, but the .337BAA cannot last. He has lights out stuff, but if he cannot locate to the corners, then he isnt gonna make it. He's only 21, so they have time
Ryan Flannery has been lights out, 11 scoreless innings to start the yr.
A
Slade Heathcott has been money this yr. .340/.423/.566 with 3HR, 3SBs, and 11 doubles. The bad is that he has struck out 28 times in 106ABs, although he is slowing down of late
JR Murphy is also keeping up his end of the bargain for the 2009 drafteed. He's hitting .318/.336/.491 with 3HR and 10 doubles, but only 3BBs.
Rob Segedin, a third rounder from 2010, has started off the yr hot. .309/.385/.489 with 3HR and 11BBs. The 9 errors at 3b are a bit much, though
Eduardo Sosa missed some time early on, but he's put up a line of .301/.320/.425 with 3SB, but the 2 walks need to be improved on for this young kid
Ramon Flores has been great for a 19 yr old. .272BA needs improvement, but 24BB leads the team as does his .432OBP. He's hit only 2HRs, but he is young and the power should be coming
Kelvin DeLeon has continued his Serrano type run. 3HRs is nice for one MiLB month for a 20 yr old, but 38Ks in 95ABs is too much. He better start marking more contact, or he's gonna be high and dry
Gary Sanchez has been disappointing thus far, with a BA of .214 and an OPS under .600. He hit a HR in the opener and hasnt hit another since. We might have rushed him
Shane Greene, Michael O'Brien, and Nik Turley have all been solid. All three have put in over 5IP per start, their WHIPs are 1.22, 1.11, and 1.31 respectively and all three are at 9K/9IP or more (O'Brien has struck out 41 in 31.2IP).
Zach Nuding has been solid as well. 24K in 24IP, but 2 rough outings bookending his season thus far have his ERA at 4.50. His stuff is unquestioned, his in the zone command has been a work in progress
Danny Burawa has been dominant out of the pen. He, as well as Nuding, were selected late as relievers in 2010, but Nuding went on to the rotation. Burawa is a pen arm through and through and he's been good in his pro debut. 0.94WHIP, 2.53ERA, and 18K in 21.1IP
For the most part, the pitching from Tampa up has been disappointing. The big bats are hitting, although Sanchez has been off thus far. It's still early, but it doesnt appear to be as magical as last season, when damn near every prospect struck gold