New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects in Review
This list was originally posted December 17, 2007. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST!!! THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND OLD GRADES!!!!!!!!!
1) Joba Chamberlain, RHP, Grade A
2.63 ERA with 104/36 K/BB in 89 innings for the Yankees. Conversion to starting resulted in a sore arm, hardly unexpected...it was a risky move to do that in-season.
2) Jose Tabata, OF, Grade B+
.248/.320/.310 for Double-A Trenton, traded to Pirates. Seems stagnant as a prospect, though injuries have not helped. Turns 20 on August 12th, still very young.
3) Ian Kennedy, RHP, Grade B+
Has a composite 1.99 ERA with 49/14 K/BB in 54 innings in the minors, but 8.17 ERA with 27/26 K/BB in 40 innings in the majors. Lack of plus stuff makes it hard for him to succeed if his command isn't on.
4) Alan Horne, RHP, Grade B
5.63 ERA with 24/22 K/BB in 32 innings in Triple-A before going on the DL with a tired arm. Injury reports have been vague.
5) Austin Jackson, OF, Grade B-
.289/.361/.435 with 15 steals for Double-A Trenton. Developing nicely but I think he will need a year of Triple-A before being ready for the majors.
6) Bradley Suttle, 3B, Grade B-
.275/.339/.478 for Class A Charleston. OK performance but not as good as anticipated overall.
7) Dellin Betances, RHP, Grade B-
3.57 ERA with 105/53 K/BB in 93 innings for Charleston, 68 hits allowed. Needs better command and must prove he can stay healthy, but like the K/IP and H/IP.
8) Austin Romine, C, Grade B-
.279/.317/.403 for Charleston, not great but something to build on. Needs to improve walk rate though at least strikeouts are fairly low.
9) Jesus Montero, C, Grade C+
.319/.370/.477 with 13 homers for Charleston. Bat is coming along nicely, stock is definitely rising.
10) Dan McCutchen, RHP, Grade C+
2.55, 52/18 K/BB in 53 innings in Double-A, 3.58 with 58/11 K/BB in 70 innings in Triple-A, traded to the Pirates. A solid pitching prospect who should be a useful inning-eater if home run tendencies don't get out of control.
11) Brett Gardner, OF, Grade C+
.284/.406/.409 with 37 steals for Triple-A Scranton. Very fast, draws lots fo walks, power is unimpressive but should be above Gathright levels.
12) Damon Sublett, 2B, Grade C+
.263/.364/.375 for Class A Tampa until going on the DL in May. Capable of better if healthy, but that was also a problem in college.
13) Andrew Brackman, RHP, Grade C+
Rehabbing.
14) Jeffrey Marquez, RHP, Grade C+
4.69 ERA with 33/24 K/BB in 81 innings for Scranton, 93 hits allowed. Gets grounders but also has given up 12 homers. Not impressive.
15) George Kontos, RHP, Grade C+
3.58 ERA with 128/50 K/BB in 128 innings for Trenton, 107 hits allowed. Looks good to me. Needs to tighten his control a bit more perhaps.
16) Kevin Whelan, RHP, Grade C+
1.42 ERA with 16/8 K/BB in 13 innings for Trenton, had a 4.67 ERA with 19/14 K/BB in 17 innings for Tampa as well. Good K/IP marks but command remains spotty.
17) Frank Cervelli, C, Grade C+
Limited to just 10 games this year by a wrist injury.
18) David Robertson, RHP, Grade C+
1.39 ERA with 74/22 K/BB in 52 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Unable to replicate in the majors yet, 6.75 with 23/10 K/BB in 17 innings. K-rate remains strong in the majors, a good sign for the future.
19) Jairo Heredia, RHP, Grade C+
3.12 ERA with 86/40 K/BB in 92 innings for Charleston, 87 hits allowed. Interesting prospect making progress.
20) Zach McAllister, RHP, Grade C+
Combined 12-9, 2.30 with 103/18 K/BB in 137 innings in A-ball, 125 hits allowed. K-rate dropped in Advanced-A, but other marks remained strong. A sleeper prospect panning out this year.
Good and bad news here. Joba has been great, although hopefully the arm problem isn't a huge issue going forward; it would be most unfortunate if it was and the Yankees would have no one to blame but themselves. Injuries to and inconsistency from other prospects have been troublesome, although at least the disappointing Tabata netted some stretch-run help. He still has lots of time to improve. Some sleeper types like McAllister and Heredia have emerged. Montero looks good right now.
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Joba's Conversion
it was a risky move to do that in-season.
Why? Pitchers get hurt all the time, whether you coddle them or abuse them, no one knows the “secret”, if there is any, to keeping these guys healthy. Why do you think the blame is on Yankee management for Joba getting hurt?
by njasdjdh on Aug 12, 2008 9:37 AM EDT 0 recs
+1
It’s really convenient to use the conversion as the cause for Joba’s sore shoulder.
Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!
by Dewey Finn on
Aug 12, 2008 10:32 AM EDT
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+1
Hindsight is 20/20 and people tend to forget the Yankees didn’t move him from reliever to starter overnight.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
-Jonathan Swift
by King Billy Royal on
Aug 12, 2008 11:11 AM EDT
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In all fairness
A lot of people questioned the move at the time of the conversion.
But a lot of people also questioned the Yanks not starting him to begin the season in the first place
#269
by mrmetaa on
Aug 12, 2008 3:24 PM EDT
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Also
Didn’t the Dodgers do something similar with Billingsley last year? I don’t seem to remember anyone complaining about that.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
-Jonathan Swift
by King Billy Royal on
Aug 12, 2008 11:11 AM EDT
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+1
As I recall, the Twins made a similar transition with Santana.
I’m sure there are others that I can’t think of right now.
Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!
by Dewey Finn on
Aug 12, 2008 11:42 AM EDT
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Liriano?
Also, Morrow is currently doing this for Seattle.
Formerly Uncle Charlie of Minor League Ball
by Yakker on
Aug 12, 2008 3:22 PM EDT
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Cashman was forced to change tack
Cashman was following his own plan that he thought was best when Steinbrenner pressured him to rush Joba into the rotation. Cashman should have been allowed to proceed how he and the scouts thought best. The baseball people should be making the baseball decisions.
by epconde on
Aug 12, 2008 1:20 PM EDT
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Cashman forced to change tack?
No, the Joba conversion went exactly as planned. They wanted him to get 140-150 innings total this year and that is exactly what he was on pace for prior to injury.
by njasdjdh on
Aug 12, 2008 2:12 PM EDT
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It might have been riskier to convert him in the offseason
because that would have meant that Joba’s inning total would have been a lot higher. By starting him in the bullpen, the Yankees were able to limit his innings, and prevent the increase in innings from 2007 from being too high to the point of risking injury. McAllister and Heredia certainly have impressed this season, and keep in mind Jairo is only 18.
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/
by lemonjello on Aug 12, 2008 9:52 AM EDT 0 recs
I here you on the innings totals, but I think that there was a middle road solution to the problem by doing it in the Minors. There he could have been stretched out under lower leverage innings and pitch monitoring that could have gone on for at least month. No one can know for sure why he’s having arm problems, but it is hard to proclaim that the way the Yankees did it was the only good way.
by ATLTribefan on
Aug 12, 2008 10:39 AM EDT
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Why can't you monitor his pitch count in the majors?
Is there any reason to think that they didn’t do this there? I don’t exactly know what lower leverage innings are, but I don’t understand why a minor league inning is different for these purposes than a major league inning
www.loftylantern.com
by OldProspects on
Aug 12, 2008 9:51 PM EDT
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they do
Cashman has said something along the lines of they monitor every pitch thrown in their minors games.
by number_twentyone on
Aug 12, 2008 10:46 PM EDT
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Jackson and Montero
I am really impressed at the leaps Jackson and Montero have made this season. Both are proving to be very good hitters who could be impact players in the major leagues. The Yankees may have all the money in the world to spend, but I have to admit they tend to target the right prospects.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
-Jonathan Swift
by King Billy Royal on Aug 12, 2008 11:21 AM EDT 0 recs
Montero initially behind Romine?
That’s a surprise! Can anybody really question the bat? 30 doubles! 13 shots! Montero is on his way to a 50 extra basehit season. That’s pretty awesome for a 19 year old.
Does anybody here know if Wilkins De La Rosa is Rule V eligible? He’s the best performing starting LHP in the whole farm. I’d hate to lose him now.
by BxCitizen on
Aug 12, 2008 1:03 PM EDT
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Betances
was really struggling to find the zone earlier, but has looked very strong lately.
re: Sublett, he got off to a fast start, then was injured, slumped, and seemingly disappeared. Marquez disappeared too following an injury, and no one really knows what’s up with Horne. On the positive side, Chris Garcia and Humberto Sanchez have started working their way back, and Brackman is close to seeing live batters. Vech and Cervelli are also starting to work their way back.
Why wasn’t Mark Melancon on the preseason list? It looks like he’s a top 5 org prospect right now.
As far as breakout candidates go, I’d like to nominate Phil Coke and Wilkins De La Rosa. They’ve added a little depth to a system that badly could use more lefthanders behind Chase Wright and Mike Dunn.
by number_twentyone on Aug 12, 2008 11:48 AM EDT 0 recs
The pre-season predictions look pretty good
The pre-season predictions look pretty good. We tend to over rate our prospects. Montero and Jackson are doing well, but Tabata, Kennedy, Horne have performed worse than expected. All in all a good solid prediction.
by epconde on Aug 12, 2008 1:12 PM EDT 0 recs
The kids who'll make top 100 prospects lists are
A-Jax.
Montero (the BA / OBP / Slg is better than anybody anticipated)
Betances (putting together a strong finish)
Melancon (scouts can’t ignore that degree of success)
by BxCitizen on Aug 12, 2008 4:33 PM EDT 0 recs
McAllister or Heredia have a shot
Zach’s control and ERA have been very impressive, and he is getting groundballs. His strikeout rate is the only thing that would keep him off the list IMO. Jairo has put up very solid numbers as an 18 year-old in full season ball, getting a good amount of grounders and strikeouts. I see Andrew Brackman as a possibility if he pitches well in winter ball and shows the stuff that caused him to get top 5 pick hype before his inconsistent junior year.
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/
by lemonjello on
Aug 12, 2008 4:51 PM EDT
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Forgot about Brackman
but he’s supposed to pitch in Hawaii after the season. That could be a Joba-esque debut. Or it could be a disaster. Still, he’ll be the yankee to watch in the offseason. Remember he’s on the clock with that ML contract. Brackman won’t have luxury of seasoning his stuff completely in the minors.
Heredia and McAllister are guys to watch for sure in ‘09, but i don’t think they crack the top 100. Same thing with De La Rosa. Lets just see if Betances can finish the season off in top prospect style. I’m tired of Bumgarner taking all the headlines among Sally League pitchers !
by BxCitizen on
Aug 12, 2008 6:12 PM EDT
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Probably a 3 ceiling
Gets grounders with his low-90’s sinker and can hit 94 with the 4-seamer, but doesn’t seem to have a go-to strikeout pitch that would make him a top of the rotation guy. His walk rate is also very low, showing that he has good control, and the confidence to pound the zone with his fastball.
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/
by lemonjello on
Aug 12, 2008 4:53 PM EDT
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hard to say
Something inbetween Wang or Halladay as a good result?
never the less, it seems that they would likely get something of a decent starter here.
dissapointing year for the Yankees overall though, in all levels.
What’s particularly bad about 08 so far is not just that the Yankees might not make the playoff, it’s that during the process the kids’ development aren’t comming along well at all. almost all the younger players on the Yankees have been doing bad and/or hurt.
Joba : great unitl hurt
Wang : hurt
Cano : mega regression, god
Melky : Cano x 100
IPK / Hughes : Hurt and suck
the pen have worked out a little better. though not exactly blowing the world away either.
If the Yankees went out this year because the oldies sucked that wasn’t as dissapointing, but the fact that they’re still in it because the oldies are carrying the team while the younger guys have all sucked or hurt is truely worrying
by RollingWave on
Aug 13, 2008 4:26 AM EDT
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I might be insane
But I’m a huge McAllister fan. At worst, I think he’s an innings eater in the bigs … but if the breaking ball gets better, watch out.
by toonsterwu on
Aug 16, 2008 6:04 PM EDT
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Kelvin De Leon
Is another prozi I’m excited about. I realize he’s only in rookie ball but the kid’s got skills. There was much talk about Juan Duran earlier in the year but at this point I think I’d rather have the 6’2”, 180/lb, 17 yr. old De Leon.
.291/.395/.485 w/ 7 hr’s & 7 sb …...
I heard Tim Lincecum will win 1 Cy Young & 11 Tim Lincecums. Question is, how many Cole Hamels will he win?
by the pinstripes on Aug 12, 2008 5:25 PM EDT 0 recs
Mark My words
Jairo Heredia has ace upsdie.
ProjectProspect.com - Sullivan10x@yahoo.com
by sully10x on Aug 12, 2008 6:34 PM EDT 0 recs
Kontos
At this point, is Kontos better off being used as trade bait for a rebuilding team desperate for SP (like Pitt, where he was rumored to go in the Nady/Matre deal) or does he have a future as a back-end starter with this team?
by ThomasG on Aug 12, 2008 7:41 PM EDT 0 recs
Kontos likely doesn't have a future in the Yankee rotation
as there are too many pitchers ahead of him on the depth chart, and more high ceiling guys in the lower minors. I think Kontos has the potential to be a dynamite setup man with his combo of a low-mid 90’s fastball and a nasty slider, that could allow him to rack up a lot of strikeouts. He could be trade bait for a team that is looking for near-ready pitching with some upside.
http://mvn.com/milb-yankees/
by lemonjello on
Aug 12, 2008 10:35 PM EDT
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