New York Yankees Organization Discussion

All alskor is saying is that the top four prospects get talked about too much and as a result get over-hyped by the fans. Meanwhile, the next four Yankee prospects nobody seems to discuss for whatever reason, even though their talents dictate they should be.

He’s also right. Montero, Banuelos, Bettances, and probably Sanchez (if I’m following the general perception of the top 4 right) get quite a bit of play. Meanwhile just under that surface is another group who might be the real Yankee future worth talking about.

I might like Baneulos more than many, actually… (not clear on where the industry perception is there anymore) but I do see him as more of a 3/2 and he has lots of stuff to work on still… kind of had a sideways year. He’s one of the better lefy pitching prospects out there but I don’t know if I buy him as a real front line guy. I’m just not a huge fan of Montero. He’s a very bad catcher, though I would probably use him there some if he was in my org. I’ve been harping on this for awhile, but he really doesn’t control the strike zone that well. Some of his walk totals were minor league pitchers being scared of his raw power. Even that - he has lots of power to spare, but he’s got a long swing and his power alley is to RCF. He’s really not my kind of hitter… though the barrel does stay in the zone a while and he should be a very productive hitter despite these issues. I’ve long felt Betances fits best as a reliever… though he should be able to start effectively, too (though never fulfilling the promise his raw stuff makes).

As for Sanchez… I’m down on him, but he is undeniably talented. I have growing concerns on his defense. He may have better defensive tools than Montero, but they might end up effectively similar in being unable to profile as full time catchers. Still growing into his tools… so too early to say, but I have some reservations there based on a couple conversations I’ve had. For that matter, he might have a worse body than Montero (thicker lower half). Similarly he’s not much of an athlete and he’s not playing anywhere but C or 1B/DH. He’s also got a pretty exaggerated load and leg kick that’s going to cause him contact problems. His swing is on the longer side as well, like Montero. Doesn’t control the strike zone well - solid BB rate, but again my concern is he’s getting pitched around a bit as he’s a power hitter and the biggest threat in his lineup. He’s striking out A LOT. 93 times in 82 games.

At this point I’m only comfortable projecting his power as a plus tool. I don’t know where he ends up defensively (or exactly how his bat profiles if he moves). I don’t know about his contact abilities or how much usable power it will leave him if he doesn’t make adjustments to decrease the amount of swing and miss in his game. I don’t put a whole lot of stock into behavioral issues with kids this age, unless they’re of the Elijah Dukes variety, but its not something I’m going to totally write off, either.

His ceiling and power make him a very intriguing prospect and he’s 3rd on my Yankees top 15 and easily on my top 100 (but looks like he’ll miss the top 50)… but he’s not really any kind of special talent in my eyes.

As a comp, Bogaerts is a SS who probably will have to move to 3B. Sanchez is a catcher who will probably have to move to 1B. Bogaerts is very athletic. Bogaerts also struck out significantly less despite skipping a few levels.

On the other hand, as TIF mentions, I think Williams, Bichette (a little), Gumbs and especially Ravel Santana are not getting the attention they deserve. For example, when we listed Santana on our top 15 a while back we heard a significant amount of negative responses to that. The guy has some pretty exciting tools.

Thanks mrkurpe! I like I said VERY high on him, so glad to get more support there! He’s not all that talked about yet, but I believe that will change quickly!!!

Similar tools, very similar performance in the NYPL at the same age (Williams was two months younger). Williams is a lot skinnier, though.

Actually, Warren and Phelps put up very similar numbers to Davis and Niemann at the same age/level.

First lets look at a comparison of a 24 year old David Phelps AAA’er in 2011 to a 24 year old Jeff Niemann AAA’er in 2007:

David Phelps: 107 IP 3.19 ERA 1.3 WHIP 9.6 H/9 0.9 HR/9 2.2 BB/9 7.5 SO/9 79.5% LOB% 3.69 FIP

Jeff Niemann: 131 IP 3.98 ERA 1.4 WHIP 9.9 H/9 0.9 HR/9 3.2 BB/9 8.5 SO/9 71.9% LOB% 3.87 FIP*

Now lets look at a comparison between a 23 year old Adam Warren AAA’er in 2011 and a 23 year old Wade Davis AAA’er in 2009

Wade Davis 158 IP 3.40 ERA 1.2 WHIP 7.9 H/9 0.8 HR/9 3.4 BB/9 7.9 SO/9 72.3% LOB% 3.83 FIP

Adam Warren 152 IP 3.60 ERA 1.3 WHIP 8.6 H/9 0.8 HR/9 3.1 BB/9 6.6 SO/9 73.5% LOB% 4.05 FIP

The full post is a FanPost over at Pinstripe Alley.