John Sickels released his top 20 Yankee prospects list today. Here are his top 10 guys, as well as his general comments on the system:
1) Jesus Montero, C, Grade A: I know that his position is up in the air, but I love this bat so much that I’m going to give him a straight Grade A. This is a Mike Piazza/Manny Ramirez type bat.
2) Austin Romine, C, Grade B: Not in Montero’s class as a hitter, but he’s not bad, should improve further, and is much better defensively.
3) Manny Banuelos, LHP, Grade B-: Borderline Grade B. Intriguing young lefty, undersized but has a very good arm and has performed quite well thus far.
4) Zach McAllister, RHP, Grade B-: Strike-throwing-ground-ball-generating-inning-gobbler with advanced pitching feel. A fifth starter, long reliever, or trade bait in New York.
5) Slade Heathcott, OF, Grade B-: Excellent tools, will have to see how his skills develop, and if he overcomes concerns about his makeup from high school.
6) Mark Melancon, RHP, Grade B-: Borderline C+. Relief prospects are hard to grade, especially if they aren’t going to get a chance to close, but I really like Melancon. Great stats in the minors, with very good stuff.
7) Gary Sanchez, C, Grade C+: Scouting reports point to enormous offensive potential, but would like to see him in game action before ranking higher.
John Murphy, C, Grade C+: Scouts like the bat a lot, but raw defensively. As with Sanchez, need to see what balance he finds between tools and skills.
9) Kelvin De Leon, OF, Grade C+: Broken record: great tools, lots of power potential, questions about plate discipline, need more data from higher levels.
10) D.J. Mitchell, RHP, Grade C+: Picks up tons of grounders, throws strikes, very athletic, needs better secondary pitches to reach his full potential.
The Yankees system is interesting to study. They have one of the best prospects in baseball in Jesus Montero, who has the offensive potential to be a superstar but no clear position. I’m confident enough in his bat to give him a straight Grade A even without a place for him to play. After Montero, things thin out quickly, but there are still a lot of interesting players here…..
Overall, this system has a lot of questions after Montero, but a large amount of upside as well. 2010 should be a fascinating campaign for Yankee farm system fans to follow.
It sounds like Sickels sees the system as a middle of the pack group with the potential to get a lot better over the next year or two. With most of the Yankees’ high ceilinged prospects in the lower levels, this seems like a fair characterization. I am a bit higher on McCallister, Heredia, and Bleich, and not yet ready to buy in on Murphy, Sanchez, and Medchill as high as John has them, but this looks like a pretty reasonable list.
What do you think about the list? Who is too high? Too low?
I’m amazed how much people are underrating McAllister after the season he had. It appears that people’s opinions have actually gotten worse after a great year. I really don’t get it.
McAllister doesn’t light up the radar guns, but he has great movement and great control. “5th starter or long reliever” is like Chad Gaudin. McAllister can pitch 200 innings in the majors. EJ Fagan(Quote)
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Steve S. Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 7:19 pm
He’s a sinkerballer who doesn’t throw as hard as Wang did. His upside is Derek Lowe, his downside is Sidney Ponson. In discussing a prospect that’s a fairly narrow range, but the safe thing to say is #5 starter. It just means he doesn’t blow guys away and MLB hitters should have more success off of him. It’s really not a knock, just a conservative assessment of him.
Could be wrong, we’ll see. Maybe this year. Steve S.(Quote)
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I dont get why people are so much in love with radar guns either, McAllister has performed at every level he has been at, what more can he do Kareem(Quote)
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Steve S. Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I agree, it’s just a lazy way of assessing a pitcher. We’ve all seen guys that throw hard who suck and guys who throw in the high 80s do well. But ‘stuff’ is one category and ‘pitchability’ is another. Steve S.(Quote)
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Betances didn’t even rate an honorable mention, nor Christian Parker; I understand their not cracking the 20 because of injuries but when healthy their arms are as good as any in the org. Nova certainly deserved to be higher, he’s a lot closer to the bigs than a lot of the talent on that list and while his numbers at SWB weren’t mind-boggling he did progress two levels in one season and had a nice winter. I’m comfortable with Medchill there, especially if he’s going to start the season in Tampa. He may not have the sky-high ceiling, but that power came out of nowhere so it’s possible it was simply slow to develop. YankeeGrunt(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Yeah, Nova was low as well. I have a post touching on Betances tomorrow. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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Steve S. Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
That reinforcement surgery is interesting. It’s what Mo had way back when, and Sheets had last year. Guys can come back stronger and better after that procedure. Steve S.(Quote)
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The thing about the Yankee system, IMO, is that although lower then other systems currently, the Yankees have numerous guys that could be banging on “Top Prospect Status” by next year. I remember last year the experts were saying that same thing, and then at the end a few had very good success, and their system was rated much higher. Now after their deals, the system is in a similar situation. I remember Keith Law in one of his chats saying last year something along the lines of Arodys possibly being one of his darkhorses to jump to his top 100 list. I believe others like Murphy (who I believe will become a corner OF), Betances, Brackman, etc… will have very strong seasons.
I totally disagreed with Sickels and his stance on Brackman. You CANNOT give up on a 2 sport athlete with minimal college and professional experience, coming off a major surgery as well as being extremely tall after one bad season. He started strong, finished strong, and stayed healthy. He needs another year + until he is moved to the pen. Jay(Quote)
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His assessment of Gary Sanchez really caught my eye. I know the Yanks liked him (enough to give him a 2.5 mil bonus) but I had no idea the ceiling on his bat was so high. In any case, as Sickels said it means nothing until he sees game action, but the Yanks have done well scouting IFAs that can hit in recent years. You figure they know what they’re doing. Steve S.(Quote)
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YankeeGrunt Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I think Sickels’ esteem of Sanchez has everything to do with what the Yankees paid him. There is little or no game film of the kid, and if there is Sickels probably hasn’t watched much of it, and nothing other than a few contradictory scouting reports to address his potential. To me Sickels is trusting that the pricetag is a reflection of good scouts’ esteem of the kid. YankeeGrunt(Quote)
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Personally, I have a thing for Adam Warren and I wish he was getting more love from scouts. He’s a polished college pitcher that could be here by early next year. MJ(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Agreed. I’ve heard some good things, and apparently his velocity took a step up this year. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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