Here’s a notable item that we missed yesterday.
Baseball America released its Top 100 Prospects List and the Yankees were represented by their two young backstops, Jesus Montero (4) and Austin Romine (86). Atlanta’s Jason Heyward topped the list (no surprise there), while a few former Yankees in Arodys Vizcaino (69) and Austin Jackson (76) were also featured. According to BA’s J.J. Cooper, the group is based on what a player’s “ultimate major league ceiling is, weighed against the likelihood that he will reach that ceiling.” The Yankees weren’t as well-represented as the Red Sox, who had four players on the list, but they weren’t the least-represented either (the Cardinals and the D-backs had one apiece).
Photo by Jim Donten
Here’s a quick nightcap for you:
BA GIVES A-JAX PROPS
Baseball America has named Austin Jackson the 7th best International League prospect in the game (the list features the top-20 IL prospects). The only other position players listed before him were Matt Wieters and Andrew McCutchen, which speaks volumes about Jackson’s talent (he’s rated higher than Cleveland’s Matt LaPorta, as well). That’s another big honor for the Yankees’ young outfielder.
BRONX BOUND: TOWERS AND PETERSON?
Kevin Towers was released by the San Diego Padres earlier this month. Prior to the release, Towers had been the Padres’ GM for 14 years. While there are many organizations that have expressed an interest in Towers since his firing, Buster Olney notes that the Yankees may be the best destination for him. Cashman and Towers are longtime friends and Towers could serve as a talent “evaluator” for Cashman, assisting him with pitching decisions, trade deadline ideas, etc. Olney claims that the odds are “excellent” for Towers to end up working with the Yankees, which would be a good thing for the organization. His expertise would certainly strengthen the team’s scouting system by a significant margin.
Also, while we’re addressing matters of team personnel, according to Jon Heyman, pitching aficionado Rick Peterson, who was fired by the Mets along with Willie Randolph last June, “might have a chance” to become a “pitching coordinator” for the Yankees. Peterson lives in New Jersey and recently offered his take, via video, on the Yankees’ postseason pitching staff for 3P Sports.
RED SOX FAN WITH ALS
Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe provides us with this gem about 50-year old Paul Szantyr, a lifelong Red Sox fan who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Definitely check it out. It’s a great read.
(props to RAB)
John Manuel over at BA compiled a list of “untouchable” prospects, players who are too valuable to their current clubs to be included in a deal. Jesus Montero made the list:
• Jesus Montero, c/dh, Yankees
Tapioca download Scouts who cover the Yankees organization are fond of saying the team over-values its own prospects, but the scouting consensus is that Montero is the real deal. He has premium raw power and pure hitting ability to go with it. If he can catch, he could have a Mike Piazza-esque career. More than likely, he’s New York’s future DH, and the Yankees’ asking price for him is prohibitive.
How good a hitter is Montero right now, as one of the youngest players in AA? Jim Callis had this to say:
Doug (NYC)
Based solely on his bat, how soon could Jesus Montero hold his own in the majors? What do you think his “slashline” would look like if he were promoted today?Jim Callis (2:22 PM)
He could probably hold his own in the majors offensively right now, hit around .250 with some power.
Wow. That is fairly high praise from a guy who is not quick to throw hyperbolic statements out there. Now the question is, should Montero be untouchable? This what our own Steve S. had to say last week
, riffing off an excellent BTB article on prospect valuation that I encourage you to check out:
download Halo Wars So according to his player valuation models, Jesus Montero ALONE would be overpaying Roy Halladay’s present market value to a team by approximately DOUBLE. This goes a long way toward explaining why players tend to go for far less than the rumors that get floated in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline.
Basically, sending Montero to the Jays for Halladay would be overpaying. While I am loathe to call any prospect untouchable, trading Montero would only make sense if you were getting a young superstar in return. Those are the kinds of players that rarely hit the trade market, suggesting that Montero may in practice actually be untouchable.
What do you think? Should Jesus Montero be untouchable?
Baseball America has evaluated the top 20 rookies this season (thus far) and our boy Brett Gardner is featured at number 9.
Here’s what BA had to say about Gardner’s strong season:
Singles hitters have value, too, especially when they have quick bats, a discerning eye and explosive acceleration and speed. Gardner is one reason for the Yankees’ strong offensive showing in the first half, when they led the AL in runs—with an assist from the new Yankee Stadium. Gardner hit just three home runs in 94 Triple-A games last season, but—before you ask—he has hit two of his three homers this season on the road. On the other side of the ball, Gardner’s plus glove has helped energize an aging, slowing defensive unit.
Treasure Seekers: Tibet’s Hidden Kingdom The Bucket List release
Gardner’s speed and defense have been phenomenal assets this year. In fact, according to Bill James’ Speed Score, Brett Gardner is the fastest player in the game (with a mininum of 210 plate appearances). Fangraphs uses a 4-component version of Speed Score,
which, according to David Appelman, “is an average of Stolen Base Percentage, Frequency of Stolen Base Attempts, Percentage of Triples, and Runs Scored Percentage.” Gardner’s Speed Score is 8.6 (the range is 0-10)—the highest in baseball. Only Michael Bourn, the NL leader in SB’s, comes close to Gardner with a score of 8.4 (for fun, Jacoby Ellsbury’s score is 7.3). This speaks volumes about Gardner’s ability to swipe bags, stretch hits and score runs.
Furthermore, one cannot forget Gardner’s defensive prowess. Though his arm may be overrated in center, his range is superb and his UZR/150—20.1—definitely demonstrates that (Franklin Gutierrez and Colby Rasmus are the only CF’s with better ratings per 150). If his numbers are maintained, Gardner will ultimately emerge as one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball and possibly the best defensive CF in the AL East (B.J. Upton is waiting in the winds to take that title). So, not only can Gardner score runs, but he can save them, too.
Plus, his offense has been extremely valuable. His .347 wOBA is second only to Adam Jones in the AL East (for CF’s) and, last but not least, if you believe in being “clutch,” Gardner he has been one of the better clutch hitters on the team
. There’s not much Gardner hasn’t done for the Yankees this season. In sum, Gardner definitely earned his spot on Baseball America’s list. Now all he has to do is keep it up for the rest of the season, which is easier said than done. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 move
