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Yankee Farm System On The Way Up

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 11:00 am 1 Response »
Aug 092010

Prior to this season, Baseball America ranked the Yankee farm system 22nd in baseball, as a handful of graduations and struggles from former top prospects left the team a bit thin everywhere but catcher. However, as Eric’s list shows, the system has been rejuvenated over recent months, and is now one of the better farm systems in the sport. When asked on Twitter about the Yankees’ ascension up the ranks and whether they had entered the top 10, BA editor Jim Callis said the following:

Might be. Takes a lot of time to break down all the orgs in detail, don’t do that until offseason.

This obviously is not the strongest endorsement, and it may be the case that a closer examination leaves the Yankees out of the top 10. But the fact that the question was not simply dismissed displays the growth of the Yankees system over the last four months. Players such as Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, and Manny Banuelos retained the status they achieved last year, while Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances had recovery years. Meanwhile, some players considered lesser prospects stepped up this year, as Hector Noesi, Brandon Laird, Ivan Nova, and Eduardo Nunez all bolstered their prospects status. Finally, some recent draftees and signings had big seasons or at least showed some promise, with Gary Sanchez, Slade Heathcott, David Phelps, Adam Warren, Corban Joseph, Jose Ramirez and Graham Stoneburner all popping up on the prospect radar.

The Yankee system is far from elite, and remains somewhat thin on the position player side. However, it took a major step forward this year, and should be a source of cheap talent and trade fodder for the Yankees over the next 3 to 5 years or so.

Note: Our very own Rebecca, who writes for her own site This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes as well, interviewed Jose Pena of the DSL Yankees this week. Check it out, it is a great read and worth your time.

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Minor League Notes, April 13, 2010

Posted by EJ Fagan at 11:59 pm 3 Responses »
Apr 132010

Prediction comes true: Pat Venditte is on a schedule

Three days after his last appearance, Pat Venditte pitched two innings for Tampa tonight. He struck out four and allowed one hit. While its only two appearances, I willing to bet that this is a permanent shift for Venditte. He will pitch multiple-inning appearances to a pitch count every three days. The Yankees have him on a prospect track, which means there is a very good chance that at some point we will be seeing Pat Venditte in the major leagues. Prepare for a show.

Greg Fertel at Pending Pinstripes says that we’ll really know what the Yankees think if they promote Venditte to Double-A quickly. I’m willing to go one step further. I’m positive that the Yankees, because this is how they do things in the minors, have an absolute minimum number of innings required for a relief pitcher to be promoted to the next level. They set the bar at 40 innings for starting pitchers, but it took Mark Melancon only 25 innings to get out of High-A. I’m willing to bet that Venditte, who spent time at High-A last season, will earn a promotion in the same time frame. Pitching at 2.25 innings per appearance every 3 days, that means that Venditte should be up for promotion as early as May 16th at the earliest. Don’t start clamoring for his quick promotion before that.

David Adams starts off hot

2nd baseman David Adams is hitting .500/.500/.792 on the young season, with 4 doubles and 1 home run. Its easy to forget that Adams was a 3rd round pick, and of the slight high risk / high reward variety. Adams put up a compensation-round caliber .372/.454/.522 sophomore year at UVA, but slumped to a pedestrian .286/.384/.411 in his draft-eligible junior year. Had he repeated his sophomore year, Adams would have been taken in the late supplemental first round. The Yankees noticed that his K/BB dramatically improved to 39/41 that season, and he may just have been suffering from bad luck.

Adams is a legitimate second baseman, and appears to be showing some stick. He’s being pushed very quickly through the farm system, hitting .286/.373/.443 with a fantastic 88/61 K/BB in 132 games. His only other defensive experience is at 3rd base. He’s trade bait, but could really entice a few teams. This is just a quick start to the season, but Adams could quickly become a much better prospect than fellow 3rd-round pick Brett Gardner was if he keeps it up.

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Minor Notes: Starting Pitcher Optimism

Posted by EJ Fagan at 12:40 pm 18 Responses »
May 292009

I’m back from the great island of Jamaica, for now. I’m hoping to make it out to a Scranton game this weekend to get some pictures. If anyone is going to be there, let me know.

Ivan Nova Finally Consistent

Ivan Nova has been a bit of a headache for a few years now. He has always had great stuff – a low-90s fastball with lots of movement and two strong offspeed pitches – but was unable to capitalize on it. The Padres took a flyer on him in the Rule V draft, but he failed to make the team. Now, Nova has managed to pitch 47 innings with a 3.26 ERA for Trenton.

The Yankees have steadily promoted Nova even though he was very hittable in A ball and High-A ball, because of his coming Rule V eligiblity. Finally, he has started to produce. Nova is on pace to set career highs in strikeouts, ERA, and innings pitched. Hitters are pounding the ball into the ground, and except for 2 bad starts (11 walks in 10 innings pitched), he has flashed plus control. Combine that with a perfect recent health record, and Nova could very well be major league ready as soon as next year. It is easy to underestimate what good stuff, decent control, and durabiltiy can mean for a young pitcher. If Nova keeps pitching strong, he will at the very least be added to the 40-man roster in September in advance of the Rule V draft.

Zach McAllister Unhittable

Zach McAllister passed the 40-inning mark today with a 7-inning, no-run performance last week. He has a 1.91 ERA in 47 innings for Trenton this season. McAllister hasn’t hit so much as a minor bump in the road since the beginning of the 2008 season. The 40-inning mark is significant because it is the first benchmark that the Yankees look for to consider promoting a prospect to a new minor league level.

A promotion should and ought come any start now. The Yankees are making bullpen starts at Triple-A. McAllister isn’t having any trouble with Double-A hitters. He’ll get far more valuable experience at the Triple-A level by facing experienced veterans who have spent time in the major leagues. Trenton has plenty of starting pitching lying around right now to replace him. A quickened time table is important for three reasons. First, McAllister would be a depth improvement as 7th or 8th starter for the major league team with Ian Kennedy out for an unknown amount of time. Second, his trade value would increase significantly. Third, he could become a candidate for temporary bullpen conversion come September and into the playoffs, and its plain to see that the Yankees could benefit from another setup arm down the stretch.

Jesus Montero Still Troubled Hitting As Catcher

Jesus Monter hit two more home runs last night while serving as Tampa’s designated hitter. Those shots bring his season total as a DH to .415/.456/.789 with 14 extra base hits in just 73 at bats. As a catcher, Montero is down to .265/.351/.337. The Yankees have to be asking themselves at this point if keeping Montero at the position is hurting his development. Eventually, I think you have to try to guy on in left field.

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Minor Notes: Jesus Montero Does More Stuff

Posted by EJ Fagan at 4:05 pm 10 Responses »
Apr 282009

Jesus Montero Hits Two More Out

Jesus Montero went 2 for 4 in Tampa’s early game today with two more home runs. He’s now at .371/.421/.614 on the season. At 19 years old, Montero’s start to the season has been fairly astonishing. Its always brightens up my day to think and write about Montero. He leads the league in hits while being second in home runs, third in OPS, third in batting average and second in slugging percentage. But really, this post needs pictures. Thank you Minor League Splits.

Montero’s 2007 fly ball spray chart with the Gulf Coast League Yankees:

Montero was much more pull happy in 2007. He hit .287/.367/.467 that year. He was 17 years old. The following year for Charleston, Montero’s chart looked like this:

The difference between 2007 and 2008 for Montero is that he started hitting to all fields. For an 18 year old, he showed remarkable maturity at the plate. I’m willing to bet that once we get spray chart data for Montero’s 2009 season, we’ll see more of the same.

What about defense? While numbers are largely meaningless at this point in the season, I think a few are worth nothing. Montero and Romine have alternated the catching and designated hitter duties for Tampa this season. Each have caught nine games. Take a look at how many runs have been scored while they were catching in each of the 9 games:

Montero: 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 8, 10 Average:  5.0
Romine: 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 5 Average: 1.9

While the same size is not yet statistically significant, also think about this:

Montero as a catcher: .267/.353/.367
Montero as a DH: .483/.515./.903

These are numbers that I’ll be keeping my eye on all season. If I get some time, I am going to check out how many runs Charleston pitchers allowed when Romine and Montero were each catching. These are the kinds of quantative indications that we should look for to help access his ability to play the position.

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Minor Notes: Venditte's Video Game Numbers

Posted by EJ Fagan at 4:43 pm 2 Responses »
Apr 232009

Pat Venditte Almost Perfect

Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte put up video game-like numbers for Staten Island last season. He allowed just a 0.83 ERA in 32 2/3 innings while acting as the team’s closer and making 23 saves. He struck out 42 and walked 10 in that time period, while allowing just 13(!) hits.

He’s still rolling to start the season. Venditte has thrown 6 1/3 innings in 5 games, allowing just 3 hits and no runs or walks while striking out 11. He is again acting as the team’s closer.

The Yankees don’t seem all that interested in Venditte as a true prospect, but more as a project. They have almost never used players that they regard as good prospects in a one-inning closer role. Guys that have occupied that role in the past in the low minors include Jonathan Ortiz, Jon Hovis, Eric Wordekemper, Josh Schmidt, Gerardo Casadiego, and Paul Thorp. No, you shouldn’t recognize many of those names. The Yankees prefer to schedule and stretch out their top prospects while letting those just below prospect status occupy key roles in a team’s bullpen.

What does this mean for Venditte? It probably means that they consider his talent below major league level. Weird things can happen, but we should all remember that Venditte throws 82 mph max from the left side and barely 90 from the right.

Reegie Corona Back Home

Reegie Corona almost made the Seattle Mariners this season as a utility player. Since returning, the Yankees have moved him back to 2nd base to allow Eduardo Nunez to play shortstop full time. Corona often struggled making throws at shortstop, but is considering a very good 2nd baseman.

He has had a rather odd season to date at the play. Corona is hitting .308/.438/.333 on the season with just one extra base hit. He did not get a lot of playing time during the spring with Seattle, so we might be able to chalk the lack of power up to rust. Corona has also always been a slow starter. I’ve always been a fan, and think that he will be a strong candidate to take Cody Ransom or Ramiro Pena’s spot next season.

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Minor Notes: Brackman Strong

Posted by EJ Fagan at 11:11 am 3 Responses »
Apr 212009

Andrew Brackman Goes 6, No Walks

Following two starts where he was effective, but not dominant, Brackman finally breezed through a lineup last night. He struck out 8 and walked none in 6 innings, allowing 2 earned runs. Brackman has a long way to go, but a few more starts like this could push him to Tampa fairly quickly. He’s throwing at his old velocity, and inducing plenty of ground outs, so really control is all that is left for him to accomplish. Brackman has managed to get fairly deep into each game he has played, even though I’d guess that he is on a strict pitch count, and may have stayed in for the 7th inning had rain not interuppted his start.

David Adams Starts Strong

2nd baseman David Adams is the forgotten 3rd round pick from the 2008 draft. After losing Cole and Biddle to college, Adams and Jeremy Bleich have to carry the draft class’s torch. To understand Adams, some history may be required. Here is a mini-profile.

David Adams was a star 2nd baseman for the University of Virginia. UVA’s baseball program is solid, even if their level of competition isn’t as strong as that in the midwest. Their recent notable alumni include Ryan Zimmerman and Mark Reynolds. Adams hit .369/.443/.538 during his sophomore year, which if repeated would have landed him a late supplemental round pick. However, he had a disappointing junior year, hitting .251/.350/.349. His OPS dropped to .631 against righties. The Yankees drafted him with a 3rd round pick anyway.

Adams then had a similar season with Staten Island. He hit .257/.350/.393 with a lot of strikeouts and a low OPS against right-handed pitchers. Adams has average at best tools across the board, so he’ll have to do everything well in order to rise through the ranks.

Adams has had a strong start to the season. He’s hitting .302/.388/.535 so far, with most of his damage coming against right-handed pitchers. He’s belting 26.5% of his balls in play for line drives, and playing second base. Adams is a candidate for a quick promotion to Tampa. If he continues to hit right-handed pitchers like he used to, Adams could develop into a Gardner-caliber prospect pretty quickly.

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Minor Notes: Pilittere to Sit, Trenton's Opening Day

Posted by EJ Fagan at 10:50 am 2 Responses »
Apr 092009

I’m always searching for the best way to cover the relatively unimportant day-to-day news about minor league baseball. These things have small, but definite, impacts upon the major league team. Today, I premier the first edition of Minor Notes.

P.J. Pilittere sits.

P.J. Pilittere has been the Yankee’s property for awhile now. A catcher, he”s not athletic at all, with average agility, hitting skills, and arm strength. However, he has always come with a fantastic reputation of game calling, and pitchers have generally improved under his tutilage. Pilittere was moved up to Triple-A Scranton this year, but will remain inactive as the club’s third catcher.

I’m willing to bet that this is the lead in to Pilittere’s transition to coaching. He could very well become an important name as a catching instructor, scout, or manager in the near future for the Yankees. Scranton is carrying two legitimate defense-first major league backup catchers in Kevin Cash and Chris Stewart. They could lose Jose Molina at very little cost this season.

Trenton Plays, Ashmore Brings Video

When I first started blogging, I had to go to the ballparks myself and obtain press access just to figure out the basics about what was going on at the minor league level. Now, Mike Ashmore is loading up Youtube every game. Look at how easy Eric Hacker’s motion looks:

Hacker's Opening Day

Everyone Else Plays Tonight

Andrew Brackman will make his professional debut tonight. I expect a season of ups and downs. If Brackman stays pretty healthy this season and manages to pitch 120 innings, I am satisfied. Beyond that, everything else is gravy. Expect control problems early on. Minor League Recap will return to give you all the news you need to know, although the format will dramatically change from my previous three seasons.

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