DeLeon named Gulf Coast League’s #2 prospect

September 23, 2009 by Mike Axisa 26 Comments

Baseball America started to unveil their annual league top 20 lists today, beginning with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League. Catcher Christian Bethancourt of Braves ranked as the circuit’s top prospect, with Yanks’ farmhand Kelvin DeLeon right behind him at #2. No other Yankee prospect made the list, although Slade Heathcott and JR Murphy did not play enough to qualify. In the subscriber only scouting report, GCL Blue Jays manager John Schneider was quoted as saying “[DeLeon] knows how to hit. He hunts for his pitch. If it’s a fastball count, he doesn’t miss. I didn’t want any part of him.”

The next top 20 list of interest to Yankee fans is the NY-Penn League, which is due out next Tuesday.

http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/ The Artist

Have you done a prospect profile on him, Mike?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  No, not yet. Maybe this winter, although I already have the first few lined up.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
    
    First up in the hopper: Pat White.
Doug

Mike, doesn’t it say that Murphy DID NOT have enough PT to make the list?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Yes, it does. That’s my bad, I fixed the post.
EvoLuTioN

“DeLeon has a short, quick swing and is making strides with his strike-zone discipline, a point of emphasis for him. He has obvious power to his pull side but can drive the ball the other way as well.”
“A lean, athletic 6-foot-2, 180-pounder, DeLeon runs well. He has average defensive tools with a strong arm in right field, though he’s still learning to harness his arm strength and align his throws with the cutoff man.”

some more excerpts
Doug

After his first full season stateside, he making your top 30, Mike?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Definitely, probably the 10-15 range.
Andy In Sunny Daytona

Mike, I have some video of Chris Smith grounding into a double play. You can hear me laugh at the end. Good stuff.

Where did he end up in the rankings?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Well, it’s always a positive when a guy gets 150 at-bats in rookie ball over two seasons. I’ll need to consider that…
- Reggie C.
  
  At least Chris Smith got out of Compton for a while. He’s a non-prospect at this point.
  - Andy In Sunny Daytona
    
    I have an idea for Chris Smith this winter….get in shape. He has a Golden Ticket, you would think he would at least do anything possible to cash it.
Doug

fyi, Jim Callis in his chat today said that Romine will be our starting catcher in 2011. You personally see that being possible, Mike? Seems a bit rushed to me (2010: AA, 2011: AAA, 2012: bronx).
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Sure, I can see it. Maybe not on Opening Day, but by the second half for sure.
will

mike what do you think of aroldis chapman? You think he’s gonna be worth the money?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  They almost never are worth the money, so I don’t expect him to be any different. He’s sort of like a lefthanded version of Brackman when he was drafted – raw, real live arm – except without that quality second pitch.
  - Bo
    
    Not the guy you want to be compared to.
Charlie

is BA insider worth the money? cause its annoying only seeing little excerpts from articles about the yanks’ prospects.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  Yes, definitely. You only need the website only subscription, the magazine is obsolete. Everything in the mag ends up online, often before it hits the mailbox.
  - Reggie C.
    
    +1
    
    Don’t go for the print. Go website only.
http://pendingpinstripes.net Greg F.

Yeah, I definitely sold him a bit short in my prospect list, but as I said, that 30% strikeout rate in the GCL is scary. I hope he proves me wrong and jumps up my list, though.
Brian

I didn’t realize the DSL is now being covered (for next year) on MiLB:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=518128
Andy In Sunny Daytona

Yankees need to jump on Wagner Mateo. $800,000. Get him some proper fitting contacts, and get the deal done, Yankees. Sign Sano too.

Piss off the world.
- http://tomorrowsnewsyesterday.wordpress.com/ JMK
  
  I’m not sure getting him contacts will fix his eye condition. Even so, hire the best eye doctors in the world and see if anything at all can be done (though I’m sure the Cardinals explored this option – you don’t squander a $3.1 mil if you haven’t looked into all that can be done). I doubt any teams are going to take any kind of flier on Mateo at this point, so $800k may be overpaying.
  
  Serious question though: Why hasn’t Sano signed?
  
  Yanks should definitely grab him.
  - whozat
    
    If Sano hasn’t signed, there are CLEARLY compelling reasons. It’s not like 30 teams are asleep at the switch. Either he absolutely refuses to talk to any teams other than the Pirates and O’s, AND those teams for some reason have totally cooled on him…or there’s something going on here, like he’s 19 and that makes him WAY less impressive.
    - Bo
      
      sano wants over 3 mill and there are major questions about his age. And hes not going to get that from the pirates who seem like the only team in on him.
      
      Mateo has serious eye problems. its not like the cards just got cold feet about paying him.