CoJo reaches base five times in AAA win

August 19, 2012 by Mike Axisa 62 Comments

Both OF/DH Cody Johnson (hamstring) and UTIL Damon Sublett (hip) are officially done for the season. The minor league season ends in a little more than two weeks anyway.

Triple-A Empire State (6-0 win over Rochester)
LF Darnell McDonald: 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K
2B Corban Joseph: 3-3, 4 RBI, 2 BB — eight hits in his last 13 at-bats (62%) … 60/61 K/BB in 95 games
SS Eduardo Nunez & DH Frankie Cervelli: both 0-4 — Nunez drove in a run and struck out … Frankie walked, scored a run, and struck out twice
1B Brandon Laird, C Austin Romine & CF Melky Mesa: both 1-5 — Laird and Romine struck out twice … Mesa doubled, walked, scored a run, and whiffed three times
RF Kosuke Fukudome: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K — 3/9 K/BB in his last seven games
3B Ramiro Pena: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP John Maine: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HB, 11/1 GB/FB — 61 of 99 pitches were strikes … very nice job by the veteran, they needed a solid start like this as they push towards the playoffs after being on the road all season
LHP Lee Hyde: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GB/FB — 13 of 23 pitches were strikes (57%)
RHP Chase Whitley: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 4/2 GB/FB — 17 of 24 pitches were strikes (71%)

Double-A Trenton (4-3 win over Bowie)
2B Walt Ibarra & 3B Kevin Mahoney: both 0-4 — Ibarra struck out
DH David Adams: 0-1, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP
CF Zoilo Almonte: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
1B Luke Murton: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB
SS Addison Maruszak: 1-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
C J.R. Murphy & LF Rob Segedin: both 0-3 — Murphy struck out … Segedin threw a runner out at third
RF Shane Brown: 1-3, 1 R, 1 K
RHP Mikey O’Brien: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 HB, 6/2 GB/FB — 58 of 105 pitches were strikes (55%) … he’s a 126.2 IP on the year, seven more than last season
RHP Craig Heyer: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2/2 GB/FB — 19 of 30 pitches were strikes (63%)
RHP Mark Montgomery: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K — 29 of 48 pitches were strikes (60%) … 89/21 K/BB in 57.1 IP

Low-A Charleston (4-0 loss to Augusta)
CF Eduardo Sosa: 1-3, 1 BB — broke up the no-hitter in the fourth
Everyone Else: combined 0-25, 9 K — 1B Saxon Butler left the game in the fourth for an unknown reason … both SS Cito Culver (fielding) and 1B Casey Stevenson (missed catch) committed errors
RHP Phil Wetherell: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 5/4 GB/FB — 46 of 77 pitches were strikes (60%)
LHP Rigoberto Arrebato: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3/2 GB/FB — 20 of 34 pitches were strikes (59%)
RHP Adam Smith: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GB/FB — 12 of 21 pitches were strikes (57%)
RHP Nick Goody: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — ten of 12 pitches were strikes … 41/8 K/BB in 26.2 IP
RHP Charlie Short: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 12 of 22 pitches were strikes (55%)

Short Season Staten Island (11-0 loss to Tri-City)
LF Taylor Dugas: 1-4, 2 K
CF Ravel Santana & 3B Matt Duran: both 1-3 — Duran struck out and committed a pair of throwing errors
Everyone Else: combined 0-18, 2 BB, 3 K — 1B Matt Snyder and RF Danny Lopez drew the walks
LHP Tim Flight: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2/5 GB/FB — picked a runner off first
LHP Evan DeLuca: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 3/1 GB/FB — 20/34 K/BB in 30.1 IP
RHP Stefan Lopez: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2/0 GB/FB — 19 runs allowed in 14.2 pro innings after leading the country with 19 saves in college this spring
RHP Zach Woods: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 2/0 GB/FB

High-A Tampa Game One was suspended due to rain after one inning (box score) and Game Two was postponed. They’ll make up both games when they play Daytona next weekend. Meanwhile, the Rookie GCL Yanks had their regular Sunday off.

Will The Thrill

Is it time that we reevaluate CoJo’s ceiling? He’s raking in the tough International League. Me thinks his bat is too good to waste away in AAA. Trade bait or back up infielder in 2013?
- Richard Leo
  
  he can’t play any position other than 2B
  there is not any play time for him because of Cano.
  - Chip
    
    That’s irrelevant if we’re talking about his ceiling. Dude has obviously shown talent that was previously unforeseen. You’d have to think he could at least hold down a major league job with that line.
    - Will The Thrill
      
      Exactly he’d probably put up better offensive numbers as a 2nd baseman than most 2nd basemen.
      - http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
        
        You do realize CoJo isn’t an above average everyday second basemen, right? If he was, he’d be the biggest trade piece in the Yankees farm system.
        
        And trust me, that is NOT the case.
    - http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
      
      Not sure if CoJo can cut it defensively as a second basemen. That’s always been his biggest problem.
      
      He’s probably a nice bench player down the line. Maybe more, but that would be a pleasant surprise. No one should expect CoJo to be an above average or even average everyday second basemen.
      - Bryan__fromNZ
        
        Any scouting reports on CoJo’s defense Angelo?
        
        Richard Leo
        
        i am not Angelo,but i heard that Cojo’s range at 2B is below average.
        
        emac2
        
        I heard the same about Cano. That he wouldn’t hit above 280 and was too thick in the lower body to stay at second.
        
        Sometimes you need to consider what the player is actually doing instead of what people say about him.
        
        http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
        
        You’re talking about the best second basemen in baseball. That doesn’t happen with most prospects.
        
        It’s nice to dream on prospects, but just remember that most of them don’t become average/above average players. My expectation for CoJo is that he will become a valuable bench player that can hit.
        
        He could definitely become more than that and exceed expectations, but that shouldn’t be what’s expected of him.
        
        Richard Leo
        
        If Cojo can be valuable bench player for yankees,he should learn more positions,such as 1B 3B LF RF.yankees like that kind of guy.If not,his future is not in yankees.Maybe Pirates.
        
        Paul VuvuZuvella
        
        But this also speaks of his limitations. I’ve heard he doesn’t have the range for second and also read he doesn’t have the arm for 3B. OF? Maybe but the bat won’t be as valuable in an OF corner. Marginal prospect for bench…not much trade value.
        
        http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
        
        That’s what I’ve read about his defense for the past few seasons about his defense.
        
        It’s difficult to find anything of recent news, but here’s something from Josh Norris from the end of 2011:
        
        http://minormatterstrenton.blogspot.com/2011/12/scouts-notes-corban-joseph.html
        
        Sounds like his defense is below average at the least, from reading the information in the link, but a couple of scouts like his bat, so that’s good.
      - Ted Nelson
        
        If he hits the defense will figure itself out.
        
        RetroRob
        
        …and there is certainly truth in that. As I said below, if he’s going to stick on the Yankees, he’ll need to hit his way on, and I wouldn’t bet against it. I am a bit higher on his bat than most.
- Richard Leo
  
  you may be right.
  i like Cojo and never doubt his bat.
  but if he never got chance to show his bat with yankees,i think his trade value may be lower than his potential.
Richard Leo

Chase Whitley may contribute to yankees next season.
seems like a muliple-inning guy not a late-inning guy.
- Will
  
  I like Montgomery’s stuff and chances better.
  - Richard Leo
    
    i like Montgomery better too.Montgomery has Sergio Romo potential.
    Whitley is not that powerful,but he can mix pitches.
  - John Y.
    
    Me too. Whitley is good, but Montgomery throws harder and gets ahead of hitters better than Whitley.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  He’s pretty good, definitely on the radar next year. Had him in the top 30 before the season. Not a classic hard-throwing, blow-you-away type. He’s a three-pitch reliever.
  - Richard Leo
    
    Mike, do you think Whitley can be a starting pitcher?
    - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
      
      I have no reason to think he could. If the Yankees thought he could start, he would have been already.
      - Richard Leo
        
        i notice that he goes for four innings twice recently,and wonder if there is some plan.
Jd

At this point, he and Adams are both trade bait and insurance for cano being unrealistic.
- Chip
  
  Pretty solid injury insurance for all of next season with CoJo at 2nd and Adams at third
Chip

Could CoJo handle right field? He should at minimum have moderate power with the short porch and obviously has a great eye. I mean if he came up and hit .260/.360/.400 it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for a stop gap solution.
- Richard Leo
  
  .260/.360/.400 is a little too high for a rookie like Cojo.
  and if he plays RF,that slash line is not enough.
  - Chip
    
    I’m probably being a little bit lean on the power.
    
    Say he puts up .260/.350/.430 which comes out to a wRC+ of about 110. That’s above what Nelson Cruz, Norichika Aoki, Michael Brantley, Michael Cuddyer, BJ Upton, David Dejesus and Hunter Pence are doing this season. And I’m definitely not giving him the benefit of the doubt seeing how he’s batting .260/.360/.485 right now with great peripherals in AAA where he doesn’t have the short porch.
    - Richard Leo
      
      i pretty doubt that Cojo can be an above average hitter when he first trip to big league.
      and he really has to adjust to be RF,that is not that easy i believe.
      - Chip
        
        True, I suppose if they thought he could handle it, they’d probably have at least tried him out there at some point
- http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
  
  I’m not sure if CoJo would hit that well playing everyday. Also, that would be pretty awful production from a right fielder, on top of the fact that his defense would probably be terrible since he’s never played right field before.
  
  That would be a crazy stretch for the Yankees to just throw him out there next year. The Yankees could probably find someone with better defensive skills and similar offense for a low price on the free agent market.
  
  It just wouldn’t make much sense, nor would the Yankees ever try that.
  - Charles in SD
    
    .260/.350/.430 is better than “awful” – considering Swisher is at .269/.351/.482 at the moment. The difference between .260 and .269 with Swisher’s 386 AB? 3 hits. It irks me when people seem to require a top 3 talent at every position on the diamond. I’d much rather see the Yankees not win the WS with some young guys you can root for, than with a bunch of overpaid aging “vets.” who just barely hanging on.
    /rant
- fin
  
  I know nothing about Cojo’s skills. With his defense certainly being in question, you really have to question if a below average 2nd basemen has the arm for RF.
TJ

Cano appears to be the future of the Yankees but they still have to get him signed. So it’s nice to have a nice looking
- Laz
  
  I’d like to have cano around, but if he say demands 8/180; goodbye as far as im concerned.
Robert

WAs at the Trenton game Sat nite. On the Orioles the SS Schoop can hit and field,there starting pitcher Pettit Had an O hitter thru 7 and looked good.
As far as the AA Yanks are concerned Nuno pitched well but was not the dominating pitcher I was expecting. Adams played a good 3b
Zmont in rf looked shakey in the field I was not impressed.
JR Murphy was smaller than I thought but hit the ball hard and had 2 tag plays out at the plate!!
Marusak creamed a HR to dead center in the batters eye about halfway up above the 408 mark,only ball I saw hit farther was one over the batters eye (about 30ft high) to dead center by Montero!!
- Richard Leo
  
  JR Murphy is underrated
  - http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
    
    He’s probably at the end of a top 10 Yankees prospect list, no? I wouldn’t consider that underrated.
    - Richard Leo
      
      i think he should be around 6~7
      he is young at 2A
      he can hit and throws out runner.
      - http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
        
        I wouldn’t put him that high, but I have no problem with anyone placing him there.
        
        I’m guessing you’d rank him ahead of Heathcott, Hensley, Gumbs, Bichette, and Flores?
        
        Richard Leo
        
        you guess me right.
        i put him that high just because he has hold him own at 2A.
        Among all the guys you named,i like Heathcott most right now.
        Hensley is too far away from big league,though i love the pick.
        
        Laz
        
        I really wouldn’t put murphy that high. In 3 seasons he has never got his obp over .327; pretty mediocre. He will really have to improve if he ever wants to make the majors. Sure you could rate him higher than gumbs and bichette. But not Heathcott and flores; and I would take hensley’s potential over him.
        
        http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
        
        I get what you’re saying, but the fact that he plays the catcher position and is in AA right now probably plays a big role in his argument to rank Murphy higher than some other guys.
        
        Also, Murphy is only 21 years old and he has a .771 OPS in Double-A. For a catcher, that’s pretty good. The Trenton Thunder are also considered to play in one of the more difficult hitting divisions in the sport. Trenton is also a pitchers park.
        
        Remember, on base percentage is not the only way to evaluate a prospect. Position, age, and scouting report matter a lot more.
        
        Catchers don’t have to hit much to make it the big leagues and Murphy has a solid bat. Nothing special, but solid nonetheless for a catcher. Murphy is also young for Double-A. He should, at the very least, make it to the big leagues as a September call up within the next 1-2 years. I imagine he’ll either become a backup catcher or an average everyday catcher.
        
        Richard Leo
        
        in my own list,Murphy and Heathcott are damn close.
        Heathcott has more upside while Murphy is younger and at higher level.
        Flores is interesting prospect,and i really doubt if he never develope the power we all expect, whether he can mantain the BB%.And his BB% at High-A is good but not great.
        I just wanna see more from Hensley, and i really like his potential.
        
        YankeeGrunt
        
        Tough to really weigh in on upside because of the huge positional premium at catcher. Murphy has just scratched the surface of his offensive potential, an .800 or better OPS behind the dish (if Murphy has that sort of potential) would be worth more than that sort of production at any other position save perhaps SS, and if Mason Williams pushes Heathcott into a corner OF slot he’d have to be significantly better offensively to equal a catcher with an above average bat and average or better defense.
        
        Richard Leo
        
        so i put Murphy ahead of Heathcott.
        but Heathcott’s value and potential has nothing to do with Mason Williams.
        i think yankees will put Heathcott in CF as long as he is healthy.
- DERP
  
  Thanks for the report.
Chip

Speaking of underrated prospects, where does Rafael De Paula start next season? Would they start him all the way up in Tampa due to his age?
- Richard Leo
  
  low A i suppose
  - Laz
    
    Makes sense to start him low. Even if you only want to give him 40-50 innings at Low A then move him up. He is older, but I’d rather start him low and prove himself to move up.
- http://twitter.com/#!/AngeloInNY Angelo
  
  I’m guessing Low-A or SI. They’ll probably be aggressive with him if he has a lot of success, so maybe he finishes the year in Tampa?
  
  It’s hard to say, since he hasn’t played one game in the U.S. yet…
NYCSPORTZFAN

Cojo was compared to Chase Utley by some when he came out.. U guys greatly under estimate him as a prospect.. If anything, as good as hes done for us, i think some actually expect more and think hes not quite topped out yet as a prospect.. I honestly think he’d be a better pro then minor league player.. Hes continued to fill out a bit as he gets older, growing into more power to go with a all ready leathal bat, and hes still only 23yrs old.. Lets not forget this kid has no college expierene, and all that learning he would of got, has come in the minors.. I expect him to be a monster from here on out..Give him another 5-10lbs of solid muscle, and a tad more grooming, and boom.. I see em more as the 371ba 4hr 16rbi over his last 10games then i do his 279BA on the yr.. I just do.. Not saying i think hes gonna hit 370 for a full yr, but i like him as a 300plus hitter with 16-21 hr capability as a pro..
- Bryan__fromNZ
  
  It’d be awesome for CoJo to develop into a LF prospect, but I’ve read his fangraphs page and it’s possible he’s changed his approach, thus potentially limiting his offensive upside going forward. A lower BABIP and higher ISO could be interpreted that he’s more of a pull-hitter at AAA:
  
  http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=sa454540&position=2B
- Richard Leo
  
  Utley has a peak like a HOFer.So compare Cojo to Utley is…
  i just want Cojo can surprise us all.
  - RetroRob
    
    I’m with you on that. I can see 15-20 HR power, but he’s not Utley, who was an top fielder, and still has potential to be a HOFer if he can put up a few more Utley-style years at second. Very unlikely, but it says something about how good Utley was at his peak. CoJo’s shortcoming remains defense.
RetroRob

I’ve been on the CoJo bandwagon for over two years now, so certainly not getting off now that he’s in AAA. He has a MLB bat. I recognize his positional problem, but I think he’s going to have a solid MLB career. To stay with the Yankees, though, his bat will need overcome defensive shortcomings.
The Tenth Inning Stretch

I was at the Empire State game last night, and the thing that struck me most was Mesa’a at-bats. His strikeouts were on ugly, flailing swings at breaking pitches in the dirt, but then he crushed the RBI double off he base of the wall in left. The potential is there, but on eye test alone, he’s nowhere near MLB-ready.
- Richard Leo
  
  Mesa always has enough tools to be MLB regular,but his flaws are too huge.
  At least he should learn to wait for the right pitch to attack.
  Mesa reminds me of Justin Maxwell.If he can turn into that kind of player,he still has some value for yankees.
Robert

JR Murphy, Romine and Gary Sanchez,Where are they in 2014?

My Guess Sanchez traded
Romine Starting in the Bronx
JR Murphy Backing Romine in the Bronx
- Dave M
  
  Yeah, they can trade Sanchez to Seattle for another pitcher since it worked so well the last time. Sorry still bitter over that one.
- Fin
  
  I seriously doubt that they trade Sanchez. He is not Montero. It is clear the Yankees felt Montero was not an every day catcher. The Yankees tried very hard to trade Montero and get value out of him at the catchers position, rather than have him on the big team as a full time DH clogging up the lineup. The reports on Sanchez are quite different. He may not be a great catcher, but it seems he can play the position and his bat will make up for difficiencies behind the plate.
  
  I would guess that the best bet to be traded is Murphy, simply because I do think Sanchez is viewed as being able to stick at catcher and therefore, with the state of MLB catching is invaluable. Romaine’s back should scare off most teams, leaving Murphy as the most vulnerable to trade in my opinion.