Archive for Minors
2013 Draft: MLB.com’s Mock Draft v1.0
Posted by: | CommentsJonathan Mayo of MLB.com posted his first mock draft late last week, and he has the Astros taking Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray with the first overall pick. The Yankees drafted but failed to sign him in the tenth round of the 2011 draft. The Cubs are projected to take Stanford RHP Mark Appel second overall. San Diego 3B Kris Bryant going third to the Rockies is the consensus right now.
With their three first round picks, Mayo has the Yankees taking Oklahoma HS C Jon Denney (26th overall), New Jersey LHP Rob Kaminsky (32nd), and Mississippi JuCo SS Tim Anderson (33rd). I’ve already written posts on Kaminsky and Anderson, and Denney is a bat-first catcher who can really hit but may or may not remain behind the plate long-term. The Yankees have been connected to all three players in recent weeks, especially Denney and Kaminsky. High schoolers and up-the-middle athletes. Pretty typical for the Bombers.
Other Mock Drafts: Baseball America (v1.0) and Keith Law (v1.0).
Whitley returns from DL in AAA loss
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Ben Badler, LHP Omar Rodriguez is listed on the Short Season Staten Island roster. That in an of itself means list — he could be assigned to any affiliate at any time — but it’s an indication the southpaw has secured a visa after getting stuck in Haiti for a few months. The Yankees gave Rodriguez $4M last summer, their last big signing before the international spending restrictions were implemented.
In other news, RHP Chase Whitely has finally been activated off the DL. He missed the start of the season with an oblique problem and has rejoined Triple-A Scranton.
Triple-A Scranton (4-3 loss to Columbus, walk-off style)
- 2B Corban Joseph: 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K — has been just 2-for-17 (.118) since being send down following the doubleheader against the Indians
- DH Brennan Boesch: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K
- LF Ronnie Mustelier: 0-5
- 3B Josh Bell: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
- RF Thomas Neal: 1-2, 2 BB
- CF Melky Mesa: 0-4, 2 K — 66 strikeouts and four walks in 159 plate appearances (41.5 K% and 2.5 BB%)
- RHP Chase Whitley: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 3/1 GB/FB — 19 of 32 pitches were strikes (59%)
2013 Draft: Marco Gonzales
Posted by: | CommentsThe 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.
Marco Gonzales | LHP
Background
A Colorado kid from Fort Collins, Gonzales’ father pitched in the minor leagues for eight years and is a pitching instructor in the Rockies’ system. Marco won four state championships in high school and will leave Gonzaga as one of the best players in school history. He came into the weekend with a 2.57 ERA and a 91/22 K/BB in 98 innings this year.
Scouting Report
Listed at a modest 6-foot-1 and 185 lbs., Gonzales stands out for his pitching acumen and two above-average offspeed pitches. His fastball mostly sits in the 88-92 mph range and it might dip below that starting every five days rather than once a week. A fading upper-70s changeup is his put-away offering and one of the best individual pitches in the entire draft. His mid-70s curveball is an average pitch at worst and a second out pitch on most days.
Gonzales is a very good athlete who repeats a simple delivery and commands his entire arsenal to both sides of the plate. He’s very polished, arguably the most polished pitcher in the draft, and he knows how to set hitters up. He also holds runners and fields his position well. Gonzales can hit — he bats cleanup for the Bulldogs and plays first base when he doesn’t pitch — and would get drafted in the top ten rounds as a position player, but that doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. His future lies on the mound and he draws rave reviews for his work ethic and makeup. There are tons of videos on YouTube.
Miscellany
Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America ranked Gonzales as the 23rd and 28th best prospect in the draft in their latest rankings, respectively. For what it’s worth, Troy Renck said he’s heard the Yankees are among the clubs interested in the left-hander, who doesn’t offer a ton of upside but is as safe as college pitchers come. Guys like Gonzales are popular first round targets for risk-averse teams, so the Bombers might not even get a chance to draft him when their top three picks (26th, 32nd, and 33rd overall) roll around.
Ramirez whiffs seven in Trenton loss
Posted by: | CommentsRHP Rafael DePaula placed fifth on this week’s Prospect Hot Sheet. He’s struck out 69 of 159 batters faced this year (43.4%). Meanwhile, the Yankees have signed 3B Josh Bell according to Chris Cotillo. Bell, 26, was a big prospect just a few years ago, but he’s been done in by poor plate discipline and an 80 swing-and-miss tool. He’s just a warm body for the Triple-A roster, I’ll be surprised if we see him with the big league team at any point.
Triple-A Scranton (4-3 win over Toledo in ten innings)
- 2B Corban Joseph: 0-5, 2 K
- RF Brennan Boesch: 1-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K – hopefully he gets a few games in at first base while down here
- LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-5, 1 K, 1 E (throwing) — nine hits in his last 41 at-bats (.220)
- 2B Ronnie Mustelier: 3-5, 1 2B, 3 RBI — drove in the go-ahead run in the tenth … seven hits in his last 16 at-bats (.438)
- DH Josh Bell: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K
- RHP Graham Stoneburner: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 4/9 GB/FB — 57 of 99 pitches were strikes
- RHP Sam Demel: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 4/0 GB/FB — 29 of 51 pitches were strikes
- LHP Clay Rapada: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GB/FB — 11 of 17 pitches were strikes (65%)
2013 Draft: Jordan Paroubeck
Posted by: | CommentsThe 2013 amateur draft will be held from June 6-8 this year, and between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.
Jordan Paroubeck | OF
Background
Paroubeck attends Sierra High School in San Mateo, California, and he’s had a pretty great hitting coach this spring: Barry Bonds. His father is a childhood friend of the seven-time MVP, so he’s received private lessons all spring. Paroubeck is committed to Fresno State.
Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 lbs., Paroubeck is a standout athlete with loud tools. He’s a switch-hitter with a quick and easy swing from both sides of the plate, and he’s shown very good power potential as both a righty and a lefty. I’m sure Bonds has been in his ear about the value of plate discipline and waiting for his pitch as well. Both Paroubeck’s speed and arm are above-average at the moment, allowing him to steal bases and be an asset in center field. He could slow down and wind up in a corner down the road, but that move is not imminent. Paroubeck is raw and needs plenty of refinement, but his upside is quite enormous. There are some more videos available on YouTube.
Miscellany
Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America ranked Paroubeck as the 52nd and 62nd best prospect in the draft class in their latest rankings, respectively. He’s a little bit of a project just because he’s so raw, but anytime you have a true switch-hitter with power potential from both sides of the plate to go along with defensive skills, he’ll get drafted in the top round or two. The Yankees adore up-the-middle athletes and they have three early picks (26th, 32nd, 33rd), but I think grabbing Paroubeck with their second rounder (66th) would be ideal. He might not last that long though.
Gumbs returns from DL in Tampa loss
Posted by: | CommentsTriple-A Scranton (4-1 loss to Toledo)
- 2B Corban Joseph: 1-4, 1 HBP
- RF Brennan Boesch: 0-5, 1 K
- LF Zoilo Almonte: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K — tough to win when the 1-2-3 hitters go a combined 1-for-13
- 3B Ronnie Mustelier: 2-5
- CF Melky Mesa: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
- RHP Chien-Ming Wang: 6.2 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1 Balk, 8/6 GB/FB — 66 of 100 pitches were strikes … the lack of grounds and all the hits are a pretty good indication the sinker wasn’t working
- RHP Mark Montgomery: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 14 of 24 pitches were strikes (58%)
2013 Draft: Keith Law’s Mock Draft v1.0
Posted by: | CommentsKeith Law posted his first mock draft today (subs. req’d), and he has the Astros taking Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray with the first overall pick. He says they figure to try to work out a pre-draft deal with the former Yankees draft pick for less than what it would take to sign Stanford RHP Mark Appel, then spread the savings around on later picks. Law expects the Cubs to take Appel second overall. I doubt he gets beyond that pick.
The Yankees have three first round picks, and Law has them selecting Stanford OF Austin Wilson (26th overall), Oklahoma HS C Jon Denney (32nd), and Arizona HS SS Dustin Peterson (33rd). Wilson was a big name a few years ago, but he wound up on campus and was expected to be a top ten pick before suffering a stress reaction in his elbow. He’s a tool shed who needs some work. Denney, who has been connected to New York before, is an offense-first catcher while Peterson a solid athlete who is likely to remain on the middle infield.
Law says the Yankees have been heavily connected to high school players with these top three picks, and that’s not surprising. Scouting director Damon Oppenheimer loves toolsy prep players. He does mention the team would love to see a top college arm fall into their laps with one of these picks, however.
Cave has four hits in River Dogs win
Posted by: | CommentsTriple-A Scranton (12-11 loss to Toledo)
- 2B Corban Joseph: 1-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K
- RF Thomas Neal: 3-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K — quietly hitting .329/.385/.402
- LF Zoilo Almonte: 2-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI — six hits in his last 13 at-bats (.462)
- 3B Ronnie Mustelier: 2-6, 1 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 E (fielding)
- CF Melky Mesa: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 4 K, 1 E (throwing)
- RHP Chris Bootcheck: 3 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3/1 GB/FB — 44 of 76 pitches were strikes (58%) … the Chris Bootcheck Regression Tour is very much underway
- RHP Cody Eppley: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 18 of 23 pitches were strikes (78%)
Adams picks up two hits on eve of promotion
Posted by: | CommentsRHP Gabe Encinas’ mystery injury is indeed elbow-related, reports Josh Norris. Could be inflammation, soreness, a torn ligament, who knows. He was placed on the DL yesterday.
Triple-A Scranton (10-2 loss to Toledo)
- 2B Corban Joseph: 0-5, 2 K
- 3B David Adams: 2-4, 1 K — last day in the minors as he’s expected to be called up tomorrow
- RF Thomas Neal: 0-4, 3 K
- DH Ronnie Mustelier: 1-4
- CF Melky Mesa: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K — ten hits in his last 20 at-bats
- LF Zoilo Almonte: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SB — had been in a 7-for-34 (.206) rut
- RHP Joba Chamberlain: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GB/FB — nine of 12 pitches were strikes … had a little more on him earlier
- RHP Caleb Cotham: 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HB, 5/3 GB/FB — 38 of 68 pitches were strikes (59%)
- RHP Dellin Betances: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 3/0 GB/FB — 18 of 32 pitches were strikes (56%) … second relief appearance so far
- LHP Clay Rapada: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 1/1 GB/FB — only 15 of 32 pitches were strikes (47%)
Badler: Yankees are “most likely landing spot” for Leonardo Molina
Posted by: | CommentsVia Ben Badler (subs. req’d): The Yankees are the “most likely landing spot” for Dominican outfield prospect Leonardo Molina once this year’s international signing period opens on July 2nd. They have $1.18-1.88M to spend internationally this summer, depending on whether there is free agency or an international draft.
Molina, who has no relation to the Puerto Rican-born catching trio, is the top prospect in the Dominican Prospect League and one of the best athletes available this year. He is listed at 6-foot-2 and 170 lbs., and Badler says he’s a “plus-plus runner with a strong arm, giving him the tools to be an excellent defender in center field once he refines his routes.” Molina offers good bat speed from the right side but he needs to refine his swing a bit to tap into his offensive potential. He can’t sign until he turns 16 on August 1st, but is likely to land a seven-figure bonus once eligible.
