Yankees Minor League Baseball Blog

Here’s the Yankees top ten prospects from Baseball America

1) Jesus Montero  C
2)  Manny Banuelos  LHP
3)  Dellin Betances  RHP
4)  Gary Sanchez  C
5)  Mason Williams  OF
6)  Dante Bichette  3B
7)  Ravel Santana  OF
8)  Austin Romine  C
9)  J.R. Murphy C/3B
10)  Slade Heathcott  OF

John Sickels put out his new Yankees Top 20 prospect list.  Good stuff as always and there’s no surprise that Jesus Montero tops the list here again.  This should be his last time on the list as he should play for the Yankees for the entire season.  Gary Sanchez, another catcher, comes in at number two but he’s only 18 so there’s plenty of time to see what he can do.

From, there, we get into the B’s.  Manny Banuelos (LHP), Dellin Betances (RHP) and Mason Williams (OF) round out the top five.    Banuelos and Betances are close to making their debuts and you could see them with the Yankees in 2012.

Trenton had a sub-par season and it’s not surprising because the team was particularly thin in hitters.  Here’s a look at the stand outs in 2011.

Corban Joseph – Joseph led the team in just about everything because he played in 131 games.  He led in runs (75), RBIs (58) and walks (59) and he also had the best OPS of the regular players but it was a decent .768.  He just turned 23 though so let’s see what he can do as me matures.

Melky Mesa – Mesa was second on the team with nine home runs but he hit just .251 so his OPS was a mediocre .733.  He also struck out 129 and walked just 36 times and he’s getting past prospectdom because he turns 25 next month.

Cody Johnson – The designated hitter belted a team high 15 home runs but he hit just .226.  This was after a very nice stint with the Tampa Yankees where he raked for .326.  He’s 23 so he has some time, just not too much time.

Dellin Betances was probably the most reliable starter and the guy with the most potential that played for the Thunder this year.  He struck out 115 in 105 1/3 innings and he finished with a 3.42 ERA.  He struggled in his four starts when he got promoted but this kid showed that he has an arm.

Josh Schmidt – One of the best relievers, Schmidt was nearly unhittable.  He finished with a 1.83 ERA, a .155 batting average against and 48 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

The SWB Yankees had their run and they had their share of hitting stars.  Let’s look at the best of the best.

Jorge Vazquez – Vazquez was one of the best hitters in all of the minor leagues. He finished with 32 home runs and 93 RBIs.  On the downside, he struck out 166 times and walked only 30 times.  His .830 could be better if he worked on his patience and this is indicative of his .314 OBP.

Jordan Parraz – Parraz led the team in hits (128) and he was second in runs with 66.    He also led the team in doubles with 28 and his 42 walks led the team.  His .802 OPS was more indicative of his doubles power and his ability to take a walk.

Jesus Montero – Montero was second on the team in home runs with 18 and while he still kept his billing at a top prospect, he might not be as high on the list as he was this time last year.  He did hit .288 and his OPS was .814 and if that can translate into his stats with the Yankees, he could still be an All Star catcher.

Pitching was a strength, especially out of the pen for the SWB Yankees.  Here are some of the better pitchers in 2011.

D.J. Mitchell – Mitchell finished 13-9 and he was the workhorse on the staff.  He led the team in innings pitched (161 1/3), strikeouts (112), and Wins.  He also led the team in losses and walks allowed (63).  Mitchell might compete for a big league spot next year so we’ll see if he can keep up his consistent performance.

Kevin Whelan – Whelan was is the last guy standing from the Gary Sheffield trade and he was the team’s closer for most of the year.  He finished with 23 saves and a 2.75 ERA.  He had a solid 54/14 strikeout to walk ratio and a 0.99 WHIP.

George Kontos – Another solid reliever, Kontos struck out 91 in 89 1/3 innings.  He did get four starts to go along with his 36 relief appearances and he had a 2.62 ERA.  He did give up twelve home runs though and his fly ball rate is a concern.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees – 73-69, eight games back of the first place Pawtucket Red Sox
Trenton Thunder – 68-73, 8 1/2 games back of the first place New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Tampa Yankees – 37-32 in the second half, 2 1/2 games back of the first place Dunedin Blue Jays
Charleston RiverDogs – 29-41, eleven games back of first place Augusta
Staten Island Yankees – 45-28, first place in the New York Penn League
GCL Yankees – 37-23, first place in the Gulf Coast League

Trenton ended their season with a 5-3, eleven inning win against New Britain.  Steve Garrison had a really nice start and he gave up one unearned run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts in seven innings.  Wilkin Arias threw a shutout ninth and he picked up his second save of the season.

Addison Maruszak went two for four with two runs.  Jose Gil went two for four with a double, a walk, a run and an RBI.  So no playoff tickets this year for Trenton fans.

D.J. Mitchell improved to 13-9 on the season with a really nice start in the SWB Yankees 5-1 win over Buffalo.  He gave up six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in eight shutout innings.

Jorge Vazquez went two for four with a double, a home run and three RBIs.  The home run was his 32nd of the season.  Jordan Parraz went three for four with a two run home run.

Tampa dropped their final game of the season 3-2 against Lakeland.  Joel De La Cruz fell to 0-1 on the season and he gave up a run on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings.

Ronnier Mustelier went two for four with two doubles, a run and an RBI.  Cody Johnson went two for four.

Steve Garrison improved to 4-8 with a nice start in the Thunder’s 7-2 win over the Fisher Cats.  He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Austin Krum went two for three with a double, a triple, three RBIs and a run.  Corban Joseph doubled twice, drove in two and scored a run.  With the season winding down, it’s time to start thinking about playoff tickets.

It was a seven inning makeup game but Manny Banuelos threw about as good of a game as you could ask with seven shutout innings.  He gave up a run on two hits with six strikeouts in seven shutout innings.

Jesus Montero went two for two with a walk and his eighteenth home run of the season.  Greg Golson drew a walk and scored a run.

Manny Banuelos improved to 4-5 on the season with a really nice start in the Thunder’s 5-1 win over Akron.  He gave up a run on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.  Brad Halsey didn’t allow a hit in his 2 2/3 shutout innings to close out the game.

Addison Maruszak went two for three with a double, two RBIs and a run.  Robert Lyerly went three for five with an RBI.

D.J. Mitchell improved 5-7 on the season and he had about as good of a start as you canget.  He gave up just one hit with two walks and seven strikeouts in the seven inning shutout.

Austin Krum went two for three with a walk, two runs and an RBI.  Jesus Montero went two for four with a home run and three RBIs.

Trenton took care of New Hampshire 3-2 and it was Phil Hughes who got it done on the mound.  He gave up just a run on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.  Schaefer Hall gave up a run in his two innings and he picked up his first save of the season.

Raymond Kruml went three for four with a double and a run.  Robert Lyerly went two for four with a home run and two RBIs.

David Phelps didn’t get the win in the Yankees 1-0 win over the Knights, but you can’t scoff at seven shutout innings.  He gave up just five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.  Tim Norton picked up the win with a shutout eighth and Kevin Whelan pitched a shutout ninth to pick up his 18h save of the season.

Gustavo Molina went two for three and he drove in the lone run of the game.  Kevin Russo was the man he drove in.

Tampa beat Jupiter 2-0 and Jairo Heredia got it done with a really nice start. He improved to 4-1 and he gave up four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in eight shutout innings.  Ryan Flannery struck out the side in the ninth and he picked up his fourth save of the season.

Walter Ibarra went four for four with a double and an RBI.  Abraham Almonte went two for four.

The SWB Yankees took care of the Bats 5-0 and they did it behind a really nice start by Carlos Silva.  He gave up four hits and two walks with three strikeouts in seven shutout innings.  Kevin Whelan threw 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief and he picked up his fourteenth save of the season.

Kevin Russo went two for five with two RBIs in the win.  Dan Brewer went three for four with a run.

Dellin Betances improved to 2-1 in a nice start in the Thunder’s 2-0 win.  He gave up just one hit and four walks with seven strikeouts in five shutout innings.  Josh Schmidt threw two shutout innings and he picked up his first save of the season.

Austin Krum went one for three with a double and an RBI.  Corban Joseph went one for two with a walk and a run.

The SWB Yankees are getting it done once again with an impressive 14-9 record.  It’s a tight division but they’re at the top of the heap.  Jesus Montero has lived up to his hype at least at the minor league level and he’s hitting .421,  The guy who’s raking though is Jorge Vazquez.  He has nine home runs, 27 RBIs and a .635 slugging percentage.  Pitching has been a problem and while David Phelps and Andrew Brackman are striking guys out, they’re ERAs are both north of 4.00.

The Trenton Thunder are just 10-13 and they sit six games back of the first place Reading Phillies.  Austin Romine has led a mediorce offense with an .883 OPS and fifteen RBIs.  Schaeffer Hall has had a nice month on the mound though.  He’s 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 30 2/3 innings.

Tampa is off to a bad start.  They’re 9-15 and already eight games back of first place Daytona.  Luke Morton has been one of the better hitters with a .904 OPS but as a whole, this team strikes out a ton. Five hitters already have at least 20 strikeouts.

The RiverDogs are also off to a rough start.  They’re 10-14 and they’re in the middle of the pack in their division.  Slade Heathcott has been their best hitter with 25 runs and a 1.034 OPS to start the season.  Michael O’Brien has yet to win a game, but he has 32 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA.

We’re getting closer and closer to the start of the season and here are the key dates for the four Yankees full season affiliates:

Scranton-Wilkes/Barre Yankees – April 7 at Lehigh Valley
Trenton Thunder – April 7 at New Hampshire
Tampa Yankees – April 7 at Lakeland
Charleston RiverDogs – April 7 at Lexington

Can’t wait for the things to kick off. I think it’s going to be another great year for Yankees Minor League baseball.

Who might be the dark horse of the Yankees farm system?  George King at Baseball America thinks it might be Andrew Brackman, the tall hurler bounced back in 2010 after a luke warm 2009 debut.  You have to like his strikeout to walk ratio (126/39) and he did it all in 141 innings.  Even better, he did most of that at the more hitter friendly Eastern League while playing with Trenton.  In 2009, he was coming off of Tommy John surgery so hopefully his struggles and his related bounce back were because he wasn’t quite ready after the surgery.

Brackman should start the year at Triple-A but with the Yankees rotation woes, he’s definitely knocking on the door to a major league debut in 2011.  Hopefully this is one of those success stories that goes in the right direction.

The big league club is going to be kicking off their spring season soon but there’s also plenty of great specials this year on Yankees tickets.  It’s been easier to get tickets since the Yankees moved into their new digs but you never know when that’s going to change.

The Yankees not only have one of the best teams in baseball, but they also have the best catching prospect in all of baseball if you believe MLB.com.  They recently unveiled their top ten catching prospects and Jesus Montero topped the list.  There’s little doubt that Montero, assuming he’s not traded, is the heir apparant behind the plate but it’s nice to see he’s so highly regarded nationally.

Just as ironic is the fact that the Yankees also have the third best catching prospect, Gary Sanchez.  This kid is only 18 though and while he has some talent, he’s several years away from making his major league debut.  Austin Romine, another Yankee prospect and close to major league ready catcher, is number nine.  So there’s plenty of depth at backstop in the Yankees organization.

I’m a little late with this but in November, Baseball America, published their Yankees top ten prospects list.  While the Yankees will be competing for another title in 2011, it’ll be interesting to see what kind of home grown talent they have in the mix.

Catcher Jesus Montero is the guy everyone is talking about and he tops the list.  With Jorge Posada slowing becoming more of a DH so you could be looking at the Yankees catcher in 2011.  He doesn’t have much more to prove in the minors after a top notch campaign in Scranton so the team either has make room for him or deal him for pitching like they’ve been trying.

Ironically number two is also a catcher, although it’s one who’s a lot further away from making his big league debut.  Gary Sanchez split time at the Yankees’ two short season squad and had good seasons at both.  He’s young (just turned 18) and he’ll make his full season debut this year with the RiverDogs.

Number three is the top pitching prospect, Dellin Betances.  The right hander is getting close after a stint in Double-A last year and he should be ready to play for the Yankees in 2012.  This year, he’ll probably start back at Trenton but we’ll probably see him at Scranton sometime soon.  Manny Banuelos (left handed pitcher, probably about a year away) and Andrew Brackman (could see himself in a Yankees uniform this year as a right handed pitcher) round out the top five.

Nik Turley had a rough start but the bullpen came through as the GCL Yankees doubled up the GCL Blue Jays 4-2 in a rain shortened game.  Dickson Marquez struck out two in 2 1/3 shutout innings and while Manuel Barreda struck out two in the final frame.

Kelvin De Leon went one for three with a walk, a run and an RBI.  Ramon Flores went two for three with a run.

Trenton was held to just a run on six hits as they lost to Harrisburg 3-1.  Eduardo Nunez had a single and a double while James Cooper singled twice and drove in the lone Trenton run to lead the way at the plate.

A solid start by Lance Pendleton went to waste.  He gave up three runs (just one earned) on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

The pitching wasn’t quite there but the Yankees made up for it at the plate as they took care of Clearwater 9-6.  Daniel Brewer led the way and he went three for five with a double, four RBIs and a run.  Jack Rye also had a nice game and he singled four times and scored three runs.

Ryan Zink picked up the win and he improved to 8-10.  He gave up three runs on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts in six innings.  Jonathan Hovis struck out the final batter of the game and he picked up his 21st save of the season.

It took 11 runs and ten innings but the GCL Yankees prevailed in their 11-9 win over the GCL Braves.  Kevin Mahoney went two for six with two doubles and three RBIs while Isiah Brown belted a three run home run.

Paul Heider struck out two in a shutout ninth and he improved to 2-1.  Dan Miller pitched a shutout tenth and he picked up his first save of the season.

A decent start by David Phelps went to waste as the RiverDogs lost to Charleston 6-2.  He gave up two runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Brandon Braboy struck out three, but he gave up three runs in 1 1/3 innings and he fell to 2-3 on the season.

Mitch Abeita went two for three with a solo home run in the loss.  Raymond Kruml went two for four.

The Thunder took care of the Fisher Cats but they need some great pitching and eleven innings to do it.  Wilkin De La Rosa threw four shutout innings in his start and then Grant Duff struck out four in two shutout innings to close out the game and he improved to 1-0 on the season.

Austin Krum was the hitting star in the 2-1 win.  He went three for five and he scored both Thunder runs.