NY minor league prospect news (2016 edition)

jon abbey

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Sanchez was just called up. Seems strange unless there is an injury I don't know about.
They need an extra right-handed bat the next few games, and the AAA manager/coaches thought that Sanchez was the best choice (over Refsnyder/Judge/Swisher/Puello). He will likely be DHing tonight and tomorrow, and back to AAA Sunday or Monday.
 

jon abbey

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Hal Steinbrenner says that Kaprielian should be back on a mound in 4 to 6 weeks, that is a huge gap in the middle of a developmental season with his last start coming four weeks ago (April 21), so 8 to 10 weeks lost.
 

jon abbey

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simplicio

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Couldn't that just mean starting to toss in a week, but not pitching from the mound for 4-6?
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, the whole thing's not nearly clear enough, I might have to message him today and ask.
 

jon abbey

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Gary Sanchez hit a two run HR in the sixth to win today's game 2-0, but it's notable because it was off Tyler Glasnow, the #14 prospect in all of baseball coming into this season in BA, right between Matz and Benintendi (http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/top-100-prospects/#y5qJe4KdOjmiquDK.97).

Olney suggested it last week, but if NY could somehow move McCann (he has a no-trade) for a stud prospect 3B, it would set NY up at both 3B and let Sanchez get his shot at starting C which he is clearly ready for, on both sides of the ball. Romine has looked pretty solid too, they could maybe split time to start while Sanchez transitioned. Joey Gallo is who Olney suggested for the stud prospect 3B, as he is blocked by Beltre at 3B, although they may move him to 1B and let him take over for Moreland, whose deal is up this year. He would be an incredible fit for Yankee Stadium obviously, insane lefty power.
 

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Gary Sanchez hit a two run HR in the sixth to win today's game 2-0, but it's notable because it was off Tyler Glasnow, the #14 prospect in all of baseball coming into this season in BA, right between Matz and Benintendi (http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/top-100-prospects/#y5qJe4KdOjmiquDK.97).

Olney suggested it last week, but if NY could somehow move McCann (he has a no-trade) for a stud prospect 3B, it would set NY up at both 3B and let Sanchez get his shot at starting C which he is clearly ready for, on both sides of the ball. Romine has looked pretty solid too, they could maybe split time to start while Sanchez transitioned. Joey Gallo is who Olney suggested for the stud prospect 3B, as he is blocked by Beltre at 3B, although they may move him to 1B and let him take over for Moreland, whose deal is up this year. He would be an incredible fit for Yankee Stadium obviously, insane lefty power.
Sounds like a great deal to me. I have some bullpen arms that will interest the Rangers too.
 

jon abbey

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Gary Sanchez took a foul ball off his thumb yesterday, and the tests just showed he has a crack in the thumb, more info to come.
 

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With the 18th pick of first round the Yankees drafted Blake Rutherford. Here is the BA write up:

Rutherford has size, strength, athleticism and power potential for scouts to dream on, and would likely be the consensus top prep bat in the class if he had a more consistent spring or if he were a year younger. Rutherford turned 19 as the calendar turned to May, offering less projection than other prep outfielders, with a physically mature 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame. Scouts have to project on Rutherford’s home run power; he’s produced this spring after being the biggest bat last summer for USA Baseball’s 18U team. However, he hasn’t taken the next step with his power, at times trying too hard to pull and yank balls for power. When he stays with his approach, he’s as impressive as any prep hitter in the class, with power to all fields, a line-drive swing path that covers the plate and the athleticism for center field. Some scouts see him as a potential power-hitting center fielder in the Jim Edmonds mold.
He was the number 6 prospect on Keith Law's board. So they got a great value here.

With the second pick they drafted 2nd basemen Nick Solak out of Louisville. Seems to be a well-rounded hitter with shaky defensive skills.
 

jon abbey

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Mike Axisa of RAB thinks Rutherford immediately moves into NY's #4 or #5 prospect slot, behind only Mateo/Sanchez/Judge and maybe Kaprielian.
 

jon abbey

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A lot of minor league notes, a bunch of positive ones for a change:

Jorge Mateo got caught stealing 8 of his first 15 attempts this year after a much better percentage last year, but seems to have fixed that with 15 of 16 successful attempts since May 5.

Two once prospects, Tyler Austin and Kyle Higashioka, who seemed stalled for good at the lower levels, got recent promotions to AAA because of injuries and both are just crushing, .407/.448/.852 for Austin (now playing 1B) and .419/.444/.860 for Higashioka (C). I guess they don't want to give up the 40 man roster spot for Austin but a few more games of this and it seems like they will be forced to...

My hard-throwing giant binkie Domingo Acevedo has made a couple of starts since coming off the DL, just as dominant as before. His season line is 42.2 34 13 9 7 48, ERA of 1.90 and WHIP of 0.96. He needs innings more than anything, but I'm so curious to see him tested at higher levels.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=642758#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL

Chance Adams is a 2015 draftee converting from reliever to starter in high A this year. He had a rough April but put it all together in May and was named league player of the month:

"Tampa Yankees (Yankees) right-hander Chance Adams went 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA in five starts to capture Florida State League Player of the Month honors. Adams allowed just 18 hits and seven walks while striking out 32 over 29.0 innings. He did not allow more than five hits in a start. Adams, 21, was selected by New York in the fifth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Dallas Baptist University."

Adams followed that up with a 5 0 0 0 1 10 today, looking like a good call to stretch him out.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=664856#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2016/MINORS

8 year old Haitian phenom Estevan Florial made his stateside debut in Tampa high-A tonight, unclear whether this jump up is permanent or an emergency fill-in, but of course he can help persuade them with some good play.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=664314#/career/R/hitting/2016/ALL

Lastly RAB updated their top 30 NY prospects just before the draft, Rutherford will presumably slot it at #4 or #5 here as soon as he signs:

http://riveraveblues.com/2016/06/2016-pre-draft-top-30-prospects-139276/
 

jon abbey

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Acevedo and Adams (both discussed above) both promoted today, to high A and AA respectively.
 

jon abbey

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Judge has found his stroke again in recent weeks, raising his OPS from .657 to .791, including a pair of HRs tonight. He's 23 for 60 over that time period with 5 HRs in his last 8 games.
 

jon abbey

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And Judge goes deep again his first time up tonight, this one off Matt Boyd, who was just sent down by DET.

Starting to get a little more excited about Judge Time...
 

terrynever

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Judge is playing third base tonight against pawtucket, according to milb.com. 6-foot-7 third baseman.
 

jon abbey

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Judge is playing third base tonight against pawtucket, according to milb.com. 6-foot-7 third baseman.
That's a mistake, no one said anything on Twitter and the milb.com phone app (which is fantastic) has him playing RF as usual, Kozma at 3B.
 

terrynever

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That's a mistake, no one said anything on Twitter and the milb.com phone app (which is fantastic) has him playing RF as usual, Kozma at 3B.
Good. It made no sense but then Refsnyder is a first baseman so I decided to rely on the Internet. Probably should be over there watching the game but I am too lazy.
 

jon abbey

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The first base pecking order is getting crowded again with the remnants of Tex back tomorrow and Parmelee also on the way back, but Tyler Austin has homered in his first three ABs tonight in AAA, OPS now up to 1.110 (only 70 PAs, but still).
 

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Judge and Sanchez homer in 10th as Scranton takes 8-5 lead.

How did Austin revive his career? Must be healthy.
 

jon abbey

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Yet another HR for Judge tonight, that's six in his last six games (24 ABs), and now he's leading the IL with 15.
 

jon abbey

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Miguel Andujar, a 21 year old 3B who was recently promoted to AA, has been killing it. 4-4 in game 2 of a doubleheader today put him up to .400 even since moving up. RAB had him as NY's #9 prospect a few weeks ago and he's only helped himself since, a Dominican with a cannon for an arm (I read somewhere he'd have a 95 MPH FB if he was a pitcher) who was NY's highest paid international signing in 2011-2012.
 

jon abbey

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How did Austin revive his career? Must be healthy.
Dunno, but the same thing happened to Kyle Higashioka, one-time promising catcher prospect. He looked like he had plateaued as a prospect without coming anywhere near the bigs, then last month he got promoted to AAA as an emergency fill-in when Gary Sanchez got hurt. He went nuts there (1.278 OPS over two weeks), got sent back to AA anyway once Sanchez came back, and today he hit 2 HRs and had 7 RBIs. He had a .942 OPS for the year between the two levels before today, he is 26 but definitely seems to have broken through to some extent.
 

terrynever

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Dunno, but the same thing happened to Kyle Higashioka, one-time promising catcher prospect. He looked like he had plateaued as a prospect without coming anywhere near the bigs, then last month he got promoted to AAA as an emergency fill-in when Gary Sanchez got hurt. He went nuts there (1.278 OPS over two weeks), got sent back to AA anyway once Sanchez came back, and today he hit 2 HRs and had 7 RBIs. He had a .942 OPS for the year between the two levels before today, he is 26 but definitely seems to have broken through to some extent.
Those are the kind of guys I rooted for in Pawtucket, the ones who just kept plugging away and then somehow they figured it out, whether it was a pitch they learned to handle, or a pitcher who developed something extra in his arsenal. Austin always could hit. It's no secret that injuries stop a lot of pro careers. Yankees could use his righty power off the bench right now but I guess Refsnyder fills that role, without the power. Higashioka may just have run into a hot spell and is p[laying with confidence. Good for him.
 

jon abbey

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NY's top three affiliates didn't allow a run tonight, winning four games by a collective 12-0 score (only 28 innings combined, though, AA was rain-shortened and high A was two seven inning games in a double-header). Chad Green is leading the IL in ERA at 1.54 and has a 26/2 K/BB in his last three starts (20 IP).
 

jon abbey

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Strained flexor tendon for Kaprielian, not so sure what that means for him but at best, it's been a lost season.
 

jon abbey

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NY signs their #1 pick Blake Rutherford, who immediately jumps into their top 5 prospects. He'll report to the GCL, NY has signed their top 10 picks from this year.
 

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Jeff Degano SP Pulaski

2 starts 24 batters faced. One batter put the ball in play for an error. 13 walks and 10 strikeouts
 

jon abbey

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Pulaski is the team with the first few of the 2014 international haul, they lost that one tonight 15-14.

Mason Williams with his first game action since last June 19 in the GCL tonight, welcome back!
 

jon abbey

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Dermis Garcia, who got the biggest bonus of any of the massive 2014 crop ($3.2M, I think) has 5 HRs in his first 10 games for Pulaski.
 

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MILB announces two-week suspension for Jorge Mateo for violating team policy with Tampa. Story to follow, though it is unlikely full details will be revealed. If it were drugs, suspension would be longer than two weeks. Must be fairly serious to warrant two weeks.
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, not just two weeks, but that means he's out of the Futures Game which he had already been picked for.
 

jon abbey

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Also I think it's an internal team thing, not via MILB as you posted originally. Not a lot of info yet, though, as you also said.
 

terrynever

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Also I think it's an internal team thing, not via MILB as you posted originally. Not a lot of info yet, though, as you also said.
You are right. I read the story on MILB.com but the release came from Tampa. Good catch, Jon.
 

jon abbey

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More details, and sorry but I think this is kind of funny (especially because Mateo has been in a big slump for a while):

"According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Yankees top prospect Jorge Mateo’s mouth got in the way of his talent and led to a two-week suspension, The Post has learned.

Frustrated he hadn’t been promoted from Tampa (Single-A) to Trenton (Double-A) and watching teammate and fellow infielder Miguel Andujar get that promotion, Mateo popped off to Yankee brass and suggested the organization release a player in Trenton to make room for him.

Since he will be suspended, Mateo will not participate in the Future’s Game on Sunday in San Diego. The suspension was delivered through the Yankees, and GM Brian Cashman wasn’t available to comment on the situation."

http://nypost.com/2016/07/06/yankees-prospect-mouthed-off-to-execs-and-got-suspended/
 

terrynever

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Nothing wrong with wanting to get promoted. Mateo is a young kid in a new culture and needs polishing on and off the field. Good time to teach him a lesson.
 

BigMike

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Honestly I think the kid has worn out physically, so a two week break might be the best thing that could happen
 

jon abbey

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Dunno, but the same thing happened to Kyle Higashioka, one-time promising catcher prospect. He looked like he had plateaued as a prospect without coming anywhere near the bigs, then last month he got promoted to AAA as an emergency fill-in when Gary Sanchez got hurt. He went nuts there (1.278 OPS over two weeks), got sent back to AA anyway once Sanchez came back, and today he hit 2 HRs and had 7 RBIs. He had a .942 OPS for the year between the two levels before today, he is 26 but definitely seems to have broken through to some extent.
Higashioka with 3 more HRs in 8 games since I made this post, up to 14 for the season now between AA/AAA in 215 ABs. His combined OPS was at .963 before tonight.
 

jon abbey

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4 Yankees in Keith Law's new top 50 today:

Judge (23)
Sanchez (36)
Blake Rutherford (43)
Mateo (50)

Also Rutherford has only been playing a couple of weeks, but got promoted to Pulaski yesterday.
 

jon abbey

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Good to see that Chad Green didn't let his BP pitcher exhibition against CLE affect his next start, even if it was in AAA. He was absolutely dominant tonight, 8 1 0 0 0 8, retiring 24 of 25 batters and lowering his IL-leading ERA to 1.41.
 

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Good to see that Chad Green didn't let his BP pitcher exhibition against CLE affect his next start, even if it was in AAA. He was absolutely dominant tonight, 8 1 0 0 0 8, retiring 24 of 25 batters and lowering his IL-leading ERA to 1.41.
How old is Green? I don't know much about him. Do we have something here?
 

jon abbey

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He turned 25 in May, he is one of the two minor league SPs Cashman got from Detroit this winter for Justin Wilson (Luis Cessa is the other). Green is a work in progress, he had one very good start in the bigs and got hammered a couple of other times, but leading the IL in ERA is promising at least. I think he is only in AAA again so he could not miss too much time with the All-Star break, I expect he'll be back up soon so NY can get a better read on what they have in him.
 

jon abbey

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And NY has been really good at developing that kind of guy in recent years, Phelps, Shane Greene, Warren. Bryan Mitchell was looking like that guy this year before messing up his ankle on the last day of spring training covering first.
 

jon abbey

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Chance Adams is absolutely dominating AA since being promoted about a month ago. He had one bad start on June 23, but his other five starts have been dominant. In the last four, he has given up a grand total of three hits (!!!):

7 1 1 1 4 7
4 1 1 1 3 1
6 0 0 0 1 6
6 1 0 0 2 8

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=664856#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2016/MINORS

He's a 21 year old 2015 5th round draft pick who NY converted from reliever to starter this year. The conversion seems to have been quite successful.
 

jon abbey

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18 year old SS/3B Dermis Garcia has 8 HRs in 64 ABs in rookie ball, he got the biggest bonus in that 2014 class ($3.2M).
 

jon abbey

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Yet another HR for Garcia tonight, I wonder if he has a chance to make top 100 offseason lists.