NY minor league prospect news (2017 edition)

jon abbey

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Scranton should try to schedule an exhibition game against the Padres, heh. They have won eight of nine before adding Torres, good luck to the IL against that lineup. I think I would like to see Wade/Fowler/Torres/Frazier 1-4, Ford has been going great since coming up but let him hit 5th and bunch the prospects together.

Wade gets overlooked but he has played six positions already in AAA this season, SS/2B/3B and all three outfield positions. He doesn't turn 23 until November, was a borderline top #100 guy coming into the season (BP had him at #101) but he has kicked it up a notch so far this year, and he is the least promising of those four IMO.
 

jon abbey

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Some nice lengthy writeups of Frazier/Fowler/Wade here, very favorable.

"Overall, Frazier is an above-average left field defender, with the tools and profile for an above-average projection at a corner-outfield position, and he carries an overall ceiling of a Role 70 impact player of perennial all-star potential. He’s not far from the major leagues, and I’d expect him with the Yankees sometime this season."

"Overall, Fowler projects as a Role 55, above-average corner outfielder, with average defensive ability. Improvement with his bat will determine his ultimate role in the big leagues, but he could handle an everyday role in center field, which is where I think he will ultimately land. He compares well to current Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner."

"I like the way he plays the game – with intensity and with a high baseball IQ. Wade will be a valuable major league piece for a 25-man roster, with multi-faceted ability to move around the diamond either as a middle infielder or any spot in the outfield, whose ultimate home on the diamond will be based on club need. He projects as a Role 50 regular, who should arrive in the Bronx at some point this year."

https://2080baseball.com/2017/05/the-grind-prospect-evaluations-from-a-veteran-scout-3/
 

jon abbey

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Wade singles and Fowler homers to start off tonight's game, pretty sure Fowler would be an upgrade on Ellsbury right now if given the chance.

And as I type, Frazier homers also, 8th for both of them.

Edit: And now Wade homers in the second inning, everyone but Gleyber in on the party so far tonight.
 
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DanoooME

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Wade singles and Fowler homers to start off tonight's game, pretty sure Fowler would be an upgrade on Ellsbury right now if given the chance.
Might get that chance. Watching YES on MLBN and they just said Ellsbury has a concussion and a neck issue from crashing into the wall on a catch.
 

jon abbey

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It's just a question of the 40 man spot (neither Fowler nor Frazier is on there yet, but both need to be added this winter) and playing time (to me this isn't an issue, bring one up and cycle in all four guys like you have been with Ellsbury). I'd like to see them trade Refsnyder and/or Mason Williams for whatever they can get and open up 40 man spots that way when necessary, Fowler has earned a shot and Frazier is close behind.
 

jon abbey

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Exciting test for the prospect-laden Scranton lineup tomorrow, facing Corey Kluber in a rehab start (scheduled for 70-75 pitches).

Impressive starts from two Domingos tonight, Domingo German in AAA and Domingo Acevedo in AA, 7 3 0 0 2 10 and 7.1 3 0 0 0 9 respectively. Throw in Severino's 8 shutout innings in the bigs and that is a good pitching night for the organization.
 

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I have been holding Jorge Mateo as a longterm keeping in my AL only fantasy league, so I keep close tabs. What a bizarre season Jorge is having. He started hot, fell off a cliff, and now has killed the ball for the last month, all the while not walking and striking out as often as he gets hits.

Apparently in May he is at 303 BA with a 603 Slugging. On the other hand last night was his first walk since April 29, and he has had 29 strikeouts in 93 at bats in the same period. So when he puts the ball in play he is crushing it

I was surprised they left him in Tampa, but maybe they like him working with Eric Duncan, either that or they figure him piling up stats might help rebuild his prospect status enough to make him a key piece in a deal

An article from today
https://www.milb.com/milb/news/new-york-yankees-prospect-jorge-mateo-gets-even-hotter-at-the-plate/c-232498962/t-185364810
 

jon abbey

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Also he has been playing CF a lot lately, there is less of a logjam ahead of him there (just probably Dustin Fowler) and that may be his best shot at an eventual starting spot with NY. He is still just 21 (for another month), and he has been hitting better lately (two doubles and two triples in a doubleheader yesterday is an impressive day), but this chart of his BB% year to year that someone at NYYF made does not bode well:

 

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Yeah, that is really rough. He is the first guy I think the Yankees look to trade if they need something at the deadline. Maybe something like Mateo and Montgomery gets you Sonny Gray.
 

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We haven't talked at all about the upcoming draft. In a couple of mocks, including by Law, they have the Yankees taking 1B Nick Pratto, the best high school bat in the draft.

MiLB has him as the 10th best plater in the draft. He seems kind of undersized to me though. And I am not too stoked about a first baseman without a ton of power. With all the top shelf offensive talent in the system, I think I would like to see the Yankees to go after some quick moving college pitchers in the early rounds.

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 45 | Arm: 55 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55

A 2011 Little League World Series star, Pratto entered the season as a legitimate two-way talent. While he still pitches for his Huntington Beach High School team, his bat has really taken off this spring and there is no question that he will be taken in June as a hitter.

Pratto has positioned himself as perhaps the best pure high school bat in the country. He's always shown an advanced approach at the plate and the ability to hit for average. What's allowed him to separate from the rest of the class is the added power he's shown. Pratto isn't the biggest guy in the world, but he should have at least average in-game power in the future, using his feel for hitting to punish mistakes consistently. Pratto is a plus defender at first, with better range than your average first baseman and an above-average arm that throws upper-80s fastballs off the mound.

An outstanding competitor who has been on the mound for key international games as part of Team USA, few doubt Pratto's ability to maximize his tools. High school first base-only types can be a tough profile -- Adrian Gonzalez and Freddie Freeman are the biggest success stories, but Pratto isn't as big. Most believe in Pratto's bat enough, though, to take the Southern Cal commit early in the first round.
 

Wingack

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I don't think that is all that crazy. Mateo is still a guy that was a top 50 guy on some prospect lists and Montgomery is a you lefty starter that looks like he will stick in the majors. I think that is a deal the A's may consider, given how bad Gray was last year. It remains to be seen if he can keep up what he has done in his past couple starts.
 

jon abbey

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Arguing about hypothetical trades is pretty silly, but Beane is the same guy who gave away lots of years of Josh Donaldson and Addison Russell in different terrible deals, so I wouldn't rule anything out there. Gray is under contract through 2019, so two seasons-plus left, same as Gerrit Cole and one year less than Jose Quintana.

NY seems reasonably set in terms of position players going forward (meaning in the 2018-2019 range), but the pitching staff is really up in the air after Severino and Betances/Chapman. There should be a bunch of pitchers on the trade market, so I think if Cashman finds the right deal, he will move guys in order to free up 40 man spots. I don't think they need to give up too much, though, Cashman has some internal possibilities too and he can wait for the right deal to come along.
 

jon abbey

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Thairo Estrada is overshadowed by higher profile prospects in the NY system, but he is a 21 year old SS in AA leading the Eastern League in BA at .340. His OPS is .864 to his former teammate Gleyber Torres' .863 (in AA), Torres is only 10 months younger.

Clint Frazier homered for the third straight game, his SLG is at a season high of .528 now. It was a monster shot to left, linked below:

 

jon abbey

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Dustin Fowler with two more doubles tonight, now leading the IL with 28 extra base hits (13 2B/7 3B/8 HR).
 

jon abbey

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Not exactly a prospect, but Tyler Webb is a 26 year old LH reliever who PIT took in the rule 5 draft last winter, and who was their last cut in preseason, being returned to NY. He had a horrendous first game, giving up 6 ERs in an inning, but since then he has been dominant, 2 total ERs in his next 24 innings, and an insane 36/0 K/BB ratio in 25 innings. Add him to the list of guys who would likely be immediate upgrades if called up, in his case to replace Layne as the second lefty (third once Chapman is back, behind Shreve).

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=643778#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL
 

jon abbey

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Awesome start from Chance Adams in an early morning AAA game, 6 2 0 0 1 12.
 

jon abbey

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A montage of his twelve strike 3s here, unsurprisingly a career high:

 

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Just came in here to post that. Very, very impressive. Lots of swings and misses at pitches in or near the strikezone too.

Montgomery better watch his back.
 

jon abbey

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I think they're going to be hesitant to bring Adams up anytime this year, even September, because he doesn't need to be on the 40 man this winter and putting him on will cost someone else a spot, a la Jonathan Holder last year. I do think he's a strong candidate to be in the rotation out of spring training next year, though.
 

jon abbey

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Miguel Andujar is rated around 8th-10th by most people in NY's system, which puts him in the group pushing to get top 100 status. MLB.com has him as their 7th best 3B prospect currently, which will go up to 6th when Arroyo graduates soon. He is still very young for AA, turning 22 this March, and had a slow April with a .668 OPS, but he is smoking the ball now, .896 OPS in May and another HR tonight, 14-28 in his last seven games and his 3 RBIs tonight put him into the league lead with 41. He has the skills to play 3B defensively, range and arm strength, but he needs to be more consistent.

I think if you quizzed Cashman with some truth serum, he'd say that ideally Andujar would be their 3B of the future, Headley and Castro gone, and Didi/Torres at SS/2B (Torres probably the better player but Didi probably the better SS defender), so it's nice to see him turning things around after a shaky April offensively and defensively.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=609280#/splits/R/hitting/2017/MINORS
 

jon abbey

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MLB.com removes prospects who have hit their AB/innings/service time limit over the course of the season and replaces them with still eligible ones, without reranking. Dustin Fowler is the latest to benefit from this, moving into their top 100 with Jeff Hoffman graduating, so congrats to him, impressive for an 18th round draft pick out of high school.

NY now has eight guys currently on the list, tied with ATL for the most in baseball. The other four teams in the division have by my count 12 total (BOS-2, BAL-1, TB-5, TOR-4).

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=prospects
 

jon abbey

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With Tyler Austin off his rehab stint today and officially assigned to AAA (not sure why, he should be on the big league team), Scranton has a top 5 in their lineup of Wade/Fowler/Torres/Austin/Frazier. The opposing pitcher tonight handled them the first two times through tonight, taking a 2-0 lead into the sixth, then the third time through they went single/walk/HR/double/walk, Torres' first HR in AAA.
 

terrynever

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Thanks for the video link. Torres finished 3-for-3 with a walk and 4 RBI in a 6-3 win over Rochester. He has batted third in a lot of games, even as his BA fell under .200. Up to a respectable .256 now in 48 PAs with Scranton. He has walked 9 times so his OBP is over .400.

How many ABs does Torres need in Scranton before he is ready to join the big club? He should reach 200 by late July.
 

jon abbey

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I think any issues are on the defensive side more than the offensive side, he has only ever played 12 games at 3B, 6 in AA and 6 in AAA. Admittedly that is more than Manny Machado had in similar circumstances, when they moved him at 20 to the bigs to play 3B from his natural SS, he had only played two games at 3B in AA, that's it, but it's obviously not ideal.
 

terrynever

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I think any issues are on the defensive side more than the offensive side, he has only ever played 12 games at 3B, 6 in AA and 6 in AAA. Admittedly that is more than Manny Machado had in similar circumstances, when they moved him at 20 to the bigs to play 3B from his natural SS, he had only played two games at 3B in AA, that's it, but it's obviously not ideal.
The obvious strategy would be to focus Torres at third base but there is talk of moving Castro there next year because of his shortcomings at second base. So I think we will see Torres' prep work evenly divided for the next month.
 

jon abbey

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And he is playing SS too in case Didi gets hurt.

Who has realistically talked about Castro moving to 3B? I don't remember seeing that, except wishful thinking from fans maybe. Not sure why he'd be any better there, and I doubt he has the arm strength.
 

terrynever

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And he is playing SS too in case Didi gets hurt.

Who has realistically talked about Castro moving to 3B? I don't remember seeing that, except wishful thinking from fans maybe. Not sure why he'd be any better there, and I doubt he has the arm strength.
It was mentioned when he first came to NY and then again this past January when Castro admitted he would be willing to play anywhere to help the Yankees. That came after a Hot Stove banquet in NY.

It is a different kind of throwing motion from third but anyone who came up as a shortstop has the arm strength to play third base. And since third base is more of a reaction position, Castro's lack of range would be less of a problem. He could learn the position in the offseason and in ST.

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2017/01/what_yankees_starlin_castro_thinks_about_trying_3r.html
 

jon abbey

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Oh, I missed you saying "next year", sorry.

That's somewhat more realistic, but NY still has Miguel Andujar coming, who has been red-hot lately in AA and who is an actual 3B, plus Tyler Wade, who will probably slot into Torreyes' utility infielder spot but is also a 3B option. Basically I don't think Castro is part of the solution and think he will be gone in the veteran purge also, sometime in 2018 at the latest (his contract is through 2019 with a 2020 option).
 

terrynever

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Oh, I missed you saying "next year", sorry.

That's somewhat more realistic, but NY still has Miguel Andujar coming, who has been red-hot lately in AA and who is an actual 3B, plus Tyler Wade, who will probably slot into Torreyes' utility infielder spot but is also a 3B option. Basically I don't think Castro is part of the solution and think he will be gone in the veteran purge also, sometime in 2018 at the latest (his contract is through 2019 with a 2020 option).
I agree about Castro long-term but will enjoy his current hot streak and good attitude that almost offsets his defensive issues. Cashman wants to build a team that will endure so it makes sense to add pieces like Andujar when they are ready.
What is impressive is how many quality replacement pieces are in the minors. Most not ready yet but within a year or two. Even the starting pitching has pieces in place.
 

jon abbey

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I talked about him in the rotation thread recently, but Ronald Herrera is absolutely dominating AA and he just turned 22 a month ago. He has only allowed 6 ERs in his 8 starts so far this year, 7-0 with a 1.07 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=622703#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL

Also RAB did an updated pre-draft top 30 prospects in the system list, Fowler (12 to 9), Domingo German (24 to 15) and Thairo Estrada (27 to 18) the big risers since the preseason, James Kaprielian (TJ surgery), Billy McKinney and Mason Williams the farthest drops:

http://riveraveblues.com/2017/06/2017-pre-draft-top-30-prospects-155120/#disqus_thread
 

jon abbey

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The Sabathia injury has led to lots of exciting pitching promotions:

Domingo German back up, presumably to take his rotation spot for now.
Domingo Acevedo to AAA, my most anticipated NY pitching prospect with Kaprielian hurt.
Zach Littell to AA, he has dominated high A and finally gets his promotion.
 

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Litell had a dominant first start in AA:

7 2 1 0 3 10

and was sent back to Tampa after the game, possibly due to the Trenton schedule - doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday.
 

terrynever

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3 hits for Gleyber tonight, up to .304. Frazier hit a 3-run homer, his 12th in less than half a season.
 

jon abbey

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Litell had a dominant first start in AA:

7 2 1 0 3 10

and was sent back to Tampa after the game, possibly due to the Trenton schedule - doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday.
5 games in less than 48 hours, that is a marathon weekend.

Acevedo also had a very strong AAA debut, too many walks but 7 3 1 1 5 4 in 104 pitches with most of the walks early on is a nice AAA debut for a kid already at his third new level of the season. He is 6'7", 240 and has allegedly touched 103, just another flame-throwing Domingo closing in on the Bronx.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=642758#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL
 

jon abbey

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With Torres on the DL, Miguel Andujar has been promoted to AAA, he's batting sixth and playing 3B today.
 

jon abbey

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Also Billy McKinney may finally be breaking out of his massive slump after impressing in spring training, he won the Eastern League player of the week today after hitting .385 and slugging ,846 with 3 doubles and 3 HRs.

No one talks about Justus Sheffield but he has picked it up lately in AA, a seven inning three hit shutout this week and a 2.99 ERA in 75 innings for the season, he turned 21 a month ago and is probably NY's highest rated pitching prospect with Kaprielian out. He just turned 21 last month and is ready for AAA whenever NY finds a spot for him there.
 

jon abbey

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Fowler and Frazier with a combined cycle in the first five innings today, 1B/3B for Frazier, 2B/HR for Fowler. Both are in the top 13 in the IL in OPS along with Wade, with Moncada just behind in 14th.
 

jon abbey

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Dillon Tate, the #4 overall pick in the 2015 draft who NY got from TEX for Beltran last season, is finally on a roster this year, added to high A Tampa today. Keith Law had him as the #50 overall prospect in MLB going into 2016, very curious to see how he does.
 

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Dillon Tate, the #4 overall pick in the 2015 draft who NY got from TEX for Beltran last season, is finally on a roster this year, added to high A Tampa today. Keith Law had him as the #50 overall prospect in MLB going into 2016, very curious to see how he does.
When they acquired him, the Yankees must have had an idea of what they wanted to do with him. Like you I am curious to see where this goes.
 

jon abbey

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Beautiful debut for Tate, 5.2 3 0 0 1 5 on just 67 pitches, he was supposedly touching 97 in the 1st.
 

jon abbey

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NY's 2016 second round pick Nick Solak continues to hit in high A, 4-5 tonight and up to .310/.417/.452. He is decidedly outperforming his SS partner Jorge Mateo, who is not hitting even though it's his second full year in high A, two more errors tonight, and Solak is only five months older.

Good news for Solak but not for NY, Mateo is increasingly looking like a dud, and he is already taking up a 40 man spot, although I guess he could come up as a pinchrunner in Sept, 24 SBs in 27 attempts so far.
 

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NY's 2016 second round pick Nick Solak continues to hit in high A, 4-5 tonight and up to .310/.417/.452. He is decidedly outperforming his SS partner Jorge Mateo, who is not hitting even though it's his second full year in high A, two more errors tonight, and Solak is only five months older.

Good news for Solak but not for NY, Mateo is increasingly looking like a dud, and he is already taking up a 40 man spot, although I guess he could come up as a pinchrunner in Sept, 24 SBs in 27 attempts so far.
I haven't seen him play but reading some of Solak's scouting reports remind me of Pedroia.

Beautiful debut for Tate, 5.2 3 0 0 1 5 on just 67 pitches, he was supposedly touching 97 in the 1st.
Love seeing this, this could be such a huge steal.