NY minor league prospect news (2017 edition)
- Thread starter jon abbey
- Start date
New top 100 and top 30 lists from mlb.com, Mateo's insanely impressive month in AA somehow wasn't enough to keep him from falling off the list. NY's top 100 guys:
Torres (3)
Frazier (27)
Adams (63)
Fowler (79)
Florial (91)
Sheffield (94)
Kaprielian also dropped out after getting hurt again, NY's 7-12 are pretty impressive (Wade, Mateo, Andujar, Acevedo, Albert Abreu, Kaprielian). Dillon Tate is 18th, which is too low for a former top 100 guy who looks great, but it's not like these rankings actually matter much.
http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=nyy
Torres (3)
Frazier (27)
Adams (63)
Fowler (79)
Florial (91)
Sheffield (94)
Kaprielian also dropped out after getting hurt again, NY's 7-12 are pretty impressive (Wade, Mateo, Andujar, Acevedo, Albert Abreu, Kaprielian). Dillon Tate is 18th, which is too low for a former top 100 guy who looks great, but it's not like these rankings actually matter much.
http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=nyy
Cave now has 10 homers in 130 ABs with Scranton, hitting .377 and his OPS is over 1.100. He can run, too. Drafted in sixth round in 2011, Cave is a long-term minor leaguer. His good friend Ben Gamel traveled a similar path and was traded last August to Seattle. Cave was taken in the Rule 5 draft last winter by Cincinnati and then returned in the spring. He is blocked in NY for the time being.
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Yeah, Cave is crushing since going back to AAA, he may have won a 40 man spot if he doesn't get dealt before then.
I realized that the best way to judge current system depth using those mlb.com lists was to see how many players they had rated an overall 50 or above, and NY is tied with SD for first despite moving Rutherford:
19-NYY
19-SD
17-CWS
17-MIL
17-OAK
16-PHI
15-CIN
15-TOR
14-ATL
14-LAD
14-MIN
14-TB
13-HOU
13-CLE
12-STL
11-PIT
11-TEX
9-NYM
9-BOS
9-CHC
9-SEA
9-WAS
8-BAL
8-MIA
8-COL
7-SF
6-LAA
6-DET
5-ARI
3-KC
I realized that the best way to judge current system depth using those mlb.com lists was to see how many players they had rated an overall 50 or above, and NY is tied with SD for first despite moving Rutherford:
19-NYY
19-SD
17-CWS
17-MIL
17-OAK
16-PHI
15-CIN
15-TOR
14-ATL
14-LAD
14-MIN
14-TB
13-HOU
13-CLE
12-STL
11-PIT
11-TEX
9-NYM
9-BOS
9-CHC
9-SEA
9-WAS
8-BAL
8-MIA
8-COL
7-SF
6-LAA
6-DET
5-ARI
3-KC
Domingo Acevedo is being limited to five innings for the rest of the season because of his innings count, 113 already after 93 last year. Tonight he had a dominant 5 2 0 0 0 7, he has a fantastic 61/9 K/BB ratio in AA (59.1 innings).
Miguel Andujar was 3-4 with a walk, a double and a game-winning 2 run HR in the 10th. His AAA OPS is up to .944, he's hitting .330. Jim Callis said today that Andujar and Mateo were in his next 5 after the top 100, I'd expect both to be on offseason top 100 lists, hopefully still for NY.
Some good info in this Twitter thread, I will cut and paste:
Dan Federico @RealDanFederico 1h1 hour ago
Received scouting reports from a scout I'm in touch with. Here's a thread on his thoughts on some talents on the Trenton Thunder #Yankees
Players hurt/not in Trenton: "Sheffield (AA) is their 2nd best P prospect behind F. Perez (A). Florial is highest ceiling position prospect"
Mateo: "Athletic, speedster, defensive versatility. He's best at 2B will be + DEF at SS or CF. Ball jumps off bat w/of X-Base power. Pot All-Star if he figures out game/matures. He's flamboyant, reminds me of J. Baez in his style of play and tools but less power."
He also added, "with Didi, Torres, Florial and Fowler, Mateo is their best trade chip."
Estrada: "He is not flamboyant & doesn't have the power of premium SSs but is a + def w/ + arm, can play both SS & 2B. Contact gap hitter with plus speed. Speed hasn't translated to SB. Plus instincts, plays hard, consummate team guy with plus intangibles."
Littell: "Tall w/ a solid, strong body. He's a pitch to contact, strike thrower, Sinker/SL guy, with excel command & pitchability." Paints the edges with FB. I like his breaking stuff. Needs to incorporate his CH. Fierce competitor w/ no fear and he's a WINNER!"
Acevedo: "Big, power arm. 3 piece mix & throws strikes. His big issue is he rushes and flys open, giving hitters a good early look. Throws too many FB. Needs to locate better. Delivery is like Betances. I've been backing off on him. Lots of teams came to see him."
Dan Federico @RealDanFederico 1h1 hour ago
Received scouting reports from a scout I'm in touch with. Here's a thread on his thoughts on some talents on the Trenton Thunder #Yankees
Players hurt/not in Trenton: "Sheffield (AA) is their 2nd best P prospect behind F. Perez (A). Florial is highest ceiling position prospect"
Mateo: "Athletic, speedster, defensive versatility. He's best at 2B will be + DEF at SS or CF. Ball jumps off bat w/of X-Base power. Pot All-Star if he figures out game/matures. He's flamboyant, reminds me of J. Baez in his style of play and tools but less power."
He also added, "with Didi, Torres, Florial and Fowler, Mateo is their best trade chip."
Estrada: "He is not flamboyant & doesn't have the power of premium SSs but is a + def w/ + arm, can play both SS & 2B. Contact gap hitter with plus speed. Speed hasn't translated to SB. Plus instincts, plays hard, consummate team guy with plus intangibles."
Littell: "Tall w/ a solid, strong body. He's a pitch to contact, strike thrower, Sinker/SL guy, with excel command & pitchability." Paints the edges with FB. I like his breaking stuff. Needs to incorporate his CH. Fierce competitor w/ no fear and he's a WINNER!"
Acevedo: "Big, power arm. 3 piece mix & throws strikes. His big issue is he rushes and flys open, giving hitters a good early look. Throws too many FB. Needs to locate better. Delivery is like Betances. I've been backing off on him. Lots of teams came to see him."
And some amazing quotes from Jim Callis in last Sunday's NY Post, keep in mind this is after the White Sox trade (Callis is I think the main minor league guy for mlb.com):
================================
“It takes some time to kind of stack the systems against each other,” Jim Callis, a prospect expert with MLB Pipeline, said by phone. “I still think there’s no question the Yankees have a top-three farm system in baseball, along with the Braves and White Sox, whatever order you want to put them.
“I don’t think there’s even question the Yankees definitely have the deepest farm system. I do our Yankees top-30 prospect list, and I’m not saying this with any sense of hyperbole: I can easily rank 40 or 45 Yankees who belong on most top-30 lists. Their farm system is ridiculous. If you stretch the definition to include guys I kind of like and can see them making the top-30 list some day, you might be able to pull that number up to 50 or 60.”
http://nypost.com/2017/07/22/where-does-yankees-ridiculous-farm-system-rank-now/
================================
“It takes some time to kind of stack the systems against each other,” Jim Callis, a prospect expert with MLB Pipeline, said by phone. “I still think there’s no question the Yankees have a top-three farm system in baseball, along with the Braves and White Sox, whatever order you want to put them.
“I don’t think there’s even question the Yankees definitely have the deepest farm system. I do our Yankees top-30 prospect list, and I’m not saying this with any sense of hyperbole: I can easily rank 40 or 45 Yankees who belong on most top-30 lists. Their farm system is ridiculous. If you stretch the definition to include guys I kind of like and can see them making the top-30 list some day, you might be able to pull that number up to 50 or 60.”
http://nypost.com/2017/07/22/where-does-yankees-ridiculous-farm-system-rank-now/
Not sure if I've mentioned him before, but Freicer Perez (cited above) is worth keeping an eye on. He is a 21 year old righty SP in low A Charleston, he's 6'8" and can hit 101, and he seems to be blossoming as an overall pitcher, 13 total ERs allowed in his last 11 starts (65.2 IP, 1.78 ERA, 67/18 K/BB).
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=661426#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=661426#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS
Yanks have so many elite prospects, they almost gave to trade some of them over the next year or two, because you can't play them all. So who do they trade?
It depends what you're getting back, they already traded Rutherford. I would say that the guys with clear paths to starting jobs shouldn't be moved, Florial and Mateo are the top of the potentially expendable list for position players, but you need to get other long-term control guys in return. Andujar would be untouchable for me as he ideally will be the 3B with Torres at 2B.
Meanwhile McKinney is having an insane night in AAA, 4-4 in the 5th inning with a double, two triples and a home run (!!!!!).
OK, a more in-depth attempted answer at the above question:
Guys in place now:
*Sanchez
Didi
*Judge
*Severino
Montgomery
3 bullpen guys through 2020 or longer (Green/Kahnle/Chapman)
Betances (through 2019)
Robertson/Warren (through 2018)
Frontrunners in the system for the other positions:
*Bird
*Torres
*Andujar
*Frazier
Fowler
Wade-utility guy
Dunno DH, but Castro could be ok and is under contract through 2019)
Adams/Acevedo/Sheffield/Littell/Kaprielian/Tate
Holder/Heller/Gallegos
Other top position player prospects:
Florial
Mateo
Solak
Estrada
High ceiling pitchers still at a low level:
Abreu
Perez
Guzman
===============================
The starred guys for me are basically untouchable, everyone else could go in the right deal.
Guys in place now:
*Sanchez
Didi
*Judge
*Severino
Montgomery
3 bullpen guys through 2020 or longer (Green/Kahnle/Chapman)
Betances (through 2019)
Robertson/Warren (through 2018)
Frontrunners in the system for the other positions:
*Bird
*Torres
*Andujar
*Frazier
Fowler
Wade-utility guy
Dunno DH, but Castro could be ok and is under contract through 2019)
Adams/Acevedo/Sheffield/Littell/Kaprielian/Tate
Holder/Heller/Gallegos
Other top position player prospects:
Florial
Mateo
Solak
Estrada
High ceiling pitchers still at a low level:
Abreu
Perez
Guzman
===============================
The starred guys for me are basically untouchable, everyone else could go in the right deal.
Thinking about it a bit more, not that almost any team has this luxury, but NY could definitely use more catching depth top to bottom in their system. The Padres kind of screwed them by taking Luis Torrens in the rule 5 and keeping him on the roster all year, even though he is years from being ready. If NY could somehow get a premier defensive catcher who could also hit a bit, maybe they could make Sanchez their primary DH.
I'll be honest, I'm not enamored with Sanchez behind the plate the past month. He has some obvious defensive work to do this offseason, specifically with blocking balls. I don't know if I can criticize him for pitch calling because that may be coming from the bench but there has been a handful of incredibly poor pitch selections in tight spots, specifically with Betances. Every time he can't spot his fastball, Sanchez rushes a curve for a strike and immediately asks for another one which promptly gets jacked for a double.
Forget where I saw the stat, maybe here, but our hardest throwers are still throwing more breaking pitches than fastballs. Betances' troubles can be traced back to Sanchez's rise as starting catcher too.
He definitely does, they also were on the same page all night as opposed to their usual constant conferences. I'm OK with his game calling, my issues are with his pitch blocking and hopefully he'll get more consistent at that.
Domingo German stretched back out to 75 pitches in AAA tonight, nice 5.2 3 1 1 1 5 night, far outduelling Carson Fulmer (5.71 ERA in AAA, no wonder he dropped out of top 100 lists).
German could get the call in Smith's spot next time if NY doesn't trade for a SP, he is lined up perfectly.
German could get the call in Smith's spot next time if NY doesn't trade for a SP, he is lined up perfectly.
Heyman says Oakland has softened its demands on Yanks for Sonny Gray. Sherman thinks so, too. I doubt we need to worry about the No. 5 slot anymore. Future is now!
This is just Heyman backing off his previous incorrect reporting about Oakland insisting on Torres or Frazier when the negotiations were far past that according to everyone else.
sherman, an hour ago, on Twitter:
Sense I get is #Yankees and #Athletics closing gap on Gray, but NYY working on other things tonight too. Littell might not be in Gray talks
I mean, as of today it looks that way, but new injuries can change things quickly (like Price a few days ago). Keep in mind that we're a month from Sept 1 when NY will be able to bring up a bunch of additional helpful arms (Heller, Holder, Gallegos, Mitchell, German) and fill that 5th spot by committee each time around, and keep all their core prospects. They don't really have a big 40 man crisis anymore, so I don't think that's a big factor here.
Heyman has always been terrible. As a kid in the 90s, I would curse at his articles.
I stick with Rosenthal, he fact checks before pontificating
Nestor Cortes came up from AA to AAA to fill in for the traded Enns, and all he did was retire all 14 batters he saw before hitting his pitch count and leaving with a perfect game still intact. He is another 22 year old who has under a 2 ERA in the last 2 seasons combined, around 175 innings pitched.
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=641482#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=641482#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL
Stephen Tarpley is one of the two prospects NY got from PIT for Nova at this time last year (Tito Polo was the other, now gone in the White Sox deal). Tarpley didn't pitch until early June this year and has been averaging 2-3 inning relief stints, he is a wild but absolutely untouchable lefty with a combined line in 11 games of 24.1 6 0 0 12 28, opponent BA of .078. He is 40 man eligible and pushing his way into contention for possible protection, although he is 24 and only in high A, a 2013 3rd round draft pick.
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=605501#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=605501#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS
I really liked what I saw of McKinney in spring.McKinney wins IL Batter of the Week, his stock is skyrocketing:
This system is so deep.
Bleacher Report reranks the farm systems after the deadline, they have the Yankees still at 3rd overall, with 7 "Tier 1" prospects out of 113 in baseball. Frazier graduating this month will knock them down a bit, but others may step up in the interim.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2723949-updated-farm-system-rankings-after-2017-trade-deadline-frenzy
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2723949-updated-farm-system-rankings-after-2017-trade-deadline-frenzy
Still though, even if Frazier graduating (and to a lesser extent Wade) knocks them down to say the 7 spot, that is still pretty incredible. Because there is already so much young talent succeeding on the MLB roster. ATL and CWS doesn't have youngsters performing on the MLB team in their first and second years the way the Yankees currently do, so whether they are 1 or 7, they are maybe better positioned than anyone else moving forward.
Another one tonight in his Charleston debut, so homers in five straight games now across two levels.
So after all the wheeling and dealing by the Yankees, MLB Pipeline has reranked them as the 4th best system in the game. And still maybe the deepest.
Baseball America's new rankings are also out today, and they have NY down to 7th, but still 'Elite'.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/organization-talent-rankings-updated-trade-deadline/#8HLYCh9xOhwVxVfm.97
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/organization-talent-rankings-updated-trade-deadline/#8HLYCh9xOhwVxVfm.97
Jake Cave with yet another AAA HR, his 13th in 161 ABs, he had a 1.104 OPS coming in. This one was a booming opposite field shot, he is crushing like Tyler Austin did late last year in AAA.
And Nick Solak with his first AA HR, all the 2016 2nd rounder does is keep hitting.
And Nick Solak with his first AA HR, all the 2016 2nd rounder does is keep hitting.
Dan Federico @RealDanFederico 6m6 minutes ago
Quick MiLB note: An NL scout who's in SWB just told me: "Andujar should be on the #Yankees now. Bat is killing AAA pitching."
He also noted Jake Cave "would be starting on 15 MLB clubs right now" but added "he has no spot on the #Yankees"
Quick MiLB note: An NL scout who's in SWB just told me: "Andujar should be on the #Yankees now. Bat is killing AAA pitching."
He also noted Jake Cave "would be starting on 15 MLB clubs right now" but added "he has no spot on the #Yankees"
Heh, but Hicks is back any day. Cave has put himself into the picture on the outskirts going forward though, IMO he's definitely won a 40 man spot.
2018 NY OF, assuming Ellsbury is history:
Frazier/Gardner/Judge, Hicks filling in at all three spots and playing a lot
McKinney/Cave as the first replacements from AAA
Florial moving fast in the low minors (in high A now and I'm guessing AA sometime early next season)
2018 NY OF, assuming Ellsbury is history:
Frazier/Gardner/Judge, Hicks filling in at all three spots and playing a lot
McKinney/Cave as the first replacements from AAA
Florial moving fast in the low minors (in high A now and I'm guessing AA sometime early next season)
I really hope they just flat out cut him.
Other teams just cut their overpriced players and move on. I know the Sox just did it with Sandoval but I feel like they have done it a bunch of times over the years. The Yankees just never take the L and move on with overpriced vets not cutting it anymore. It has to happen.
Other teams just cut their overpriced players and move on. I know the Sox just did it with Sandoval but I feel like they have done it a bunch of times over the years. The Yankees just never take the L and move on with overpriced vets not cutting it anymore. It has to happen.
The thing is that he is actually serving a purpose right now as a late game pinch-runner. If Hicks was back and Holliday was hitting, it would be different, but I'm guessing they'll carry him through the end of the season just because of that late game utility. Then in the offseason, they may try to move him while picking up most of the money or just cut him as you say, they could use the 40 man spot.
I might not have been clear, but I don't think he should be cut right now either.
I just really would like to see them do it by opening day of next year.
Ellsbury has been passable vs righties this year. I wonder if the Yankees could get something back for him if they pay the whole contract.
Yeah, they could sweeten it a bit by including guys like Mitchell or Cessa if the other team wanted and maybe get the other team to pick up something like 3/18. The 40 man needs to be set by mid-November sometime, so Cashman will have at least a bit of time to try to do it once the season ends.
They've taken such different paths since the 2015 draft that it's easy to forget that Dillon Tate and James Kaprielian are very comparable in many ways, both top picks that year (Tate the first pitcher taken, by TEX at #4, Kaprielian the fifth pitcher taken, by NY at #16), both are 23, both right-handed starters. '
Kaprielian has barely pitched since then (when he has, he has looked awesome) and is now recovering from Tommy John, out until at least mid-2018 and was of course traded to OAK.
Tate had health and mechanical issues, but has been great since joining the rotation in high A Tampa in late June, a 2.62 ERA and today he went 8 innings on only 93 pitches, 8 7 2 2 1 2. He can throw hard and get strikeouts but it seems like most games he is more aimed at forcing soft contact and trying to get through 7 or 8, this is the first time he's made the latter (9th start of the season).
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=622253#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS
Kaprielian has barely pitched since then (when he has, he has looked awesome) and is now recovering from Tommy John, out until at least mid-2018 and was of course traded to OAK.
Tate had health and mechanical issues, but has been great since joining the rotation in high A Tampa in late June, a 2.62 ERA and today he went 8 innings on only 93 pitches, 8 7 2 2 1 2. He can throw hard and get strikeouts but it seems like most games he is more aimed at forcing soft contact and trying to get through 7 or 8, this is the first time he's made the latter (9th start of the season).
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=622253#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS