398 replies to this topic

[jon abbey]

Not saying the Yankees 4 C's will be busts, we'll find out over the next several years. But present day performance, they're very far from what they were supposed to be this year as a group.

Offensively certainly, but I know that at least Montero and Murphy have been told to focus as much as they can on the defensive side, so that might be a factor too. I don't really disagree with your point much, though.

[SMU_Sox]

There have been multiple reports that Montero is bored at AAA and that has been a factor for him at the plate. Not sure I buy that or not?

[RedOctober3829]

There have been multiple reports that Montero is bored at AAA and that has been a factor for him at the plate. Not sure I buy that or not?

He said this last year too. Seems like he's very immature at this point in his career which calls into question just how good he can become. If I were the Yankees, I'd cash in on Montero and use him in a deal to get a starting pitcher.

[TomRicardo]

There have been multiple reports that Montero is bored at AAA and that has been a factor for him at the plate. Not sure I buy that or not?

He probably then should start hitting some jacks for the fun of it, you know like Lavarnway does.

[terrynever]

Today was the first game, according to PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler, where opposing pitchers stopped throwing Lavarnway strikes in hitter's counts. That's been going on with Montero all season. Lavarnway struck out on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt today. Beyeler says he's going to have to adjust to the pitchers' adjustments. They will expand the strike zone until Ryan stops chasing.

I can't explain Montero's subpar offensive performance this season but part of it is the game within the game, the way pitchers game plan good hitters, trying to stay a step ahead. Montero may be bored, he may also be overloaded with defensive issues, and he may be too young to handle some of the mental things that are on his mind. There's no single answer to why a talented player regresses at the AAA level.

Edited by terrynever, 20 July 2011 - 08:01 PM.

[Lars The Wanderer]

I am hearing that Montero was a late scratch in Columbus today. Interesting.

Edited by Lars The Wanderer, 21 July 2011 - 11:44 AM.

[jon abbey]

I am hearing that Montero was a late scratch in Columbus today. Interesting.

Day game after a night game where he caught, temps in the high 90s, not totally sure why he was in the lineup to begin with.

[SaveBooFerriss]

Day game after a night game where he caught, temps in the high 90s, not totally sure why he was in the lineup to begin with.

He can't DH in a day game after a night game where he caught? I am not going to jump to any conclusions, but he definitely could be in the line up as a DH.

[jon abbey]

Yeah, dunno, he's had nagging injuries lately also, but certainly something could be up.

[th@tkid]

hopefully if something is up it is just that he is being called up today to fill in. Although that would mean Posada or cervelli are injured and if that is the case once the BP lists are handed out one or both would be missing from it.

Edited by th@tkid, 21 July 2011 - 01:13 PM.

[crow216]

Well, he must have been really bored these last 10 games.

Montero last 10 games...3 HRs, 10 RBIs

Should also be noted, if I'm correct, he's only been back from the DL for 10 games. (All from the RAB twitter)

Edited by crow216, 22 July 2011 - 09:16 AM.

[jon abbey]

NY needs a sixth starter a week from tomorrow for a DH against Baltimore, and they seem to be lining up Adam Warren for that in case Nova can't go (he is on the 7 day AAA DL with some discomfort after being hit by batted balls twice in the same place on his foot). Warren pitched one inning tonight and was pulled, then will piggyback the Monday AAA game to be on track for a potential Saturday start in the bigs.

[Jack Sox]

Okay, thinking of making the trip to Scranton tomorrow night. Who's slated to start? Also, is there anyone beyond Montero that is worth a closer look? Thanks in advance

[jon abbey]

Okay, thinking of making the trip to Scranton tomorrow night. Who's slated to start? Also, is there anyone beyond Montero that is worth a closer look? Thanks in advance

Greg Smith is scheduled to start for Scranton, not too exciting. Outside of Montero, most of the Scranton lineup is AAAA players, Parraz and Golson maybe the most exciting of those.

You can do some reading here if you want, the top Scranton beat guy:

http://blogs.thetime.../yankees/?cat=1

[Jack Sox]

Nice. Thanks, JA.

[crow216]

Well, he must have been really bored these last 10 games.

Montero last 10 games...3 HRs, 10 RBIs

Should also be noted, if I'm correct, he's only been back from the DL for 10 games. (All from the RAB twitter)

4 for his last 8, 2 doubles and a hr. He's been on a tear.

[terrynever]

NY needs a sixth starter a week from tomorrow for a DH against Baltimore, and they seem to be lining up Adam Warren for that in case Nova can't go (he is on the 7 day AAA DL with some discomfort after being hit by batted balls twice in the same place on his foot). Warren pitched one inning tonight and was pulled, then will piggyback the Monday AAA game to be on track for a potential Saturday start in the bigs.

Scranton writer thinks Nova will be okay for Saturday:

http://twitter.com/#!/swbyankeesTT/statuses/95616743900323840

[StuckOnYouk]

4 for his last 8, 2 doubles and a hr. He's been on a tear.

He must have had a hot start to the month because Montero's last 10 games--319/450/769...Not bad, but certainly not a tear.

For the year, he's hitting lefties well, but righties are giving him some troubles.

LHB: 352/519/871 (81 AB's)
RHB: 344/395/739 (228 AB's)

[terrynever]

He must have had a hot start to the month because Montero's last 10 games--319/450/769...Not bad, but certainly not a tear.

For the year, he's hitting lefties well, but righties are giving him some troubles.

LHB: 352/519/871 (81 AB's)
RHB: 344/395/739 (228 AB's)

Which is why he could step in as the righthanded DH for the Yankees right now, assuming Posada came down with some sort of shoulder injury.

[crow216]

Which is why he could step in as the righthanded DH for the Yankees right now, assuming Posada came down with some sort of shoulder injury.

He also has unbelievable home/road splits. I don't know the dimensions of Scranton's park, but are they hit suppressing?

His lines for comparison sake are

Home:315/360/674
away: 364/467/831

2 hr's at home and 7 on the road.

His July OPS is .913

Edited by crow216, 26 July 2011 - 10:08 AM.

[th@tkid]

Maybe he has a little Mark Texeira in him?

[crow216]

Maybe he has a little Mark Texeira in him?

3 for 3, double, HR, 4RBI today

[FanSinceBoggs]

I don't understand Dellin Betances' appeal. He is 23 years old and in Double A with a 5.13 walk ratio (per nine) and that is so atrocious. I have a hard time believing that a prospect at that age, and with that walk ratio, profiles as anything more than a middle-of-the-rotation starter in the major leagues. Please correct me if I'm overlooking something.

Banuelos is more interesting because he is younger. But how many great starters in major league baseball are 5'11"?

I like Montero, but I'm not sure if the Rockies have a spot for him.

If I'm the Rockies, I'm trading Jimenez for a different group of prospects.

Edited by FanSinceBoggs, 27 July 2011 - 06:09 PM.

[jon abbey]

Betances is certainly still raw. Because of injuries in previous years, he doesn't have many professional innings under his belt in his career.

Edit: Here's a writeup John Sickels did last week on Betances:

http://www.minorleag...ew-york-yankees

[FanSinceBoggs]

Thanks for the link; I found this comment consistent with my thoughts on the matter:

The biggest issue for Betances is simple command and control. He'll show sharp control in his best outings, but he also has games where he has serious issues finding the strike zone. Even when he throws strikes, they aren't always quality strikes (this is the difference between control and command). His stuff is so good that he can get away with spotty command in the minors, but major league hitters would present a more difficult challenge. Scouts trace these problems to mechanical inconsistency, an understandable issue given his size.
http://www.minorleag...ew-york-yankees

But from reading the article, it sounds like his raw stuff is very impressive. If he can gain better command of it, and improve his walk ratio, he would profile as a top arm.

[jon abbey]

Yeah, and if he can't, he's Daniel Cabrera. I think that's where we are with him right now.

[Bob420]

I don't understand Dellin Betances' appeal. He is 23 years old and in Double A with a 5.13 walk ratio (per nine) and that is so atrocious. I have a hard time believing that a prospect at that age, and with that walk ratio, profiles as anything more than a middle-of-the-rotation starter in the major leagues. Please correct me if I'm overlooking something.

Banuelos is more interesting because he is younger. But how many great starters in major league baseball are 5'11"?

I like Montero, but I'm not sure if the Rockies have a spot for him.

If I'm the Rockies, I'm trading Jimenez for a different group of prospects.

We can only hope. Don't want anything to do with trading a bunch of top prospects for Jimenez.

[jon abbey]

Terry, Keith Law had some pretty high praise for your boy Williams in his chat today:

==================

Jared (NJ)

Keith, Mason Williams has really impressed me this year. I know you said that you think he will fill out so my question is if he does, what type of player can he be

Klaw (12:36 PM)

Talked to another scout who saw that club last week - he loved Williams too. I think Williams has a chance to be ... actually, the player I think Colby Rasmus will be. Hits for average, runs well, plays good D in CF, hits maybe 20-25 HR.

http://espn.go.com/s...sider-keith-law

[SaveBooFerriss]

The Greenville Sox team stole seven bases on Gary Sanchez the other night. I was wondering if that was an aberation of if he really is that terrible and then I read Keith Law's chat that confirmed that it is terrible.

[nycdoc999]

The Greenville Sox team stole seven bases on Gary Sanchez the other night. I was wondering if that was an aberation of if he really is that terrible and then I read Keith Law's chat that confirmed that it is terrible.

Not saying that Sanchez is a good receiver, but he has thrown out 31% of would be basestealers this year:

http://www.baseball-...id=sanche001gar

[terrynever]

Terry, Keith Law had some pretty high praise for your boy Williams in his chat today:

==================

Jared (NJ)

Keith, Mason Williams has really impressed me this year. I know you said that you think he will fill out so my question is if he does, what type of player can he be

Klaw (12:36 PM)

Talked to another scout who saw that club last week - he loved Williams too. I think Williams has a chance to be ... actually, the player I think Colby Rasmus will be. Hits for average, runs well, plays good D in CF, hits maybe 20-25 HR.

http://espn.go.com/s...sider-keith-law

Yeah, it's good to see what he's doing this summer at Staten Island. Mason turns 20 during a weekend series in Lowell so I imagine his friends from Pawtucket will be there, along with his parents. I'm going to try and get up there, too. Can't wait to see him play.

It never hurts when a young player is the son of a former professional athlete. Derwin Williams and his wife let Mason do the AAU thing every summer and he played all over the country against the best talent in his age group. They also made the move from Pawtucket to Florida when he was around 12 years old, which allowed him to play 50 or 60 high school games in the fall and spring.

It's interesting that the Yankees paid Williams more money in the fourth round than top pick Cito Culver got. They are teammates this summer. Culver's hitting around .300 and got his first two homers of the season earlier this week.

Edited by terrynever, 30 July 2011 - 09:36 AM.

[nycdoc999]

It's interesting that the Yankees paid Williams more money in the fourth round than top pick Cito Culver got. They are teammates this summer. Culver's hitting around .300 and got his first two homers of the season earlier this week. I wonder what the scouts think of Culver.

Not much apparently. Consensus is that the Yankees whiffed on first round picks the last two years. Wel'll see, but I think their draft strategy has been curious. Why not lever their financial advantage to the Max? Guys like Bichette and Culver would have been there in later rounds.

Edited by nycdoc999, 30 July 2011 - 09:57 AM.

[terrynever]

Not much apparently. Consensus is that the Yankees whiffed on first round picks the last two years. Their draft strategy has been curious. Why not lever their financial advantage to the Max? Guys like Bichette and Culver would have been there in later rounds.

Agreed. But if the Yanks got a steal in the 4th round of 2010 with Williams, I'm fine with that. The baseball draft isn't quite the slam dunk of other sports. Well, maybe slam dunk isn't the word for any draft pick in any sport. More like a crap shoot.

Edited by terrynever, 30 July 2011 - 09:35 AM.

[BigMike]

Not much apparently. Consensus is that the Yankees whiffed on first round picks the last two years. Wel'll see, but I think their draft strategy has been curious. Why not lever their financial advantage to the Max? Guys like Bichette and Culver would have been there in later rounds.

Honestly that is a comment people throw around way to easily. Honestly you have no idea if Culver would have been around 50 picks later when the Yankees made their next pick, but it is possib;le whe would, but then they lose their second round guy.

In terms of Bichette, I don't think he would have been there with their second round pick. Sure he isn't a 5 tool talent, but he was a very signable, player with one GREAT tool, and exceptional bloodlines. Basically a very safe pick

I have always questioned the Yanks draft from the outside, but it's not like the late 90s, early 2000s when they basically punted the draft on an annual basis. It seems they spend their money on a massive scouting department, and then basically listen to those scouts. They certainly spend a lot of money from top to bottom if no always by blowing the wad on the top guy

I am somewhat unsure on who the "whiff"s were? Is Culver a Whiff? Doesn't seem like it

[th@tkid]

One of the whiffs could have been the guy that went to UCLA they couldnt get signed and was the top pick in the draft this year..

[jon abbey]

The "whiffs" thing seems to come from people who only check in on draft days, as best I can tell. Both Culver and Bichette were drafted higher than the general consensus, but that doesn't have much relation to how they've both played so far, which isn't much but what there is seems to be promising. Slade Heathcott is still very raw and is hurt and probably out for the year, but way way too early to say almost anything either way on any of those three.

[jon abbey]

Bichette stays red-hot, now adding some power by homering each of the last two nights. He has 26 hits and 4 BBs in his last 10 games, .660 OBP/1.684 OPS in those games, bringing the season numbers up to .473 OBP and 1.037 OPS.

[terrynever]

Jack Curry tweets that Banuelos will make his next start for Scranton:

http://twitter.com/#!/JackCurryYES

[jon abbey]

"According to sources close to the organization, Trenton catcher Austin Romine, then Dellin Betances, will be next to board the SWB shuttle, with top overall prospect Jesus Montero expected to join the Yankees' lineup in the very near future."

http://www.nj.com/th...manny_banu.html

[jon abbey]

With Jeter being day to day and Cervelli being the emergency middle infielder, my guess on Montero would be Wednesday (Jeter sits today, plays and shows he's OK tomorrow).

[th@tkid]

YES!!!... If he starts out raking how many teams you think will feel like they missed out? Seattle for sure, Colorado maybe... the first game thread he is starting in should be call the resurrection ™ ...

[Hendu for Kutch]

YES!!!... If he starts out raking how many teams you think will feel like they missed out? Seattle for sure, Colorado maybe... the first game thread he is starting in should be call the resurrection ™ ...

Wouldn't "The Virgin Birth" be more appropriate for an MLB debut?

[TheShynessClinic]

If he starts out terrible, can we call him "the false prophet"?

[ThePrideofShiner]

I don't care if he sucks or is great at the beginning, I will just be excited to see him in the majors.

[jon abbey]

Montero with a RBI single in the 1st tonight against, wait for it...a rehabbing Roy Oswalt.

GET HIM UP HERE.

[terrynever]

Staten Island's Mason Williams put on a show tonight. Homered leading off the game, singled twice, scored the go-ahead run in the 8th inning when he singled and stole a base. Also threw out a runner at home. Now hitting .353, best in the NYP league.

Good AAA debut tonight for Manny Banuelos: 8 Ks in 5 innings. and 3 walks. Yanks eyeing him as a LOOGY in September. I would prefer they keep him starting until Scranton's season is over. Get him his 130 innings, have him ready to make the starting rotation next year.

[terrynever]

Staten Island got two hits in the first seven innings tonight and Mason Williams has both of them. Now hitting.358.

[crow216]

Cashman interviewed on WFAN today saying Banuelos has a good chance to show up as a bullpen arm this year and added that he's not good enough to replace one of our starters right now. Not a knock to him but as a compliment to the rotation.

Girardi's interview followed Cashman and he said that he expects Montero to have a bigger impact on the MLB team this year than Banuelos, adding that he's had command problems.

Take it for what it's worth.

Edited by crow216, 04 August 2011 - 08:31 PM.

[th@tkid]

I would really prefer they leave him as a starter

[StuckOnYouk]

Cashman interviewed on WFAN today saying Banuelos has a good chance to show up as a bullpen arm this year and added that he's not good enough to replace one of our starters right now. Not a knock to him but as a compliment to the rotation.

Girardi's interview followed Cashman and he said that he expects Montero to have a bigger impact on the MLB team this year than Banuelos, adding that he's had command problems.

Take it for what it's worth.

Banuelos has struck out a lot of batters but he's giving up a ton of hits and walks this year at the AA level (and one AAA start). Why on earth did they promote him and why do they think he's worthy of a taste this year down the stretch? I just don't get it.