Rob Refsnyder: Rush or develop?

[terrynever]

Fifth-round pick in 2012, flying thru the system. Hit .342 in 220 ABs at Trenton this year before getting promoted to Scranton, where his OPS is 1.090 after 73 ABs. Novice Second baseman who played outfield in college at Arizona, currently blocked by Brian Roberts at 2B.

With Beltran admitting again last night that his sore elbow will be a problem all year, why not DL the .213-hitting DH and give Refsnyder a two-week taste of big league pitching? He could DH, give Roberts a break, maybe even play some outfield. The offense could certainly use a boost.

Refsnyder was born in South Korea, adopted and grew up in California. He is 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds at age 23. The Yankees' farm system has not seen a prospect hit this well since Cano, maybe Melky, who was hitting .380 in the IL when he got called up in 2004.

There is a pennant race going on. Maybe it's too soon to call this guy up. What's the harm in finding out?

 

[DanoooME]

LOL, blocked by Brian Roberts at 2B.
 
They could call him up.  I'd be worried most about his defense since he's so new to the position.

 

[terrynever]

He could go back to right field. Mostly, I just want to see Beltran go on the DL and he can take the lifeless Soriano with him. There are at least three Scranton prospects hitting over .300 right now who deserve a look. But it's the Yankees and they love their veteran position players.

 

[MakMan44]

LOL, blocked by Brian Roberts at 2B.
 
They could call him up.  I'd be worried most about his defense since he's so new to the position.

Roberts has been pretty bad on defense this season. I think they should call him up too, DL Beltran again, move Roberts to the bench and rotate people through the DH spot. 
 
I don't think he can be any worse than Roberts, in any case. They can always send him back down if it doesn't work out. Terry, is he on the 40 man already?

 

[terrynever]

No. Dean Anna, journeyman minor leaguer, could be vulnerable. He is their backup shortstop insurance.

 

[jon abbey]

Soriano is going to get DFAd at some point too if he doesn't wake up, I still can't believe how bad he's been. 

 

[EvilEmpire]

No. Dean Anna, journeyman minor leaguer, could be vulnerable. He is their backup shortstop insurance.

 
Reluctantly, this puts me in the "develop" camp.  If he was already on the 40-man I'd be extolling the virtues of hard-earned experience in the crucible of a pennant race.
 

Soriano is going to get DFAd at some point too if he doesn't wake up, I still can't believe how bad he's been. 

 
This is actually the biggest surprise of the season for me.  I know it shouldn't be, but I had an irrational expectation that Soriano would be solid this year in the DH slot.  I wouldn't be surprised if he gets DFA'd  at all.

 

[jon abbey]

It wasn't irrational, he was really good down the stretch last year. With Cano gone, I would have bet on Soriano as their best hitter this year, but instead he's been just as awful as most of the rest of the team. 
 
Not sure where I stand on Refsnyder, but they certainly don't need Dean Anna clogging a 40 man spot now than Brendan Ryan is back. Jeter, Ryan, Solarte can play SS in an emergency, no problem to dump Anna. 

 

[terrynever]

Maybe Sori can't adjust to the platoon. He has never really platooned before. I would whack him because it doesn't cost the Yankees a cent.
 
As for Refsnyder, Mookie Betts did a similar romp through AA and AAA ball this season and he's in the lineup for Boston tonight. A few more 2-1 losses might force Cashman to consider going against his better instincts and promote Refsnyder ahead of schedule. At this moment, the Yankees have the fewest losses in the AL East. That may not last long unless something is done to pump up this offense. Something besides waiting for veterans to start hitting.
 
Beltran now says he was talking about his forearm last night, not his elbow.

 

[jon abbey]

Betts is a much more highly rated prospect than Refsnyder, Betts was top 50 in all of MLB coming into this season and Refsnyder wasn't even top 10 for NY.  

 

[jon abbey]

Another big game today, single, double, two more walks. Up to 1.129 OPS now in AAA, 77 PAs. 

 

[jon abbey]

Damn, he's 9 for 14 with 7 BBs in his last 5 games, maybe it is time to bring him up. 

 

[terrynever]

He has 15 walks in 77 ABs with Scranton. Either he has great discipline or opponents don't want to pitch to him.

Remember, he hit .500 in his last 50 ABs with Trenton.

 

[derekson]

I don't know that Refsnyder has a real future in the game, but at the very least the Yankees could ride a hot streak from him by calling him up now like they did with Solarte for the first 6 weeks or so.

 

[terrynever]

I forgot to mention, Refnsyder was MVP of the 2012 College World Series for Arizona. It's amazing he fell to the fifth round. But I guess even the Yankees can get lucky in the draft. They were all set to draft Mike Trout in 2009 until the Angels, picking right in front of NY, took him.

 

[Plympton91]

Wait, other teams have good looking prospects too? Are the Red Sox and the SOSH main board posters aware of this fact? I thought that only the Red Sox had young players on the verge of stardom who were surely going to flourish and guarantee Red Sox dominance from 2016 to 2020, until they got expensive and had to be dumped rather than resigned to a contract that would possibly carry through their age 32 season.

 

[jon abbey]

No way Refsnyder would make Boston's top 10 or maybe even top 20 list, he wasn't even top 10 for NY coming into the season. Boston's farm system is about 20 times better than NY's right now and you won a World Series last year, so you should consider, um, possibly whining less?

Also if you want Turncoat Dreamboat and his massive contract back in exchange for Jackie Bradley Jr., I'm sure that can be arranged. 

 

[Plympton91]

You folks won the World Series in 2009, and that WS was great and all but this will be 4 of the past 5 seasons with no playoffs at all for Boston. There's nothing wrong with the Yankees model.

Anyway I love it when overlooked college producers succeed. This guy seems on the Youkilis and Freddy Sanchez mode. I bet he transitions just fine to the majors and my fantasy team needs a 2b so I hope he comes up soon.

 

[jon abbey]

The Yankees model is actually coming apart at the seams right now. At a time when all of baseball is getting younger, NY is still throwing big money at FAs, and young impact talent in their system, in the majors or minors, is rare. I would likely trade their entire system, including both major and minor league teams, for any of the other 4 AL East teams right now (BOS and BAL definitely, TB and TOR less sure about but probably after a closer look). 
 
NY had an unbelievable run over the Jeter/Rivera years, only missing the playoffs once between 1995 and 2012 (that is hard to believe). That has started to disintegrate in recent years as the core of those teams has aged and disappeared, and the CBA has changed and drug rules (greenies as much as steroids) have been increasingly enforced, and NY has been slower than other teams to adapt to this changing environment. The Tanaka signing (he is only 25) and the flood of international signings today are two of the very rare wise moves NY has made in a while. 

 

[MakMan44]

Dean Anna DFA. 
 
EDIT: NVM, not clearing a spot for Refsnyder

 

[LondonSox]

I really cannot handle people complaining about the sox.
They are the champs and have a top 5 farm. They constantly do things like this (note the sox also blew the doors off just not as extreme a version) and are constantly finding the way to use their advantages.

Jon please slam any whiney sox fans as needed.

Btw I think you do a great job of being a fan on a rival site kudos.

 

[jon abbey]

Refsnyder writeup at Fangraphs:
 
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/prospect-watch-more-mookie-and-rob-refsnyder/

 

[terrynever]

Refsnyder writeup at Fangraphs:
 
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/prospect-watch-more-mookie-and-rob-refsnyder/

I have to admit, Cashman was right to promote Zelous and let Refsnyder keep working down at AAA. Besides, Roberts got hot just when the heat was on. So they can keep the kid down in Scranton until September and give him the reps he needs in the field and at the plate.

 

[jon abbey]

Scranton beat writer:
 
Donnie Collins ‏@RailRidersTT  10m


Three-run, walk-off homer for Refsnyder. RailRiders win.
 


Donnie Collins ‏@RailRidersTT  9m
He got a 3-1 fastball, and he hit it into the RailRiders bullpen. He's too good for this league, guys.

 

[terrynever]

Short swing, quick bat, improving power. OPS of 1.021 after 103 ABs in AAA ball. He and Aaron Judge seem to be the only two prospects in the system who would qualify as pure hitters. With Brian Roberts reviving his bat, there is no room for Refsnyder in the big leagues, not yet, anyway.

 

[jon abbey]

Refsnyder with another HR tonight, making a strong bid for that Soriano roster spot. Almonte isn't in the AAA lineup, which makes me think the decision has already been made, probably largely because they are hoping to not have to protect Refsnyder on the 40 man roster this offseason unless he really forces the issue (and he has to be getting close). 

 

[terrynever]

After much thought, I think it's best to develop "finished" prospects in AAA ball by getting them at least 300 ABs at that level. Unfinished prospects, even the elite ones, can falter in the big leagues because they haven't seen all the tricks big league pitchers can use on them. So I am fine with Refsnyder staying with Scranton until Sept., assuming Roberts stays healthy.

 

[jon abbey]

He's definitely in the lead for NY's 2B job in 2015 right now, at least until they try to lure 45 year old Carlos Baerga out of retirement. 

 

[jon abbey]

Refsnyder played in RF today for the first time in a while (since college?) in game 1 of a AAA doubleheader, neither he nor Zoilo Almonte is in the lineup for game 2. 

 

[jon abbey]

Never mind, Refsnyder is on the bench and in uniform, just getting a rest. Almonte should be up, maybe today. 

 

[jon abbey]

This is probably reasonable and rational, it will be interesting to see what kind of shot he gets to start at 2B in spring training next year:
 
Bryan Hoch ‏@BryanHoch  9m
Brian Cashman told @RealMichaelKay that Rob Refsnyder would not be a significant upgrade over Brian Roberts. Said he's in AAA for a reason.