Hello Yankee fans. Last week I said the Yankees would want to be within a game of the Red Sox before Tuesday’s home opener (that I am attending!). It’s surprising the Yankees are up a game with a chance to get revenge on a surging Red Sox team. What a job the Yankees have done in the past five games beating some very good pitchers and almost beating Felix Hernadez before that. The Yankees pitching staff seems to be carrying their sporadic offense (who would have thought that at the beginning of the year?).
I don’t know about you guys, but I couldn’t be more excited about this Yankees-Red Sox series. After all the games the Yankees have lost to their rival this year, all of that can be erased in the next four days. It has a 2009 kind of feel to it. A Yankees sweep would put them up four games, which would be the biggest division lead in baseball this year.
June 6, 2011
Nate’s Takes: Bullpen, prospects, Jeter, Red Sox
April 8, 2011
5 Yankees minor leaguers to watch in 2011
I hereby declare 2011 the year of the three B’s and two C’s. That motto refers to the Yankees’ top five prospects: three pitching prospects with last names beginning with ‘B’ and two catchers.
| Three B’s | Throws | Birthday | Two C’s | Bats | Birthday |
| Manny Banuelos | L | 3/13/91 | Jesus Montero | R | 11/29/89 |
| Dellin Betances | R | 3/23/88 | Gary Sanchez | R | 12/2/92 |
| Andrew Brackman | R | 12/4/85 |
On lenNY’s Yankees, I like to check in on prospects from time to time. This season, I expect you’ll be hearing a lot about the three B’s and two C’s. Here’s a start.
March 7, 2011
Poll Results: Fans excited for Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances
Betances, who turns 22 on March 23, is 6-foot-8 and throws upper-90’s gas. This year will be his second year since recovering from Tommy John surgery. With only a few games started in Trenton last season, expect him to make a return there to start 2011.
February 23, 2011
6 Yankees prospects listed in Baseball America’s Top 100, Jesus Montero 3rd
Behind Baseball America’s top-rated prospect Bryce Harper, six Yankees placed in the top 100. Jesus Montero, the Yankees’ top prospect, ranked third.
BA gave Montero a grade of 70 (out of 80), listed his estimated time of arrival for 2011, and said his best tool is power.
Other Yankees’ prospects in the top 100 include Gary Sanchez, Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Andrew Brackman, and Austin Romine. See below for their details.
December 19, 2010
Yankees starting pitcher prospects could see major league bullpen time
“When they get to Triple-A, they don’t need a full year doing that,” Newman said. “They need a month or two of adjustment. They still need innings. You don’t want to limit innings by putting them prematurely in the bullpen.”Click through to see who Newman might be referring to.
August 21, 2010
Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos scouting reports
MLB Fanhouse’s Frankie Piliere brings us scouting reports of two of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects: Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances. Coincidentally, Josh Norris of The Trentonian is reporting both have been promoted to Double-A.
Banuelos scouting report: Piliere gave the 19-year-old southpaw plenty of praise in his report. Most notably, he confirmed his sudden increase in velocity (from 90-92 last year, 93-96 this year). Piliere concludes the report saying, “If he can remain healthy and keep his shorter frame in check, he is a true front-of-the-rotation type pitcher.”
Betances scouting report: The major question with Betances is his health. Piliere wrote the sky is the limit for the 6-foot-8 right-hander as long as he can stay healthy. He throws mid-nineties with decent control, and Piliere compared him to Josh Beckett.
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This is obviously great news for the Yankees, as the organization is as strong as it has ever been from top to bottom. Just look at the Trention Thunder’s rotation, potentially, with these new additions:
1. Manny Banuelos
2. Dellin Betances
3. Hector Noesi
4. Andrew Brackman
5. Adam Warren
If you aren’t familiar with the Yankees’ prospects, Noesi and Brackman have had brilliant seasons thus far.
Consider this your mid-month Yankees minor league prospects report.
August 7, 2010
Piliere: Brackman making major progress
MLB Analyst and ex-scout Frankie Piliere had a chance to watch Andrew Brackman’s start last night in Trenton, and it seems he’s had a change of heart on the 24-year-old prospect.
Here’s the link to the full scouting report on Brackman, but stay here for a dumbed-down, quick recap.
Mechanics
- Using his 6-foot-10 frame, he’s releasing the ball closer to home than an average pitcher.
- He’s repeating his motion better than last year, but it’s not the same every time.
- Sometimes his arm comes around late, making it hard to stay on top of the baseball (resulting in high pitches).
Fastball
- Major improvement in velocity from last year. Averaged 94 mph, topped out at 97.
- Two-seamer had late life, needs to use it more.
- Needs to realize this is his most dominant pitch.
Curveball
- Inconsistent now, but Piliere believes Brackman will get a hang of it “eventually.” Grade: 7 (on 2-8 scale).
- A “true knee-buckler.” He uses his height to get an even bigger drop.
Changeup
- Averaged 85-88 mph, seemed comfortable throwing it.
- Induced lots of weak grounders.
- His biggest improvement, now considered a “complete three-pitch pitcher.”
Summary
- A new-found command in the strike zone.
- Easy-looking delivery.
- Top-of-the-rotation stuff.
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Brackman Link Dump
- Again, here’s the full report from Piliere at Fanhouse.
- Here’s the box score of the game he saw. The numbers aren’t nearly as good as the report.
- Brackman’s career statistics.
- Lastly, here’s Mike Ashmore’s report from last night’s game (with quotes from Brackman).
July 19, 2010
Yankees minor league prospects update: Montero, Phelps, Romine, Brackman
Triple-A: Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees
Jesus Montero C: The Yankees’ most prized prospect finally is heating up, and it all started when he was nearly traded to the Mariners for Cliff Lee. Since that date, he’s 7-for-20 with two homers, a double and four RBIs. In his last 10 games, he’s hitting .353/.465/.559. I was prepared to trade him for Lee without crying, but now he’s giving me some more hope.
David Phelps RHP: Phelps earned a promotion to Triple-A after 14 stellar starts with Double-A, and he hasn’t looked back. In just three starts thus far, he’s allowed four earned over 17-2/3 innings. In his last two starts, he’s thrown six innings and allowed zero and one earned run. He also K’d 10 in his last start and hasn’t walked a single batter in all three Double-A starts.
Full Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Triple-A stats here.
Double-A: Trenton Thunder
Austin Romine C: Romine, the Yankees’ second best catcher in the minors, is in a bit of a slump lately: .225/.262/.325 in his last 10 games. His K/BB ratio for the year is not impressive (65/35) and his power is lacking as well (six homers in 291 ABs). The Yankees say Romine’s catching ability is superior to Montero’s, but they might just be playing up Montero’s defense to raise his trade value.
Andrew Brackman RHP: Brackman earned a promotion to Double-A toward the end of June and hasn’t carried his success over from High-A Tampa. In five starts so far, he’s 1-4 with a 4.56 ERA. But what’s worse is his increase in walks: He’s already walked two more batters in 25-2/3 Double-A innings than he did in 60 High-A innings. I’ll continue to monitor Brackman’s performance closely.
Full Trenton Thunder Double-A stats here.
High-A: Tampa Yankees stats here.
Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs stats here.
(All of the used stats are prior to action on 7/19.)
June 24, 2010
Andrew Brackman promoted to Double-A
The Yankees promoted ‘07 first-round pick Andrew Brackman to Double-A Trenton today. This is huge news for Yankees fans, even though it was expected, because of his resurgence.
Brackman was downright awful in 2009 with the Charleston Riverdogs, going 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA while battling injuries. This year, the 6-foot-10 tower from North Carolina State strung together seven starts with a 2.05 ERA to earn himself the promotion.
But perhaps more importantly, he’s showed huge improvement in command with his SO/BB ratio.
| 2009 SO/BB Ratio | 2010 SO/BB Ratio |
| 1.36 | 6.22 |
There you have it. Brackman will enter the Hall of Fame in 2039.
December 31, 2009
Newman’s notes on Yankees prospects
Yankees VP of baseball operations Mark Newman had a lot to say about the Yankees prospects yesterday. Beat writer Chad Jennings separated them into posts on the pitching and position players. Here they are in short:
Pitchers
Aroldis Chapman:
Newman said the reports were exactly what he expected: Huge fastball. Spotty command. Inconsistent secondary pitches. “But if you don’t like that, you need to be in another business,” Newman said.
“(He would start in) A or Double-A,” Newman said. “Wherever it is he pitches, he needs to be comfortable and he needs to work on the command and secondary pitches. And when he gets that, he’s going to take off.”
Wilkin De La Rosa & Jeremy Bleich:
De la Rosa and Bleich will be in a Double-A rotation that will most likely include recent 40-man addition Hector Noesi. Noesi made just nine High-A starts last year, but Newman said he will “probably” open in Trenton.
Christian Garcia:
Put Chris Garcia in the Double-A rotation as well. The high-ceiling, often-injured right-hander is currently throwing and should be ready to open the season back in Trenton.
Dellin Betances:
Newman said Betances should be ready to pitch close to the start of the season. He’s slated for High-A Tampa.
Alan Horne:
“He’s healthy. He’s got to come back and see if he can recapture it.”
Andrew Brackman:
“Brack’s got stuff that’s top-of-the-rotation stuff,” Newman said. Brackman’s overall numbers were bad last season, but through his last four appearances he pitched 10 scoreless innings, walking none and striking out nine.
Position players
On Brett Gardner’s bad jumps:
“We can simulate everything in the minor leagues except the three decks,” Newman said. That third deck makes the ball difficult to track, and it takes some getting used to.
On Juan Miranda being benched in the Dominican Winter League:
“I think they brought in one of their superstar guys,” Newman said. “But (Miranda) played well.” Through 13 games, Miranda has a .409 average with two home runs and 11 RBI.
Jamie Hoffmann:
“He’s a big guy that can run. He’s a toolsy guy. I hope we can keep him because I really like the guy.”
Colin Curtis:
The good news is, Curtis destroyed the Arizona Fall League with a .397 average, .472 on-base and five home runs. That’s an offensive league, but still, those are great numbers. “He led the league in OPS. Everything being relative, relative to the rest of the league, he was still really good.”
Catching situation:
Triple-A: Jesus Montero
Double-A: Austin Romine
High-A: undefined
Low-A: Kyle Higashioka
Extended ST: Gary Sanchez and J.R. Murphy
May 6, 2009
Johan Santana or Mariano Rivera?
Who would you rather have on your team: Johan Santana or Mariano Rivera?
The debate of Joba Chamberlain's role is ironically not about Joba Chamberlain. He is such a rare breed that he has the potential to be an ace of a rotation or a lockdown closer; it’s just a matter of your overall pitching strategy for a team.
It is not an easy question, especially if your team is in need of both roles.
Why he should start:
- Career ERA as a starter: 3.06 and a K/BB ratio of 2.58
- Possesses four quality pitches: fastball, slider, curveball and changeup
- A starter in general is more valuable to a team because he pitches approximately three times the amount of innings a closer does
- Keeps the bullpen fresh if he can go deep into ballgames
He showed last night he can throw all four pitches effectively. Give him a few years as a starter, and he could attain a lot of confidence in all four pitches at any count.
Why he should close:
- Career ERA as a reliever: 1.53 and a K/BB ratio of 3.90
- Reaches 100 mph with his fastball and slings a nasty slider
- A closer in general is more valuable to a team because a great one can essentially shorten the game to eight innings
- Eludes the team from enduring heartbreaking losses
A flamethrower reliever like Joba only needs two pitches to do well, so he wouldn't need his curve or his change.
My side:
There is no doubt in my mind that Joba could be the Yankees' best chance at duplicating Rivera, but I think he also could develop into a front-of-the-line starter like Santana. I have always said a starter is more valuable to a team, and I am sticking to it.
Don't let the big difference in numbers deceive you, because they are actually fairly similar to what a good starter's and closer's ERA are. Relievers tend to have lower ERAs because they usually are pitching one inning in a night and can throw as hard as they want. That reason in particular affects Joba because he will lose 6-8 mph off his fastball when he starts.
Also, the Yankees have two 24-year-olds Andrew Brackman and Mark Melancon developing that could potentially replace Rivera. However, eventually people will realize that a guy like Rivera does not come along every year.
March 4, 2009
Yankees' bats quieted by Braves pitching
February 27, 2009
Yanks' minor leaguers blow lead, fall 5-4
