Written by Greg Fertel
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20 September 2007
Over at Bronx Block, I wrote a short summary for fans of the MLB Yankees of what they can expect from the farm next year. It was intended for a more casual fan of the Yankee farm system who may not keep up to date with the day to day information. You guys are clearly more familiar with all the characters involved, so I'd like to go into a little more detail.
The State of the Farm:
Upper-Level, Position Players
This was the big weakness of the 2007 farm system. Brett Gardner, Cody Ehlers, P.J. Pilittere, Bronson Sardinha, Alberto Gonzalez, and Eric Duncan made up the group of position prospects at the high levels. All of them sport serious flaws. The group did alright as a whole - with encouraging returns from Gardner and Gonzalez, failure from Ehlers, Sardinha, and Duncan, and a little of both from P.J. Now?
Reegie Corona doesn't turn 21 until November. He struggled during the second half of the year, but shows a lot of ability during the first. Corona is a pretty legitimate middle infield prospect, with depressed numbers due to age and movement. The internal confidence in Corona seems high - I mean, they promoted him when it wasn't really necessary.
Alberto and Gardner are still around. Juan Miranda gives the Yankees what they expected Eric Duncan to be: a first baseman with Eric Chavez power and good all around hitting ability despite poor defense. Austin Jackson and Marcos Vechionacci saw late season promotions to the level, and will almost certainly start there next year. We all know about the Jackson breakout, but Vechionacci quietly finished strong, hitting .343/.393/.486 in August before the promotion. Colin Curtis didn't hit great in Trenton, but he showed enough promise in Tampa to earn the quick promotion, so don't underestimate him. Curtis will likely be ready for a bench spot by the beginning of 2009.
Upper-Level, Pitching
The organization's strength entering March of 2007 was absolutely upper level pitching. Phil Hughes. Humberto Sanchez. James Brent Cox. Tyler Clippard. Steve White. A season later, the Yankees have a more mixed picture. No doubt, the depth is very strong - most organizations would be auditioning Jeff Marquez, Steve White, and Alan Horne for major league spots right about now. However, we have taken a hit. David Robertson and Kevin Whelan 2007 are about as good as James Cox and Kevin Whelan 2006, but Phil Hughes has no equal. Chase Wright offers an interesting lefty option out of the bullpen, and the DeSalvo/Clippard/Igawa trio should produce some sort of depth in extreme circumstances.
Three guys whose fate are yet to be determined are Ross Ohlendorf, Steve Jackson, and Mike Gardner. Ohlendorf has been getting hit despite throwing his high 90s heat - meaning that he's not ready for the bigs yet. Steve Jackson turned out to be very effective in the Trenton bullpen, using his sinker to efficiently get through innings. Mike Gardner saw his velocity rise to about 93 mph this year, making him a big sleeper for major league duty. These guys could all be very good relief pitchers in the majors if things break right.
We've lost a lot of the top-end depth, but the Yankees will have a lot to pick from for next year. It's been a successful season on the development side all around, and the optimism is genuine.
Lower levels, Position Players
Baseball America's criticism of the Yankee organization when they ranked them last year was basically, "We absolutely love their pitchers, but all of their good hitting prospects are very inexperienced". We're going to see a lot of those inexperienced guys finally start to really climb the ladder next year. Jose Tabata is most notable, and probably deserves to be mentioned among players in the upper system. He held his own despite debilitating wrist problems, which should abate after surgery. Franceso Cervelli should also join Tabata among the fast-risers in Trenton next year. Cervelli started off as one of the league's best batters, but hit a wall after catching a ton of games when the weather got hot. His defensive reputation is very strong, and it looks like he'll hit well enough to secure a major league job. Two great prospects there.
At Tampa, the Yankee infield is going to consist of some combination of Justin Snyder, Braedyn Pruitt, Mitch Hilligoss, and
Damon Sublett. These guys will bring experience to the roster, and collectively had a ton of success in 2007. I wouldn't expect to see a true prospect emerge from the pack. This group is valuable not only because of their talent, but because they should be able to move fairly quickly. Backing them up are Seth Forteberry and Kyle Anson, who have an outside shot at becoming major league reserves.
Lower down, we'll see the champion GCL Yankee crew spread between Charleston and Staten Island next year.
Jesus Montero, the most talented of the crew, might be the best bet to send to Charleston. He'll still be just 18 during the season, but it's starting to look as if he might stay behind the plate. If he does, he becomes a magnificent prospect capable of being the best hitter at his position. Abe Almonte's presence adds more talent to the mix, and Zoilo, Prylis, and Kelvim Castro all have potential.
Supplementing these guys will be the corps of 2007 draftees. Carmen Angelini,
Brad Suttle,
Austin Romine, and Chase Weems will begin their professional journey. These guys provide us some serious low-level, high ceiling depth. Each of these guys has fantastic hitting and fielding potential at key defense positions. You'll see Suttle at Charleston next year almost definitely (Pruiit has the Tampa spot nailed down), but the other guys may go to Staten Island.
Lower Level Pitching
More than anywhere, our pitching depth in the low minors has diminished. This isn't necessarily a terrible things - it means that the right guys are moving up.
Ivan Nova had a mixed season in Charleston, as he had serious problems trying to strike batters out despite a live fastball.
George Kontos, although he struggled in the second half, has a great arm and will be moving up the ladder to Double-A next year, but look for him to possible be considered in a bullpen role. From the GCL,
Jairo Heredia has really impressed a lot of people, flashing a mid-90s fastball and well developed secondary pitches at just 17 years old. Christian Garcia will be back soon and his likely destination is Tampa.
The Staten Island crew looked strong this year, and
Zach McAllister and
Dellin Betances will spend next season in Charleston with all likelihood.
There are some intriguing pitching names, in Anthony Claggett, Phil Coke, Josh Schmidt, and Ferdin Tejada, but they all have uncertain futures despite 2007 success. Most interesting will probably be Mike Dunn - the converted outfield - who had a smooth transition to the mound.
The Verdict
The State of the Farm is good! The Yankees lost three of the game's better pitching prospects, but the overall quality and depth of the system has gotten better. This has been a season almost exclusively of success at all levels, from the top prospects to the fringe guys making a name for themselves. We're looking at a farm system that could endure three terrible drafts in a row and still be cranking out a regular stream of players to the major leagues in three or four years. Amazing job Brian Cashman, Damon Oppenheimer, Nardi Contreras, and the rest!
