Written by Greg Fertel
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22 April 2008
We know another piece of the Yankee relief depth chart.
With Chamberlain out, the Yankees needed relief pitching from the farm. Lucky for them, the Scranton relief corps has been the International League's best. We already knew, from Andy Pettitte's brief DL stint at the start of the season, that the Yankees had Jon Albaladejo at the top of the call-up list. With the need for a fresh arm this weekend, the Yankees could have called up Jose Veras, Scott Patterson, Chris Britton, or theoretically Kei Igawa, Steve White, Jeff Marquez, or Chase Wright, but instead went with Edwar Ramirez. He only pitched 1 game, but it is nice to know that the Yankees still believe in the strikeout king. I'd wager that #3 on the chart is not Chris Britton.
Austin Romine can hit too.
With the rest of Charleston scorching the ball, Romine's existence was kind of forgotten by a lot of us, I suspect. Lost was the fact that Romine managed to fight his way to full-season ball the year after his draft, despite Yankee resistance toward other players doing the same and a top prospect occupying his position at the same level. Romine has hit like a typical hot young player, putting up a .351/.367/.439 line. Its obviously inflated, but the hitting ability is there. Romine doesn't have to set the bar at the plate high to become a very good prospect considering his defensive abilities, but it looks like he's going to at least hit for average this season. The walks will come when he's no longer hitting .351.
Dellin Betances couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.
Ok, small exaggeration, but Betances has been walking the ballpark lately. After his short-season debut two years ago, we all heard reports of his pinpoint control and clean mechanics. This season? Not so much. In 20 innings, he has walked 15 and struck out 28. He's allowed only 13 hits, but 3 home runs. The guy doesn't know where the ball is going right now, but nevertheless is pretty dominant. At least the elbow pain seems to be behind him. Don't be too alarmed by the control problems -
Clayton Kershaw is a comparable prospect in the K/BB department. These things tend to work themselves out when you throw as well as Betances.
Ryan Pope might not have such great mechanics after all.
The folks over at Saber Scouting
were not impressed with Ryan Pope. I'm withholding judgment on this article for a few months.
Abraham Almonte can hit for power.
Almonte is a small guy. You tend not to expect small, speedy center fielders to hit for a lot of power. He then decided to hit 3 home runs and a triple this weekend. Almonte has always shown a diversity of skills - he'll take walks, steal bases, hit home runs, and play defense. He's not just a small guy with legs. Our own Chris Young? Time will tell.
