A Scout’s Take on Montero, Brackman, Banuelos, and Hector Noesi

Written by Greg Fertel | 13 November 2009

Former Texas Rangers scout, Frankie Piliere, discusses some Yankee prospects on Fanhouse. He runs down Jesus Montero, Andrew Brackman, Manny Banuelos, and Hector Noesi. I already know a ton about the first three guys, but the Hector Noesi report really intrigued me. As far as unheralded guys in the system go, Noesi's 2009 numbers really stand out. Here's what Piliere has to say about him:

Hector Noesi, RHP -- He does not have the gifts or feel for pitching that Banuelos has, but that is certainly no insult. Noesi is the type of prospect that shows up in deals quite frequently. He's a little older than you'd like for a pitcher below Double-A, but has the stuff of a No. 3 big-league starter. Another reason you may not know much about Noesi is because in 2008 he was much shorter in his arsenal than he is today.

When I had the chance to see him then, he was pitcher severely lacking in secondary pitches despite his good velocity and fastball command. This year was a much different story. He displayed downright dominance at times, especially in his stint with at low Single-A Charleston (S.C.). Maybe most impressive of all was his stamina; his stuff would sometimes improve as his pitch count mounted. Although he still likes to mostly to work of his well spotted 90-94 mph fastball, this year there was the curveball as well. With good 12-6 action, the curveball came out whenever Noesi seemed to need it this year. He had a feel for just how much to mix it in and varied the speeds from 72-76 mph. With a second pitch that now shows flashes of being plus, and an occasional changeup mixed in, Noesi showed tremendous growth in 2009 and became a complete pitcher. He could be a guy that continues to emerge in a hurry and may not be far off from the big leagues.

That's high praise for a guy who I neglected to include in my top 30 prospects. It's not just a scouting improvement, check out this graph:

Noesi will be 23 for the 2010 season and should start in AA. Piliere mentions that you would prefer a guy to make it that far at a younger age, but he's really not too far behind. Noesi has now struck out over one batter per inning for his minor league career, and has walked less than two per nine innings. If that's not a recipe for success, I don't know what is. Noesi has a lot of things going for him; he's steadily improved, and his repertoire has gotten much stronger. His stock has risen quite a bit, and he probably deserves a spot in the top 30. I believe he is eligible for the Rule 5, but I don't think he'll need to be protected given the fact that he hasn't pitched above A-level ball. This guy is a definite sleeper for 2010 and worth keeping an eye on if the Yankees retain him.

Thanks to Frankie for the good info. I know he is always clamoring for Twitter followers, so if you're on Twitter, follow him @FrankiePiliere. While you're at it, follow me as well @GregFertel.