3 Under the Radar Yankee Prospects to Watch

Written by Sean P. | 20 October 2009

As the playoffs move along and MVN completes its transition, Greg and I are are looking forward to getting back in the mix. So with that in mind, here are 3 names to keep an eye on in the future.

Note that none of them are particularly bright prospects at the moment (aside from Ramirez) so hopefully my article won't be misinterpreted. They are however guys you should know about. Here's why.

Jose Ramirez, RHP- In his first full season in the US, Ramirez dominated the GCL and impressed scouts with a terrific debut. Recently during the Tampa instructs, Ramirez was sitting 94-96 with his fastball which is a very good sign for a guy coming off his first full season.

Did I mention he’s just 18? The Dominican Republic native also has a plus change up which he’s been able to refine and helped him go 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA in the GCL. Ramirez has been getting a lot of attention for the combo of results/stuff in his 09 campaign (our own Gregory Fertel was the first to bump him into his top 30) and is currently in the Dominican instructs. As the big time prognosticators begin to look at the Yankee farm system, it’ll be interesting to see where they have Ramirez.

Grant Duff, RHP- Duff was a middling starter in the Yankees organization after he was drafted in 2004 from the College of Sequoias (?) in California but has found new life in the bullpen. His velocity was one of the biggest reasons for his dramatic breakout campaign- a fastball that sat in the 91-93 range suddenly was 95-97 and touching (reportedly) 99, the slider up from 78-80 to 83-85. He also developed a splitter and made good use of it landing himself in the Arizona fall league.

Duff is a bit too old to be considered a really exciting prospect (27- think Phil Coke) but his outstanding numbers and stuff this season have forced the Yankees hand and now he’s essentially trying out for a 40 man roster spot. If he’s not added he’ll be eligible for the rule 5 draft in December and its likely with his velocity someone will take a shot on him. If he stays he could be seen in the Bronx sometime next year.

Reymond Nunez, 1B- A well known rule for evaluating prospects is to never take seriously numbers out of the Dominican summer league. So while Nunez did have 10 HRs in 59 games, he isn’t going to get much mention anywhere until he shows something stateside. However during the Tampa instructs he showed enough to just get a mention here.

Reports were that Nunez dropped 25 pounds (he’s a big guy, 6’4”, over 220 LBS), developed a good opposite field approach and refined his fielding. Nunez is the name I feel least confident about on this list but you should still take note of him. However until he moves up and does anything spectacular he’s just another name to know.