Yankees Minor League Round Table: Part 1

Written by Pending Pinstripes | 04 April 2010

As we head towards real live baseball that counts, we thought it would be nice to compile opinions on the Yankees from around the blogosphere. We sent out various questions to a bloggers from many different Yankees blogs and will be posting their answers throughout the week. We would like to thank everyone for contributing; I think that we have compiled some good information and it's always nice to have varying perspectives.

1. Is there a prospect you see breaking out in 2010 and having more success than he has had in previous years?

Greg Fertel, Pending Pinstripes: I want to go with Jeremy Bleich here, because the common thinking is that he struggled last season after advancing to Trenton. The peripherals tell a different story, and that's why he's a very good bet to improve on last season. The velocity reports from Mark Newman are encouraging as well. Another guy who I think will break out is Brad Suttle. He missed all of last season, but that guy can really hit and I think he'll be able to play third base adequately as well.

Dan LaTorraca, WasWatching: There are a few players that I think will show some serious improvements next season, namely Andrew Brackman and Jeremy Bleich. I don't think their 2009 stats were indicitive of the progress they made toward the end of the year, but they are still regarded as high-ceiling pitchers, so I doubt anyone has really written them off just yet. I think Carmen Angelini still has the potential to develop into a solid player. He's really struggled on both sides of the ball thus far, but with his makeup its only a matter of time before he turns a corner.

Travis G, Pinstripe Alley: Andrew Brackman. I don't really know why, I just want it to be. Generally because it's two years after TJS that pitchers tend to get their 'feel for pitching' back (though that implies the pitcher had it at some point in the past - did Brackman ever have that?).

EJ Fagan, The Yankee U: I think that we'll see a big rebound from Jeremy Bleich. It was always a bit of a mystery why Bleich was getting beat up at Double-A despite looking so good in Tampa, and strong peripherals all season. I'm not sure if we should chalk Bleich's 6.65 ERA up to luck despite a 4.25 FIP, but I still expect him to be very productive in 2010.

Mike Axisa, River Ave Blues: I hate to be "that guy," but I'm going with Andrew Brackman. Call me stubborn if you want, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do as he gets further away from Tommy John surgery. We knew he was going to be a bit of a project when the Yanks drafted him, yet there seems to be a lot of people ready to give up on him after his first full season on the mound. He finished 2009 strong, looked good in Instructional League after the season, and looks good so far in camp. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Matt, Fack Youk: I don't know if I'd consider it a break out, but I don't see anyway Andrew Brackman fails to improve upon his 2009. RAB ran a great series on him after the conclusion of the minor league season, and broke down everything that went right and wrong. He was showing signs of improvement late last year and what few tidbits about him came out of camp this year were encouraging. He's more than two years removed from Tommy John surgery at this point. I'm optimistic/hopeful that he'll take a big step forward this year.

Kyle, Replacement Level Yankees Weblog: Kelvin DeLeon has huge power, and I remain hopeful that he can cut down on his Ks as he gets more experience. I think it’s far more likely he breaks out than say Melky Mesa, who got some hype with the same problems at the plate as Kelvin.

Howard Megdal, The Perpetual Post: Definitely Jeremy Bleich. I look at that 6.65 ERA and 8.3 K/9, and I know which one I expect to go way down. Spoiler alert: isn't the K/9.

2. Which prospect that has some hype do you think will disappoint Yankee fans this season?

Greg Fertel, Pending Pinstripes: I'll go with two guys here also. First, Eduardo Nunez still has fans, and it seems that the Yankees like him a at least little bit considering that they added him to their 40-man roster. His BABIP was high and his batting average was empty, with no walks and no power. I wouldn't even be mentioning Christian Garcia because he's a perpetual disappointment, but there has recently been a lot of hype surrounding him. Look, Garcia has nasty stuff, but there's just no reason for anyone to expect him to stay healthy.

Dan LaTorraca, WasWatching: I've never been a big fan of Manny Banuelos as a starter. He's performed very well so far, but I don't think he throws hard enough or stands tall enough to make it as a future starting pitcher. He'd probably flourish in the pen, but I don't think the Yankees will make him a full time reliever just yet. Right now, I don't think he can continue his success as a starter in the higher levels of the minors.

EJ Fagan, The Yankee U: I feel like D.J. Mitchell has been a tad bit overhyped following his breakout season in 2010. He's still a fairly marginal prospect to start in the major leagues. Mitchell needs to take another big step forward with his secondary stuff to break into the Yankees' starting picture at any point in the future. Bullpen? Maybe. More likely, he ends up traded to the Pirates.

Mike Axisa, River Ave Blues: Anyone hoping for big things from Eduardo Nunez is going to be disappointed. As a general rule of thumb, whenever you have a position player whose best tool is his throwing arm, that's a problem. He never cracked a .700 OPS in a full season league until last year, when it jumped 100 points thanks to a .352 BABIP. I'd like to see him do that again before I'm even willing to consider him a prospect.

Matt, Fack Youk: Given all the hype about Jesus, if he proves to be anything less than the second coming.... that's probably a bad analogy. Seriously though, Montero has been incredibly hyped up at this point. While it all appears to be with good reason, baseball history is riddled with the skeletons of can't miss prospects who never panned out. Montero looks like the real deal and I hope he is, but in my years of fandom the same could be said for Ruben Rivera and Brien Taylor, and Hensley Meulens. The level of expectation is incredibly high right now, but if he happens to take a step back this year, let's not forget that 1). he's just 20 years old and playing in AAA, 2). he's been advanced extremely quickly, having spent just a half season each at high A and AA, and 3). that he's trying to master the most demanding defensive position on the diamond.

Kyle, Replacement Level Yankees Weblog: Andrew Brackman again. He has no idea where the ball is going, and his stuff isn’t special anymore. Maybe I should cut him some more slack since it was his first year back from surgery, but I don’t have any hope for a guy that can’t control a high 80s fastball.

Howard Megdal, The Perpetual Post: Until I see even a modicum of success, consider me skeptical of Andrew Brackman. He's already 24, and hasn't displayed enough command to succeed at any professional level.