Top 30 Prospects Update 6/1

Written by Greg Fertel | 01 June 2010

1. Jesus Montero: 173 PA, 34 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 29 K, .219/.295/.348

As Sean noted yesterday, Montero is off to a very rough start, something he has never really experienced before at the professional level. Hopefully he can get over this little hump and get back to being the hitter he was last season.

2. Austin Romine: 172 PA, 51 H, 16 2B, 3 HR, 14 BB, 31 K, .325/.384/.484

Aided by an inflated .390 BABIP, but he has also been hitting a ton of line drives. I like the steady increase in walk rate, but he also has struck out at a career high rate.

3. Slade Heathcott: Has yet to play above extended spring training.

4. Zach McAllister: 10 G, 58 IP, 64 H, 6 HR, 26 ER, 11 BB, 40 K, 4.03 ERA, 3.94 FIP, 41% GB

The drop in GB rate is a concern, but not a terrible first ten starts for Z-Mac.

5. Manny Banuelos: Has yet to make his 2010 debut after undergoing an appendectomy.

6. Jeremy Bleich: 8 GS, 41.1 IP, 35 H, 2 HR, 22 ER, 28 BB, 26 K, 4.79 ERA, 4.83 FIP

Rough start for Bleich. He recently went down with a shoulder injury and appears headed for surgery. This sucks, but at least it could explain why he was pitching so poorly.

7. Mark Melancon: 19 G, 28 IP, 32 H, 3 HR, 9 ER, 13 BB, 35 K, 2.89 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 55% GB

Melancon was more dominant in 2009, but has still pitched well for Scranton. The 10.2% BB/PA is unexpected though. In Triple-A last season, he walked just 5.3%.

8. JR Murphy: 58 PA, 12 H, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 10 K, 2 SB, .222/.259/.315

I was surprised to see the Yankees call Murphy up to Charleston. I forget where, but I recently read that they wanted him to get used to playing in a large stadium, and he will play for Staten Island when the NYPL begins.

9. Jairo Heredia: 10 GS, 48.2 IP, 70 H, 4 HR, 16 BB, 31 K, 4.38 FIP

Really rough season so far for Heredia, as he recovers from injury. He started the year in Tampa and was recently sent down to Charleston, but he has continued to struggle. He would take a big tumble in the rankings if we were to update them.

10. Adam Warren: 10 GS, 54 IP, 48 H, 1 HR, 16 ER, 14 BB, 40 K, 2.67 ERA, 3.30 FIP, 59% GB

Off to a great start in his first full professional season. He's continued to show a strong tendency to get ground balls, strikeouts, and has also been able to keep his walk rate down. I wonder how much longer they'll keep him in A-ball.

11. Hector Noesi: 10 GS, 49 IP, 42 H, 5 HR, 7 BB, 58 K, 3.31 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 39% GB

His numbers would have looked a lot prettier before his first AA start, when he gave up 5 runs on two homers. But still, the guy has struck out 10.5 batters per nine while walking only 1.3; it doesn't get too much better than that.

12. D.J. Mitchell: 10 GS, 52.1 IP, 61 H, 3 HR, 29 ER, 26 BB, 37 K, 4.99 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 61% GB

Leading the farm system in GB%, but not doing too well in AA. For him to succeed, he definitely needs to struck out a few more batters and walk a few less. One interesting note is that he has handled lefties better than righties so far this year. Usually, he has struggled against left handed batters.

13. Jose Ramirez: 10 GS, 56 IP, 47 H, 0 HR, 16 ER, 12 BB, 55 K, 2.57 ERA, 2.34 FIP, 48% GB

Great few months for Ramirez, as he builds on the hype that surrounded him in the offseason.

14. Andrew Brackman: 8 GS, 38 IP, 48 H, 3 HR, 25 ER, 5 BB, 29 K, 5.92 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 59% GB

His BABIP against is .357, which will likely go down, especially if he continues to garner so many ground balls. Some important things to note regarding his strikeouts and walks: he has faced so many batters because he's given up so many hits, both his strikeout rate and walk rate are lower than you'd really expect from the raw numbers.

15. Dellin Betances: Has yet to debut, recovering from surgery.

16. Brad Suttle: 207 PA, 44 H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 18 BB, 51 K, 7 SB, .240/.304/.322

Very disappointing from a guy who I was hoping would break out this year.

17. David Adams: 173 PA, 47 H, 15 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 18 BB, 31 K, 5 SB, .309/.393/.507

Big year for him, but he's currently on the DL with a sprained right ankle. Hopefully he returns to the lineup soon.

18. Wilkin De La Rosa: 13 G, 27.2 IP, 23 H, 1 HR, 13 ER, 16 BB, 17 K, 4.23 ERA, 4.40 FIP

Disappointing year for him, too. I expected him to take a step forward when the Yankees put him in the bullpen, not a step backwards. This is a guy who struck out just under one batter per inning last season. 5.5 K/9 is pretty terrible.

19. Gary Sanchez: Has yet to debut above extended spring training.

20. Kelvin De Leon: Has yet to debut above EST.

21. Ivan Nova: 9 GS, 50.1 IP, 53 H, 4 HR, 23 ER, 19 BB, 41 K, 4.11 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 53% GB

Pretty much what you should expect out of Nova. He has also pitched a few shutout innings for the Yankees this season.

22. Romulo Sanchez: 9 GS, 49 IP, 44 H, 3 HR, 26 ER, 27 BB, 45 K, 4.78 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 46% GB

The ERA is inflated as Romulo got off to a very rough start, but he has pitched much better as of late. He also had one outing in the majors, where he pitched 3.2 shutout innings.

23. Corban Joseph: 216 PA, 61 H, 13 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 15 BB, 46 K, 3 SB, .316/.366/.456

His .399 BABIP is inflating his line, as his strikeout rate is way up from last season and his walk rate is way down. He needs to make some adjustments.

24. Caleb Cotham: Has yet to debut, recovering from surgery.

25. Kyle Higashioka: 172 PA, 30 H, 10 2B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 21 K, .200/.297/.327

Continues to show advanced knowledge of the strike zone and has a good approach at the plate, but the results just are not there at all yet. He has not managed to make consistently hard contact. I haven't lost all hope with Higashioka yet, though.

26. Kevin Russo: Was good in Triple-A and has filled in adequately in the Bronx.

27. George Kontos: Has yet to debut, recovering from surgery.

28. Dan Brewer: 196 PA, 41 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 45 K, 16 SB, .243/.316/.391

Rough year for him is not too surprising. He wasn't all that good in Tampa last season and the push to Trenton seems to be a little much for him.

29. Damon Sublett: 52 PA, 12 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 14 K, .267/.365/.444

Was having a pretty Sublett-ian month until he got injured. He will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery for a torn ligament in his thumb.

30. Greg Golson: 151 PA, 32 H, 2 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 6 BB, 33 K, 7 SB, 11 CS, .227/.265/.348

I took some heat for even including him in my top 30, and I guess I was just under the sway of his athleticism in tools. If I were to redo this list now, he probably wouldn't sniff the top 30.