NY minor league prospect news (2014 edition)

[jon abbey]

RAB posted their preseason top 30 Yankee prospects, thought it was a good time to kick off a new thread:
 
http://riveraveblues.com/2014/02/2014-preseason-top-30-prospects-98735/

 

[jon abbey]

Eric Jagielo, a 22 year old 3B from Notre Dame who was one of NY's first round picks last year, got off to a slow start this year but now has homered three straight days in A ball. 

 

[Wingack]

Eric Jagielo, a 22 year old 3B from Notre Dame who was one of NY's first round picks last year, got off to a slow start this year but now has homered three straight days in A ball. 

 
Nice to hear. I was excited about this pick because the Yankees needed some power prospects and third base is such a hard position to fill.

 

[terrynever]

Mark Montgomery picked up a two-inning save last night, has thrown 4 scoreless innings so far in Scranton with 3 Ks, 2 walks, 2 hits, 1.00 WHIP. He has moved himself into position to play a role in NY's bullpen perhaps sooner than later, all due to Robertson's DL stint.
 
Danny Burawa, the power pitcher out of St. John's is also unscored upon in 4 innings but he has 8 Ks and only 1 walk. Throws 96-97 mph and is also in the mix. He is 25 years old, a 12th-round pick in 2010.
 
Down in AA Trenton, Gary Sanchez leads the Eastern League with 10 RBI in 6 games. Hitting .364 and leads league with a 1.143 OPS. Mason Williams second in league in runs scored with 8 in 7 games. Hitting .276 with a .344 OBP and .792 OPS.

 

[jon abbey]

Eric Jagielo, a 22 year old 3B from Notre Dame who was one of NY's first round picks last year, got off to a slow start this year but now has homered three straight days in A ball. 

 
Jagielo homered in both games of the doubleheader today, 6 HRs in 100 ABs, but also 25 Ks. 

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=592429

 

[jon abbey]

Gary Sanchez moon shot:

http://youtu.be/uCcSaySEvW4?t=1m21s

 

[jon abbey]

Peter O'Brien is a 23 year old catcher who started the year in high A and was just promoted to AA, he homered once yesterday and twice today, and now has 13 total between the two levels this season, in 127 ABs. 
 
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=C&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=598284

 

[terrynever]

Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher, just got called up to SWB after 22 innings and a 0.83 ERA at Trenton. In his first game today at Pawtucket, he faced five batters in relief and struck them all out to get the win.

 

[jon abbey]

Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher, just got called up to SWB after 22 innings and a 0.83 ERA at Trenton. In his first game today at Pawtucket, he faced five batters in relief and struck them all out to get the win.

 
He is 29 in June, that makes me feel old. 

 

[terrynever]

 
He is 29 in June, that makes me feel old. 

Yeah, but each arm only has 14.5 years of wear on it.

 

[EvilEmpire]

Yeah, but each arm only has 14.5 years of wear on it.

That was pretty good.

Btw terry, tomorrow's game thread is calling your name. We've missed you.

 

[sittingstill]

Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher, just got called up to SWB after 22 innings and a 0.83 ERA at Trenton. In his first game today at Pawtucket, he faced five batters in relief and struck them all out to get the win.

 

[jon abbey]

 terry, tomorrow's game thread is calling your name. We've missed you.

 
Yes!

 

[terrynever]

That was pretty good.

Btw terry, tomorrow's game thread is calling your name. We've missed you.

Wouldn't miss a Tanaka game. Must-see TV.

 

[jon abbey]

Really hope this ends up not being true, poor guy:
 
Mike Ashmore ‏@mashmore98  37m
Heard that a DL stint is possible for Trenton starter Manny Banuelos. Experiencing soreness in surgically repaired arm. Unsure if elbow.

 

[jon abbey]

This is better, although he really hasn't been pitching much:
 
Nick Peruffo ‏@nickperuffo  4m
Banuelos himself said issue was more fatigue than soreness. Right now, is scheduled for 3 days off then catch on Thursday

 

[jon abbey]

Peter O'Brien is a 23 year old catcher who started the year in high A and was just promoted to AA, he homered once yesterday and twice today, and now has 13 total between the two levels this season, in 127 ABs. 
 
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=C&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=598284

 
Three more HRs in the last week, now 16 combined for the year between the two levels in 153 PAs. 

 

[jon abbey]

Another HR for O'Brien, this one sounds epic:
 
Trenton Thunder ‏@TrentonThunder  5m
Peter O'Brien, 7th HR in 10 games with the Thunder... Out of the stadium over the 32-foot high batters eye, 407 from home plate... Whoa

 

[jon abbey]

Whew:
 

Matt Kardos ‏@mattkardoshttps://twitter.com/mattkardos

After playing catch today, Manny Banuelos will start in 5 days. He will be on a 2 inning, 35 pitch limit. Sigh of relief for the #Yankees

 

[Murderer's Crow]

Good news. They'll need him with the things are going.

 

[jon abbey]

O'Brien with yet another HR, now he leads all levels of baseball with 19 (10 in 116 PAs in high A ball, 9 in 71 PAs in AA). 

 

[terrynever]

O'Brien with yet another HR, now he leads all levels of baseball with 19 (10 in 116 PAs in high A ball, 9 in 71 PAs in AA). 

He's from Miami and A-Rod is a big booster, according to Joel Sherman. Hope O'Brien never got near the clinic.

 

[terrynever]

O'Brien with yet another HR, now he leads all levels of baseball with 19 (10 in 116 PAs in high A ball, 9 in 71 PAs in AA).

Make it 20. Jim Bowden of espn.com labels him trade bait when Yanks go shopping for a starting pitcher in July. Too bad. Yanks sort of lacking power hitters these days.

 

[jon abbey]

He never walks and he strikes out a lot and the position he'll play in the bigs is unclear, not sure how much of a prospect he really is still. 
 
Jim Bowden's columns rarely bear much connection to reality, I highly doubt NY is moving any real prospects this year unless it's for someone they think is a long-term part of the puzzle.

 

[terrynever]

He never walks and he strikes out a lot and the position he'll play in the bigs is unclear, not sure how much of a prospect he really is still. 
 
Jim Bowden's columns rarely bear much connection to reality, I highly doubt NY is moving any real prospects this year unless it's for someone they think is a long-term part of the puzzle.

Yeah, he mentioned Betances as trade bait. Might have been true three months ago but the kid is untouchable right now.
 
I think O'Brien's position is DH. And I'd put him there tomorrow, on the big club, just to see what happens for a week or two. This 2014 power outage is ridiculous.

 

[jon abbey]

O'Brien took grounders at 3B today and will play there tomorrow for the first time this season, dunno about before that.

 

[terrynever]

Finally, some good player development news. Trenton 2B Rob Refsnyder, fifth-round pick out of Arizona in 2012, is hitting .339 thanks to a recent 32-for-64 hot spell. He was named Outstanding Player at the 2012 College World Series. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. Has 6 homers and 30 RBI so far this season. Hit a combined .293 in 2013.
 
Excellent blog here on Refsnyder:  http://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-prospects-minor-leagues/2014/6/6/5784990/yankees-prospects-rob-refsnyder-second-base

 

[terrynever]

O'Brien took grounders at 3B today and will play there tomorrow for the first time this season, dunno about before that.

First base, according to this Trentonian article.
 
http://www.trentonian.com/sports/20140607/thunder-plan-to-use-slugger-obrien-at-first-base

 

[jon abbey]

Finally, some good player development news. Trenton 2B Rob Refsnyder, fifth-round pick out of Arizona in 2012, is hitting .339 thanks to a recent 32-for-64 hot spell. He was named Outstanding Player at the 2012 College World Series. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. Has 6 homers and 30 RBI so far this season. Hit a combined .293 in 2013.
 
Excellent blog here on Refsnyder:  http://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-prospects-minor-leagues/2014/6/6/5784990/yankees-prospects-rob-refsnyder-second-base

 
2 more hits today, DFA Roberts and bring him up!

 

[terrynever]

 
2 more hits today, DFA Roberts and bring him up!

I agree but they'll probably bring him up to Scranton this week instead. Yanks definitely need some young blood to revitalize a tired and aging core.

 

[BigMike]

You have to love that the Yanks doubled down on the Kenny Powers factor in the draft last week
 
First they selected reliever Jonathan Holder in the 6th round
 

 
 
He looks a bit like Kenny,  but then they went for the full Kenny Powers with Sean Curley in the 14th round
 

 

[ronlt40]

 
2 more hits today, DFA Roberts and bring him up!

 
Refsnyder promoted to Triple A http://tinyurl.com/owxbzzb

 

[terrynever]

Refsnyder 2-for-4 in Scranton debut. They moved the former second baseman, Jose Pirela, to left field. He's right-handed hitter with a .329 BA this year. Soriano can see the kid in his rear view mirror. Pirela went 2-for-4 yesterday, too.

 

[jon abbey]

Finally, some good player development news. Trenton 2B Rob Refsnyder, fifth-round pick out of Arizona in 2012, is hitting .339 thanks to a recent 32-for-64 hot spell. He was named Outstanding Player at the 2012 College World Series. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. Has 6 homers and 30 RBI so far this season. Hit a combined .293 in 2013.
 
Excellent blog here on Refsnyder:  http://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-prospects-minor-leagues/2014/6/6/5784990/yankees-prospects-rob-refsnyder-second-base

 
Refsnyder is in AAA now, on base 12 times in the last 5 games, 3 singles, 4 doubles, 5 walks, no strikeouts. I hope we get to see him in the bigs sometime this year. 

 

[StuckOnYouk]

You have to love that the Yanks doubled down on the Kenny Powers factor in the draft last week
 
First they selected reliever Jonathan Holder in the 6th round
 

 
 
He looks a bit like Kenny,  but then they went for the full Kenny Powers with Sean Curley in the 14th round
 

They are just going to make them shave thanks to that ridiculous team rule

 

[terrynever]

Refsnyder is in AAA now, on base 12 times in the last 5 games, 3 singles, 4 doubles, 5 walks, no strikeouts. I hope we get to see him in the bigs sometime this year.

He hadn't been walking much in Trenton or Scranton until the past week. That's a good sign.

He is one Brian Roberts injury away from a look. Solarte probably gets first dibs.

 

[terrynever]

Pete O'Brien hit his 14th homer in 160 ABs for Trenton tonight. Hitting .225 with .276 OBP. Kingman-like stats.

And then he hit his 15th homer in 8th inning. Why not send him up to Scranton? H

For some reason, Rob Refsnyder not in Scranton lineup tonight. Maybe he's on a plane to Toronto. I can dream.

 

[terrynever]

In this second start with High-A Tampa, Luis Severino today threw six hitless innings against Clearwater. Six Ks. He may jump to a third league before the summer is over. Severino, who can hit 98 on the gun, is 20 years old. Six feet and 190 pounds. He will pitch for the World Team at the Futures All-Star fame next month.

 

[terrynever]

After 57 ABs, Robert Refsnyder, who is 6-1 and 205 pounds, has a 1.025 OPS for Scranton. Originally an outfielder, Yanks turned him into a 2B this season so there is a reluctance to rush him up this season. Look for him in September unless Brian Roberts gets hurt before then.
 
The problem with prospects is, no matter the hype, you never know how long it will take them to adjust to the big leagues. Maybe never. Or maybe right away.

 

[terrynever]

This Sabathia kid just threw a scoreless first inning in his Tampa debut. 6-foot-7 lefty. Supposedly a soft-tosser.
 
Final line: 2.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 W, 2K.

 

[jon abbey]

Luis Severino with a big jump up prospect lists, #34 overall in the new BA top 50 out today, NY's only entry there. Former darlings Gary Sanchez and Manny Banuelos (and Mason Williams, etc) are nowhere to be found:
 
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/midseason-top-50-injury-cant-knock-buxton-1/

 

[jon abbey]

2 more HRs for O'Brien tonight, that makes 17 since moving to AA and 27 total for the season. 
 
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=598284

 

[jon abbey]

Refsnyder, Judge and Severino all make BA's All-Prospect team for June:
 
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-team-june-edition/

 

[terrynever]

2 more HRs for O'Brien tonight, that makes 17 since moving to AA and 27 total for the season. 
 
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=598284

Hit his 19th tonight for Trenton. Kid has 58 Ks and 11 walks in around 250 PAs for Trenton. Could be the next Kevin Maas.

 

[terrynever]

Manny Banuelos tossed 5 wild pitches in 2.2 innings for Trenton tonight. I'd say he's ready.

 

[jon abbey]

In this second start with High-A Tampa, Luis Severino today threw six hitless innings against Clearwater. Six Ks. He may jump to a third league before the summer is over. Severino, who can hit 98 on the gun, is 20 years old. Six feet and 190 pounds. He will pitch for the World Team at the Futures All-Star fame next month.

 
Three weeks later, he has been promoted to AA. He pitched a scoreless inning in the Futures game, including striking out Joey Gallo. 

 

[jon abbey]

Severino with a nice first outing in AA, 5 2 1 1 1 6, 71 pitches. 

 

[terrynever]

Pete O'Brien with his 30th homer on season tonight. His OBP with Trenton is .280 but he can score himself with one swing.

 

[jon abbey]

Severino with a 1.84 ERA and a 13.1 K/9 through 3 starts in AA.

 

[jon abbey]

2 more HRs for O'Brien today, now up to 33 in 386 ABs at two levels.