And as far as Noesi, like I told Chad, really fascinating under the radar guy. I didn’t realize he needed protection but probably a good thing they did. He’s not that far off.

FP

It was also great to see a former pro scout say that he believes Montero could stay at the catching position!!!!!!!!!

if you go to trentonthunder.com,and then the roster tab and find Vasquez and click on him read the highlights at the bottom of the player page and i think you will see the talent in the bat. He could probably hit at the majors right now as a DH and his future is DH but the Yanks started him at Trenton to try to a least work him into shape as at least a playable glove a 1b and they want his conditioning to improve as he looks like a beer league softball player to the eye but he can hit the hell out of a baseball!

Infielder Brandon Laird is certainly showing he is ready for Double-A baseball and the Thunder in 2010.

Laird, a 27th-round pick by the Yankees in 2007, who finished the Florida State League season on a hot streak, is ending his Arizona Fall League campaign with a flourish.

With five multi-hit games in his last 10, Laird, 22, is batting .333 (30-for-90) –and is second in the circuit in home runs (6) and fifth in RBIs (24). He is one of a several possible 2010 Thunder possibilities who are enjoying success in Winter Baseball.

Based on what is going on in Arizona, mixed with what was accomplished by others in 2009, one can envision what could be on the field for the 2010 Thunder. A combination of holdovers and new faces will no doubt bring a talented and interesting mix.

One must also throw caution to the wind, however. Laird is coming off a season similar to what Cody Ehlers had in the Florida State League in 2006. In fact, Ehlers’ numbers were even better. Ehlers hit the wall in Double-A, never got his stroke going and was released.

Laird, who does not draw a lot of walks, will need to improve his plate-management skills a bit as he adjusts to the Eastern League. If he can hone his pitch-recognition skills, he could have a breakout season.

“He’ll have to adjust, like anybody’’ said a scout from another American League team. “That is the key to it all.’’

Given his determination to both mature into a .300 hitter with power and a more-than-adequate first baseman, most in baseball believe Laird will succeed.

Others with Thunder ties who are hammering the ball include Juan Miranda (.476 for Licey in the Dominican League), Reegie Corona (.337 for Magallanes of the Venezuelan League) and Colin Curtis, who is fourth in the AFL at .384.

Figure the above three to be in at least Triple-A, but others could join with Laird to form a potent attack.

Infielder Walter Ibarra held his own in the Eastern League in 2008, and is hitting .297 (11-for-37) for Hermosillo of the Mexican Pacific League. Infielder Jorge Vazquez is batting .278 (5-for-18) for Culiacan in that same circuit, while infielder Luis Nunez (.280 at Tampa in 2009) is batting .250 (9-for-36) for Zulia in the Venezuelan League.

It’s quite possible that Vazquez, off his injury-scarred 2009, will be back with the Thunder, with Ibarra and Nunez manning middle infeld spots. Add them to Laird, Jesus Montero, Austin Romine and possibly outfielder Danny Brewer, and there are some guys who can swing the bats.

Several of the 2010 Thunder rotation possibilities are not playing winter ball, but relievers Jon Ortiz and Pat Venditte are taking their turns in their leagues.

Ortiz has been solid, putting together an 0-0, 0.00 mark with six scoreless appearances for Licey in the Dominican League,while Venditte, the switch reliever, is 1-0, 4.82 in seven appearances with Zulia of the Venezuelan League, where he is honing his craft against competition that includes Major Leaguers.

One often has to take Winter League numbers with a grain of salt, but, with Thanksgiving just about here, thoughts of spring suit a baseball fan’s fancy.

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CONGRATULATIONS EDUARDO NUNEZ: In my writings published on various venues –primarily BaseLines – I have received a lot of reaction and debate on just what level prospect 2009 Thunder shortstop Eduardo Nunez is.

Those who love to rate players by numbers point to his 31 errors last season. Yes, Nunez did commit them –many because he attempted to make plays others would not, and others during which he relied a bit much on his plus-arm and threw erratically.

Nunez quieted some of his critics yesterday as he was named the Topps Double-A All-Star at shortstop. He batted .322 (160-for-497), third-best in the EL, and his 160 hits were second in the circuit.

Obviously he needs to cut down on those errors, but this is a natural course for young shortstops passing through a minor-league system.

Again, with no deference to one Derek Jeter, who played in the Sally League at Greensboro in 1993. That season, he had 56 errors. He’s played a pretty good shortstop for a lot of years.

Nunez will as well.”
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just a lil more info for you guys…

Betsy this hopefully gives you a lil more insight into what Nunez could potentially be….ot me he’s the only real in-house player who could potentially replace Jeter at SS one day and when you actually see him with your eyes you get the feeling that he just has “it”…or at least i did the or 6 times i saw him.

Mirand i’m telling you guys could definitely be the primary DH for us next year this guy’s a legit,legit hitter with real power from the LH side 25-30homer bat

Oops, I see you answered the ? about Vasquez already….

Champ, wasn’t Nunez the guy that had a good ST this past year? I remember people saying some pretty nice things about him………..I hope he is the real deal because eventually we will need a new SS (plus, we need all the talented position prospects we can get). Thanks for the info!

As to Vasquez, how come he doesn’t have to be added to the 40 man? Also, any idea how old he is? I hope he’s as good as you say…..it’s too bad he got hurt last year. Hopefully he’s as good as new now.

if you like to follow our minors/prospects i would recommend PinstripesPlus which is done by scouts.com as their coverage is more thorough and in depth than say baseball america(garbage) and baseball prospectus. They cover everylevel including the instructs and always have good interviews with Newman/Oppenheimer/Nardi….

below is the link to the top 50 prospects in the Yanks org as of last week

http://yankees.scout.com/2/917987.html

check it out anybody interested in the future of the franchise

Thanks … I’m assuming he was left unprotected because of the injury and the Yankees are rolling the dice that teams will not claim him because they have no way of knowing if he will start the year healthy or not.

But if he is healthy and continues to hit the way he did last year, what a nice prospect to have available that is not on the 40 man roster.