Baseball America reveals its Top 10 Yankees prospects
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Dec 21, 2011 
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Baseball America’s list of Top 10 Yankees prospects won’t be online until January 4, but the list is already available in the magazine’s print edition. It continues few surprises, but it does include one name that might not be instantly familiar to everyone.
Here’s the list with my own brief commentary. Get the full Baseball America scouting reports in the magazine or online in a few weeks.
1. Jesus Montero
Catcher
Obviously. The Yankees top prospect is still their slugging catcher who projects as the big league team’s regular designated hitter next season. Baseball America predicts that Montero will “eventually follow Robinson Cano as New York’s next home-grown all-star position player.”
2. Manny Banuelos
Left-handed pitcher
Another fairly obvious selection. Banuelos had a strong Double-A season, leading to seven Triple-A starts. He seems likely to return to Triple-A out of spring training next year. Baseball America notes that he’s shown three plus pitches and flashes of terrific command, the next step is putting it all together. He’s advanced enough to be considered one of the better pitching prospects in the game.
3. Dellin Betances
Right-handed pitcher
There seems to be a general consensus that Montero, Banuelos and Betances are the top three prospects in the Yankees system. Betances showed some command problems in Double-A this season, but Baseball America also notes that his stuff is good enough that he should be able to get by with only fringy control. The magazine compares him to… brace yourselves… A.J. Burnett.
4. Gary Sanchez
Catcher
The top prospect in the lower levels of the system, Sanchez is a high-upside catcher who still hasn’t turned 20 years old. His full-season debut with Low-A Charleston was at time underwhelming, but he showed power to go with a swing that Baseball America says is more pure than Montero’s. He’s very young with a long way to go, but the potential is tremendous.
5. Mason Williams
Center fielder
Kind of the breakout star of the Yankees system this season, Williams was a fourth-round pick in 2010 and played for short-season Staten Island this year. His combination of speed, bat and defense made him the New York-Penn League’s top prospect, and pushed him to the front of a suddenly deep position in the Yankees system. He should be in Low-A Charleston next year, getting his first taste of full-season ball.
6. Dante Bichette Jr.
Third baseman
Remember when this was labeled as an over-draft by the Yankees? Bichette quickly put to rest some of the doubts about his ultimate upside by having a standout debut in the Gulf Coast League. He was the league’s MVP with a power bat and a surprisingly good glove. Baseball America suggests Bichette could play with Low-A Charleston next season, but the Yankees have generally moved slowly with their high school draftees, and I wonder if they might have Bichette stay in extended spring and then move up to Staten Island like Cito Culver and Slade Heathcott did in their first full seasons.
7. Ravel Santana
Center fielder
This is the name that might not be familiar, mostly because Santana has played only a partial season outside of the Dominican Republic. That said, his U.S. debut included a .296/.361/.568 slash line while playing center field and showing an arm that Baseball America says has already earned some 80 grades, and consistently rates as a 70. He’s another guy with a long way to go, but he has a terrific combination of tools, giving the Yankees another intriguing, lower-level center field prospect.
8. Austin Romine
Catcher
Always seen as something of a secondary prospect in the Yankees system, Romine was singled out as the organization’s best defensive catcher and projected to be the big league starter at the position in 2015. He has a solid bat — Baseball America predicts .270 with 10 to 15 homers in the big leagues — but he stands out because of his defense, which could improve with a new challenge at Triple-A next year. The Yankees clearly like him, and Joe Girardi seemed to already trust him late last season.
9. J.R. Murphy
Catcher/third baseman
Intriguing mostly because of his bat, the Yankees plan to let Murphy continue getting most of his reps behind that plate. That said, they’ve toyed with him at third base and the outfield corners because Murphy should hit enough to be at least a capable utility man at those positions. Baseball America compares him to Todd Ziele, who came up as a catcher before seeing considerable big league time in the infield.
10. Slade Heathcott
Center fielder
Two shoulder surgeries since joining the Yankees have knocked Heathcott’s prospect status down a few notches, letting players like Murphy, Williams and Santana jump ahead of him. That said, Heathcott is still a tremendous athlete with great speed, but you have to wonder what those surgeries have done to his throwing ability. Baseball America compares him to Brett Gardner with the potential for more power, but Heathcott has moved slowly so far.
Norris’ scouting report on Corbin Joseph
http://minormatterstrenton.blo…..oseph.html
Great post
“The magazine compares him to… brace yourselves… A.J. Burnett.”
I think I just heard Prufrock roar
Yankees have a kick a*s Farm system.
Chad, much appreciate the list you provided. thanks. your old buddy Josh Norris is running a good series of scouting reports on top tens from Trenton. good stuff by you guys.
Chad good stuff, but I just want to correct some info you listed.
Slade Heathcott never played in SI., he stayed in extended the first month before moving up to Charleston, and that was mostly because he had a hammy issue in spring training.
So while it is true that the Yankees have not played any HS kids directly into Charleston, it’s not really.
Murphy only took a month, the same with Heathcott, but there is a big difference with Bichette, and that is he played a full season of GCL, something neither one of them did.
He will be on the Charleston roster from opening day.
I should also say they have not had an issue of pushing the special international talents, see Montero and Sanchez as well as Manny all skipping SI, which is why Santana will be on Charleston as well if he is indeed healthy.
Betances has that kind of a young Burnett’s arm/stuff. Early injuries, but the control thing is more of a new thing for him. 2012 will tell a lot more about what to expect. Everybody’s baby, Manny Banuelos had the same issues, but, the fan wails and tears aren’t nearly as loud.
I think the general consensus is that Manny’s control/command problems were more related to his approach…..his delivery is very repeatable so I’d be surprised if he doesn’t improve quite a bit in that department next year……even still I’m not sure I see the AJ Burnett comp for Betances…..they throw the ball completely differently and have different body types etc….
Blake-
I agree.
AJ has a “rotational” type of delivery.
I don’t think Betances does that.
maybe they are comparing the big FB and curve.
I just want to chime in with what GB has brought to our attention time and again. The Yankees draft very well but they bring up the back end in development and that is a crying shame. It’s bloody ugly.
Hughes showing up in the Majors with a fastball and a tweaking whatever – CB, Cutter etc
Nunez in the Majors with bad footwork
Melky Mesa with the ugliest busy swing I’ve ever seen (he’s at AA)
By comparison, Tampa produces polished pitching year after year.
With the new CBA either this gets addressed or it’s the Gotterdamerung
Sanchez has Montero power. Two rooftop homers to left center in Greenville, SC on top of a 5 story insurance building and another against the building beyond the left field wall.
“Two rooftop homers to left center in Greenville, SC on top of a 5 story insurance building and another against the building beyond the left field wall.”
I’ve played in that park…..that’s a bomb!
Sanchez has a lot to prove, even though his HR totals were impressive I think he would say he had a bad season.
I fully expect him to dominate Charleston the first 6 weeks and then move up to Tampa when Murphy goes up to Trenton.
Blake I don’t see the Dellin, AJ at all either, the only thing you could say is they both had crazy good stuff, as AJ no longer does.
Dellin just needs to work on keeping his mechanics, if he can do that, with the way the kid works and wants to be a Yankee, he will succeed. Manny will be fine, better than fine, once he learns to understand that he does not to nibble and can dominate, he will dominate.
Most exciting farm system the Yanks have had in a long time.
Great stuff coming up on YES Saturday night at 6 PM from The Yogi Berra Museum with Jackson, Williams and O’Neill about Yankee outfielders.
Banuelos control/command issues were actually a result of his increased velo and him getting used to pitching 93-95.
When he first hit the system he was sitting 89-91 touching 92 as a starter.
When he hit Charleston he saw his velo jump to 92-94 touching 96 and his control took a step back for a time.
This is the year that both Dellin and Banny really put it all together.
Guys are finally starting to wake up to the # of high ceiling position player prospects the Yanks have in the system. Some of us have been on Ravel Santana for a couple of years now. That kid is a toolshed!
Guys I’m really high on this season are Abe Almonte- should be in AA this year- Eladio Moronta- Gulf Coast/Staten Island- and Ramon Flores who should be in Tampa. Flores has Cano-like hitting qualities but he’s a switch hitter….pure hitting skills
I don’t why they would put somebody like Gary Sanchez or Bichette in the top 10 if they’re nowhere near the majors. I’m intrigued by Santana–I’ve never heard of him before.
MTU, I was referring more to size (Burnett isn’t exactly diminutive) and the stuff they possess, not so much the delivery.
Regardless of the reason for Banuelos’ loss of control, it was still there, but, not much complaaining or worry about it.
Well, winning 100 games and having an ERA+ that is 5 percent better than league average over nearly 2,000 major league innings is quite an accomplishment. That’s AJ Burnett. It’s not easy, and we shouldn’t be afraid if Betances is “only” as good as Burnett has been in his career.
“Regardless of the reason for Banuelos’ loss of control, it was still there, but, not much complaaining or worry about it.”
because his delivery is so sound and repeatable…..
champ809 December 21st, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Guys are finally starting to wake up to the # of high ceiling position player prospects the Yanks have in the system. Some of us have been on Ravel Santana for a couple of years now. That kid is a toolshed!
—————-
There was a time in the distant past during which the Yanks financial might was reflected in having the best farm system in the league, and a steady supply of young ballplayers.
“The magazine compares him to… brace yourselves… A.J. Burnett.”
===============
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GB-
Yup. the Electric stuff. that’s a paralell.
Just kidding
The GCL and SI had a long (get ready) catcher named Isaias Tejada that may be a comer. He just turned 20.
Tyler Austin hardly draws a mention, but, Lord what a bat.
http://www.baseball-reference......d=0e501c19
JonHeymanCBS Jon Heyman
danks deal wont be announced until after xmas, as he has a physical to take. #chisox
21 seconds ago
Jon Heyman
JonHeymanCBS Jon Heyman
danks and white sox agree on $65M, 5-yr deal. looks like some fan had it first. lol
51 seconds ago
ugh
I know if JAP was here he would point out that Betances has a dynamite CU as well.
So I’ll say it for him.
LGY had it 2nd!
is it fair to say that the yankees have a top 5 system now?
blake December 21st, 2011 at 8:47 pm
“Regardless of the reason for Banuelos’ loss of control, it was still there, but, not much complaaining or worry about it.”
because his delivery is so sound and repeatable…..
————————————————————————————————————-
the fact remains, he had control issues.
Blake-
And another one bites the dust.
This deal doesn’t make much sense from Dank’s POV to me….can’t blame the White Sox for offering it…..don’t get why Danks is taking that from a team thats going to rebuild…..and he’s potentially leaving millions on the table. Maybe he likes Chi town.
“is it fair to say that the yankees have a top 5 system now?”
right now….yes
who the heck is Doug Seyller?
go a huge trade in mind to change the ranking blake?
a few of these lower level guys and say romine and betances for felix?
blake December 21st, 2011 at 8:53 pm
This deal doesn’t make much sense from Dank’s POV to me….can’t blame the White Sox for offering it…..don’t get why Danks is taking that from a team thats going to rebuild…..and he’s potentially leaving millions on the table. Maybe he likes Chi town.
=======
And it’s guaranteed money. He doesn’t have to worry about it anymore; he’s set for life.
This is the most exciting the farm system has been, it’s not just filled with high end talent but lots of guys who will play in the majors, as the entire Scranton rotation will point to.
champ I have been on Santana since Patrick Teale talked about seeing him in a tryout before the Yankees signed him. The kid has an arm that coaches drool over, literally, they can’t mention him without first saying, have you seen his arm, it’s that good.
Abe Almonte is facing his break out year, he had a great close to his 09 year after struggling in the first half, and then missed almost all of 10 with his arm injury. Last year again he struggled in the first half, before hitting well over 300 the second, including I think the longest hitting streak in the minors last season. He is supposedly a great kid with make up off the charts, and because of his defense and base running, he has a very good chance of being at worst an extra outfielder, but he still has a chance to be more, this beginning of the season will be telling to see if he continues from the end, if he does, he is a legit big time prospect again.
One thing on Flores, he is not a switch hitter, lefty just like Robbie.
The reason why Sanchez, Bichette, and Santana are in the top 10 is their talent, it does not matter that they are in A ball, that’s not how teams rank their prospects.
The A numbers, short season stuff does nothing for me. Players at the A level are just too far away from The Show, and too much can happen to get jazzed about those guys. AA and AAA stats get my attention.
Man, that current Yankee Rotation is a crap-shoot. $200 mill payroll and we got CC and a bunch of hopes-and-prayers.
Sox re-signed Danks for one reason. It makes him more appealing and valuable in a trade.
That puts Gavin Floyd front and center on the trading block along with Thornton. It would
give Tteixeira a running partner from back on the block.
kd,
I don’t think you can get Felix (if he were available) without including Montero and Banuelos.
“.and he’s potentially leaving millions on the table. Maybe he likes Chi town.”
Unfortunately, we seem to be saying that a lot about potential Yankee targets lately
GreenBeret7 December 21st, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Sox re-signed Danks for one reason. It makes him more appealing and valuable in a trade.
That puts Gavin Floyd front and center on the trading block along with Thornton. It would
give Tteixeira a running partner from back on the block.
============
?? No way. I think that you’re way off base here. Signing him early likely will wind up saving the Sox about $15 to $30 million. This savings, and the fact that they like him are the reasons to sign him now. And there is no way Danks gave them that kind of a hometown discount without demanding a no-trade clause.
Blake-
Looks like I owe LGY an apology.
Sorry LGY.
P.S. KURODA was not really hit by a bus. I made it up.
GB, Tejada came out of nowhere last year, he really did not put up great #s in the DSL, but yeah he hit the heck out of the ball in the GCL.
We will see what he does this year.
I love Austin too, I know there is a bit of a Laird thing with him, but he is definitely a better athlete than Brandon, we will see in his first full season, how he does, but I like him better than Laird.
I wonder when was the last time that we had a thread of more than 60 comments in which somebody did NOT suggest some sort of trade for Felix.
I think if they got Danks to sign a deal like that then they are planning on him being an anchor in their rotation as they regroup……basically I was under the impression that extension talks with him weren’t going anywhere and that he wanted to test the market….guess that was incorrect.
DONNYBROOK December 21st, 2011 at 8:57 pm
The A numbers, short season stuff does nothing for me. Players at the A level are just too far away from The Show, and too much can happen to get jazzed about those guys. AA and AAA stats get my attention.
Man, that current Yankee Rotation is a crap-shoot. $200 mill payroll and we got CC and a bunch of hopes-and-prayers.
———————————————————————————————————
The tripe you spew out here every day doesn’t mean anything to anybody either, other
than as an annoyance or printing it to line the bird cage with.
Pitching continues to dry up.
Danks, coming off of the 2011 season and never really having that
huge breakout season yet, is one reason that he signed.
Thats about what he’d get on the open market.
- 7-
Always the insults. I suggest you just troll on by.
Players in A ball are just as important as higher up, if you follow long enough, you can tell just by #s who the real talents are, it’s not that hard to do.
The Yankees have never had the impact prospects, not even close to the depth of players they now have in their system, for fans not to grasp this, is something I will never understand.
If you have high end talent in the low a, see 3 positional players who could very well be in the top 50 prospects in all of baseball by the end of next season in Williams, Santana and Sanchez, that is a huge deal.
That’s not even mentioning Bichette.
Special talents fly through the minors, they don’t take 4 or 5 years, so if a guy is in Charleston, it does not mean oh forget about him, he won’t be in the majors for 5 years, that is never the case for the high end talents.
Danks has a longer track record than CJ Wilson and is 3 years younger….Wilson got offered over 90 million bucks…..Danks would have gotten more than 65 million assuming he stayed healthy
All these guys are Now getting so much $$$, that the Yankee’s $$$ advantage is being muted. Danks is a perfect example. He coulda got far more on the free agent market, and that team aint gonna be squat for years.
When have you showed up on this board that you weren’t pissing and moaning
about Cashman, the Steinbrenners, Girardi, the players or the farm system? One word.
Never
Danks was the most realistic and probably would have been ultimately the cheapest of the trade options discussed. Garza is intriguing but it’s hard to say what Theo is asking for.
As I said. Troll on by.
if they were looking for a reasonably priced arm Floyd would most likely be that arm.
I’m just not that crazy about him.
I like Garza’s experience in the AL East, but the Yankee’s past history with Theo hinders that Ave.
DONNYBROOK December 21st, 2011 at 9:18 pm
As I said. Troll on by.
—————————————————————————————————————
shouldn’t you be back on the Mets board? They’re doing their makeover every day.
I’m a lot of things, but, a troll isn’t one of them.
Theo and Cashman are actually friends…..they would probably have no problem dealing with each other now that Theo is out of Boston.
Cashman isn’t going to relinquish prospects and a big contract. There are enough options on the in-house pitching staff not to require making a deal.
Danks threw 200 innings of 3.3 ERA ball in 2008, thats a breakout! If Hughes did that you would never shut up about it.
600 IP of 3.61 ERA! And the white sox get his prime years for 13 mil a piece. Pretty good deal.
The Yankees should sign Kuroda it is so obvious, I just can’t comprehend that Cashman is not going to do everything he can and get that done.
It gives Manny, Dellin a full year to mature in Scranton, it allows them to try and dump A.J and still have Noesi around to be the 6th guy, and it costs them nothing.
I am not trading my prospects for guys I have big questions on, and that’s everyone who is available.
Danks was one of the few guys I would have traded a Romine and a pitcher for, come on Cash get Kuroda in here.
DONNYBROOK,
Weren’t you high on Nova after he was first called up a couple of seasons ago? Have you changed your mind about him?
If Danks had a good year in 2012 he may have gotten 100 million on the open market.
-BLAKE-
Time will tell. I don’t see Theo and Cash all buddy-buddy especially after the Crawford charade Cashman pulled and made public knowledge.
“The Yankees should sign Kuroda it is so obvious, I just can’t comprehend that Cashman is not going to do everything he can and get that done.”
one would think
Jason22 December 21st, 2011 at 9:22 pm
The Yankees should sign Kuroda it is so obvious, I just can’t comprehend that Cashman is not going to do everything he can and get that done.
————–
I agree, but apparentlyu Cash doesn’t see it that way. My guess is that he can’t get enough for AJ, and he doesn’t want to give him away, AND pay half his salary.
Good summary of the top-10 list. Yanks farm system is quality and in good shape across the board. Just in time as these new CBA rules start to kick in.
However, looking through this version of the top-10 only underscores how tough it is to find two-way talent at the shortstop position. It’s gold if you can find and groom it.
Theo knows the game GM’s play…..
“My guess is that he can’t get enough for AJ, and he doesn’t want to give him away, AND pay half his salary.”
they shouldn’t complain about the budget if they don’t want to do this.
Surprised by that Danks deal. He’s leaving so much money on the table – and only trading in one year of security.
Perhaps he’s not very confident about rebounding after last season. Puzzling.
Anyway, at this point the Yankees need to go out and sign Kuroda. This is a move that makes so much sense – if it doesn’t happen than it will really indicate a strategic change in the Yankees operation.
They have to at least offer him as much as anyone else will – or more. He may not decide to come East but they have to pursue him. It just makes so much sense.
I don’t follow.
- GHOSTY -
Your right. I praised Nova when he immediately buzzed Bautista, but I feel it’s unrealistic to expect a rookie SP to repeat what we saw in 2012. Great if he does, but it usually continues to be a learning experience for you players like him
Yes Nilsson shortstop is the one position there is not a guy you can say is definitely going to be on the way, but there are 3 younger kids, you can keep an eye on.
Cito Culver the first round pick, struggled the end of last season, but as a switch hitter it takes them longer, lets see what he does in Charleston.
The other two kids both played on the GCL team, Claudio Custodio and Jose Rosario, both names to remember.
- BLAKE -
Sure Theo knows. But when you go outta your way to make it public knowledge like Cashman did, then it starts getting personal.
DONNYBROOK December 21st, 2011 at 9:28 pm
- GHOSTY -
Your right. I praised Nova when he immediately buzzed Bautista, but I feel it’s unrealistic to expect a rookie SP to repeat what we saw in 2012. Great if he does, but it usually continues to be a learning experience for you players like him
——-
He can take a couple steps back, and the Yanks should still be fine. They have plenty of arms in the system at or near the ML level. It’s not like they’ll be calling on Darrell Rasner to make any starts next year.
“if it doesn’t happen than it will really indicate a strategic change in the Yankees operation.”
they have been talking about adding pitching for 2 offseasons now…..last year they put everything on hold to wait on Cliff Lee…..this year there have been and still are numerous options to upgrade the rotation if they want to………..I know they don’t want to over pay but you’d think they would act on something at some point
On another note – spending $12M/ year on Soriano is the gift that just continues get worse and worse.
“But when you go outta your way to make it public knowledge like Cashman did, then it starts getting personal.”
nah
CB December 21st, 2011 at 9:31 pm
On another note – spending $12M/ year on Soriano is the gift that just continues get worse and worse.
but the sacred obligation to the fans :/
CB December 21st, 2011 at 9:31 pm
On another note – spending $12M/ year on Soriano is the gift that just continues get worse and worse.
————
How so?
“I know they don’t want to over pay but you’d think they would act on something at some point”
They’ve identified the need and desire to add pitching this off season.
The “keys to the kingdom” as Cashman has said.
Kuroda is almost a perfect fit.
It’s up to them now.
They really must avoid the problems they ran into last year when they passed on options only to panic and waste money on Soriano as a way of quelling unrest in the fanbase.
What a dumb move that was.
CB,
this is totally off topic……but if teams did this sort of thing would you trade Gary Sanchez for Profar? Would the Rangers given that they have Andrus? Won’t happen of course because teams just don’t do that…..
Even if the Yankees have to eat 2/3rds of A.J contract, they should do it, it’s an addition by subtraction situation with him.
I wanted Darvish, I understand why they did not do that, but Kuroda is a 1 year short gap solution to make the rotation better, and doubly so in that it allows them to get rid of A.J
I know Brian Cashman is a very smart guy, when it is this obvious to us fans, he knows this too.
You really think Girardi wants to put up with another year of the nonsense he dealt with last season?
Sign Kuroda, have Noesi as the 6th guy if someone goes down, you don’t trade away any arms, so you have Warren available if he suddenly makes that jump from 4th or 5th guy, to more, and you keep Dellin and Manny getting their innings up.
I don’t know what the exact budget is – but it’s very clear that there is definitely a budget and a target budget.
It also seems clear that Hal isn’t thrilled about having to pay the luxury tax.
Soriano produced almost no value last season. They are paying him so much money for a job that Robertson can do just as well if not better. And they have Joba.
That’s 12M that they should be putting into the starting rotation. And it’s clear that they are concerned about their total spend.
Or for the amount they guaranteed to Soriano – they could have signed Cespedes for example. They could have increased their bid on Darvish, etc.
It’s just a waste given their competing needs and budgetary concerns.
If they are going to make dumb moves like panicking and giving money to Soriano then they should be ready to up the payroll as needed.
Cashman goes and makes that, “pitching, pitching, pitching” statement, and then merely brings back CC and Freddy. Something aint computtin’ there.
CB December 21st, 2011 at 9:34 pm
“I know they don’t want to over pay but you’d think they would act on something at some point”
They’ve identified the need and desire to add pitching this off season.
The “keys to the kingdom” as Cashman has said.
Kuroda is almost a perfect fit.
It’s up to them now.
They really must avoid the problems they ran into last year when they passed on options only to panic and waste money on Soriano as a way of quelling unrest in the fanbase.
What a dumb move that was.
——————
Oh good grief! I’m pretty sure that Hal, et al, read the Lohud Yankee blog. Hal probably made the move because somebody from the Tampa crowd was whispering in his ear. I really don’t think that unrest in the fanbase had anything with it.
Moreover, signing Soriano could yet be a good move if he can recapture his form. He could wind up being valuable insurance if something happens to Mo.
You mention Andrus. What a steal they got for TEX. ATL should be ashamed.
If Danks doesn’t get some sort of no trade agreement, he’ll be out of Chicago by July.
They didn’t sign him while they finish behind KC, the Twins and Cleveland while fighting
the Cubs for the city punchline.
Jason22 December 21st, 2011 at 9:35 pm
I know Brian Cashman is a very smart guy, when it is this obvious to us fans, he knows this too.
=========
Cashman often eschews the obvious move. If we’re all talking about Kuroda, there is a good chance that he has something completely different in mind. However, the vibe I’m getting is that Cashman is content with his team as it is.
blake,
That’s a very interesting trade. In many ways it makes sense for both sides. I would consider it.
Don’t know if I would do it though. I mostly say that because I’m much more confident about Sanchez’s hit tool than Profar’s. I think Sanchez’s probability of making is higher – but then profar has done it at a higher level.
“You mention Andrus. What a steal they got for TEX. ATL should be ashamed.”
And Feliz…..and Harrison.
I don’t see that this time Ghostwriter, the Yankees were all over Kuroda at the trade deadline, they like him, I think this is Cashman being undercover, and I think unless Kuroda goes back to Japan, the Yankees are signing him.
That or the money situation CB and blake are talking about and them not wanting to eat all of A.J contract.
Pretty embarassing for ATL. They were taken to the cleaners.
CB,
Yea….Id say Sanchez probably has a better chance as well…..but they are very deep at catcher and SS is probably going to be a bear to fill after Jeter finally has to move or retires. ……just a thought…..you hardly ever see trades like that happen.
“I’m pretty sure that Hal, et al, read the Lohud Yankee blog. Hal probably made the move because somebody from the Tampa crowd was whispering in his ear. I really don’t think that unrest in the fanbase had anything with it.”
The Yankees GM publicly stated that he did not want Soriano. Randy Levine made the move.
This was not a baseball move. The baseball people in the yankees didn’t want him.
It was just a knee jerk panic reaction to what the Red Sox were doing and the constant complaints about the Yankees not doing “anything.”
Talk radio, blogs, the press -everyone was going nuts about how the Sox had passed the yankees by and created this historically great team with Carl Crawford and Gonzalez.
The GM literally didn’t make this move. And Randy Levine – the guy in charge of dealing with NYC politicians on the Yanks new stadium – was the guy who masterminded the move.
Yes PR and damage control drove that move.
This stealth Cashman, undercover, whatever, has yet to occur. Cashman might as well have been on vacation the last 3 weeks.
That is a really interesting suggestion blake, but I agree with CB, I think Sanchez has a higher ceiling also, but yeah it would never happen anyway.
Who the Yankee catcher of the future is one of the biggest mysteries out there.
They have so many guys it could be, it just depends on what they personally think of these kids.
Let’s wait till we sign and see Naka before giving up on SS.
CB December 21st, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Yes PR and damage control drove that move.
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With all due respect, CB, you don’t know that. Steinbrenner was just being his father’s son. I can’t imagine that he would care about what some yahoos on talk radio would have to say on any subject. Any publicity is good publicity.
I like Rusty Martin. I’m planning on watching him catching al those young Yankee Chuckers for the next 4 seasons.
New post—–
2-3 years from now, people will be talking about Sanchez and the way Girardi and
Cashman are jerking him jerking him around and ruining his trade value by not bring him up
to NY and letting him rust away in the minors. Trade him for
(whatever 2nd or 3rd line pitcher you can think of) add him to a bundle and get Felix Hernandez.
NY will bring him along like they have Montero and they’ll want him traded for anything.
In the mean-time, he’ll be DHing for a year or two, catching some and learning
while mashing baseballs into the bullpens and scaring kids in the neiborhoods with those blasts.
Blake,
Trades like that make sense. But its just difficult to pull off because there’s still so much uncertainty involved.
There’s an asymmetry there with prospects – you’re always going to know your own talented guy better which will make you feel that there’s less uncertainty involved.
Outside the baseball specific issues – there’s a general bias involved that prevents them from happening. There’s some very interesting work in cognitive psychology on this topic. In situations where people don’t have “complete information” they often feel that it’s difficult to make a probability estimate for an outcome and chalk things up to uncertainty more than they should.
I’m sure that influenced why I said I’d probably keep Sanchez.
***neighborhoods***
when they are comparing betances to aj that is quite a compliment, assuming they mean his pitching stuff, not the stuff between his ears…
raymagnetic December 22nd, 2011 at 7:59 am
I love how Gary already has the Yankees losing in the first round next year.
Gary reminds me a lot of old blog friend Betsy. Hmmmmm.
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Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm sorry no not Betsy but I do remember her. On the blog all the time.
So here is what I said
Gary December 22nd, 2011 at 7:34 am
Morning Nova,
I read the posts, I disagree with many. I thought your comments were very thoughtful.
I’m ready for them to just stay Pat, I don’t think it will work, but absent seeing it fail or work it is the direction we are on. I see the Yanks being more of a player in next years offseason as I think there will be considerably more pressure on Cashman to make some deals.
Did I say anything about losing in the first round NO, was a bit on the pessamistic side YES
Ok for anyone to be the eternal optomist but not to be a bit less optomistic. Doesn’t make you any less of a fan.