Winter league notes: Heathcott heating up in Arizona
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Nov 02, 2012 
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Not only was Tyler Austin the clear breakout player in the Yankees minor league system, he was voted the Breakout Prospect in all of minor league baseball.
The Yankees 2010 13th-round draft pick climbed from Low-A to Double-A this season, hitting .322/.400/.559 across three levels. The MiLBY Awards named Austin the Breakout Prospect of the Year, but still snubbed him as a nominee for Offensive Player of the Year.
A few other minor league and winter ball notes…
• Temporarily sidelined by some flu symptoms, Slade Heathcott has returned to the Arizona Fall League in a big way. On Tuesday he went 4-for-5 with two triples, a double and five RBI. Yesterday he was 2-for-4 with another triple, and his Fall League slash line is up to .295/.415/.455.
• Austin Romine took an 0-for-4 yesterday, and that dropped his Fall League batting average below .300. But Romine hasn’t struck out in his past four games. He’s drawn three walks in that time and has eight total walks with six strikeouts this fall. That’s good enough for a .385 on-base percentage. He’s thrown out seven of the 19 runners who have tried to steal against him.
• Still getting time at both second and third, David Adams Fall League numbers have slipped lately. He’s down to a .226/.328/.340 slash line with three strikeouts in each of his past two games. He has four hits in his past eight games. If there’s a bright side, it’s the fact that three of those four hits have been doubles.
• Down in Mexico, Ronnier Mustelier is hitting .290/.328/.484 with three homers and four stolen bases in 16 games. He’s spent a little bit of time in the outfield, but he’s primarily playing third base.
• Maybe this brings some unwanted perspective, but Ramiro Pena is one of Mustelier’s teammates with Culiacan. Playing shortstop every day, Pena is hitting .318/.434/.568. Mustelier is the team’s regular No. 5 hitter. Pena has been hitting ninth.
• Building on his strong Double-A season, Jose Pirela is hitting .333/.434/.476 as a regular second baseman in Venezuela.
• Dellin Betances has returned from the groin issue that had him sidelined in Arizona. He pitched a hitless, walkless inning on Wednesday. It was hit first appearance in two weeks.
• Mark Montgomery also pitched in the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday. Another hitless inning with no walks and two strikeouts. He also struck out two in his previous outing, and the outing before that. Through 8.1 innings, Montgomery has allowed two hits and four walks while striking out 15.
• The only Yankees pitching prospect working as a starter in Arizona is Zach Nuding who allowed two runs through four innings in his most recent appearance. It was actually his best outing since his Fall League debute. He has a 7.59 ERA out there. Dan Burawa is also struggling in Arizona, allowing at least one run in five of seven appearances.
• One of this year’s biggest surprises in the Yankees farm system, Vidal Nuno still rolling in Venezuela. His pitching line through five relief appearances: 8.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K.
• Not such good news for another of the Yankees minor league surprises: Pedro Guerra, the Low-A closer who was so good this year, has allowed one earned run in five of his six outings in Venezuela. He’s allowed nine hits and six walks through six innings.
• Recently re-signed lefty Juan Cedeno allowed his first run in the Dominican Winter League. Through five relief appearances Cedeno has a 1.59 ERA with three strikeouts, two walks and five hits through 5.1 innings.
Love these minor league posts. I’d love to see Heathcott stay healthy next year and finish the year in AA, knocking on the AAA door and a callup in 2014. Betances sounds like he should be kept in the ‘pen. Maybe he can find himself and be a shutdown reliever…. that would be worthwhile.
Just Tyler and his thoughts.
Jerkface November 2nd, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Logan is a known quantity, and has steadily improved during his stint with the Yankees.
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Eh, his best LOOGY year was his first. He has actually steadily unimproved
*****
Again – Logan is not a loogy – his splits against both righties and lefties were the same and was used against righties – a loogy is a left-handed pitcher to left-handed batter specialist – - – -loogy means lefty one out guy – that is NOT what Logan or J.P. Howell do – - – -I fear that under your understanding of a loogy – Stanton and others would be considered loogys – - – -
Logan is Over used by Girardi. THAT, is what Logan is.
Jerkface November 2nd, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Logan is a known quantity, and has steadily improved during his stint with the Yankees.
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Eh, his best LOOGY year was his first. He has actually steadily unimproved
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Logan is not a LOOGY. He may be overused, but he has been versitile and a solid member of the pen. In fact, I personally have more confidence in him than Joba, Rapada or Eppley. The Yankees did better than I thought in their talent analysis when they got him from Atlanta, as I was not a fan of his initially.
Good to see some of the kids doing well.
Again – Logan is not a loogy – his splits against both righties and lefties were the same and was used against righties – a loogy is a left-handed pitcher to left-handed batter specialist – – – -loogy means lefty one out guy – that is NOT what Logan or J.P. Howell do – – – -I fear that under your understanding of a loogy – Stanton and others would be considered loogys – – – -
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He is a loogy. You’re not thinking about this correctly. You’re thinking ‘player as used’ instead of ‘player as performance’. Andre Ethier is a platoon batter. This is really undeniable. But is he used in a platoon fashion? No. Despite being very poor against left handed pitching, he still faces near even amounts of them and plays every game. In a perfect world, he would be platooned against them.
Boone Logan is a LOOGY. He is below average against right handed batters, and not good enough to warrant letting him face them. He has good ‘stuff’, which gives Girardi a false confidence in putting him against lefties that will be pinch hit for (meaning he definitely has to face 1 righty), but he is still smart enough to use him as a LOOGY overall. That is why he pitches less innings than games played by a wide margin.
Career vs RHB .302 .387 .477 .864
2012 vs RHB: .238 .371 .417 .788
2010: .279 .372 .471 .842
Loogy. That is a loogy.
Once again I point out that ‘full inning’ relievers are generally good against both sides of the plate. Logan is not. Outside of 2011 when he had a reverse split (which makes him pointless) he has consistently been 100+ points worse in OPS vs RHB. That is a LOOGY.
Why worry about Mike Stanton? He simply wasn’t good outside of 97 &2001, 2002 And in 97 he was well above average vs both sides, in 2001 he had a massive platoon split (12% worse against lefties than LHP average), and in 2002 he was good against both sides of the plate.
Logan is not a LOOGY.
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Actually he is. Or he should be. He cannot get righties out at even an average rate.
You’d think Girardi bringing in Logan 3 times in the ALCS, only to have Leyland pinch hit a righty who then got on base each time would show you guys how to think about this.
JP Howell is definitely a LOOGY at this point. Righties hit: .244 .340 .456 .795 off him last year. Thats actually 11% worse than how righties normally hit off LHP.
http://riveraveblues.com/2012/.....day-78606/
Ryu was posted today. Also there is another link within the one above to find out more about this player.
As much as I don’t usually get excited about “prospects”, I really can’t help but feel good
about Romine.
As long as she remains healthy, Romine should make the team next year as the #2 catcher next season.
Jerkface November 2nd, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Logan is not a LOOGY.
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Actually he is. Or he should be. He cannot get righties out at even an average rate.
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Ok, I get your sabremetrics. But think context. For a while, Logan was the only dependable arm in the pen. Recall that Joba was injured, then when he returned he was ineffective. Robertson was injured, and when he returned he was ineffective. Eppley and Rapada didn’t exactly start out with stellar seasons either. So, taking that into account – you being GM – would you prefer Logan on next year’s team or not?
• Mark Montgomery also pitched in the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday. Another hitless inning with no walks and two strikeouts. He also struck out two in his previous outing, and the outing before that. Through 8.1 innings, Montgomery has allowed two hits and four walks while striking out 15.
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They really need to give Montgomery a serious look vs major leaguers in spring training 2013.
Agree on the need to see Montgomery in ST.
So, taking that into account – you being GM – would you prefer Logan on next year’s team or not?
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Not. All of that has nothing to do with anything. Righties had an OBA against him over .350 in every month of last season. Over .400 in 3 months. I don’t think he was ever our most reliable reliever at any point in the season. He had a 5 ERA in the month where D-Rob was on the DL.
Thats why at the end of the year Logan’s OOPS is worse than D-robs, why his ERA is worse, and why D-rob is a setup man/closer of the future & Logan is middle relief/LOOGY.
Is there any worse position to play in sports than “LOOGY” ?
And to put that in perspective the league average OBA for RHB vs LHP is .330 for the AL in 2012. He ended the year with a .370 OBA against total.
blake November 2nd, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Is there any worse position to play in sports than “LOOGY”
———————-
Back-up QB
Field goal kicker
“Back-up QB
Field goal kicker”
yea but at least those guys are called “Loogies”…..
Lol good point…Loogy sounds like a derogatory term.
Quick question if the team looks the same next yr with a few minor pick-ups how disappointed would you guys be on a scale of 1-10
“Quick question if the team looks the same next yr with a few minor pick-ups how disappointed would you guys be on a scale of 1-10″
considering I have predicted that the Yankees will miss the playoffs in 2013 if they don’t do some real upgrades to their offense……..I’ll say a 2
Jerkface November 2nd, 2012 at 3:43 pm
So, taking that into account – you being GM – would you prefer Logan on next year’s team or not?
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Not.
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Good points. Thx.
or I guess I should say 8 as to how disappointed I would be.
So, what lefty should be obtained that is better than Logan and costs the same or less?
At least they are thinking about switching Gardner/Granderson. Baby steps!
Napoli no QO from Rangers.
Napoli no QO from Rangers.
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Interesting. Seems kinda dumb for them.
Logan in 2011 and 2012 was not a loogy – he was used against both righties and lefties – and his numbers were practically the same or close for lefties/righties. He also appeared in a league high 80 games – loogies do not not show up in that many games. J.P. Howell or Mike Stanton are/were loogys? – seriously – especially Stanton in the postseason – which you leave out. You are stubborn on some points – and this is one. Go look up Howell’s stats – who you said was a loogy – which is ridiculous – and i hate to get dramatic again since my poetic days – but this position makes no sense whatsoever – it is almost as if you never saw Stanton or Howell pitch – do you just look up these stats on baseball reference and nothing more – oh and Stanton had good numbers in ’96 as well as 2002 and 2004 – leaving aside the postseason – where his value was great – - – - -
Heathcott receives some love from BA:
3. Slade Heathcott, of, Scottsdale Scorpions (Yankees)
Statistics: .500/.600/1.083 (6-for-12), 2 R, 1 2B, 3 3B, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K, 1-for-3 SB
Entering the week with a .219/.342/.219 slash line (and no extra base hits), Heathcott finally broke out, capped by a 4-for-5, 3 extra base hit, 5 RBI performance Tuesday afternoon. A 2009 first-round selection, Heathcott displays five-tool ability but has struggled to remain healthy over the course of his professional career, largely because of shoulder problems have required two surgeries.
Heathcott’s intensity and raw talent has made him one of the most exciting players to watch this fall. Just two games into the season, the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder attempted to bulldoze the catcher on a play at the plate and frequently attempts for the extra base. Meanwhile, his tools are equally loud. At the plate, he shows a smooth stroke with above-average raw power and rates as solid defender with plus speed and above-average arm strength.
@eboland11: As was expected, Yankees extend qualifying offers to Soriano, Swisher and Kuroda
Thanks, Blake. I was just about to ask if anyone had heard. You get the scoop.
We will quietly know you had wished for Martin to get one. Bragging rights are never bad.
blake November 2nd, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Is there any worse position to play in sports than “LOOGY” ?
Oh, throwing a few innings at half a million per year sure beats trying to run a B&B in this economy.
Logan in 2011 and 2012 was not a loogy – he was used against both righties and lefties – and his numbers were practically the same or close for lefties/righties. He also appeared in a league high 80 games – loogies do not not show up in that many games. J.P. Howell or Mike Stanton are/were loogys? – seriously – especially Stanton in the postseason – which you leave out. You are stubborn on some points
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Uh yea, dude, you’re continuing to miss the point & also just lie. Pedro Feliciano is a LOOGY that led the league in games pitched for 3 seasons. There is also the fact that a match up reliever will routinely pitch less innings than games pitched, and Logan has like 30 less innings pitched than games pitched in precisely because Girardi uses him like a LOOGY. Logan’s numbers vs each side are NOT close. No, not even close.
2012
RHB: .238 .371 .417 .788
LHB: .231 .293 .372 .665
2011
RHB: .262 .328 .344 .673
LHB: .260 .328 .462 .789
2010
RHB: .279 .372 .471 .842
LHB: .190 .286 .215 .501
2011 he had a reverse split, which is awful for a lefty that faced LHB 2:1 that season. The other 2 seasons he is quite clearly WORSE against RHB. Not just worse in a relative sense to his ability to get out left handers, but worse in the relative sense to:
- Getting batters out period
- Getting batters out as a lefthander
- Getting batters out as a reliever
The average OOPS is .685 for relievers
I have seen JP Howell pitch, being that I live in florida and the Rays are the only televised AL team. Probably more than you have. Outside of 2008, he has had severe platoon splits against right handers.
2012
RHB: .244 .340 .456 .795
LHB: .200 .306 .306 .612
2011
RHB: .302 .449 .528 .978
LHB: .222 .279 .302 .581
Look at these splits. If your OOPS is near .800, you should NOT be counted upon to face batters of that split.
As I say again, the average reliever’s OOPS is .685
Logan is the most trusted guy after Soriano, Robertson, Joba, and for a time Wade, and with the rest of the pen being guys who are WORSE (Eppley/Rapada) OOGYs, Logan invariably had to pitch full innings when other guys needed to be saved. Doesn’t mean he ain’t a loogy.
Right handers facing Boone Logan would have been the 6th best hitter on the 2012 Yankees.
Right handers facing JP Howell would have been the 5th best hitter on the Yankees.
Oh, throwing a few innings at half a million per year sure beats trying to run a B&B in this economy.”
Sure but that’s not a sport
blake,
Try staying ahead of the tax men. That’s sporting.