Four in Keith Law's top 100

Mason Williams ranked #34 on Law's list. Image thanks to bronxbaseballdaily.com

23. Banuelos
34. Mason Williams
55. Gary Sanchez
83. Dellin Betances

Notably, Jesus Montero was #9 and Gerrit Cole was #10.

As far as the Yankees organizational top 10, Keith Law had the Yankees ranked as follows.

1. Banuelos
2. Mason Williams
3. Gary Sanchez
4. Dellin Betances
5. Tyler Austin
6. Jose Campos
7.  Dante Bichette Jr.
8. Austin Romine
9. JR Murphy
10. Slade Heathcott

There are a couple of surprises with his rankings. First of all, Mason Williams ahead of both Gary Sanchez and Dellin Betances. He believes the only component of Mason Williams' game that is missing is strength, and that this will come with time. I can understand that view, but I think throwing him right to #34 was excessive. If he slumps this year he'll be out of the top 100, and then his ranking this year looks pretty bad. I'll say this, I think it is a bold move and I give him credit for that. This is easily the highest Mason Williams will be ranked by anyone.

The next surprise was Dellin Betances all the way down at #83. Law basically makes the argument that Betances is a reliever long term. Seems to be the consensus amongst a lot of scouts, and at 23 you have to start asking the question of whether or not he'll ever get the control he needs to be a starter. This year, however, he won't be restricted to 5 innings per start, so hopefully he'll be able to get in more of a groove. I do think that scouts underestimate his ability to find his delivery in the middle of a game after he's lost it. In fact, I've read several accounts that have had him finding his delivery mid-inning, or even mid at bat. I still have faith that Betances could find himself in the rotation, but Law is right about one thing. He needs to find his control and he needs to do it soon, or he'll be sent to the bullpen.

The third surprise was that Tyler Austin came in at #5. There hasn't been anyone who has ranked him that high yet. He's a solid hitter but he has more question marks than some of the people deeper on this list. For example, even Bichette Jr. is closer to having a position. JR Murphy has the hit tool to go along with the ability to play many positions, not to mention the fact that he has already developed some power. Another bold ranking, which I again don't necessarily agree with but give him a lot of credit for sticking his neck out on this one. That is more than most scouts are willing to do.

Finally, it was surprising not to see Ravel Santana in the top 10. I will assume that this is because of the gruesome ankle injury he suffered last year. If Law had done his homework, however, he'd have realized that by all accounts Santana's ankle is almost fully healed, and he's already running around on it with the same cannon that was strapped to his arm last season.

Anyway, kudos to Keith Law for keeping it real and going with his own gut on these rankings instead of the general perception of the scouting community. To quote Daniel Tosh, "for that, we thank you."

15 Prospects Invited to Big League Camp

Gary Sanchez and JR Murphy: Image thanks to milb.com

In no particular order...

1. Manny Banuelos LHP
2. Austin Romine C
3. Gary Sanchez C
4. Doug Bernier INF
5. Dan Burawa RH RP
6. Colin Curtis OF
7. Jose Gil C
8. Kyle Higashioka C
9. Brett Marshall RHP
10. Ryan Pope RH RP
11. Graham Stoneburner RHP
12. Jorge Vazquez 1B
13. Adam Warren RHP
14. Kevin Whelan RH RP
15. Chase Whitley RH RP

Others will be invited as well, but won't be in the official press release. For example, I think it is safe to say that Dellin Betances, David Phelps, DJ Mitchell, Brandon Laird, George Kontos, and some other solid specs will be in attendance. Nothing exciting here, but I'm sure it's very exciting for some of the prospects. JR Murphy and Gary Sanchez will be excited for their first trip, although they were both probably more invited for their ability to hold a catcher's mitt and catch 95 mph heat while in the crouched position.

Our Minor Leagues Catching Situation and the Trade Market

 Jesus Montero: Image courtesy of NY Daily News

If there is one thing that is a clear positive in the Yankees farm system it is the surplus of catchers. In short summary, we have our star prospect in AAA, Jesus Montero, and we have one catcher at every level below that who has the potential of being a future starting catcher in the league. Many feel that Jesus Montero lacks the defensive capabilities to ever be a long-term catcher in the majors, but that remains to be seen, and until proven otherwise, he is a catching prospect.

In AA, we have Romine. His power potential still isn't showing, but he is hitting for a great average and he's proving that he can handle the stress of a full season. He is a solid defensive catcher, so providing solid offense is more than you could ask for from a guy like him, even if the power numbers aren't there.

In high A Tampa, we now have JR Murphy. He just hit his first homerun in high A, and he seems to be getting a grasp on the pitching at this level already. More importantly, after being switched to a fielding prospect, he showed much improved defense at the catcher position this season and has reinstated himself as yet another future catching prospect in the Yankees system, contributing even more to the logjam we have going at this position. No one doubts his bat, but if he can continue to call a solid game and field his position, we could be talking about another top 100 prospect.

Down in Low A Charleston we have one guy who is a potential major league backup with his defensive skills and one guy who is a potential future star who has not met expectations yet this season, but is only 18 years old. The first guy I speak of is Kyle Higashioka. Interestingly, he started off the season in high A Tampa. His defense was great, but then he was sent down to Charleston in favor of JR Murphy, who admittedly deserved the promotion. The weirdest part though, is that he got demoted just as he hit a hot streak with the bat in Tampa. He has continued that streak, and now for the first time in his career, is consistently hitting the ball well. He had probably the best game of his career a few days ago where he homered and had a few hits to go along with it. He might be a guy who resurfaces as a prospect by the end of the season. The other catcher in Charleston, who probably should have been mentioned first since Higashioka is really the "other catcher" at this level, is Gary Sanchez. He has had numerous struggles this season as an 18 year old in Charleston, which is really not the end of the world. He has had discipline problems, defensive issues, and hasn't been nearly as effective with the bat as he was expected to be so far this season. Recently he has shown some promise as to improvement, and the power is still there. He is going to have to have a strong second half to instill a sense of confidence in Yankees fans as well as pro scouts in order to save his top 50 prospect status by the end of the season. Regardless of any of these struggles, he's 18. He's already in full season baseball, and he has the potential to be a solid defensive backstop with special power.

Below Charleston, there isn't much in the way of backstops, at least nothing that has developed yet. There are a few guys performing well in the GCL and in Staten Island, but none of them are considered high ceiling prospects. In all honesty this might actually be a good thing, because there is simply no space for them on any of the full season rosters right now.

The question of the day, however, is where does this leave us. By next year, something has to give. The way I see it, one of three things can happen. Jesus Montero can be brought up as Russel Martin's backup next season. and finally get some on-the-job training. He will likely get a September call-up this season, and this will be good practice for him. This would open up AAA for Romine, which would open up AA for JR Murphy, which would open up High A for Sanchez or Higgashioka.

In the second scenario, we make a trade for a starting pitcher that includes Jesus Montero in it. The most likely candidate I see out there right now is Ubaldo Jimenez. Then, the same positions open up, and we still have a catcher with decent potential at every level. just without our star.

Finally, the third scenario involves what in my opinion amounts to a non-option. It involves moving Romine to AAA and having he and Montero share the catching duties next season. The likelihood of this happening, I would say, is almost zero. The front office is smarter than that. If Jesus Montero is bored now, he would probably be ready to stab himself in the eyes with a pencil in a situation like that.

Ideally, Montero will be up with the big league team for good by September. At this point, however, it wouldn't be smart of any Yankees fan to say that Montero is more valuable to this team than Ubaldo Jimenez could be. With the catching depth we have in our system, there is no reason why Montero can't be traded. I think the kid is great, and I do think he will eventually be heavy hitting player in the league. There are, however, several question marks which may not allow him to succeed as a Yankee. If he can't catch, he is not use to us. The other options for him would be 1B or DH. 1B is locked up by Teixera for years, and DH will likely be needed for A-Rod and Jeter in the coming years. He's got to stick at catcher. I'd love to see that happen, but in the end, our best option now might be to... and I hate to say this as much as anyone does... trade... Montero.

YEEP 7/11/11: Bombs Away

 Evil Em Vee P of the day: Raymond Kruml. This was a tough one, because so many people had great games today, but based on recent performance, I gave it to Kruml. Image Courtesy of Bare Bones (johnalbone.wordpress.com).

AA Trenton: L 6-7. L: Venditte:
Kruml: 3/5, 2 R, HR, RBI. Average up to .301, 2 HR in 2 G, 5th HR of the season. He's fast too.
CoJo: 0/5, 2 K. Ice cold these past few games.
Melky Mesa: 1/4, R, K, CS
R-Ly (Lyerly): 1/5, R, 2 K.
Heyer: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, 4 K. Not his best outing.
Josh Bromance Romanski: 3 IP, H, BB, 2 K. 0 ER since the call-up.
Sideshow Venditte: .1 IP, H, R, ER, HR. 2 bad games in a row.

High A Tampa: W 10-1 vs St. Lucie. W: Mikey O'Brien
Honest Abe Almonte: 2/4, R, BB, K. He's not cooling down, hopefully any time soon.
Walt Ibarra: 1/3, RBI
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 3/5, R, 2 RBI, K. Also stayin hot.
K-Roll Roller: 2/5, R, RBI, K
JR Murph: 3/4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K.
Rob Seggy Segedin: 1/4, R, K
Kelvin Castrol GTX Castro: 3/5, 3 R, 2 RBI. I like what you're doin GTX.
Mikey O'Brien: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 BB, 3 K, HR. I don't like the walks, but other than that, great outing. He'll be in AA by next season IMO.
Daniel Burawa: 2 IP, H, 3 K. He's got half of a season to bring his ERA back from that horrific appearance a week or so ago. I think he will because he had great stuff.
K-Flan Flannery: 2 IP, H, K. Doin what he does.

Short Season Staten Island: W 9-1 vs Vermont. W: DeLuca
Mad Mase Williams: 4/6, 2B, 3B, RBI, K, CS. Two words. Real. Deal.
Cheetoh Culver: 2/5, 2 RBI
Bubba Gumbs: 0/4, BB, K, CS.
Shane Brown: 1/2, 2 R, 3 BB. Will somebody get this guy out please? .552 OBP, 1.25 OPS. Such a shame that he's 23.
Evan DeLuca: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K. He's killin it. We could use a guy like him at Charleston, wink wink hint hint!
Matt Tracy: 2 IP, BB, K. 0 ER still.
Phil Wetherell: 1 IP, BB, 2 K. I strongly feel he will be a fast mover through this system.

GCL Yankees: W 8-7 vs GCL Pirates. W: Rodriguez, S: Hinojosa
Janitor Custodio: 1/5, 2 R, 2B, K, SB. 10 SB on the season already.
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 0/5, K. He's slowed down significantly since his hot start. Hope he's not just another De Leon
Tyler Austin: 1/3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB. He has NOT slowed down. .377 average, 3 HR, 9 SB on the season so far. Excellent production even from a 1B.
Junior Bichette: 0/4, R, BB, K. Looking forward to the 30 day rule to take effect with this kid. Time for him to make some adjustments.
Tejeda: 2/4, SB, CS. Playing very well so far.
Jose Rosario: 2/4, R, HR, 3 RBI. .325 with 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 4 SB in his last 10 games.
D Cruz: 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Baaaaaaaad.
Edwin Rodriguez: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K. 20 year old kid from the DSL. Good outing.
Jo De La Cruz: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K.
Hinojosa: 1 IP, H, K. 2/2 in save ops.

Movers and Shakers: Promotions/demotions in the Yankees minors

 Sorry Ivan Nova, you've got a right to be a big annoyed with your demotion, but it'll be good for you in the long run dude... image thanks to espn.com

AAA

Shaeffer Hall was called up to AAA for 1 start. He did a nice job. Given that it was a spot start, I don't think it matters whether he deserved the temporary promotion or not, but he has in fact done a good job for AA this season.

Buddy Carlyle was outrighted to AAA SWB. This is really not news. Sorry.

Ivan Nova was optioned to AAA SWB due to the return of Phil Hughes. He did a great job in the big leagues. If I had it my way, Freddy Garcia would have gone to the bullpen, but Nova will have the chance to become more than a 2 pitch guy if he can work on his change-up while in SWB.

Kevin Whelan also optioned to AAA. He's injured anyway, but has done a great job in SWB this season. He deserved the promotion to the majors, but belongs in the minors when he returns from the injury.

Chris Dickerson also demoted to AAA.

AA

F Hernandez (NOT Felix) was released. Not surprising since he is garbage.

Ryan Pope was sent to AA Trenton from SWB. He was struggling a bit there, maybe he can reinvigorate himself at the level where he originally found himself as a relief pitcher.

Chase Whitley was promoted to AA. He's done a decent job so far. Had a rough first outing, but has done well since then (4.26 ERA, 6 K in 6.1 IP).

Josh Romanski to AA. The bromance as I call him, he has no runs and 3 K in 3.1 IP. Considering we got him for literally nothing, he is turning into a really solid relief prospect.

Rob Lyerly (R-Ly) was also promoted to AA. He really deserved it. I have been preaching all year long about this guy's ability to make contact. If he starts gaining some power, he will be a dangerous hitter. He has proven that he deserved the promotion so far. .305/.359/.783, 1 HR, 9 RBI in 15 g.

High A Tampa

Daniel Burawa was promoted to High A. In limited action he has performed poorly. 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Honestly didn't feel he was ready for High A. In Low A Charleston, he had a 3.64 ERA and 35 K in 44.2 IP. That's good but in my opinion that's end of the season promotion good, not midseason promotion good. We'll see how he adjusts the rest of the season, it's a small sample size in High A so far.

Mike Gipson was also promoted to High A. He's been injured all season, but was listed on Low A Charleston at the beginning of the year, so this is a promotion. Don't have much to say about this except that he was good in Staten Island last season and I've been excited to see how he does all season.

Mikey O'brien also came from Charleston. He pitched great there, 68 K in 72.1 IP and a 3.2 ERA. He had a shaky first start, but since then has been great after the promotion. Definitely deserved this.

Nik Turley is another former River Dog, and this promotion has been a long time coming. He's been beastly in Low A, easily their best pitcher. He had a rough first start, but that's to be expected with a promotion.

Kramer Sneed, left handed relief pitcher. This promotion is one that I didn't understand, and so far I've been proven right. Sneed had a 4.18 ERA in Low A. He is left handed though, and stikes out more than 1/IP, so I guess the old addage, "he's left handed and he has a pulse," is accurate in this scenario.

JR Murphy, the catcher. I can't say enough about how much this kid deserved to be promoted. He was raking in Charleston, and outplaying Gary Sanchez at that level. He's young and he's got a sweet left handed swing. Yet another catcher to look out for in our system. With Gary Sanchez's fall from grace this season, he has eased that blow a little bit. He's struggled out of the gait, but seems to be easing into his role and improving every day, which is what you like to see.

Kyle Roller also deserved the promotion. They picked him for his bat, and he's done nothing but hit since he arrived here. He's got power, and should continue to move quickly through the organization at least until he starts seeing some real quality pitchers in AA. From there, anything can happen. He's played serviceably since arriving in Tampa (.250), but he'll have to continue to improve at this level.

Rob Segedin is another power hitting corner IF who deserved a promotion. I've had him and Roller paired together as similar players since the beginning of the season, and they have played very similarly. Segedin deserved his promotion, but has started off slow (.196) since his promotion. He's got some work to do.

Finally, Slade Heathcott earned a promotion to High A as well. Unfortunately, he has only played in 1 g since arriving due to injuries, however that game was an epic one for him. He was 3/5 with a HR and 2 R. There was speculation that he was bored in Charleston, but I have my doubts. I'm looking forward to his return.

Low A Charleston

Mark Montgomery made the quick move from Staten Island. So far he's shown why. So far he has made all but 2 of his outs by strikeout. He has 3 IP, and 9 K. Actually had 5 K in his first inning. I'd say he deserved a promotion, because he must be absolutely blowing batters away.

Kyle Higashioka moved in the wrong direction, going from High A to Charleston. The funny thing is, people have been talking about how good this kid is for about 3 years now, and I've never been impressed since he has proven over and over that he can't hit. Each year, however, he is promoted. Here's the funny part, he recently had really started to swing the bat well at High A Tampa, hitting a couple of HR in the week before the demotion, and hitting so well to the point that I actually feel he didn't deserve the demotion. Either way, he's in Charleston now, and has continued to hit better than he ever has before in his career (.279, 1 HR, 5 RBI). I actually feel bad for this kid, but the bottom line is that if he continues to hit, he will change minds. Just look at JR Murphy.

Now for the snubs. Who should have been promoted that wasn't? Or at least should be promoted soon. First of all, Dellin Betances should be promoted soon. He's very close. His main issue is control, but with the way that he has dominated AA batters, it hasn't mattered. There's no reason he can't work on that control in AAA. As for Austin Romine, I'm not saying he should be promoted, but he would be in AAA in any other system right now. I'm okay with it because Montero is a stud, but this kid has got to be getting bored there even though his playing quite well still. I still maintain that Raymond Kruml should have been promoted instead of Austin Krum to AAA. He's got better speed, and he's a better hitter. He has 29 SB already. If nothing else, he'd probably be great to have in the majors as a pinch runner in September. 

You might say that Zoilo Almonte should have been promoted to AA. I think we should give him time. He struggled a bit when he was promoted to High A in the middle of last season, decreasing his prospect stock. I say let him improve his stock in High A, this way he could be used as trade fodder this off-season or if nothing else build up some confidence. Increased prospect stock is never a bad thing. Jairo Heredia has been phenomenal, but only recently. He's another I'm glad they kept down because he has traditionally struggled with promotions. Let him get a true grasp on High A before giving him a new challenge. Ryan Flannery is the one snub at this level I disagree with. The guy has slowly moved up one level a year, each year dominating the level he's at. He's not getting any younger and yet there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency in promoting him. Based on his picture he looks a bit obese, but hell, if you drafted him, then you thought he had something at some point. All he's done is prove that he can get guys out since he came here, I say give him a mid-season promotion for once in his career. Finally, I am not seeing any obvious snubs in Charleston, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Overall, I think the Yankees did a good job evaluating who deserved a promotion and who didn't. I think there were a couple of mistakes as far as guys who didn't deserve a promotion, and a few where they probably should be promoted soon or should have already received that recognition. In the end, they will get their chance eventually.