Tuesday, February 19, 2013
2013 Top Prospects
Baseball America released their list of the Top 100 Prospects in baseball today:
32. Mason Williams, OF, NYY
57. Gary Sanchez, C, NYY
63. Slade Heathcott, OF, NYY
77. Tyler Austin, OF, NYY
A few weeks back, Keith Law also released his Top 100:
18. Gary Sanchez, C, NYY
35. Mason Williams, OF, NYY
52. Tyler Austin, OF, NYY
57. Slade Heathcott, OF, NYY
The big difference in the lists is the ranking of Sanchez and Austin. In the case of Sanchez, Law seems to believe more in his defense than BA does. With Austin, Law has more faith in his power than BA does.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
MILB: Williams shows range center stage
An ability to hit and steal bases props up his profile, sure, but [Mason]Williams is widely regarded as one of the game’s next best defensive center fielders. This came with work. After adjusting his throwing motion—moving from short, he raised his right arm’s slot to generate more back-spin on the baseball—Williams started learning the real nuances of his new spot: like focusing his gaze on home plate—all while standing, bended at both knees, 300 feet away.
“He is really athletic, but he also reads the ball off the bat and has an ability to project where it’s going to end up,” says Mark Newman, the Yankees’ senior vice president of baseball operations. “I don’t know how much of that is innate. I don’t know how much of that is the time he spends doing this, but he was really good when he signed with us, so if he started at a high level, he has improved.”
We had Bernie. We had Gerald. Will we have Mason?
Monday, December 24, 2012
Minor League Ball: New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2013
1) Gary Sanchez, C, Grade B+: Youngest of the top Yankee hitting prospects, and plays the most difficult position, showing enough defensive improvement to give decent hope that he can stick there.
2) Tyler Austin, OF, Grade B+: Tremendous instincts, solid tools, and hits for power and average. How did this guy last until the 13th round?
3) Mason Williams, OF, Grade B: Borderline B+: Tools are a notch ahead of Austin’s, but Tyler wins on current polish and makeup and they are the same age. It is also unclear how much power Williams will develop. Speed and defense should be very valuable.
4) Slade Heathcott, OF, Grade B: Oldest of the quartet at age 22 and injury history is discouraging, but he’s starting to tap his power and I was very impressed with him in the Arizona Fall League. An outfield of Heathcott in left, Williams in center, and Austin in right would be stellar defensively and highly-productive on offense if everyone maxes out their hitting skills.
5) Brett Marshall, RHP, Grade B-: Marshall is the best pitching prospect by default, thanks to the health problems of Banuelos and Campos, and the simple uncertainty regarding DePaula. Mid-rotation projection, should be a nice inning-eater.
Here’s the list of players that will be traded for a RH backup outfielder and pitchers with frayed labrums. Thanks to NJASDJDH, who really could have just posted it himself.
Happy Festivus to all, or Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukah if that’s more your style.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Baseball America: 2013 Yankee Top 10 Prospects
1. Mason Williams, of
2. Slade Heathcott, of
3. Gary Sanchez, c
4. Tyler Austin, of
5. Jose Campos, rhp
6. Brett Marshall, rhp
7. Angelo Gumbs, 2b
8. Manny Banuelos, lhp
9. Ty Hensley, rhp
10. Rafael De Paula, rhp
Given the Yankees’ track record of developing pitchers, I’m happy to see position players at the top four spots on this list. They’re all still at least two years away, but I’m optimistic in varying degrees on all four of Williams, Heathcott, Sanchez and Austin.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Yankees.com: Homers aren’t enough as Yanks fall to Orioles
NEW YORK—The Yankees hit three home runs off Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez, but that power display wasn’t enough to avert a 5-4 defeat on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, marking the Bronx Bombers’ third consecutive loss.
Yankees starter Freddy Garcia permitted three runs over six innings, but the Orioles added two key runs in the seventh charged to reliever Boone Logan, winning for the third time in their four games played in the Bronx this season.
Back-to-back seventh-inning homers by Eric Chavez and Ichiro Suzuki off Gonzalez—Ichiro’s first home run in pinstripes, and the 100th of his career—closed the deficit, but the Yankees couldn’t push a final run across.
Homers aren’t enough should be the theme song of the 2012 Yankees. I suppose it would help if it was a song and not a headline.
Mark Teixeira left the game with a hand injury after a fielding play and obviously that’s the bigger concern than yet another one run loss. There’s no official word on the extent of the injury, with tests planned for tomorrow.
The nice thing about losing a bunch of one run games is it generally means you’ve been a bit unlucky and aren’t really as bad as you’ve looked. While the logical part of me can use that to somewhat mollify the annoyance of the Yankees dropping eight of their last 11 games, the fan in me is pretty freaking annoyed these days.
In happier news, Joe Girardi says there was no setback for Andy Pettitte in recovery from a leg fracture..
Girardi said that the Yankees continue to expect Pettitte to return to their rotation in September, and that this recent update doesn’t constitute a change in that thinking. Doctors have been encouraged by Pettitte’s healing thus far.
Also, Joba Chamberlain is excited about his looming return to the majors.
“I feel like Usain Bolt right now, just not quite that fast,” said Chamberlain when asked if he sees a finish line. “Just to know it’s there and the hard work’s paid off, and to know there is an end in sight, is awesome.”
Chad Qualls is probably a bit less enthusiastic about said return.
And if you’re hoping for a magic deal coming down to save the day, according to Brian Cashman, stop hoping.
Cashman said that the trade landscape has “gotten quiet all of a sudden,” and though he wouldn’t completely rule out the chances of the Yankees making a trade before 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, Cashman said he is “not at all” optimistic because prices have been too high.
“There are some very motivated buyers that you’ve seen, and some very reluctant sellers,” Cashman said. “It’s always difficult to agree on price regardless. I’m very comfortable that I know we’re getting our guys back from the DL. It’s just trying to maintain health, stay healthy and get healthy, and keep going with what you’ve got.”
Translation, I’m about to trade Mason Williams and Gary Sanchez for Brandon Beachy.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Minor League Ball: Sickels: New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2012
1) Jesus Montero, C-DH, Grade A: What he did in the majors last year was not a fluke. It was at the high end of expectation, yes, and I wouldn’t expect him to hit like that over 500 plate appearances at age 22. He may need some adjustment time, but his bat is truly outstanding and he wasn’t just getting lucky. His glove isn’t very good and while he’s not a complete player in terms of contributing speed or defense, his hitting is so strong he still gets a Grade A from me.
2) Gary Sanchez, C, Grade B+: Excellent power production in full-season ball at age 18; that is rare. His glove needs work and he needs to take his career more seriously, but he has time to outgrow emotional immaturity.
3) Manny Banuelos, LHP, Grade B: Borderline B+. He got a B last year and I can’t bump his grade up a notch given the command difficulties he had in Double-A. He’s still a fine prospect, however, projecting as a number three starter if all goes well.
4) Dellin Betances, RHP, Grade B: Borderline B+. He’s got plenty of stuff but command wobbles prevent the B+ at this time. Ceiling is a tad higher than Banuelos, but I’m less confident that he’ll reach it. Depending on what happens with his command, he could develop into anything from a number two starter to a disappointing mop-up man.
5) Mason Williams, OF, Grade B: We need to see him higher than the New York-Penn League, but he showed progress with both the bat and the glove. Main question is how much power he’ll develop. Grade may be a bit aggressive.
...Overall, there were a few glitches last year but the farm system is in good shape. They have a mixture of tools upside and players with polish. The pitching at the lower levels could use a boost and it will be interesting to see what their draft strategy is under the new CBA.
Williams looks very interesting to me. CAIRO loves him, considering how it generally treats prospects.
| % | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | GDP | HBP | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | BR | BRAR |
| 80% | 600 | 550 | 76 | 160 | 26 | 6 | 16 | 65 | 27 | 10 | 47 | 98 | 4 | 6 | .291 | .354 | .449 | .353 | 84 | 23 |
| 65% | 550 | 504 | 65 | 141 | 22 | 5 | 13 | 56 | 23 | 11 | 40 | 95 | 5 | 4 | .279 | .335 | .418 | .332 | 68 | 12 |
| Baseline | 500 | 458 | 56 | 122 | 18 | 3 | 10 | 47 | 18 | 11 | 33 | 91 | 6 | 3 | .267 | .317 | .387 | .310 | 53 | 2 |
| 35% | 450 | 412 | 47 | 105 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 39 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 86 | 6 | 2 | .255 | .298 | .356 | .289 | 40 | -5 |
| 20% | 400 | 367 | 39 | 89 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 32 | 11 | 12 | 22 | 80 | 7 | 1 | .243 | .280 | .324 | .267 | 29 | -12 |
BR: Linear weights batting runs
BRAR: BR above replacement level, adjusted for position
Here’s another article about Williams that might be worth reading.
Is he possibly Nick Swisher’s replacement in RF in 2013? That seems like wishful thinking but if he can get to AA, who knows?
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