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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.
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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?