Trenton put together a surprisingly strong 2012, going 79-63 and winning the Division, eventually falling to the Akron Aeros in the Eastern League Finals. Stellar play by Brett Marshall, Zoilo Almonte, Vidal Nuno and David Adams all came up big for the Thunder. Luckily, this year should see more of the same for the Thunder, who should see some of the Yankees’ hottest prospects don their uniform.

A lot of eyes will fix on the Trenton outfield this season, with Tyler Austin, Slade Heathcott, Ramon Flores and Mason Williams all likely to spend some time there this season. According to Josh Norris, Flores and Austin are looking outstanding in the Minors Spring Training right now. Unfortunately, Austin seems to have tweaked his ankle and missed yesterday’s game, however, it sounds like he should be fine by Opening Day. Flores celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday and has been swinging a hot bat in Spring Training.

(click “view full post” to read more)

Just as the start of 2012 brought a lot of excitement to Charleston, the Tampa Yankees reaped the benefits in the latter half of the year. Unfortunately, a slow start to the season put the Yankees in a big hole in the Florida State League and they ended the year with a 65-70 record, their first losing season since 2005. Additions of Slade Heathcott, Mason Williams, Gary Sanchez and Tyler Austin revived them somewhat, but in the end their inconsistencies early in the season were too much for the Yankees’ hottest prospects to salvage.

While inconsistency was a problem for the Yankees on both offense and defense in 2012, they should have some solid players on both sides of the field this year. Combined with some strong players waiting for promotions down in Charleston, it could be enough to propel the Yankees back to a winning season, if not another FSL championship. Williams and Sanchez will anchor a strong lineup, with Angelo Gumbs probably starting in Charleston.  Gumbs could spend most of the year with Tampa and be another great asset for the Yankees’ High-A club. Yankees fans will also recognize a few of the people guiding the young hopefuls, as Luis Sojo will continue to manage the Tampa Yankees. Marcus Thames will join Tampa as the batting coach.

(click “view full post” to read more)

There was quite a bit of excitement in Charleston when the 2012 season got underway, as the RiverDogs’ Opening Day roster boasted some of the Yankees’ most exciting prospects. With Tyler Austin, Mason Williams, Gary Sanchez, Dante Bichette, Jr. and others, it looked like the RiverDogs would be the team to beat in the South Atlantic League. Unfortunately for Charleston, Austin, Williams and Sanchez moved up to Tampa part way through the season, while Cito Culver and Bichette struggled to make up for the lost production and the RiverDogs ended the season 73-63, just short of a SAL playoff berth.

As always, there will be plenty of changes in Charleston this season, and I am not just talking about  the newest addition to their heralded concessions - the beer milkshake. These changes will start in the dugout, as Al Pedrique will take over managing duties for the RiverDogs for Carlos Mendoza, the new roving defense coach for the Yankees minor league system. Pedrique served as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ interim manager in 2004 and was the bench coach for the Houston Astros the last couple years.

(click “view full post” to read more)

With Spring Training underway and the Yankees gearing up for their first “game,” it seems like a good time to look at the Yankees of the future. The bulk of the Yankees’ strongest prospects still have at least a couple years to go, but they are getting closer. Some of these guys may find their way to the Bronx at during the next seven or eight months, others are still a few years away from the majors and – of course – some may never get the chance to run out onto a big league field. Regardless, here are some names to keep an eye on during this year’s Farm Reports.

1. Gary Sanchez (C):
We had Sanchez at the top of our list all last season and see no real reason to move him out of that top spot, though some of the other young guys make this a bit of a harder decision – but more about them later. The Yankees have had a wealth of catcher prospects over the last few years, but with Jesus Montero now in Seattle and Austin Romine missing most of last season with another back injury, Sanchez has become the focal point in the Yankees’ internal search for their future catcher. Sanchez had a rough 2011, with some “character” issues and a mediocre year at the plate, but he seemed to turn it around quite a bit in 2012.

Offensively, Sanchez still is a bit raw, but at 20 he continues to improve and has always projected to hit for average and power. He hit .290/.344/.485 between Charleston and Tampa in 2012. He was SAL Player of the Week twice and picked up SAL Mid-Season All-Star and MiLB.com Organization All-Star honors. Much like Montero, Sanchez’s offensive potential has never been questioned, but his ability to stick behind the plate continues to garner discussion. He has a strong arm and appears to be making improvements defensively. He is probably a safer bet to play catcher than Montero ever was, but some scouts continue to doubt whether this will happen. Sanchez will likely start the year in Tampa and find himself in Trenton by the end of the season, giving him a few more years until we see him in the Bronx.

(Click “view full post” to read more)

As Brien mentioned, the Yankees job for starting catcher is up for grabs right now. Russell Martin‘s contract was for one year and the Yankees have yet to indicate whether they plan to resign him. This year they sent a pretty clear signal that they do not view Francisco Cervelli as a viable option, while they groom their next backstop of the future. First, they traded for Chris Stewart at the end of Spring Training, sending Cervelli to the wandering Empire State Yankees and then only gave him three at bats and a handful of innings behind the plate after being called-up in September. While thinking about this potential hole in their lineup, it struck me that the Yankees have found themselves in a place many of us thought they would avoid, given their penchant for drafting and developing some strong catching prospects.

For much of the 1990s and 2000s, the Yankees had a solid starting catcher behind home plate. This can be attributed in part to the Jorge Posada‘s arrival in the majors, first as a backup and later as one of the Yankees’ key players during their impressive string of playoff runs and World Series titles.  As Posada’s career neared the end, Yankees fans saw few reasons to be concerned, after all, we had been hearing about Jesus Montero for years.  It was understood that there were many questions about Montero’s ability to be a serviceable major league catcher, however, his offense was what excited people. After all, if Montero proved unable to work out defensively, the Yankees had Austin Romine right behind him. Now, Montero finds himself in Seattle, having been traded for Michael Pineda, a move that will likely be hotly debated at least until the young hurler finally dons pinstripes on a mound at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees signed Martin to fill the gap between Posada and the prospects, but after a hot start Martin has seen mixed results during the past season and a half, often garnering a lot of frustration and discussion from fans this past season. Meanwhile, Romine spent the bulk of the season on the DL, after injuring his back during Spring Training and suffering multiple setbacks, making it hard to know just when/if he will be ready for the Bronx. As I mentioned earlier, the Yankees have made it a habit to draft some strong, offensively-minded catchers and they have quite a few working their way up the ladder. So, while we will have to wait and see what Brian Cashman decides to do behind the plate in 2013, let’s take a look at who and where the potential Yankee backstops of the future are now.

(click “view full post” to read more)

Baseball America has released their draft report cards for 2012 and the Yankees’ is one of the handful that do not require a subscription. They singled out fifth round pick Robert Refsnyder as the best pure hitter drafted by New York. The outfielder from the University of Arizona started his career in Charleston this season, after winning the College World Series. Peter O’Brien (second round) is cited as the best power hitter, but he is a big question mark defensively at catcher. Corey Black (fourth round) and top pick Ty Hensley got nods for having the best fastballs, while Nick Goody (sixth round) was mentioned as having the best debut and being closest to the majors. Goody, a closer for LSU worked his way up to the Tampa Yankees with a combined 1.12 ERA over 32 games, averaging 14.6 Ks per nine and a 5.78 K/BB ratio. Austin Aune, Taylor Dugas, Saxon Butler and others are all mentioned as well so make sure to check it out.

While there are still four teams alive in the Majors, many minor league players have begun playing for the various winter baseball leagues now. The Arizona Fall League has been going for about a week and the Scottsdale Scorpions, where the Yankees players landed, are 2-4 so far. Dellin Betances may have struggled in his first outing, but he came back nicely on Friday, pitching two hitless innings. He did not walk anyone, struck out four batters and was apparently throwing 95mph. Mark Montgomery has made a couple appearances, giving up a run on two hits and a walk over 2.1 innings, striking out five. Zach Nuding has pitched in one game, giving up one run on a homer. He threw two innings and walked two and struck out three. Finally, Daniel Burawa’s first appearance for Scottsdale went well, as he pitched a scoreless inning. He did allow two walks, but struck one out. Unfortunately, he got pretty well smacked around on Saturday. He gave up five runs on five hits and a walk in just 0.2 innings of work. It should be pointed out that Burawa missed all of the 2012 season with a torn oblique, so these are the first games he’s made it into this year.

The Yankees’ hitters for the Scorpions have looked good so far this season. Slade Heathcott has gone 3-13 over four games with a RBI, three walks and a stolen base. He has struck out five times, but seems to have impressed Keith Law who thinks Heathcott has star potential if he stays healthy. Law seems less sure of the young outfielder’s ability to stay healthy, however, attributing it to how hard he plays. David Adams has a hit in all four games he has played this year. He is 5-13 with a double, three walks and only one strikeout. Austin Romine, who also missed most of 2012 with a back injury, is 3-14 in four games. He has a double, a couple walks and a couple Ks.

(click “view full post” to read more)