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River Ave. Blues ยป 2018 Draft

Minor League Notes: System & Prospect Ranks, Diaz, Stowers

February 18, 2019 by Mike

Abreu. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty)

Major League Spring Training opened last week but minor league camp is still a few weeks away. Minor league camp doesn’t open until early March. A bunch of prospects are already working out at the complex in Tampa though. Anyway, here’s one last link back to my Top 30 Prospect List and here are some minor league notes.

Baseball America, Keith Law release farm system rankings

Both Baseball America (subs. req’d) and Keith Law (subs. req’d) released their annual farm system rankings in recent days, and they both have the Padres and Rays ranked first and second, respectively. Their lists diverge from there. They ranked the Yankees similarly:

  • Baseball America (20th): “After graduating Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar the last two years, the system has dropped without an elite, near-ready prospect, but they are deep in young pitching.”
  • Keith Law (19th): “The Yankees’ top end has thinned out significantly, but from low-A down they at least have a strong collection of guys who show enough to grab your attention — elite speed or power, big velocity, huge spin rates — and create some potential trade value.”

Readers ask me where I think the farm system ranks every week in our chat, and I’ve been saying the 15-20 range since the Justus Sheffield trade. Bottom half of the league but closer to middle of the pack than last. The Yankees are loaded with high-end kids in the low minors, so the potential is there for rapid improvement. That’s also a risky profile. There is lots of boom or bust potential in the system and the rankings reflect that.

Law, FG, BP release top Yankees prospects lists

FanGraphs, Keith Law (subs. req’d), and Baseball Prospectus (subs. req’d) all released their top Yankees prospects lists recently and they go well beyond the top ten. FanGraphs ranked 38 (!) prospects and their list is free. Go read all the scouting reports. Law ranked 20 players and mentioned ten others. Baseball Prospectus ranked 15 and mentioned another four. Here are the top tens:

FanGraphs
1. OF Estevan Florial
2. RHP Jonathan Loaisiga
3. RHP Deivi Garcia
4. OF Antonio Cabello
5. RHP Roansy Contreras
6. RHP Albert Abreu
7. OF Everson Pereira
8. C Anthony Seigler
9. RHP Luis Gil
10. RHP Clarke Schmidt

Keith Law
1. RHP Deivi Garcia
2. OF Everson Pereira
3. OF Estevan Florial
4. RHP Jonathan Loaisiga
5. C Anthony Seigler
6. RHP Freicer Perez
7. RHP Clarke Schmidt
8. RHP Albert Abreu
9. OF Anthony Cabello
10. SS Thairo Estrada

Baseball Prospectus
1. RHP Jonathan Loaisiga
2. OF Estevan Florial
3. OF Antonio Cabello
4. RHP Deivi Garcia
5. OF Everson Pereira
6. RHP Luis Gil
7. RHP Mike King
8. RHP Roansy Contreras
9. RHP Clarke Schmidt
10. RHP Chance Adams


Law picked Cabello as his sleeper for 2019. “Cabello has so much upside that I even had suggestions to put him in my top 100, although I think that would have been premature. But he could belong in a year,” says the write-up. He also notes the big money 2014-15 international signings (3B Nelson Gomez, OF Juan De Leon, OF Jonathan Amundaray, etc.) have flamed out. “Only (SS Hoy Jun) Park looks like he might ever even see a day in the majors,” he writes. The spending spree was a good idea but wow did it not work out as expected. Lotta money for nothing.

FanGraphs posted their top 132 prospects list last week, which had Blue Jays 3B Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the top spot, and included only one Yankee: Florial at No. 106. Why is Loaisiga above Florial in the Yankees top ten but not on the top 132 list? Beats me. In a separate piece FanGraphs looked at players they expect to be a top 100 prospect next year. Cabello, OF Kevin Alcantara, and RHP Trevor Stephan are among them. The Yankees gave Alcantara a $1M bonus last summer and all indications are he is about to become a Very Big Deal.

Yankees connected to another top international free agent

Last week we learned the Yankees are expected to sign Dominican OF Jasson Dominguez when the 2019-20 international signing period opens July 2nd. Dominguez is considered the best available player this summer and he’s expected to receive a massive bonus in the $5M range. Ben Badler (subs. req’d) now connects the Yankees to another top international player, Dominican OF Jhon Diaz. From Badler:

Diaz is smaller than the other top players in the class, but he’s one of the most skilled game players for 2019. He’s a lefty who consistently performs well in games with a quick, simple swing and a knack for barreling the ball against live pitching. He’s a center fielder with good defensive instincts and one of the smartest baseball IQ players in the country.

Diaz looks like he’s about nine years old in the video embedded above. Total opposite of Dominguez, who looks like a grown man (in the very limited video I can find).

Badler says the Red Sox were expected to sign Diaz but “more recently there’s been buzz” about the Yankees signing him. That’s not as firm a connection as Dominguez, but it is a connection nonetheless. The bonus pools will be announced in a few weeks and the Yankees figure to be in the $5M to $5.25M range. They’ll have to trade for additional pool space to sign anyone other than Dominguez. (Teams can trade for an additional 60% of their pool. It used to be 75%. Now it’s 60%.)

Yankees were ready to draft Stowers

In the least surprising news ever, George King (subs. req’d) reports the Yankees were ready to select OF Josh Stowers with their second round pick last summer. The Mariners beat them to the punch and grabbed Stowers with the 54th overall pick. The Yankees held the 61st overall selection and used it on C Josh Breaux. They got their man last month when they acquired Stowers from the Mariners in the Sonny Gray three-team trade.

“We had him rated in the vicinity of 50th (overall), close to the bottom of the second round. He can run and is a basestealer who plays center field and has power. He is a very good athlete. The ceiling on him is he has power and speed,” said scouting director Damon Oppenheimer to King. As soon as the trade went down, I figured Stowers was someone the Yankees had targeted in the draft last year. I assume the LHP Ronald Roman situation is similar. He’s a 17-year-old kid the Diamondbacks signed as an international free agent last summer. The Yankees got Roman, who has yet to play a pro game, in the Tim Locastro trade last month. They probably tried to sign him last summer.

Filed Under: International Free Agents, Minors Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Albert Abreu, Anthony Seigler, Antonio Cabello, Chance Adams, Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia, Estevan Florial, Everson Pereira, Freicer Perez, Jhon Diaz, Jonathan Loaisiga, Josh Stowers, Kevin Alcantara, Luis Gil, Mike King, Prospect Lists, Roansy Contreras, Thairo Estrada, Trevor Stephan

DotF: Florial returns; Frazier goes deep twice in Scranton’s win

July 5, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

It’s been a while, so let’s update the minor league standings today. First, some notes:

  • In case you missed it earlier, LHP Justus Sheffield will represent the Yankees at the Futures Game in two weeks. The rosters will be officially announced tomorrow and it’s possible the Yankees will send a second player. Not sure who it would be though.
  • The Yankees have signed Georgia Southern RHP Blakeley Brown (24th round) to a $132,500 signing bonus, reports Jim Callis. He counts as $7,500 against the bonus pool. The Yankees have less than $10,000 in bonus pool space remaining before having to give up next year’s first round pick. The signing deadline is tomorrow. Our Day Three draft recap has more info on Brown.
  • The Yankees have also signed Vanderbilt RHP Justin Wilson (23rd round), according to his Twitter feed. Neat. I didn’t think he’d sign. MLB.com says he received a slot $125,000 bonus. He doesn’t count against the bonus pool at all. Our Day Three draft recap has more info on Wilson.
  • Matt Eddy reports the Yankees have released OF Cody Brown, OF Jonathan Capellan, SS Jose Carrera, LHP Jeff Degano, OF Cesar Diaz, OF Edel Luaces, OF Luis Martinez, and 1B Matt Snyder. Degano came down with the yips after being the team’s second round pick in 2015. The last two years he had 34 walks, five hit batsmen, and 15 wild pitches in 6.2 innings. Poor guy.
  • Here’s some video of a recent RHP Roansy Contreras start. Contreras, my preseason No. 24 prospect, has a 1.62 ERA (3.09 FIP) with 32.8% strikeouts and 9.0% walks in 16.2 innings with Short Season Staten Island this year. He’s developing nicely.
  • 1B Tyler Austin has already started running the bases, according to DJ Eberle, so it seems his stint on the disabled list will be a short one. Austin was placed on the Triple-A disabled list with a back issue last Friday.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (9-6 win over Buffalo) they’re in second place at 44-30 and are 4.5 games back

  • CF Clint Frazier: 3-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI — here are videos of his first homer and second homer … hitting .317/.393/.586 with ten homers in 46 Triples-A games … he is simply too good for this level
  • 1B Billy McKinney: 3-4, 1 RBI — first game at first base this season … the plan to give him work there got put on hold when he hurt his shoulder earlier this year … 1B Tyler Austin (back), 1B Mike Ford (oblique), and 1B Ryan McBroom (day-to-day after fouling a pitch into his foot) are all hurt though, so Scranton needed someone to play first base today, and McKinney it was
  • LHP Nestor Cortes: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 8/3 GB/FB — 66 of 83 pitches were strikes (80%)
  • RHP Tommy Kahnle: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — 13 of 24 pitches were strikes (54%) … still sitting mostly 94-96 mph, reportedly … I dunno, shouldn’t that be enough velocity to get big leaguers out?
  • RHP Cody Carroll: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 1/1 GB/FB — eleven of 16 pitches were strikes

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm, Draft Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Blakeley Brown, Cesar Diaz, Cody Brown, Edel Luaces, Jeff Degano, Jonathan Capellan, Jose Carrera, Justin Wilson, Luis Martinez, Matt Snyder, Tyler Austin

DotF: Medina struggles, Gomez does deep twice in Pulaski win

July 1, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

George Washington IF Isiah Pasteur (13th round) has signed for a $147,500 bonus, reports Jonathan Mayo. Every dollar over $125,000 given to a player drafted after the tenth round counts against the bonus pool, so Pasteur’s signing comes with a $22,500 bonus pool hit. As our Draft Pool Tracker show, the Yankees have less than $17,000 in bonus pool space remaining before hitting the next penalty tier and surrendering next year’s first round pick. That won’t happen. Here are all the team’s draft picks and here is our Day Three draft recap, which has more info on Pasteur.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (2-0 loss to Pawtucket)

  • LF Billy McKinney: 0-4, 2 K
  • 1B Ryan McBroom: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 K
  • RHP Brody Koerner: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 3/2 GB/FB — 45 of 68 pitches were strikes (66%) … up from Trenton to make the spot start in place of David Hale, who was called up to the Yankees
  • RHP Cody Carroll: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GB/FB — 12 of 22 pitches were strikes (55%)
  • RHP Tommy Kahnle: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 1/1 GB/FB — nine of 14 pitches were strikes (64%) … two more weeks down here and his free agency will get pushed back one year

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm, Draft Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Isaiah Pasteur

DotF: Drury and McKinney go deep in Scranton’s loss

June 27, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Some notes to get us started:

  • The Yankees have signed VMI OF Matt Pita (12th round) to a $147,500 bonus, reports Jonathan Mayo. Slot money after the tenth round is $125,000. Pita counts as $22,500 against the bonus pool. Here’s our Bonus Pool Tracker. You can read about Pita in our Day Three draft recap.
  • 3B Brandon Drury and RHP Cody Carroll were named to the Triple-A International League All-Star Game. Here’s the roster. I’m guessing this is not the All-Star team Drury and the Yankees had in mind this season. The Triple-A All-Star Game is July 11th in Columbus this year.
  • OF Steven Sensley has been promoted to High-A Tampa, the team announced. Last year’s 12th round pick hit .277/.354/.498 (138 wRC+) with ten homers in 67 games for Low-A Charleston.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (4-2 loss to Lehigh Valley)

  • 3B Tyler Wade: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS — first start at third base since being sent down … I’m not sure he has the arm for the position, but might as well try it
  • CF Clint Frazier: 0-4, 2 K — threw a runner out at second
  • 1B Brandon Drury: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K — second homer in four games
  • DH Billy McKinney: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI — ten homers in 41 games so far … his career high is 16 homers in 124 games last year
  • RHP A.J. Cole: 0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 WP — 14 of 26 pitches were strikes (54%) … I wouldn’t sweat the results … as long as he feels healthy and strong, that’s all that matters … he’s eligible to be activated off the disabled list in three days, so I bet he makes at least one more rehab appearance
  • LHP Justus Sheffield: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 7/4 GB/FB — 54 of 96 pitches were strikes (56%) … fifth time in nine Triple-A starts he’s allowed no more than one run … 82/33 K/BB in 72.2 innings

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm, Draft Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Matt Pita

2018 Draft Signings: Hutchison, Myatt, Late Rounds

June 26, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Hutchison. (UNC Athletics)

The signing deadline for the 2018 draft is next Friday, July 6th, and the Yankees have now signed all their notable picks. The only thing left is inking late rounders to fill out minor league rosters and maybe make one last offer to players who’ve said they’re not ready to turn pro. Here are our Day One, Day Two, and Day Three draft recaps and here are the latest draft signing updates:

  • UNC RHP Rodney Hutchison (6th round) has signed, reports Jim Callis. Here’s a photo of the contract signing. Hutchison was the final pick in the top ten rounds to sign because the Tar Heels went to the College World Series and he had to wait for his season end to sign. Anyway, Hutchison received a $197,500 bonus. Slot money for the 187th overall pick was $247,600.
  • Bucknell RHP Connor Van Hoose (8th round), Grand Canyon RHP Mick Vorhof (9th round), and UNC Charlotte LHP Josh Maciejewski (10th round) all signed for $7,500 as college seniors, according to MLB.com. Their signings had been previously announced, and now we know the bonuses. Those three create $420,700 in bonus pool savings. They effectively pay for Tennessee OF Ryder Green’s (3rd round) overslot bonus.
  • South Carolina JuCo RHP Tanner Myatt (11th) signed for a $147,500 bonus, reports Jim Callis. He pitched in a minor league game the other day, so this is no surprise. Every dollar over $125,000 given to a player drafted after the tenth round counts against the bonus pool, so Myatt’s bonus comes with a $22,500 bonus pool charge.
  • If you’re interested, the MLB.com Draft Tracker has bonus information for many late round signings. Among players taken after the tenth round, Myatt is the only overslot bonus so far. The late round bonuses range anywhere from $5,000 to $125,000.

As our Draft Pool Tracker show, the Yankees are over their $6,115,100 bonus pool by $243,300, or 3.98%. They’ll pay a 75% tax on the overage ($182,475) and they still have about $60,000 to spend before hitting the next penalty tier, which means forfeiting next year’s first round pick. That won’t happen. That last $60,000 may get funneled somewhere, but, by and large, the Yankees have spent all they can spend on the 2018 draft class.

Filed Under: Draft Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Connor Van Hoose, Josh Maciejewski, Mick Vorhof, Rodney Hutichson, Tanner Myatt

2018 Draft Signings: Breaux, Green, German, Bies

June 13, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Bro, it’s Breaux. (@MLBDraft)

The 2018 draft signing deadline is Friday, July 6th this year, and already the Yankees have signed nine of their top ten picks. The club made the announcement this morning. The one holdout is UNC RHP Rodney Hutchison, the team’s sixth round pick. He’ll sign once North Carolina’s season ends. They’re currently in the College World Series.

Our Draft Pool Tracker page is now live, so you can keep tabs on the Yankees’ bonus pool situation there. The Draft Pool page is available at all times under the Resources tab. You can see all of the team’s picks right here. Here are my Day One, Day Two, and Day Three draft recaps, and here are the latest draft signings.

Breaux gets $1.5M

Texas JuCo C Josh Breaux (2nd round) has signed, the Yankees announced. Here’s a photo of the signing, if you’re interested. Jim Callis says Breaux received an overslot $1.5M bonus. Slot money for the 61st overall pick is $1,086,900. MLB.com ranked Breaux as the 71st best prospect in the draft class. Here’s a snippet of their scouting report:

Breaux has well above-average raw power to all fields and an aggressive right-handed swing that generates uncommon bat speed … Scouts were skeptical of Breaux’s ability to stay at catcher when they saw him as a freshman, but he has improved defensively and projects as at least an adequate receiver. His arm strength is an asset behind the plate, though the Arkansas commit needs to improve his throwing accuracy.

Breaux hit .404/.532/.831 with 18 home runs and more walks (48) than strikeouts (32) in 56 games as a sophomore this spring, and he was slated to transfer to Arkansas, so he had some leverage during contract talks. That led to the overslot bonus. Between Breaux and first rounder Anthony Seigler, the Yankees addressed their lack of catcher prospect depth in a hurry.

Green gets $1M

Tennessee HS OF Ryder Green (3rd round) has also signed, the Yankees announced. Here’s video of the signing. Jim Callis says Green received a $1M bonus while Jon Heyman says it’s $997,500. Either way, it’s nearly double the $576,400 slot value for the 97th overall pick. MLB.com ranked Green as the 81st best prospect in the draft class. Here’s part of their scouting report:

Green has physical strength and plenty of bat speed from the right side of the plate. He has had some swing-and-miss issues in the past but is making more consistent contact this spring. That bodes well for his ability to fully tap into his power potential, which ranks among the best in the 2018 high school crop … He’s an average runner out of the batter’s box and quicker once he gets going. He’ll have to move from center to right field at the next level and has the arm for it

Why the overslot bonus? Because Green was committed to Vanderbilt, which is a very tough commitment to break, historically. The Yankees gave Dellin Betances a $1M bonus as an eighth round pick back in the day to buy him away from Vanderbilt, for example.

The discrepancy between Callis and Heyman is essentially an accounting trick. The standard minor league player contract includes $2,500 in bonuses so easily attainable that teams were reporting them as part of the signing bonus. Teams aren’t doing that now, and it’s saving them a little something against the bonus pool.

German, Bies sign below slot

Earlier this week we heard the Yankees had deals in place with North Florida RHP Frank German (4th round) and Gonzaga RHP Daniel Bies (7th round), and, earlier today, the Yankees officially announced the signings. Jim Callis has the bonus information:

  • German: $350,000 bonus (slot for the 127th pick was $430,400)
  • Bies: $150,000 bonus (slot for the 217th pick was $194,000)

I’m surprised German signed that much below slot. I thought he would be a slot money guy or very close to it. MLB.com ranked him as the 191st best prospect in the draft class and said he “has a solid three-pitch mix that points to a future as a starting pitcher at the next level.”

As for Bies, I was surprised to see him get so much because I was under the impression he was a college senior, but it turns out he was a redshirt junior with another year of eligibility. College seniors typically sign for about $10,000. Sometimes even less. Bies was able to leverage that extra year of eligibility into six figures. Good for him.

The Yankees also announced the signings of Troy OF Brandon Lockridge (5th round), Bucknell RHP Connor Van Hoose (8th round), Grand Canyon RHP Mick Vorhof (9th round), and UNC Charlotte LHP Josh Maciejewski (10th round). The deals had been previously reportedly, and now they’re official. Lockridge received a $300,000 bonus. Not sure about anyone else yet. Van Hoose, Vorhof, and Maciejewski are all college seniors who likely signed well below slot.

Filed Under: Draft Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Daniel Bies, Frank German, Josh Breaux, Ryder Green

2018 Draft Signings: German, Lockridge, Bies, Vorhof, Ernst

June 11, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

Bies. (Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review)

Over the weekend the Yankees reportedly signed 2018 first round pick Anthony Seigler to a straight slot $2,815,900 bonus. Glad they got that one out of the way early. Here are all the Yankees’ picks. Here are my Day One, Day Two, and Day Three draft recaps, and here are the latest signings:

  • North Florida RHP Frank German (4th round) has signed, reports Bryan Hoch. No word on his bonus yet. Slot money for the 127th overall pick is $430,400. My guess is German got something very close to that. Within a few thousand bucks.
  • Troy OF Brandon Lockridge (5th round) has signed, reports Hoch. Jim Callis says Lockridge received a $300,000 bonus. Slot money for the 157th overall pick is $320,700, so the Yankees save a little bonus pool space here.
  • Gonzaga RHP Daniel Bies (7th round) has indeed signed, according to the school’s Twitter feed. Still waiting to hear a bonus. Slot money for the 217th pick is $194,000. Since Bies is a college senior, chances are he signed for considerably less than that.
  • Bucknell RHP Connor Van Hoose (8th round) has signed, reports Hoch. We heard he was in Tampa last week. No word on his bonus. He’s slotted for $159,800. Van Hoose is another college senior who likely signed for something much less than slot.
  • Grand Canyon RHP Mick Vorhof (9th round) has signed, reports Hoch. Slot money for the 277th overall pick is $145,600. As another college senior, bet on Vorhof signing for quite a bit less.
  • Miami (Ohio) RHP Nick Ernst (15th round) has signed, according to his Twitter feed. Slot money for every pick after the tenth round is $125,000. Ersnt had Tommy John surgery earlier this spring and will be out until next year. I seriously doubt he received more than slot given that.
  • Louisiana-Monroe RHP Keegan Curtis (22nd round) traveled to Tampa yesterday, according to his Twitter feed, which is a pretty good indication he’s signing.
  • Northeastern 3B Max Burt (28th round) has signed, according to his Twitter feed. He was in Tampa a few days ago, so this isn’t a surprise.

Our 2018 Draft Pool Tracker page is now up and running, so make sure you check that out. It is available at all times under the Resources tab. The signing deadline is Friday, July 6th this year.

Filed Under: Draft Tagged With: 2018 Draft, Brandon Lockridge, Connor Van Hoose, Daniel Bies, Frank German, Keegan Curtis, Max Burt, Mick Vorhof, Nick Ersnt

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