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Post by D23 on Oct 13, 2005 13:11:10 GMT -5
Time to follow AFL now that it has completed its first week of action. For those not familiar, each team sends 6 prospects to Arizona. For the Yankees, the top guy is ERIC DUNCAN, the former first round pick in '03. If any of you are thinking that we should put this kid up in the market to get veteran player, you may want set that thought aside for awhile. Duncan is off to an explosive start hitting .519, with 5 HRs, 3 doubles in his first 6 games or 27 ABs. The 20 year old lefty hitter is probably one of the most talked about prospect after his power display this week. Duncan is playing 3B and in 6 games, has committed 3 errors, his weakest spot.
The Yankees also sent C DAVID PARRISH, the former first rounder. While sharing catching duties with 2 others, Parrish has only 1 hit in 11 ABs, the lone hit resulting a 2 run HR. By assigning him to Arizona is a strong indication that Parrish may be a leading candidate to back up Posada for the '06 season.
BRONSON SARDINHA OF, another former 1st round pick is hitting .368, 6 hits in 17 ABs. Sardinha is playing the OF and is coming off a solid season at Trenton.
The Yankees sent 3 pitchers for further evaluation. MATT SMITH a 26 year old lefty, ended his season on a strong note with the Clippers during the last two months. A former starter, Smith was used in relief and performed well and perhaps giving him a deserving shot as a lefty reliever in ST. However, Smith's first week was a nightmare in Arizona. In 2 appearances, he has coughed up 11 runs, 3 walks in 2 2/3 IP. Only bright spot is 5 Ks. Hopefully Smith will settled down.
The Yankees also sent 6' 7", 25 year old TJ BEAM. Beam split his time between Charleston (low level A) and Tampa (High level A) this past season. Beam, a long term reliever and did make several saves got the Yankees' attention by strucking out 105 batters while walking only 25 in 70 innings. Beam has made 3 appearances and has a 3.18 ERA, allowing 9 H and 3 walks in 5 2/3 innings, not exactly the type of numbers he was producing this summer.
STEVE WHITE is the 3rd pitcher. Baseball America listed him as the third best Yankee prospect prior to '04 season. Never lived up to the billing. He had a rough year, getting hit hard early and missed several months by going on DL. White did seem to settled down towards the end of the season. White has made two starts and the numbers are much better, perhaps to what the Yankees envisioned. In 6 innings, he has allowed only 3 hits, 2 runs and 8 Ks.
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Post by DavidL on Oct 13, 2005 13:22:41 GMT -5
Great to see the hot start for Duncan. Hopefully he can keep it up. Hasn't there been talk of moving him to 1B?
A 25 year old in A ball? He should be dominant there, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for him on the big team.
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Post by NYY23 on Oct 13, 2005 13:38:54 GMT -5
Didn't Drew Henson have a great AFL season a few years ago?
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Post by RJPinstripes on Oct 13, 2005 17:58:12 GMT -5
Great post, as usual. I was going to run a post today on the AFL. Keep us all informed as we proceed with fall play. Hey, Duncan maybe to first? What ab out as an outfielder? Lefty sticker...good stuff! ;D ;D
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Post by RJPinstripes on Oct 13, 2005 18:02:27 GMT -5
Hey D ;D23, speaking of prospects, do you see any Cano or Wang type possibilities down on the farm for 06 delivery? This time last year, we certainly didn't think we would get the production etc. that we did from Cano or Wang, so (maybe) we have others. ;D
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Post by D23 on Oct 14, 2005 10:55:28 GMT -5
On Wang, no. I wasn't expecting him one of the first ones called up. On Cano, yes. I was impressed and have stated that he would be our 2B by '06 season and would see him late in '05 as a backup. Obviously, he came earlier much by default.
I'm still keeping my hopes up on Andy Phillips. He may be the guy that could contribute because not only he has 1B experience, he has played all of the infield positions throughout his minor league career. I think he can adjust ML pitching because, over the years, he had to adjust each level. And when he did, he ended up having great seasons in every level.
I don't know much about Henn. But it seems he will be given a close look in ST.
As far as Duncan, I think I posted a while back after seeing some games that I don't see him as a 3rd baseman. 1st, I don't know. He does have solid speed, not blazing speed that he could play the OF. But we know Jeter coming up made tons of errors at Shortstop throughout minors. Maybe Duncan is similar? I also mentioned that Duncan appears to be smaller than what they listed him as in the roster. But only 20, he'll definitely get bigger. And he does have a very good swings.
I think DeSalvo is the guy to keep you eye on. Not big frame and is still needs some work. However, I was impressed during his shutout against Bowie. If the radar gun was accurate, he was consistantly throwing 92. He also had a slider and change working. He hits a lot of low targets, resulting a lot of ground balls. Downside, he can run up his pitch counts. Perhaps, that will develop as he matures...
Of course, the best prospect we seem to have is Phillips Hughes. Perhaps is the real deal but was shut down twice last season...
Possible impact players for '06 season: MATT SMITH - lefty guy, threw well in the bullpen. Did well in the last month and 1/2 in Columbus SEAN HENN - He has to be the number 1 emergency backup in Columbus. ANDY PHILLIPS - I think he can backup Giambi. I think he needs more at bats. Can we depend on him as our 1B? Probably too early since he needs more ML experiences. MITCH JONES - The kid can sting a ball high and far, and that is if he gets the ball on the wood. I'm confused to what his position really is? He started out at 3B. Then played OF. Then they moved him back to 3B and then played 1B in the last year. DAVID PARRISH - Backup catcher?
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Post by asburyboss on Oct 14, 2005 12:01:23 GMT -5
The one time I saw Duncan play the first player to come to mind is Todd Helton- similar build, similar stance and swing, similar speed...The scout from the Braves I spoke to at the game said the Yanks would be moving him to 1st base this coming year- not sure that is his guess or inside info he had...oddly, he also compared Duncan to Helton (without me even saying anything)..."huge upside" was the term he used...he also said Phillip Hughes was "at or just ahead of" where Mark Pryor was at age 19!!!!
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Post by BernzAMatic on Oct 14, 2005 12:48:24 GMT -5
Everything Mitch Jones used to hit at Trenton was just Stung! A lot of times right at people, but when he makes Contact WATCH OUT! But like you said, where he winds up nobody knows....Wasn't Jorge an infielder in the low minors before the move behind the plate?
[shadow=orange,left,300]BernzAMatic[/shadow]
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Post by DavidL on Oct 14, 2005 13:02:56 GMT -5
Wasn't Jorge an infielder in the low minors before the move behind the plate? [shadow=orange,left,300]BernzAMatic[/shadow] Second base, but they decided he lacked the quickness necessary for the infield. It took them that long to figure it out?
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Post by D23 on Oct 14, 2005 13:20:20 GMT -5
You know DavidL, I just can't believe that he was actually a 2B. I still can't get over that. I would have think Goo's boys and Tribefan boys had better range than Posada!!!
I can't really remember if I saw Mitch Jones played except for BP and fielding. But boy, the guy is built and can drive the ball! BP hitting is different though but I can imagine Bernz how hard he hits in the game. I read an article and may have mentioned it that he apparently hit over the CF scoreboard one game...
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Post by DavidL on Oct 14, 2005 13:50:25 GMT -5
Heck, I probably would have more range at 2B than Jorge. Every time I hear that, I also can't believe it.
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Post by rags on Oct 14, 2005 13:54:35 GMT -5
Hey D23,
Do you know why nobody ever talks about Joshua Schmidt? The guy had the best year of any pitcher in the Yankee organization. He pitched 33 innings as a closer, allowing 14 hits, 1 run (for a tidy ERA of 0.27) and striking out 47. He won the New York-Penn League Rolaids relief pitcher award, and his record was way, way better than the two runners-up. On top of that, he was also an outstanding college pitcher before the Yanks drafted him. In his senior year, he was second in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings and eighth in ERA.
When I raised this question before, someone suggested that he was too old for A ball, and his great numbers came from dominating teenagers. However, it turns out that, in the NY-Penn League this year, the majority of players were born after 1984. The average age is probably about 21-point-something. So Schmidt, who's 22, was basically playing among contemporaries.
I'm also not sure he's that far away from the majors. You have to believe that he'll be promoted to AA next year, and if he continues to excel there, he could be in the majors by the end of the year, just as the Red Sox did with Papelbon and White Sox did with Jenks.
Just curious if you had any info.
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Post by DavidL on Oct 14, 2005 15:00:37 GMT -5
Hold it, rags, if the majority of the players in the NY-Penn League were born after 1984, they would be under 21. Thus, a 22-year old would be pitching against younger competition. Unless you meant to say that the majority were born before 1984?
My understanding, however, is that short-season A leagues, like the NY-Penn, is primarily made up of HS draftees, which would mean that most of the players there are teens, and that if they're not moving on to full-season A or AA leagues after their first or 2d year, they're probably not going anywhere.
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Post by rags on Oct 14, 2005 15:18:36 GMT -5
Sorry, you're right, I meant to say BEFORE 1984. For example, 22 of the 34 players listed on the SI Yanks roster were born in 1983 or earlier. That seems to be pretty typical of the league. Only a small number of guys are less than 20.
I also would have thought that A ball is mostly for guys a year out of HS. Maybe that's true in other A ball leagues, but it seems like there must be a fair number of ex-college players in the NY-Penn League.
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Post by D23 on Oct 14, 2005 15:24:07 GMT -5
Rags,
Sorry I really don't have an answer for you. I'm just going by the numbers and game by game info. Phil and Hobbes usually attend the games and probably can share some info on him. Yeah 22 years old in Penn League is a little old but not uncommon. Why he wasn't picked until the 15th round, no clue. Pacific U has a pretty decent baseball program. Whatever the case may be, he had an sensational start and we may have found a gem.
Why is he not talked about often? Usally good college pitchers have the edge over hitters and do quite well in NY/Penn league. However, he has produced some astounding numbers as you indicated that can't be ignored. Hopefully, he'll shine in Tampa and moves up to Trenton.
I don't get concerned with the player's age at low level especially if its a college player with his first or 2nd season in pro. Its how they progress as they move up. Andy Phillips and Danny Borrell are prime expamples. Schmidt could be pitching in Trenton next season but highly believe he'll start in Advanced A level in Tampa under the watchful eyes of Newman, Conners, and Tampa mafia. Assuming he progresses well, at a relative steady pace, moves up each level in each year, that would put him at Columbus at 25. Not too bad, if all goes well. Borrell was at that pace and if he didn't blow out his shoulder last year, he could have been pitching for us this past season at the age of 26...
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Post by D23 on Oct 14, 2005 15:29:45 GMT -5
Also usually too, some of those guys that are born before 1984 and not college players were playing low level A league. That is common especially for many latin players. They started in Charleston, played half a season and then get promoted or shipped to SI. Duncan did it last year.
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Post by rags on Oct 14, 2005 15:31:04 GMT -5
Maybe the best way to explain why I think Schmidt's performance was so outstanding is to compare his record with the records of the guys who finished second and third (behind Schmidt) in the balloting for the NY-Penn League Rolaids relief pitcher award: Paul Phillips of Auburn and Derek Feldkamp of Hudson Valley.
Age IP H HR ERA SO BB
Schmidt 22 33.0 14 0 0.27 47 8
Phillips 21 39.1 31 2 2.29 41 13
Feldkamp 22 26.2 20 3 4.05 35 11
It's not even close. Schmidt's way better in every category. And these are supposed to be the second and third best relief pitchers in the league. Maybe there's some reason that Schmidt's not as great a prospect as he appears, but I don't know what it could be.
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Post by rags on Oct 14, 2005 15:33:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the answer, D23, which I missed while I was making my previous post. It'll be fun to see what happens with this guy. I guess I'm a little obsessed since I almost feel like I "discovered" him.
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Post by D23 on Oct 14, 2005 15:48:53 GMT -5
Its good to feel that way. Lets hope he is a gem. If you happen to be following him or watch him, please share it with us! You know I have seen Cox pitched for Texas about 8 or 9 times on TV this season, and yes he has had some big saves. Unless he has a slider like Nelson had during his prime where hitters had trouble hitting, I don't know what makes him a high draft pick. The times I've seen, he hit maybe 91 only a couple of times. Many pitches were slider, his best pitch which college hitters had trouble with. It will be interesting to see how he fares with AA and AAA levels once they adjust his sliders. It does seem that Joshua Schmidt has several arsenal pitches which is the key of being a decent and successful pitcher making to the bigs...
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Post by Phil on Oct 15, 2005 10:07:10 GMT -5
I saw him pitch, he is a gamer but he is still a bit raw. At times he was untouchable the theatrics involved was reminisent of Sparky Lyle ala the WWEs undertaker. I hope he can transform this to the majors. His physique is intimidating but a real nice kid.
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