Minor League Players of the Week, v14
Monday, July 19, 2010 at 8:46 pm by Gary Wallace
We will be posting an updated Top 10 Prospects in the coming week, so keep your eyes open and your browers on refresh. For now, you can enjoy the latest MLPW.
Minor League Players of the Week:
Pitcher:
David Phelps, 23, RHP, AAA
6.0 IP, 10 K, 0 BB, 7 H, 1 ER
Previous Wins - Week(s): 9
In less than three seasons of professional baseball, David Phelps has climbed from the Staten-Island Yankees in the New York-Penn League, all the way up to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees of the International League. With every successive year, his strikeout numbers have improved: from 17.7% in his first season, to 19.8% in 2009, to 25.7% this year. Equally impressive is his ability to generate these numbers while maintaining his control and groundball rates (5.5 BB%, 4.38 K/BB, 48.2 GB% in 2010).
David’s results don’t exactly match up with his scouting report, however. He lacks a true out-pitch to go along with his fastball, which will likely limit him to being back-end starter at the next level. There’s always the chance he tightens up his slider and improves it, but if it were that easy, everyone would have a put-away secondary offering. A move to the bullpen might be fortuitous for both the Yankees and young Phelps, as he can run his four-seam up to the mid-90’s, and the shorter stints would allow him to avoid digging into a somewhat shallow repertoire of pitches. The farm system currently has a number of back of the rotation arms (McAllister/Noesi/Nova), so transitioning Phelps to relief wouldn’t substantially hurt the Yankees’ minor league depth.
All things considered, the odds are against Phelps cracking the major league rotation at any point in the next couple of years. Recent history tells us that unless you’re a top prospect (read: Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy), you don’t get a chance to consistently start in the Yankee rotation, no less stick there. They just go out and buy somebody without the question mark of inexperience. With that in mind, it makes sense that Phelps either assumes another pitching role within the Yankee organization, or be packaged in a deal. If the front office decides to keep Phelps, his control and velocity could make him useful immediately in a non-vital bullpen position. I can’t imagine him being much worse than Chad Gaudin, and he has the same flexibility to make a spot-start in an emergency. Should Cashman and his team make a move for a bullpen arm or bench player (which has been the aim for weeks), Phelps could help get it done.
Whatever happens, credit goes to both the Yankees for finding David Phelps in the 14th round, and Phelps himself for going out there every fifth day, getting it done and putting himself on the cusp of a major league call-up faster than most, if anyone, predicted.
Position Player:
Jesus Montero, 20, RHB C, AAA
.400/.438/.667 in 16 PAs
Previous Wins: Week(s): 10, 13
It took a little while (and possibly the fear of being traded from the Yankees), but Montero has finally awoken from his slumber, much to the chagrin of International League pitchers. Coming into June, Montero’s OPS sat at an anemic .642, but since then, he’s produced an .870 OPS mark and raised his numbers on the season to a much more palatable .761. Basically, in the span of two months, Jesus went from one hundred points below average in terms of OPS, to thirty points over it. Not a bad stretch, wouldn’t you say?
Jesus’ numbers in July (.317/.442/.512) represent his longest, hottest streak of the year and further illustrate a point made in MLPW #13: improved plate discipline. We’re only a little more than halfway through July and Montero has already tied his career high for walks in a month and is three away from tying his season high, set in 2008 (37). With much trepidation, I predict Jesus will break both records.
It’s crazy to think that only a year from now, with continued growth of Montero and the right off-season wooing of Cliff Lee, we could seeing this battery in the Bronx.
Honorable Mentions:
Manuel Banuelos, 19, LHP, A+
6 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 0 ER
Banuelos is displaying an improved strikeout ability early in his return (32.9%).
Kevin Mahoney, 23, RHB 3B, A-
.364/.481/.682 in 27 PAs
The NoMaas’ interviewee has shown a good bat in Staten Island to go along with his strong defense.
Eduardo Nunez, 23, RHB SS, AAA
.417/.558/.667 in 17 PAs
The Yanks wouldn’t include him in the same package as Montero for Lee. That probably tells you enough of what they think about him.
Jonathan Ortiz, 24, RHP, A+
6.1 IP, 7 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 0 ER
Like we said a couple weeks ago: nothing left to prove at Tampa.
Tags: farm system, mlpw
I still would have him traded for Cliff Lee.
“I still would have him traded for Cliff Lee.”
They tried. I don’t get the point of this comment.
Sorry, I thought you were referring to Montero with that comment.
While I agree to a certain extent (I’m not the biggest believer in Eduardo Nunez as a shortstop), I understand not wanting to include two of your almsot-MLB-ready prospects who just happen to play up the middle defensive positions. It would have been a big, big overpay for 3 months of Lee when you have the same rotation that won you the World Series the year before.
Actually, I WAS referring to Montero. LMAO.
In that case, I still don’t get your point.
You guys are silly.
Isn’t the point that Brandon would trade Montero for Lee?
Gary – what are the strikeout percentages you listed? Strikeouts divided by batters faced?
Has anyone seen “Despicable Me?” It looks really funny.
I’m so happy we found each other, David!
Nunez is already 23, in AAA. Where is he going to play for the next 3 years?
If the Yanks are so high on him, that means they think he is more than a utility player, right? I imagine that he would be on the big club right now if he was on UT track – he’s got to be better than Ramiro Pena.
@CarlinNJ:
It’s just an inane comment considering given that the Yankees did try and nowhere in the article do I say they shouldn’t have traded him. The language implies the Yankees didn’t try and that he, however, would have, which makes no sense.
And you are correct: K% is strikeouts over total batters faced. It is more representative of a person’s ability to generate strikeouts than a per nine inning metric. Two players can have identical K/9, but can have vastly different K%.
@KingRover:
Nunez does not have anything resembling the defensive prowess of Ramiro Pena (he’s got a great arm, but is extremely error prone). That being said, he has a pretty decent bat for a shortstop, a vast improvement over Pena in that area.
They have also tried Nunez at 2B and 3B this year, so the Yankees might theoretically try him at those positions in the MLB. I believe they want him to eventually start filling in at short when Jeter moves off the position. That doesn’t mean he’s the shortstop of the future, but he’s the closest in house candidate. An earlier article, “The Prospect of Replacing Derek Jeter” addresses some other possibilities given different time frames.
Any word on how Jesus is coming along behind the plate or is it pretty much a given that he will be a DH?
@Phieleblunt:
Apparently the prevailing thought now is he will undoubtedly have to move off catcher at some point. I don’t know if the Yankees still hold out hope otherwise, but it seems that at this point if Montero could catch for even just a season or two, it would be a coup.
Hasn’t that been the consensus opinion forever though, Gary? Newman told you guys he’s made big improvements behind the plate.
And the industry generally acknowledged that Montero’s defense took some steps forward in 2009. It was still nothing to rave about, but there was the glimmer of hope. Now, after another couple months of seeing him behind the plate, there are very few people left who believe he can catch for an extended period of time in the MLB.
Putting it simply: there are less people who think Montero is a catcher this year than there were last year. A lot of the people who were on the fence are firmly in the 1B/DH camp now.
Thanks.
Hey Gary W – Have you met JJ yet?
TEAM EDWARD!!1!!%!
Ready, set, hut hut.
With everything Phelps has done at every professional level I think the Yanks should insert him into the back of their rotation when they deem him ready. With CC/Burnett/Hughes all locked into returning next year the Yanks do not need a top of the rotation ace. If they add Lee to the mix next year then they literally need a #5 starter and that should be Phelps. Why is it when discussing pitchers sites always say 22 or 23 yr old kids are only going to be back of the end guys when almost every year we see teams spending 9 to 13 million on back of the end guys? The Yanks will always spend on top tier proven pitchers and need to consistently deliver #3 to 5 starters to their big league club in order to control costs.
Put a sock in it, Brian!!
I think it’s a big leap to say Phelps “should be” the 5th starter next year. Nova has performed pretty well at AAA and is already on the 40-man, which gives him a distinct advantage. I’d be very surprised if Phelps cracks the starting rotation next year.
when does Phelps need to be added to the 40 man?
He needs to be added to the 40-man before the 2012 season to avoid Rule V eligibility. That gives them all next season to see Phelps more and determine a course of action.
.420/.531/.740 = 1.271
4 2b, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R, 13/7 BB/K!
Eef I take de rest of de month off, i steel play of da month mang!
I hate Joe Torre.