NoMaas.org

No surprises to be found in this edition of NoMaas’ MLPW. Sorry.

Minor League Players of the Week (v17):

Pitcher:
Dellin Betances, 22, RHP, A+
11 IP, 16 K, 4 BB, 4 H, 3 ER

NoMaas' Ranking - Pre-Season Top 10: Not Ranked, Mid-Season Top 20: #9

Previous Wins - Week(s): 11

Betances' August started off with a six-inning, eleven-strikeout, one-walk, zero-run performance; a showing that garnered him some attention. He followed that up with a less impressive, but still solid, five-inning effort on the 7th, in which he surrendered three runs, while retiring five batters by way of strikes. Dellin now sports a 1.60 ERA in 62.0 innings at Tampa to go along with a Mariano-esque .839 WHIP. He’s finally begun to turn his massive potential into sustained results.

As I stated in the Top 10 + 10, Betances has undeniable stuff and, consequently, top of the rotation potential. Being able to toe the rubber every five days, however, hasn’t been a trait possessed by the gargantuan (6’8”) Brooklyn native. Dellin has already made a number of visits to the disabled list, the most notable and recent of which being the result of major elbow surgery (ligament reinforcement, not TJ) on his pitching arm. We can only hope this propensity for injury is a thing of the past for Betances.

Be it due to an increase in confidence or a healthy elbow, Betances' new found control (‘06-’09: 12.0 BB%, ‘10: 7.5 BB%) has propelled him back into Yankee prospect prominence. If he desires to continue his ascent, he needs to keep attacking the zone. Decreasing his walks has been the biggest development for Betances, bar none, and it's critical for furthering the success he’s experienced this year.

Position Player:
Jesus Montero, 20, RHB C, AAA
.389/.500/.667 in 22 PAs

NoMaas Ranking' – Pre-Season Top 10: #1, Mid-Season Top 20: #1

Previous Wins - Week(s): 10, 13, 14, 15 – Month(s): July

I’m not doing this on purpose. I swear. The fact is that Montero has been the best statistical player across the Yankees' system the past four weeks. Couple that with his status as a top-five prospect in baseball, and there’s no real reason to pass him over in favor of lesser players.

Despite an awful beginning to the season, Jesus fought and pushed his numbers back to average. However, he didn’t stop there. Montero brutalized pitchers in July and continued that trend into August. His OPS now sits at .824, a far cry from the .642 he was carrying to start June.

A large part of this rebound has been improved plate discipline (as I’ve harped on recently). Jesus has managed to set a career-high for walks in a season in 150-less plate appearances. A BABiP regression-to-the-mean was also at work in his offensive recovery and, if you prescribe to the idea, he might still have some good luck coming his way (.312 BABiP in 2010, .343 career).

Jesus Montero is the best hitting prospect the Yankees have had that I can remember. There are always going to be questions about his defense, but he has recently impressed some scouts, with one terming his agility behind the plate, “surprising” (in the positive way). The Yankees would do well to extract a couple seasons (or half seasons) at catcher from Montero. In any case, his bat will find a way into the lineup.

Honorable Mentions:

Melky Mesa, 23, RHB CF, A+
.382/.400/.647 in 35 PAs
Power (.212 isoP), speed (29 SBs, 78.4%) and great defense. Lots of strikeouts, though (24.8 K%).

Brandon Laird, 22, RHB 3B, AAA
.346/.393/.654 in 28 PAs
Laird started off his AAA career with a 4-4 effort, including two home runs.

Manuel Banuelos, 19, LHP, A+
7 IP, 13 K, 3 BB, 5 H, 0 ER
ManBan sure has the strikeout pitch working so far this year (35.3 K%).

David Phelps, 23, RHP, AAA
12.2 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 11 H, 3 ER
I don’t think anybody saw this year coming from David Phelps.