Monday, August 3, 2015

New York Yankees Off Night Open Thread


The New York Yankees are off today and presumably spent the day traveling from Chicago back home to the Bronx, New York. The Yankees have a big homestand ahead of them as they play host to the Boston Red Sox for three games before playing host to the Toronto Blue Jays for three more games in the Bronx. On Wednesday we will all be watching as Luis Severino makes his Major League debut against Boston and this weekend we'll all watch David Price and Troy Tulowitzki make their way to the stadium for the first time in their new uniforms. It's going to be a crazy week, my son starts Kindergarten on Wednesday and I'm a nervous wreck so I'm going to sleep while I can.

I leave you tonight with this open thread for the night and a musical recommendation out of my own personal collection. The name of the song is "Sentry the Defiant" by Coheed and Cambria. Enjoy.

Most Popular Article of the Week: 2015 Midseason Yankees Top 30 Prospects

by: Ben Embry

This is the first time I've waited this long into the summer to post my Mid-season prospect rankings. I thought for sure we'd see some of the top 10-15 names be shuttled off to some far flung outposts like San Diego or Cincinnati. Instead, there was very little movement. The only prospects traded away were Ramon Flores and Jose Ramirez, (two Yankees prospect lists staples for the last half-decade), in exchange for Seattle's Dustin Ackley.

Fans who support the idea of promoting your prospects are probably happy with how this week turned out. Conversely fans who want to trade for big names like David Price or Craig Kimbrel are likely not pleased. It's easy for fans to fall on one side or the other of the line that separates the groups, but in reality that line should be straddled. I implore fans to have a healthy understanding of the value of prospects. We won't know for a while whether keeping our prospects paid off or not. And the answer may never be clear, leaving fans to decide for themselves what they think.

First, before the rankings I have a disclosure: I am not a scout. I do not communicate directly with scouts. I do not regularly watch the prospects in person, on television, or on the Internet. My opinions are informed by websites and publications such as Baseball America, Fangraphs, and ESPN.com and interactions with fans and writers on social media. I am simply a fan who is expressing his opinion; take it for what it's worth.

Ok, here are the Yankees' top 30 prospects:

RankNamePOSBorn
1Luis SeverinoSP1994
2Aaron JudgeRF1992
3Jorge MateoSS1995
4Greg Bird1B1992
5Gary SanchezC1992
6James KaprielianSP1994
7Jacob LindgrenRP1993
8Eric Jagielo3B/1B1992
9Ian ClarkinSP1995
10Rob Refsnyder2B/LF1991
11Miguel Andujar3B1995
12Tyler WadeSS1994
13Abiatal AvelinoSS/2B1995
14Rookie DavisSP1993
15Domingo AcevedoSP1994
16Luis TorrensC1996
17Jake CaveCF1992
18Mason WilliamsCF1991
19Brady LailSP1993
20Angel AguilarSS/3B1995
21Slade HeathcottCF1990
22Kyle HolderSS1994
23Drew FinleySP1996
24Domingo GermanSP1992
25Austin DeCarrSP1995
26Leonardo MolinaCF1997
27Thairo EstradaSS1996
28Dustin FowlerCF/RF1994
29Juan de LeonCF/RF1998
30Dermis GarciaSS/3B1998
Let's compare the last list to his one. First, players who were in the previous ranking but not this one, (including previous ranking):

13. Tyler Austin (out of top 30)
14. Bryan Mitchell (graduated)
18. Ty Hensley (out of top 30)
20. Jose Ramirez (traded for Dustin Ackley)
22. Ramon Flores (traded for Dustin Ackley)
24. Jose Pirela (graduated)
26. Chasen Shreve (graduated)
27. Gosuke Katoh (out of top 30)
30. Johnny Barbato (out of top 30)

And now, the players who were not in the previous ranking but in this one, (including current ranking):

6. James Kaprielian (drafted)
14. Rookie Davis
15. Domingo Acevedo
22. Kyle Holder (drafted)
23. Drew Finley (drafted)
27. Thairo Estrada
28. Dustin Fowler
29. Juan de Leon *
30. Dermis Garcia *

* - I do not include July 2 signees until they have started playing GCL or DSL games, which is after pre-season rankings.

For those interested in some true DEEP DIVES, I also do top 30 hitters and pitchers lists. First, the hitters:

RankPlayerPositionBorn
1Aaron JudgeRF1992
2Jorge MateoSS1995
3Greg Bird1B1992
4Gary SanchezC1992
5Eric Jagielo3B/1B1992
6Rob Refsnyder2B/LF1991
7Miguel Andujar3B1995
8Tyler WadeSS1994
9Abiatal AvelinoSS/2B1995
10Luis TorrensC1996
11Jake CaveCF1992
12Mason WilliamsCF1991
13Angel AguilarSS/3B1995
14Slade HeathcottCF1990
15Kyle HolderSS1994
16Leonardo MolinaCF1997
17Thairo EstradaSS1996
18Dustin FowlerCF/RF1994
19Juan de LeonCF/RF1998
20Dermis Garcia3B1998
21Tyler AustinRF/1B1991
22Nelson Gomez3B1997
23Wilkerman GarciaSS/3B1998
24Hyo-Jun ParkSS1996
25Jonathan AmundarayRF1998
26Alexander PalmaRF1995
27Tony Renda2B1991
28Ben GamelRF1992
29Gosuke Katoh2B1994
30Dante Bichette, Jr.3B1992

Finally the pitchers:

RankPlayerPositionBorn
1Luis SeverinoSP1994
2James KaprielianSP1994
3Jacob LindgrenRP1993
4Ian ClarkinSP1995
5Rookie DavisSP1993
6Domingo AcevedoSP1994
7Brady LailSP1993
8Drew FinleySP1996
9Domingo GermanSP1992
10Austin DeCarrSP1995
11Ty HensleySP1993
12Vicente CamposSP/RP1992
13Jordan MontgomerySP1992
14Jeff DeganoSP1992
15Nick RumbelowRP1991
16Tyler WebbRP1990
17Jonathan HolderSP1993
18Cale CoshowSP/RP1992
19Johnny BarbatoRP1992
20Danny BurawaRP1988
21Branden PinderRP1989
22Nick GoodyRP1991
23Luis CedenoSP/RP1994
24James PazosRP1991
25Simon de la RosaSP1993
26Alexander VargasSP1997
27Josh RogersSP1994
28Jordan FoleySP/RP1993
29Chance AdamsRP1994
30Miguel SulbaranSP/RP1994

Well, let me know what you think. My Twitter handle is @thebronxempire and my email is bembry24@gmail.com. I'll update the list this fall after the season. Ok, have a good day!