Ladies and gentleman the World Baseball Classic is right
around the corner. If you didn’t know that by looking at the schedule or
staying up to date you can see it by looking at who is in spring training camps
right now and who isn’t and the Yankees camp is no exception. With many Yankees
regulars gone to represent their respective countries in the WBC these men are
now officially on the clock and on the watch list. It’s time to prove
yourselves gentleman and here is the list of men I am speaking to directly when
I say that.
Jordan Montgomery. Yes I cannot talk Yankees prospects this
spring without mentioning Jordan Montgomery, it’s a problem, but that’s only
because I truly believe that he has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues.
With the Yankees fourth and fifth starting spots in their rotation wide open
now why couldn’t Montgomery slip in and steal a spot like Johnny Barbato did in
the Yankees bullpen last year? I’m certainly not going to be the one to count
him out and you shouldn’t either. Montgomery doesn’t have the upside of a James
Kaprielian or a Justus Sheffield but he misses enough bats to survive, which is
evident by his 8.8 K/9 ratio in the minor leagues, he limits his walks, see his
2,2 BB/9 ratio, and he simply knows how to get hitters out with a great
consistency. Montgomery posted a 2.61 ERA last season across Double-A and
Triple-A and will not likely gain much by returning to Scranton/Wilkes Barre to
start 2017 in my opinion. He’s ready, unleash him. The Yankees won’t because of
the 40 man roster crunch and the numbers game, we all know that by now, but
they should because winning should, and used to, trump all.
Like the Yankees fourth and fifth spots in the rotation the
Yankees bullpen and specifically their middle relief seems to be wide open
right now. With that said arms like Ben Heller and Jonathan Holder could slip
in and make the team with strong and impressive springs. Both men are already
on the 40 man roster and will use their minor league options, presumably,
anyway this season so why not? Heller did not impress in his 10 game stint in
the Major Leagues last season but that is not indicative of what he did in the
minor leagues last season and what he could do in the Yankees bullpen going
forward. Heller owns a career 2.72 ERA in the minor leagues with an impressive
11.7 K/9 ratio as a reliever which would fit the mold of what the Yankees
currently are filling their bullpen with, big guys with huge frames and even
bigger strikeout numbers. Heller’s fastball sits at 96 MPH but he has been
known to reach back and throw 100 MPH when he has to which simply cannot be
taught, and to think he was a mere throw-in player in the Andrew Miller trade
that brought back Justus Sheffield and Clint Frazier. Holder on the other hand
was drafted by the Yankees in the same draft that brought the team Jacob
Lindgren. Holder has been used as a starter since he was drafted in 2014 by the
Yankees but made the transition back to the bullpen in 2016 where he took off.
Holder struck out 101 batters in 65.1 innings while only walking seven across
three levels including Triple-A Scranton. Holder pounds the zone and lives off
a ton of movement and deception when he pitches which more than makes up for
his “slow” 93 MPH fastball that he brings to the table.
Rob Refsnyder is a player that we discussed earlier this
morning in trade rumors but is also a player that could make it impossible for
the team to trade him. Refsnyder was drafted as an outfielder but was quickly
converted to second base where he struggled defensively as a minor league
player. Since coming up to the Yankees he has dabbled in both positions as well
as first base and third base in a pinch making him a super utility player that
any team would like and be lucky to have. A line drive hitter by nature, and
admittedly my favorite Yankees prospect so there may be a tad bit of bias
written into these words, that makes contact, can play all over the field and
can hit close to .300 over the course of a season if given regular at-bats are
hard to find. Again though, this is a numbers game and the Yankees are in the
midst of a 40-man roster crunch and a roster crunch in general which could
still make Refsnyder expendable. Refsnyder could still be traded but he’s also
just one bad spring or injury from Ronald Torreyes away from being right in the
thick of things once again in the Bronx, so stay tuned and keep your eyes
peeled on this one.
The final piece is an unlikely player to make the team but I
would feel remiss if I didn’t mention him anyway. Kyle Higashioka opened up a
lot of eyes inside the Yankees organization last year, enough eyes to warrant a
40 man roster spot and roster protection from the team this winter despite
having two young catchers in Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez on the roster at the
time as well as a veteran backstop in Brian McCann. McCann has since been
traded to the Houston Astros obviously and all signs point to Romine being the
backup but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities to see Higashioka
grab the job with an impressive spring. Higashioka may be a prospect by all
definitions of the word and he may lack MLB experience but at age 27 he is far
from being raw or not ready for the big stage. Higashioka seems to be a late
bloomer, I know this because I’ve watched him in the Yankees organization since
they signed him back in 2008, and after a breakout 2016 season that included 21
home runs and a .847 OPS he may be ready to finally take that huge step to the
Major Leagues. His defense his ready and if the adjustments he made to his
swing stick the Yankees may have struck gold with this one thus making Romine
expendable once again on the Yankees roster.
I am really enjoying the postings from you more than ever, I think the new you is much better and honest.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, the new way of posting will bring in more fans...it should! Now we can disagree or better yet agree with you and...Fid, Bryan, Jeff, etc.
As you said, 'the news can be gotten anywhere' but news with opinion is much better!
My opinion!