Meet a Prospect: Yankees Picks Rounds 11-15

At the time of this writing the New York Yankees had signed picks #12 Taylor Widener, #14 Jordan Scott and #15 Tony Hernandez with #11 Connor Jones (LHP, Georgia)  marked as a “probably will sign” and rather than give them all their each individual post, which to me would seem like I was milking you guys for views and clicks since there is so little in the way of information on a lot of these guys, I figured I would lump rounds 11-20 together. We’ll split these posts into two posts and we’ll kick it off with this special Meet a Prospect for Mr. Widener, Mr. Scott, Mr. Hernandez and we’ll throw in Mr. Jones just in case he signs before this goes up. Enjoy.

Round 11 – 338th overall – Connor Jones (LHP) Georgia:

Jones stands at 6’1” and 195 lbs. but he can an intimidating and overwhelming presence on the mound from the left side. Jones had been a reliever until the 2016 season when the Georgia Bulldog coaches decided to move him to the rotation. While in the rotation Hones pitched to a 4.66 ERA in 75.1 innings while striking out 74 and walking 37.

Jones possesses a 95 MPH fastball but his command is suspect at best at this point in his career. His breaking stuff is considered to be average and need work which could force him back into the bullpen full time once he makes his professional debut. If history is any indicator of the past thought the Yankees will give him every opportunity to start until they have to make him a relief pitcher again.

Round 12 – 368th overall – Taylor Widener (RHP) South Carolina:

Taylor Widener was considered to be the seventh best player in the state of South Carolina at the time of his drafting after being a starter and a weekend closer for the Gamecocks. Widener, all 6’ and 200 lbs. of him, pitched to a 4.34 ERA in 47.2 innings pitched (eight starts) possesses a repeatable delivery and an easy 93 MPH fastball. Widener has been clocked as high as 97 MPH but that should not be expected going forward as a starter, as a reliever we could see 95+ MPH though. Widener’s second pitch is a slider which seems to be a favorite of the Yankees if you look at the arms that are already in their system.

Widener strikes out enough guys to make it in college and possibly the minor leagues as a starter but his big league future seems to be in the bullpen. If Widener can open things up and throw 97 MPH+ in the bullpen for the Yankees one or two innings at a time he may be better utilized that way than as a starter with a mediocre second pitch and no third pitch to complement it.

Round 14 – 428th overall – Jordan Scott (CF) IMG Academy:

Jordan Scott comes in at 6’0” and 215 lbs. as a switch hitter that can stick around in center field. Sounds great on paper but his commitment to West Virginia University may have scared some teams away from him. Scott was once revered as a shortstop prospect before his move to center field with IMG Academy and may ultimately end up there during his professional career.

Scott was a 2015 Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American and was also a member of the All Region 2^nd Team that year as well for the Southeast. Scott seems pretty raw and may be one of those talents that take around six years before making a true impact in the minor leagues and in the big leagues.

Round 15 – 458th overall – Tony Hernandez (LHP) Monroe Community College:

Hernandez comes to the Yankees with the credentials of being the ace of the staff at Monroe Community College after posting an impressive 10-1 record with a 1.97 ERA in 73 innings this season. Hernandez struck out 77 batters in 2016 while only walking 22 batters leading the Baseball Player Report to name Hernandez the top JUCO player from the state of New York in this year’s draft.

Pitching in the minor leagues and in Major League Baseball may be a bit different from pitching at a Community College but one has to start somewhere and with stats like that you always take a chance on a young and promising arm like Hernandez has. This is a good pick by the Yankees in my opinion and has all the potential of being a great pick when it all unfolds in a few years.

This has been Meet a Prospect, a special edition from the 2016 MLB Draft’s Round 11-15. Check back later for Rounds 16-20 for another special edition of Meet a Prospect.

Baseball Prospectus Ranks Yankees Farm #21

The New York Yankees farm system has been ranked from Baseball Prospectus and their ranking is a far cry from Kylie McDaniel's #10 ranking. BP ranked New York's farm system as the 21st best in the majors according to their rankings. The Cubs, Twins and Dodgers took the Top Three spots in that order while the Yankees are up two spots from last season.

Here is an excerpt from the ranking from BP:

State of the System: A spending spree last summer in the international market, the depths of which might force a change in the international spending structure, has turned the Yankees system into one of the most balanced in the game. There isn’t a ton of impact talent near the majors, though Aaron Judge is emerging as a key piece of the future, and Luis Severino is going to make an impact soon, though 10 different scouts will give you 10 different answers on how. Then there’s the youth movement from last summer, most of whom are still teenagers and won’t be seen in the big leagues for a half-decade, if at all, but could make for some of the most intriguing GCL teams in the league’s history. - See more at: http://riveraveblues.com/#sthash.BIiPHnaZ.dpuf

Baseball America: Yankees Have 13th Best Farm

Baseball America published an updated look at all 30 Major League teams and their farm systems and the Yankees system has improved to the 13th best overall. The Yankees were originally in the 20-ish range on about every list this offseason, Keith Law had New York ranked 20th and Baseball Prospectus had the Yankees ranked 23rd, but the addition of Masahiro Tanaka has made the Bronx Bombers jump up a few spots.

The top team on the list was the Pittsburgh Pirates followed by the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. The last two teams come as no surprise as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Milwaukee Brewers are coming up the rear, as usual.

Yankees 13th In ESPN's Organizational Power Rankings

ESPN ranks all 30 Major League Baseball teams using the entire organization as a whole and how healthy the organization is in their decision and the New York Yankees came in 13th place. Some of the criteria used to come up with these rankings is strength of the major league roster, the strength of the farm system, the finances of the club, management, and roster flexibility to name a few. The Yankees were lucky number 13 while the Boston Red Sox topped the list with a score of 89.1 out of 100. The second place team was obviously the St. Louis Cardinals with a 82.3 and were the only other team above 76 out of 100. The Miami Marlins were last with a score of 20.4, imagine if they trade Giancarlo Stanton this summer how much farther that will drop.

The Yankees scored a 51.6 this season with their 13th place finish. This is down from 53.8 last season and an 11th place finish, which was down from 65.9 and a 5th place finish in 2012. The highest the Yankees got was 2nd place with a 79.6 out of 100 after 2011. The lack of a farm system is continuing to hurt New York in these rankings, not that they matter much in the grand scheme of thing.

The Importance Of A Farm System

Courtesy of our new friend Larry Lambert at LameStage. 

Is This The Biggest Offseason Ever?

As much as Yankee fans can be impatient when it comes to having a true contender year in and year out, the Yankees can't go "all in" for 2014. While they should absolutely try and compete in 2014, they can't make any moves to hurt the future.

With that in mind, seven things came to mind...

1. Do not give Carlos Beltran 3+ years. It's not just that he'll be 37 in April, which on the surface raises red flags. You also have to consider the fact that he's had a number of health problems. Between 2009 and this past season he's had issues with his abdomen, shoulders, lower back, knees, lower back, hamstrings, wrist, and neck.

Beltran's injury list looks sort of like this, but with one big difference.... Mick Foley did most of this stuff to himself.

Earlier in the offseason I was all about Beltran, but like many others I may have just been caught up in his postseason heroics. Which is very hypocritical of me, as I've been against Raul Ibanez while accusing others of being too caught up in Raul's late and postseason heroics. After thinking about what Corey Hart could do for the team, along with only costing two years... max, i'm really starting to think that the Yankees should pass on Carlos.

2. Don't even think about getting Shin-Soo Choo because of what he can do marketing-wise. The money that could be made off the field with Choo is great, but putting the best product on the field is much better for the organization.

I'm a bit on the fence regarding getting Choo. You see... I like him. His on-base percentage is awesome, and he could hit over 20 home runs a season. But a five year commitment is tough for somebody who'll turn 32 in July. And that doesn't cover the fact that his defense is suspect. But Shin-Soo has been healthy in his career outside of a fracture due to being hit by a pitch, and an abdominal strain in 2011. So again... I'm not sure.

3. As much as I hate to say it, because I'd love to see him with the Yankees, passing on Brian McCann would probably be for the best. He'll be 30 years-old soon, and has already caught 8820.1 innings (that's over 980 games). You can't tell me he's 100% healthy, and I'm talking about a lot more than his shoulder (he had surgery on it in October of last year). His bat would be good for the DH spot if necessary, but I don't like having a DH-only as that can really hurt the versatility of the team.

4. I still want to see the Yankees re-sign Robinson Cano, but I can't disagree with those that question the move. A lot can happen over the course of seven years, from injuries to simply not being the same player, so it's a big risk. Especially when Robbie could be getting around $25 million a season. The team is run by people a hell of a lot smarter than me, so they have to make sure they're not setting themselves up for another ARod-type situation in a few years. By that, I mean they don't want to look at paying a guy twice as much as he's worth for years to come.

Alex actually just struck out, but he's still smiling because he remembered how big his back account is.

5. Jhonny Peralta has been looked at, but we can't ignore his ties to Biogenesis. It's nice to think his issues are behind him, but you can't be sure of that. The last place you want to have a guy with off-field issues is on the Yankees, as the media and fans will eat him alive. Just look at how they've treated Alex Rodriguez in all but two seasons (2007 and 2009). There are plenty of Yankee fans that are still on Andy Pettitte's case regarding his use of steroids, and he's not too far below Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera in his "True Yankee" status.

6. I'm all for taking chances on players, a la Corey Hart, but you can't do that with guys like Matt Garza, who will demand a contract around five years. It's not that I don't like Garza, but he's certainly not a "sure thing". While his strikeout rate of 8.6 per nine innings in the National League is good, that drops to 7.2 in the American League. His ERA also jumps from 3.45 in the NL to 4.01 in the AL. He wasn't awesome after being traded to Texas this past season either, as his ERA jumped from 3.17 with the Cubs to 4.38. That's thanks to giving up almost two more hits per nine innings, and giving up more home runs.

But adding just one top of the rotation pitcher is probably not good enough. CC Sabathia is suspect after his worst season in Major League Baseball, Ivan Nova may have been really good but it's still really hard to lean on him, David Phelps and Adam Warren are unproven as starters in MLB, and there is nothing special coming up from the minors anytime soon. I can live with adding Tanaka, slotting Nova in at #3, taking a chance on somebody like Josh Johnson... who may only cost a one-year deal, and putting one of Warren or Phelps at #5.

7. It's time to give David Robertson a real shot at the closer's role. The alternative to doing so is signing somebody like Joe Nathan to a contract worth upwards of $15 million a season. That would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that the Yankees are looking to get payroll down. They would be best served to see what Robertson can do in that role this season, and then lock him up with a contract afterwards. Because while he'd cost the team more after closing for a season, it wouldn't be as much as elite closers go for in free agency. What the team should do this offseason is think about a set-up man for David.

I'm sure there is somebody out there thinking "what about not giving up draft picks?" I covered that last week in an article in which I pointed out that good to great players don't have to come from high draft picks. In fact, draft pick compensation is hardly a deal-breaker to me. Just maximize your other picks in each draft, work on development in the farm system, and build some role players to add to those making big bucks (such as Robinson Cano). If an elite player like Robbie comes from the farm, then that should be considered a plus. Let the Rays of MLB lean on the farm for superstars.

There has to be another Evan Longoria in here somewhere.

This offseason was originally interesting to me as the Yankees have to fill a number of holes while trying to get payroll down, but now I find it even more interesting as it could very well be huge for the future of the organization. It may be hyperbole, but this offseason could very well be the most important offseason for the Yankees ever.

Great Talent Comes From The Later Rounds Too

I have heard a lot of people say they don't want a player that will cost the Yankees a draft pick, as they want to see the team strengthen their farm system. My normal response to such a comment is that it's more important for the big league club to win. Basically, if winning at the big league level means a weaker farm system... so be it.

"I'm trying to win, and this guy doesn't care."

However, the St. Louis Cardinals can tell you how nice it is to have so much talent 'in house". So while I care more about winning at the big league level now, I don't want the minor leagues to be bare of talent. And that is where the misconception comes in... you don't need to have high draft picks in order to build a good farm system.

Take those St. Louis Cardinals. If it wasn't for having so much young talent to step up this year, then they probably would have missed out on the postseason entirely instead of making it to the World Series. Allen Craig, Matt Carpenter, Matt Adams, and Trevor Rosenthal all played key roles with the 2013 Cardinals. Craig was taken in the 8th round of the 2006 draft, Carpenter was taken in the 13th round of the 2009 draft, Rosenthal was taken in the 21st round of the 2009 draft, and Adams was chosen in the 23rd round of the 2009 draft. That tells us two things... 1) the Cardinals had an amazing 2009 draft, and 2) you don't need high draft picks to get good MLB players.

But what about outside of the Cardinals? Maybe the Cardinals are just that good, and we can't assume the Yankees or anybody else could pick players that well. Well, then, consider the fact that six All Stars for last season were drafted in the 5th round or later (Chris Davis in the 5th, Ben Zobrist in the 6th, Paul Goldschmidt in the 8th, Edwin Encarnacion in the 9th, Domonic Brown and Jose Bautista in the 20th).

Since 2000 two players that have won the Most Valuable Player award in the National League were taken in later rounds. Ryan Howard was drafted in the 5th round in 2001 by the Philadelphia Phillies, and Jeff Kent was drafted in the 20th round in 1989 by the Toronto Blue Jays).

One last bit of proof that it doesn't take a high draft pick to get a good or great player...

Brandon Webb won the Cy Young award in 2006, and was drafted in the 8th round of the 2000 draft. Jake Peavy won the Cy Young award in 2007, and was taken in the 15th round of the 1999 draft.

While it's true that a lot of today's elite players were either early round picks or international free agents, a team doesn't have to have a bunch of high draft picks to build a good or great farm system. Perhaps some people's desire to see the Yankees hold onto their early draft picks is a lack of confidence in the team's ability to develop young players. But keep another thing in mind...

The Yankees don't need a ton of elite players to come up through the minors. Developing role players such as Brett Gardner, or solid starters like Ivan Nova, to go along with the team's ability to afford elite players from free agency, should be more than enough for them to compete year in and year out.

So if you don't want the Yankees to go after certain free agents because you don't believe they are worth the money, or simply aren't good, then I understand. But telling me they shouldn't go after a "Carlos Beltran" or somebody else since it will cost them a draft pick will not get over with me.

Like how sour cream will not get over with me.

New York Yankees Farm System Update

With the recent report that GM Brian Cashman and the Yankees brass will begin to look at why the New York Yankees farm system has been less than stellar lately I found this as the perfect time to get a general prospects update. This is just weeks after Hal Steinbrenner called a board meeting asking the same questions on why the Yankees have not produced impact players, the farm system is lacking in depth, etc. This sounds like bad news for the scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman, and maybe even a Nardi Contreras after the Killer B's debacle.

Here is the latest news and musings from around the Yankees farm:

Mark Montgomery, the Yankees best relief pitching prospect by far, has started throwing off of a mound recently after a couple bouts with shoulder fatigue and other various shoulder related issues. Snap Dragon Monty continued his missing bats ways with an 11.03 K/9 ration in 40 IP's for the Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders. Seems to me like he would be a good winter league candidate to build back his arm strength and stamina while getting the shoulder healthy.

Dellin Betances has asked the Yankees for permission to pitch in Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic this year to remain sharp and work on mechanics in preparation for his make or break 2014 season. Dellin is out of options so he will either be in the Yankees bullpen next season or on another team because, right now, there is no way he is clearing waivers to get off the 40 man roster.

Eduardo Nunez is also planning on playing Winter Ball this year as well to work on his defense and gain some more at bats. Nunez was hit harder than any Yankee not named Derek Jeter this year, in my opinion, so he could use the work to continue his development. The problem is do you work him at short stop, third base, or somewhere else? Personally he is my starting third basemen on Opening Day if Alex Rodriguez's suspension is held up but that is just me.

Gosuke Katoh has a tear in a finger ligament in his hand during the Instructional League down in Tampa. He has seen a specialist in New York and is expected to sit out at least four weeks to let the finger heal. Katoh will head to the Instructional League in the Dominican Republic assuming his finger is healed in time.

2012 first round pick in the MLB First Year Player's Draft Ty Hensley has started a throwing program since a hip surgery that made him miss the entire 2013 season. Hensley has finished with physical therapy but is not quite ready to start throwing off a mound yet.

Slade Heathcott, Tommy Kahnle, and Chase Whitley lead a pretty signifcant group of Yankees players that will need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft or be left unprotected for the draft. Protection for the Rule 5 draft requires the Yankees adding these players to the 40 man roster. Heathcott seems like the obvious choice to be added to the 40 man roster especially after the Yankees let go of Melky Mesa late in the season. Whitley is a AAA right handed reliever that the Yankees have a dime a dozen of so he may get left unprotected and ultimately end up elsewhere after a strong 2013 season.

Omar Luis is considered to be a top ten sleeper pick this year in the Rookie Gulf Coast League and is a prospect to watch in 2014. Luis is a right handed pitcher that can already touch 95 MPH comfortably with swing and miss stuff with a slider and a change up to go with his heater. Luis finished the season with a 12.2 K/9 ratio although he did walk a few too many batters for comfort.