Yankees Set Thunder Opening Day Roster

THUNDER ROSTER 4-5-18

The New York Yankees have set the Thunder roster for the 25th season of play at ARM & HAMMER Park.

The roster features three of the top starting pitching prospects in the organization with RHP Domingo Acevedo, LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Dillon Tate lining up at the front of the rotation. All three rank in the top-10 of Baseball America's pre-season Yankees prospect list with Sheffield checking in at #3. RHP Will Carter and RHP Erik Swanson round out the starting group for the Thunder, a team that set the franchise record for team ERA (2.83) and shutouts (20). 

The bullpen features a number of strong arms including Rule V returnee RHP Jose Mesa Jr.. Righties Jordan Foley, Joe Harvey, Brian Keller, and Andrew Schwaab will be joined by left-handers Caleb Frare, James Reeves and Stephen Tarpley. 

Behind the plate C Jorge Saez returns after hitting nine home runs in 67 games for the team. Former Reading Fightin Phils catcher Chace Numata joins Saez as a catcher for the club. 

In the field, the roster features two local products. Council Rock South High School graduate Billy Fleming breaks camp with the team. He's joined by West Windsor Plainsboro South High School graduate, Ben Ruta; who will make his Double-A debut when he takes the field for the first time.

Rounding out the position players on the roster, infielders Chris Gittens, Bruce Caldwell, Vince Conde, Gosuke Katoh, and Mandy Alvarez join the team. Conde and Fleming are the only infielders returning to the team from 2017. In the outfield, Trey Amburgey, Rashad Crawford, and Jhalan Jackson join Ruta. Amburgey appeared in one game for the Thunder in the 2016 ELCS against Ak

The Yankees Shortstop Depth is Disgusting… In a Good Way

The New York Yankees have a gluttony of shortstop prospects right now and it’s absolutely disgusting… in a good way. As we all know by now, because even people under rocks have cell service and Wi-Fi these days, the Yankees traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for their top prospect Gleyber Torres who joins elite company at the shortstop position in the Yankees farm system. The intention of this post is to showcase some of this talent a bit.

Gleyber Torres is the Yankees top prospect according to my post-trade Top Prospects list we posted on the blog this week while fellow shortstop Jorge Mateo was bumped to second. Torres and newly acquired outfielder Billy McKinney also bumped a fellow shortstop Wilkerman Garcia down from the 8^th position to the 9^th position while Tyler Wade finished 12^th on the list. Those are the names you likely know, here are a few that you may not.

Hoy-Jun Park was one of the many names the Yankees signed during that international free agent haul from a few seasons back and has absolutely been tearing up Pulaski since his signing. Thairo Estrada is another who has been toiling around in short season ball while Abi Avelino just got the call up that Jorge Mateo was hoping for in Trenton this week.

Some of other shortstops who may see either second base or their base in their future due to development and/or the absolute logjam the Yankees have going on right now at the position include Vince Conde who was drafted out of the University of Texas, Kyle Holder who was drafted last year by the organization and Angel Aguilar. Conde seems to be more polished than Holder despite both being college picks in the draft while Aguilar seems to be the farthest from the Major Leagues in the group.

This impressive list of stars is why you don’t worry about acquiring a Torres in a Chapman trade. You don’t worry about having a young and impressive shortstop in Didi Gregorius already in the Major Leagues because shortstops are shortstops for two reasons. Well maybe more than two reasons but two main reasons, arm strength and the range and flexibility that allows you to go all over the diamond. That translates well at second base and it translates at third base as well. And if it doesn’t you can always trade from a strength and get the positions filled that you need so don’t fret Yankees family, having too many shortstops is a good problem to have.

Ian Desmond and the New York Yankees?

Earlier on during our annual Prospects Month I discussed the state of the Yankees farm system and specifically showcased New York's plethora and stable of upcoming shortstop prospects. I broke all these shortstops down to future shortstops, assuming they stay in this organization, and future third or second baseman, again assuming they stay here in the Bronx, but the Texas Rangers gave me something else to think about when they signed former Washington Nationals shortstop and second baseman Ian Desmond. The Rangers did not sign Desmond to replace Elvis Andrus at short or to take over in the infield at all though, the team has plans of having him play in left field in Arlington Park in 2016. Is this something the Yankees could conceivably be doing with all their shortstop talent they have down on the farm?

Truth be told the Yankees have a ton of outfield prospects as well but none of them are the "can't miss" or blue chip prospects that every team covets. Ben Gamel won the MiLB Player of the Year Award in 2015 and Mason Williams, Dustin Fowler, Slade Heathcott and others look to be very usable and capable MLB pieces going forward but outside of Aaron Judge the Yankees are lacking true impact and game changing talent. Could the Yankees use all their shortstops to build a complete team full of versatility and flexibility? In a word, yes!

For the sake of consistency and not contradicting myself I will leave the likes of Jorge Mateo, Thairo Estrada, Hoy-Jun Park and Wilkerman Garcia at the shortstop position since we kept them there in previous posts here on the blog. This leaves, and this is obvious an incomplete list but I picked the most notable shortstops left in the organization, Cito Culver, Abi Avelino, Tyler Wade, Vince Conde, Angel Aguilar and Kyle Holder as potential outfielders for the club. Could any of them hack it? No pun intended.

Culver's biggest issue as a Yankees prospect has been his inability to hit, not to defend, and you need a certain amount of offense out of any outfielder leaving Culver on the outside looking in once again. Meanwhile Avelino is a small guy standing at 5'11" and weighing in at 186 lbs and has seemingly shown little in the power department hitting just seven home runs in four professional seasons. Avelino is just 21-years old but it seems unlikely he'll ever have the bat to carry him in the outfield at the Major League level. The same can be said for Wade and Holder, although Holder is still considered raw with the bat and elite defensively in the middle infield, but Angel Aguilar may have a true shot.

Aguilar is just 20-years old and has already shown a patience at the plate that could lead towards big power numbers and a higher batting average. Aguilar also has the frame for an outfielder standing at 6'0" and 170 lbs. with plenty of time still to grow into his frame and add power. As a member of the Gulf Coast Yankees Aguilar played center field, albeit for a single game, and did not look out of place giving the Yankees a glimmer of hope if they choose to move the talented middle infielder to the outfield. The Yankees need to move someone, probably multiple people, off the shortstop position to make room for them all and Aguilar may be the best bet to move from the shortstop position to the outfield.

The Future of the Yankees System - The Second Baseman

Earlier today we looked at the state of the Yankees farm system and specifically the state of the Yankees organization as it relates to the shortstop position. This post will also focus on the Yankees shortstop position but with a little bit of a twist. In this post we will once again focus and showcase the Yankees prospects but the prospects that I don't believe will stick at the shortstop position, these shortstops will likely move to second base when all the dust settles. And not because these shortstops are necessarily bad or lacking in any facet of their game, no, but more so about just how stacked the Yankees system is at the position right now.

Abi Avelino has a ton of talent and is seemingly wasting it away in the Yankees system. That sounds harsh but it sounds worse than it really is. The Yankees have an absolute ton of talent at the shortstop position and were forced to move some of their talent to the second base position. Avelino was one of those shortstops that drew the short straw playing in 61 games at second base and 10 games at third base in 2016. That may be his future, especially the longer he sticks in the Yankees system.

Tyler Wade, a Top 10 Prospect to some and a bonafide top prospect in the Yankees system regardless of his ranking, also played 24 games at second base in 2015. Wade also played all over the infield during his brief stay with the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League. His bat may not be strong enough to justify keeping him at the shortstop position and he may be forced to the second base position eventually anyway.

Another Yankees shortstop and another prospect that played a ton of games out of position in 2015. Vince Conde played a whopping 51 games at second base last season and even played another 16 games at third base out of necessity.

Angel Aguilar is the final Yankees shortstop prospect that may find a future at a position other than the shortstop position. That's not because Aguilar cannot handle the shortstop position, because he can, but because the Yankees simply don't have enough affiliates and enough shortstop positions to play all of their talented shortstops. Aguilar played 26 games at second base and 13 games at third base in 2015 behind the liked of Jorge Mateo, Wilkerman Garcia and Thairo Estrada.

The final prospect, and I am on the bench about this I assure you, is one of the Yankees first round picks from the 2015 MLB Draft Kyle Holder. Sure his defense is said to be elite and his defense is said to be MLB ready at this point but his bat leaves much to be desired. Can the Yankees truly get by with a future shortstop that hits .220 but plays a strong defense? Maybe on the bench, see Brendan Ryan, but as a starter they probably can't.

That's an absolute ton of talent. A trade is definitely coming.

Vince Conde Named SAL Player of the Week

Conde Crushes His Way to Player of the Week Award

Infielder goes 15-for-25 (.600) with 8 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBI in six games

CHARLESTON, SC - Charleston RiverDogs infielder Vince Conde received the South Atlantic League Player of the Week Award on Monday, for games played August 10-16. For the week, Conde went 15-for-25 (.600) with 12 extra-base hits, 8 doubles and 4 home runs, 11 runs scored, 15 RBI and 35 total bases. He walked four times and did not strike out once in the six games. His slash line was an incredible .600/.633/1.400.


Conde, a native of Oviedo, Florida, and former Vanderbilt University standout, began the week 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in the August 11thgame against the Lexington Legends. In the next tilt he tallied a single and double, before his career night against the Legends. Conde went a career-high 4-for-5 with three doubles and a career-high five RBI.


The RiverDogs took to the road and Conde stayed red-hot against the Greenville Drive at Fluor Field. In the first game, he went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, and two RBI. Saturday night saw the former Commodore go 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI. In the sixth and final game of the week, Conde crushed another three doubles and picked up an RBI and three runs scored. The RiverDogs won both their series during the week and finished 4-2 in the six contests.


The streak has raised Conde’s average 35-points over the last six games and has moved him to first on the team in doubles (25), first in slugging percentage (.464), second in home runs (6), fifth in RBI (29), fourth in average (.290), and fourth in hits (72).


Conde was drafted by the New York Yankees in the ninth round of the 2014 draft out of Vanderbilt University. The 6’0” 195-pound infielder is the second RiverDog to be honored by the South Atlantic League with a pitcher/player of the week award, joining lefty Jordan Montgomery who took home Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 18-25. Conde is the first Charleston player to win Player of the Week since Dustin Fowler took home the honor for the week of June 9-16, 2014.


The RiverDogs return from the road and are set to open up a seven-game homestand with the first of three games against the Rome Braves tonight at7:05 p.m. Tickets for all remaining home games may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide on www.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the radio home for RiverDogs baseball.

Looking Back at the Yankees 2014 Draft

With the 2015 MLB First Year Player’s Draft just one day away I thought now would be a good time to take a look back at the haul the Yankees got in the 2014 version of the draft. It’s a complete crap shoot after the 10^th round, or probably earlier to be honest, but I decided to recap the Yankees Top 10 picks in last year’s draft. Remember that the Yankees forfeited multiple first round picks last season when they signed Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury. Here’s the list:

2nd Round - LHP Jacob Lindgren (Mississippi State)
3rd Round - RHP Austin DeCarr (Salisbury High School)
4th Round - LHP Jordan Montgomery (South Carolina)
5th Round - RHP Jordan Foley (Central Michigan)
6th Round - RHP Jonathan Holder (Mississippi State)
7th Round - CF Mark Payton (Texas)
8th Round - 1B Connor Spencer (University of California Irvine)
9th Round - SS Vince Conde (Vanderbilt)
10th Round - 2B Ty McFarland (James Madison University)

The Yankees currently showcase Lindgren in their major league bullpen while DeCarr skyrocketed towards the top of many prospects lists before this season. While Montgomery, Foley and Holder have been quiet the team has enjoyed more than they could have expected from Payton in his short professional career. The team will absolutely need more than one calendar year to judge how well they did in the draft obviously but for what the Yankees had to work with the early results look quite impressive for New York. Let’s hope they are twice as effective in this year’s draft with three picks in the first 60 picks overall.

New York, you’re on the clock.... almost. 

Yankees 2014 Draft Picks Updated

Here is a list of who the New York Yankees have drafted through the first 10 rounds of the 2014 MLB Draft:

2nd Round - LHP Jacob Lindgren (Mississippi State)
3rd Round - RHP Austin DeCarr (Salisbury High School)
4th Round - LHP Jordan Montgomery (South Carolina)
5th Round - RHP Jordan Foley (Central Michigan)
6th Round - RHP Jonathan Holder (Mississippi State)
7th Round - CF Mark Payton (Texas)
8th Round - 1B Connor Spencer (University of California Irvine)
9th Round - SS Vince Conde (Vanderbilt)
10th Round - 2B Ty McFarland (James Madison University)