HOT Yankee Prospects

  With  12 games in the books I thought I would give a little peek at some Yankee prospects who are hot this spring.

Let's start with some minor leaguer position players. Ironically enough all three minor leaguers play the same position, a position that was of concern with the recent trade of top prospect catcher Jesus Montero. Montero was traded for pitcher Micheal Pineda this off season. So far this spring catchers Gustavo Molina, Jose Gil, and Gary Sanchez are off to good starts. In four games Molina is 4 for 5 hitting .800. his SLG and OBP are .800 and his OPS is 1.600. In six games Jose Gil is 5 for 7 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 1 walk and is hitting .714. His OBP is .750, SLG is 1.000, and has an OPS of 1.750. Next is the Yankees # 3 ranked prospect catcher Gary Sanchez. In four games he's  hitting .600. Both his SLG and OBP are .600 and has an OPS of 1.200. I think he's going to be the catcher of the future. Check out one of my previous blogs for his break down along with the Yankees other top ranked prospects.

Gary Sanchez

Jose Gil

        As far as hot pitching. Well the next three minor leaguers are not only hot prospects they are off to hot starts. Leading the way is Yankees # 1 ranked left-handed pitcher Manny Banuelos. In two games he's 1-0 throwing 4 innings giving up 3 hits, 0 runs, with 3 strike outs. Opponents are hitting .200 off him and his WHIP is 1.25. He has given up 2 walks but needs to cut that down if he's going to be successsful. He recently threw two shut-out innings against the Braves and catcher Russell Martin said " I love his attitude, he's a competitor. He's not afraid, and he's the type of guy who wants to get better. Something goes wrong, he's not going to cave in, he's going to do what he can to battle it."

        Next is my pick to see some time in the Major Leagues this year. Right-hander Dellin Betances. The Yankees # 2 ranked minor leaguer is 0-0 in three games. He has thrown 4 innings given up 3 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, has struck out 2 with opponents hitting .231 and has a WHIP of 1.25. Look for him to see some time with the big club.

Gustavo Molina

David Phelps

        Another prospect raising eyebrows is right-hander David Phelps. The 6' 2" 185 lb Missouri native, Notre Dame grad has thrown 7 innings this spring giving up 4 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and has struck out 7. Teams are hitting just .167 against him and his WHIP is 0.86. The Yankees have him ranked # 11 in their organization. They picked him in the 14th round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft. He was undrafted out of high school because of his commitment to Notre Dame. So far in his minor league career he has an ERA of 2.62. He has a strike out ratio of 7.4 per 9 innings and his walk ratio is 2.0 per 9 innings. He has a WHIP of 1.17 Last season he pitched with Double Trenton and Triple-A Scranton and had a combined record of 10-2 in 158.2 innings. He had an ERA of 2.50, WHIP 1.10. He struck out 8 and walked 2 per 9 innings last year. He's never had a season of with an ERA higher than 3.10. Baseball America rated his slider as " the best in the organization." He's eligible for the Rule 5 Draft unless the Yankees add him to the 40 man roster at the end of this season. The Yankees better figure something out for him. If he isn't going to help the team than he's possible trade bait.

Dellin Betances

       I'm just waiting for some more ABs and innings to be thrown to give you a spring update on the Yankees everyday players. Stay tuned