New prospect thread 2020-2021

[Posada20]

One has to wonder with Seigler, Breaux and Gomez ahead of him, if Wells sticks as a catcher. He can hit they'll find a place for him to play.

Other than 1b , just about every position is filled long term or for atleast another 4 years . As much as I like him it might be best to trade him while he has high value and go with one of the guys in front of him for catcher . I much rather them have a good to very good defensive catcher that doesn’t hit very well than a monster hitter that doesn’t field well . We already have enough of those in andujar , Sanchez ,and Torres .

[Kinkotheclown]

Love all of these guys, but if Wells is as good as advertised and can be an average defender none of the above will hold him back. I haven't heard the Yankees gush over a first round pick in their first training camp like this since Aaron Judge and his BP shows.

My fear with Wells is that Stanton is what holds him back. Or they decide to trade Frazier so Stanton can play LF (and get injured ), so Wells can DH.
Sadly, Stanton may be what holds back Dominguez. Unless they can trade Hicks?
I know I complain frequently about Stanton but these have been my concerns all along. If we want to see a guy like Wells, Domingues, even Florial, someone needs to go.
Will it be Voit? Frazier?
Right now I think Stanton's and Hicks's presences are really going to force unwanted trades to make room for younger players.
I doubt Wells, Garcia or Florial will be ready to play in the show this year. But going forward, it is a concern of mine. When they signed Hicks, I thought he'd be the guy for the firs 2-3 Years of his deal and become the 4th OF/DH/PH and replaced by Florial. That was 2 years ago and I doubt that Dominguez is ready next year, so my concerns are more a year or two away.

Back to Wells, I know it would be a no brainer regarding Sanchez or Higgy but I.have read nothing suggesting he is even an average catcher. So who gets the boot or the trade to make room for him?

[drt1010]

Clown you are indeed correct. Many of the young guns are blocked or appear to have a difficult road ahead. If Wells doesn't stick at C, it would probably mean LF or 1B, already crowded spots. Stanton seems to have a lock on the DH spot. Wells and particularly Dominguez are years away. One would think / hope some of the long jams are resolved at that point. Maybe they move on from Hicks and find someone / anyone to take Stanton even if it means Yankees eat most of remaining contract.

Wells does have the advantage of college experience, but not one inning of pro ball under his belt. Dominguez is even further behind. Florial? Imo that ship has sailed.

[Posada20]

My fear with Wells is that Stanton is what holds him back. Or they decide to trade Frazier so Stanton can play LF (and get injured ), so Wells can DH.
Sadly, Stanton may be what holds back Dominguez. Unless they can trade Hicks?
I know I complain frequently about Stanton but these have been my concerns all along. If we want to see a guy like Wells, Domingues, even Florial, someone needs to go.
Will it be Voit? Frazier?
Right now I think Stanton's and Hicks's presences are really going to force unwanted trades to make room for younger players.
I doubt Wells, Garcia or Florial will be ready to play in the show this year. But going forward, it is a concern of mine. When they signed Hicks, I thought he'd be the guy for the firs 2-3 Years of his deal and become the 4th OF/DH/PH and replaced by Florial. That was 2 years ago and I doubt that Dominguez is ready next year, so my concerns are more a year or two away.

Back to Wells, I know it would be a no brainer regarding Sanchez or Higgy but I.have read nothing suggesting he is even an average catcher. So who gets the boot or the trade to make room for him?

Why give someone else the boot for a guy that can only hit ? They already have that in andujar . The line up with Frazier , Dominguez , judge , Torres and dj will be more than enough to not warrant keeping yet another dh type player .

[Kinkotheclown]

Clown you are indeed correct. Many of the young guns are blocked or appear to have a difficult road ahead. If Wells doesn't stick at C, it would probably mean LF or 1B, already crowded spots. Stanton seems to have a lock on the DH spot. Wells and particularly Dominguez are years away. One would think / hope some of the long jams are resolved at that point. Maybe they move on from Hicks and find someone / anyone to take Stanton even if it means Yankees eat most of remaining contract.

Wells does have the advantage of college experience, but not one inning of pro ball under his belt. Dominguez is even further behind. Florial? Imo that ship has sailed.

I give Florial this year to prove himself.
Is Dominguez that far? If he is the next Trout, he could move quickly through the farm.
Wells bat is said to be absurd, so he could push the issue this year. If he has a good spring? I could see him surpass Ford as a call up.
In the absence of Gardner, I can see hicks being a 4th OF and spot starter, if he's not traded.
In your scenario when Florial is off the books, it helps but Stanton still stands in the way.
This year and likely next year, it's a good problem to have but after that?

I think collective. bargaining should implement a clause like the NBA had. The mulligan contract.
Once every 5-7 years, you can pay a contract in full, to get rid of the player for no penalty.
I don't know why that would be bad. The player gets paid. The team catches a break.

[drt1010]

I give Florial this year to prove himself.
Is Dominguez that far? If he is the next Trout, he could move quickly through the farm.
Wells bat is said to be absurd, so he could push the issue this year. If he has a good spring? I could see him surpass Ford as a call up.
In the absence of Gardner, I can see hicks being a 4th OF and spot starter, if he's not traded.
In your scenario when Florial is off the books, it helps but Stanton still stands in the way.
This year and likely next year, it's a good problem to have but after that?

I think collective. bargaining should implement a clause like the NBA had. The mulligan contract.
Once every 5-7 years, you can pay a contract in full, to get rid of the player for no penalty.
I don't know why that would be bad. The player gets paid. The team catches a break.

Well....Neither Dominguez or Wells has faced ML pitching, so I have to assume they are at least a few years away. Wells has the collegiate experience, not ML, but definitely a head start over Dominguez. I would like to see them face AAA pitching for a year or so before anointing them the "next" anything. Both show incredible skill and have all the tools you expect from top prospects. We must wait and see how they develop and make the critical transition from ability and tools to ML player. I absolutely hope for the best. Safe to say we are all excited by the prospect of having several potential superstar level talents.

[Phoba Rama]

We are all getting way ahead of ourselves. If Dominguez is good enough to displace any of our current starting OF, we have a nice problem on our hands. So much can happen between now and then. If and when Dominguez proves he is better than Stanton, the Yankees can trade Stanton for salary relief and/or prospects. Same goes for Hicks, Frazier, and Judge. Not a bad problem to have at all.

As for Austin Wells, it doesn't matter who is in front of him. Austin Romina was ahead of Jesus Montero, but Montero beat him to the Bronx. That didn't work out too well for him, but that's besides the point. If he is better than everyone else he will beat them out. If one of the other guys is better, maybe the Yankees would get more value out of him at 1b or RF. These are not problems, they are puzzles. How do you take what you have and put the best team on the field? Get the best prospects regardless of position and figure the rest out later. There are plenty of minor league at bats to go around for these catchers. Until a time when that is not the case, this is not a problem.

[drt1010]

Phoba, point taken. My contention was simple. If Wells is a serious liability with the glove his chances to advance as a C are a challenge and he may have to switch positions. As I said, he can hit...they'll find a place for him to play.

Montero beat Romine to the ML, but who is still playing? Montero was cut by Mariners in 2015, signed by the Sultanes de Monterrey in 2017 and Generales de Durango in 2018 but was released from both teams.

[Kinkotheclown]

We are all getting way ahead of ourselves. If Dominguez is good enough to displace any of our current starting OF, we have a nice problem on our hands. So much can happen between now and then. If and when Dominguez proves he is better than Stanton, the Yankees can trade Stanton for salary relief and/or prospects. Same goes for Hicks, Frazier, and Judge. Not a bad problem to have at all.

As for Austin Wells, it doesn't matter who is in front of him. Austin Romina was ahead of Jesus Montero, but Montero beat him to the Bronx. That didn't work out too well for him, but that's besides the point. If he is better than everyone else he will beat them out. If one of the other guys is better, maybe the Yankees would get more value out of him at 1b or RF. These are not problems, they are puzzles. How do you take what you have and put the best team on the field? Get the best prospects regardless of position and figure the rest out later. There are plenty of minor league at bats to go around for these catchers. Until a time when that is not the case, this is not a problem.

Agree with us and let us have our hissy fit!!

Stop being so damn reasonable!!!

[drt1010]

:d

[Phoba Rama]

Phoba, point taken. My contention was simple. If Wells is a serious liability with the glove his chances to advance as a C are a challenge and he may have to switch positions. As I said, he can hit...they'll find a place for him to play.

Montero beat Romine to the ML, but who is still playing? Montero was cut by Mariners in 2015, signed by the Sultanes de Monterrey in 2017 and Generales de Durango in 2018 but was released from both teams.

Romine obviously ended up being the better player... but it's still a great example of how the best players will rise to the top regardless of who is in front of them. Montero's work ethic ended up sinking him.

Your point about Wells' defense is a good one. His value will plummet if he can't hack it behind the dish. There are so many ifs at this stage of this kid's career, and that's what makes it fun. You can dream on him. Wouldn't it be great if he turns out to be a more reliable and better hitting for average version of Gary Sanchez? I'd be stoked. If not, the Yankees' system has plenty of other players to get excited about.

[dayners81]

Hopefully the new minor league Catching coordinator that they brought on at the end of 19 has helped all our Catching specs take a big step forward.

If Wells come close to being able to produce anywhere close to Sanchez in 16-17 i'd be beyond thrilled. I just hope they are correct in their assesment that they can help him improve defensively. He never had high level coaching in HS or college so hopefully getting reps with good coaches will give him the skills to go with his natural athleticism that has allowed him to get by back their so far.

I've read a couple places that Breaux spent the majority of the last yr at the Tampa training facilities working on his 1 knee stance and receiving from that position and has gotten really positive reviews. If he could get anywhere close to league average defensively he could be quite a player

I'm really looking forward to the next month and hearing how much all these specs have changed and developed in the last yr plus... i think we'll be quite happy with some of the results

[Posada20]

Would be nice if they started focusing a little more on how good the players are defensively . Kind of unfortunate that we keep having to pray for the prospects to be good defensively

[Posada20]

Sorry about the duplicate post . Have no idea how that happened since i only typed it out once

[dayners81]

It seems like they have been prioritized defense in their IFA specs by focusing on getting primarily up the middle player. Usually if a kid starts out at CF or SS they can the other positions defensively.

Catchers that are actually plus offensively are pretty rare. As bad as Sanchez has been he's still easily been top 5 offensively over the last 4yrs. Teams tend to take chances with Catchers that have a plus offense profile that they can hopefully coach them up defensively.