Yankees 2022 prospect thread.

[Webslinger]

I'm not ready to cut ties with JD.

You're kidding. You wouldn't give up JD for Melendez? A catcher that can hit 41 home runs in a minor league season? I wouldn't care less about getting Benintendi back.

[Webslinger]

For Reynolds, I am. For a legit, young (under 27 years old) ace, I am.

Benintendi? No

A part of me would for Reynolds, absolutely. Another part of me is looking at that .200 BA he's been sporting for the last 1.5 months and wondering if this is who Reynold's moving forward.

[dayners81]

Waldichuk has been promoted to AAA

[Phoba Rama]

Waldichuk has been promoted to AAA

Nice, he deserves it

[YankeeFanAlways]

You're kidding. You wouldn't give up JD for Melendez? A catcher that can hit 41 home runs in a minor league season? I wouldn't care less about getting Benintendi back.

Look I have no idea if JD will become Mantle or Trout, as the scouts all proclaimed. But I also don't know if Melendez is a AAA 1/2 hitter. I'd rather hold on to our own and at least give him until he's at least 21 lol to prove himself.

[dayners81]

Waldichuk frankly had nothing left to prove at the Double-A level after going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA; he fanned 46 batters in 26.2 innings of work and held Eastern League opposition to a .158 batting average. Now ranked sixth in Baseball America’s most recent Yankees top-30 prospect list, Waldichuk had worked rigorously all winter with Sam Briend & Co. to iron out his command issues and those adjustments that he made showed in his improved walk rate- posting a 3.1 BB/9 mark in 2022 after struggling with a 4.3 BB/9 in his 79.1 innings at 2A last season.

“Waldichuk was dominating here,” admitted Fiorito. “Even in his last game where he had some hard-hit balls and the defense behind him brought him into a tough situation, he just kept competing. His stuff is electric; fastball was incredible here just seeing the ride and run that he was able to create and then on top of it, the slider, curveball and change-up are all plus pitches. There is a reason why he got out of this level so fast.

[dayners81]

Look I have no idea if JD will become Mantle or Trout, as the scouts all proclaimed. But I also don't know if Melendez is a AAA 1/2 hitter. I'd rather hold on to our own and at least give him until he's at least 21 lol to prove himself.

The comps of Mantle and Trout were ludicrous when the kid was 15. That said his raw tools are still elite and he's still only played less than a 100 games. He completely rebuilt both swings this winter also. I agree with you, way, way too soon to give up on. Another factor people are forgetting is that he missed an entire season of development time due to covid.

Melendez is the real deal as a hitter but he's rather young Sanchez like defensively. Huge arm, but not a great receiving, blocking or framing. If were going back to a bat first C, we have a pretty good one of our own in Wells whos hitting .330 this yr and doesn't cost us Dom

[dayners81]

LHP Ken Waldichuk has been promoted from Somerset to Scranton.

Waldichuk earned this promotion by going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA (2.31 FIP), 41.1% K and 8.9% BB in 28.2 IP. Last year, at the same level, he posted a 4.20 ERA (4.59 FIP) over 79.1 innings with a 31.8% K and 11.2% BB. Waldichuk is Rule 5 eligible after this season and will join RHP Hayden Wesneski as nearly-ready arms in Scranton. There is a little logjam, as Scranton has four other starters (Luis Gil, JP Sears, Matt Krook, Deivi Garcia). They can easily work around that though. Tandems are a very popular minor league strategy.

Veteran Derek Dietrich was also promoted as prospect Oswaldo Cabrera (who hasn’t played since May 8th) was placed on the injured list.

Scranton Railriders (13-23) (Lost to Worcester, 4-3)

CF Estevan Florial: 0-for-4, 2 K
15-game on-base streak ends.
SS Oswald Peraza: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Miguel Andujar: 1-for-4, SB (3)
2B Derek Dietrich: 0-for-4, 3 K
1B Greg Bird: 1-for-4, HR (3), RBI, RS, K
First HR since 4/23.
RF Ender Inciarte: 2-for-4, 3B (1), RS
LF Jose Peraza: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K
DH Ronald Guzman: 1-for-3, 2B (2), RBI, 2 K
Good to see Bird and Guzman contributing. It has been a struggle for the veterans.
C Rob Brantly: 0-for-3, K

LHP Matt Krook: 5 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
That is what I would call “scattering” hits! Krook induced a pair of double plays to go along with those strikeouts to help him through this one. Season: 4.04 ERA (35.2 IP, 38 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 2 HR, 22 BB, 48 K)
RHP Vinny Nittoli: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Ryan Weber: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Braden Bristo: (L, 0-2) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Somerset Patriots (22-11) (Used plenty of extra-base hits (7) to destroy Reading, 10-3)

SS Anthony Volpe: 1-for-3, 2B (4), RBI, RS, 2 BB, SB (15)
19 BB in 138 PA (13.8%). He is 15-for-16 stealing bases (93.8%). Even with the less-than-ideal triple slash, Volpe is doing some things well. We just need to see that BABIP normalize.
RF Elijah Dunham: 2-for-5, 2B (4), 3B (3), RBI, RS
This is why I love baseball: Dunham goes 0-for-6 on Sunday, bounces back nicely in his next game.
C Josh Breaux: 2-for-5, 2 2B (4),RBI, RS, 2 K
3-for-14 since coming off of the injured list. He is hitting .192/.232/.436 in 82 PA.
CF Brandon Lockridge: 2-for-5, 2B (8), RBI, 2 RS, 2 K

5-game hitting streak has increased his line to .237/.305/.373. He has three doubles during the streak.
LF Jeisson Rosario: 2-for-3, 2 RS, 2 BB
6-game hitting streak (four straight multi-hit games). During the 6-game streak, he is 11-for-25 (2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 3 BB).
DH Blake Perkins: 1-for-5, RBI, RS, 2 K, SB (9)
Hanging onto that over 1.000 OPS (1.011)
1B Chad Bell: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
19 RBI in 77 PA
2B Jesus Bastidas: 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS, K
In 29 games at this level last season, Bastidas hit .278/.391/.511 with five home runs. He hasn’t been able to duplicate that effort yet this season.
3B Max Burt: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, HBP, K

RHP Jhony Brito: (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Brito is so efficient. Season: 1.44 ERA (31.1 IP, 25 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 28 K). In three of his five starts, he has allowed one run or fewer and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any start.
RHP Barrett Loseke: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
1.83 ERA (19.2 IP, 18 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 25 K)
RHP Nick Ernst: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
3.63 ERA (17.1 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 21 K)
RHP Jose Mujica: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Hudson Valley Renegades (15-18) (Lost to Brooklyn, 5-3)

SS Trey Sweeney: 0-for-3, SF, RBI
CF Everson Pereira: 0-for-3, BB, K
C Austin Wells: 0-for-2
P Blane Abeyta: 0-for-0
P Nelvin Correa: 0-for-1, K
P Charlie Ruegger: 0-for-1
Pitchers needed to enter the lineup, as Wells was pulled from the game (necessitating Carlos Narvaez to leave his designated hitter post to catch). I am not sure what is up with Wells – he was pulled after an innocent inning where he didn’t even bat.
2B Cooper Bowman: 2-for-4, CS (2)
2B Cristian Perez: 0-for-0
3B James Nelson: 1-for-4
DH-C Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-3, RS, BB, K
LF Aldenis Sanchez: 0-for-3, RS, HBP
1B Eric Wagaman: 1-for-4, HR (2), RBI, RS, K
LF Pat DeMarco: 1-for-3, HBP, K, 2 SB (4)

RHP Blane Abeyta: (L, 0-3) 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
RHP Nelvin Correa: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
RHP Charlie Ruegger: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Tampa Tarpons (14-19) (Lost to St. Lucie, 4-3)

DH Alexander Vargas: 1-for-4, RS, 2 K, 2 SB (8)
He created the run all by himself in the 4th inning (single/stole second/stole third/error by catcher on the steal attempt allowed him to score)
CF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, 2B (10), RS, K
The first player in the system to reach double digits in doubles. He is 12-for-49 (.245) in May with six doubles, two home runs, 12 runs, five walks, and 19 strikeouts. The numbers across the board are much better in May when compared to April (.225/.247/.324).
3B Marcos Cabrera: 1-for-4, 3 K, SB (8)
1B Anthony Garcia: 1-for-4, RBI, RS, K
C Anthony Seigler: 0-for-3, BB
Seigler has drawn 12 walks in 13 May games (six consecutive games with at least one)
RF Grant Richardson: 1-for-4, 2 K, SB (2)
SS Ben Cowles: 0-for-4, 4 K
LF Raimfer Salinas: 0-for-3, 2 K
2B Luis Santos: 0-for-3, K

RHP Tyrone Yulie: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
6.39 ERA (25.1 IP, 18 H, 20 R, 18 ER, 3 HR, 16 BB, 24 K)
RHP Kevin Milam: (L, 3-3) 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Jack Neely: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
31/11 K/BB over 16.2 IP and he has not allowed a home run.

[runnermjr1296]

Waldichuk frankly had nothing left to prove at the Double-A level after going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA; he fanned 46 batters in 26.2 innings of work and held Eastern League opposition to a .158 batting average. Now ranked sixth in Baseball America’s most recent Yankees top-30 prospect list, Waldichuk had worked rigorously all winter with Sam Briend & Co. to iron out his command issues and those adjustments that he made showed in his improved walk rate- posting a 3.1 BB/9 mark in 2022 after struggling with a 4.3 BB/9 in his 79.1 innings at 2A last season.

“Waldichuk was dominating here,” admitted Fiorito. “Even in his last game where he had some hard-hit balls and the defense behind him brought him into a tough situation, he just kept competing. His stuff is electric; fastball was incredible here just seeing the ride and run that he was able to create and then on top of it, the slider, curveball and change-up are all plus pitches. There is a reason why he got out of this level so fast.

Yes I read in the post this Morning that he moved up to AAA,,I like that

[Kinkotheclown]

Waldichuk frankly had nothing left to prove at the Double-A level after going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA; he fanned 46 batters in 26.2 innings of work and held Eastern League opposition to a .158 batting average. Now ranked sixth in Baseball America’s most recent Yankees top-30 prospect list, Waldichuk had worked rigorously all winter with Sam Briend & Co. to iron out his command issues and those adjustments that he made showed in his improved walk rate- posting a 3.1 BB/9 mark in 2022 after struggling with a 4.3 BB/9 in his 79.1 innings at 2A last season.

“Waldichuk was dominating here,” admitted Fiorito. “Even in his last game where he had some hard-hit balls and the defense behind him brought him into a tough situation, he just kept competing. His stuff is electric; fastball was incredible here just seeing the ride and run that he was able to create and then on top of it, the slider, curveball and change-up are all plus pitches. There is a reason why he got out of this level so fast.

Any clue who gets bumped from their rotation?

[dayners81]

Any clue who gets bumped from their rotation?

I was wondering that myself. They wouldn't bump Waldi up if they didn't plan on putting him into that rotation.

I would say Weseneski and Krook are locks to stay, Schmidt and Gil are probably going to be up and down all yr.

If Man Ban has an opt out in his deal, that would be my guess. If not maybe they are sending Devi down or putting him in the BP? I really have no idea

[Kinkotheclown]

I was wondering that myself. They wouldn't bump Waldi up if they didn't plan on putting him into that rotation.

I would say Weseneski and Krook are locks to stay, Schmidt and Gil are probably going to be up and down all yr.

If Man Ban has an opt out in his deal, that would be my guess. If not maybe they are sending Devi down or putting him in the BP? I really have no idea

Devi to the pen makes the most sense. Let him find success in some way.

[dayners81]

LHP Ken Waldichuk has been promoted from Somerset to Scranton.

Waldichuk earned this promotion by going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA (2.31 FIP), 41.1% K and 8.9% BB in 28.2 IP. Last year, at the same level, he posted a 4.20 ERA (4.59 FIP) over 79.1 innings with a 31.8% K and 11.2% BB. Waldichuk is Rule 5 eligible after this season and will join RHP Hayden Wesneski as nearly-ready arms in Scranton. There is a little logjam, as Scranton has four other starters (Luis Gil, JP Sears, Matt Krook, Deivi Garcia). They can easily work around that though. Tandems are a very popular minor league strategy.

Veteran Derek Dietrich was also promoted as prospect Oswaldo Cabrera (who hasn’t played since May 8th) was placed on the injured list.

Scranton Railriders (13-23) (Lost to Worcester, 4-3)

CF Estevan Florial: 0-for-4, 2 K
15-game on-base streak ends.
SS Oswald Peraza: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Miguel Andujar: 1-for-4, SB (3)
2B Derek Dietrich: 0-for-4, 3 K
1B Greg Bird: 1-for-4, HR (3), RBI, RS, K
First HR since 4/23.
RF Ender Inciarte: 2-for-4, 3B (1), RS
LF Jose Peraza: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K
DH Ronald Guzman: 1-for-3, 2B (2), RBI, 2 K
Good to see Bird and Guzman contributing. It has been a struggle for the veterans.
C Rob Brantly: 0-for-3, K

LHP Matt Krook: 5 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
That is what I would call “scattering” hits! Krook induced a pair of double plays to go along with those strikeouts to help him through this one. Season: 4.04 ERA (35.2 IP, 38 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 2 HR, 22 BB, 48 K)
RHP Vinny Nittoli: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Ryan Weber: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Braden Bristo: (L, 0-2) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Somerset Patriots (22-11) (Used plenty of extra-base hits (7) to destroy Reading, 10-3)

SS Anthony Volpe: 1-for-3, 2B (4), RBI, RS, 2 BB, SB (15)
19 BB in 138 PA (13.8%). He is 15-for-16 stealing bases (93.8%). Even with the less-than-ideal triple slash, Volpe is doing some things well. We just need to see that BABIP normalize.
RF Elijah Dunham: 2-for-5, 2B (4), 3B (3), RBI, RS
This is why I love baseball: Dunham goes 0-for-6 on Sunday, bounces back nicely in his next game.
C Josh Breaux: 2-for-5, 2 2B (4),RBI, RS, 2 K
3-for-14 since coming off of the injured list. He is hitting .192/.232/.436 in 82 PA.
CF Brandon Lockridge: 2-for-5, 2B (8), RBI, 2 RS, 2 K

5-game hitting streak has increased his line to .237/.305/.373. He has three doubles during the streak.
LF Jeisson Rosario: 2-for-3, 2 RS, 2 BB
6-game hitting streak (four straight multi-hit games). During the 6-game streak, he is 11-for-25 (2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 3 BB).
DH Blake Perkins: 1-for-5, RBI, RS, 2 K, SB (9)
Hanging onto that over 1.000 OPS (1.011)
1B Chad Bell: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
19 RBI in 77 PA
2B Jesus Bastidas: 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS, K
In 29 games at this level last season, Bastidas hit .278/.391/.511 with five home runs. He hasn’t been able to duplicate that effort yet this season.
3B Max Burt: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, HBP, K

RHP Jhony Brito: (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Brito is so efficient. Season: 1.44 ERA (31.1 IP, 25 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 28 K). In three of his five starts, he has allowed one run or fewer and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any start.
RHP Barrett Loseke: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
1.83 ERA (19.2 IP, 18 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 25 K)
RHP Nick Ernst: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
3.63 ERA (17.1 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 21 K)
RHP Jose Mujica: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Hudson Valley Renegades (15-18) (Lost to Brooklyn, 5-3)

SS Trey Sweeney: 0-for-3, SF, RBI
CF Everson Pereira: 0-for-3, BB, K
C Austin Wells: 0-for-2
P Blane Abeyta: 0-for-0
P Nelvin Correa: 0-for-1, K
P Charlie Ruegger: 0-for-1
Pitchers needed to enter the lineup, as Wells was pulled from the game (necessitating Carlos Narvaez to leave his designated hitter post to catch). I am not sure what is up with Wells – he was pulled after an innocent inning where he didn’t even bat.
2B Cooper Bowman: 2-for-4, CS (2)
2B Cristian Perez: 0-for-0
3B James Nelson: 1-for-4
DH-C Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-3, RS, BB, K
LF Aldenis Sanchez: 0-for-3, RS, HBP
1B Eric Wagaman: 1-for-4, HR (2), RBI, RS, K
LF Pat DeMarco: 1-for-3, HBP, K, 2 SB (4)

RHP Blane Abeyta: (L, 0-3) 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
RHP Nelvin Correa: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
RHP Charlie Ruegger: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Tampa Tarpons (14-19) (Lost to St. Lucie, 4-3)

DH Alexander Vargas: 1-for-4, RS, 2 K, 2 SB (8)
He created the run all by himself in the 4th inning (single/stole second/stole third/error by catcher on the steal attempt allowed him to score)
CF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, 2B (10), RS, K
The first player in the system to reach double digits in doubles. He is 12-for-49 (.245) in May with six doubles, two home runs, 12 runs, five walks, and 19 strikeouts. The numbers across the board are much better in May when compared to April (.225/.247/.324).
3B Marcos Cabrera: 1-for-4, 3 K, SB (8)
1B Anthony Garcia: 1-for-4, RBI, RS, K
C Anthony Seigler: 0-for-3, BB
Seigler has drawn 12 walks in 13 May games (six consecutive games with at least one)
RF Grant Richardson: 1-for-4, 2 K, SB (2)
SS Ben Cowles: 0-for-4, 4 K
LF Raimfer Salinas: 0-for-3, 2 K
2B Luis Santos: 0-for-3, K

RHP Tyrone Yulie: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
6.39 ERA (25.1 IP, 18 H, 20 R, 18 ER, 3 HR, 16 BB, 24 K)
RHP Kevin Milam: (L, 3-3) 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Jack Neely: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
31/11 K/BB over 16.2 IP and he has not allowed a home run.

[metswon69]

Feel bad for the kid if its what I think it is.

[Kinkotheclown]

Yeah, I think we can expect TJ for him