Episode 440: Stanton Hurt, Sizing Up the Farm System

EJ, John and Pat discuss Giancarlo Stanton's injury and the state of the Yankee farm system.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Hello, welcome up. Do you have the Brox Speed Podcast.
I am E. J. Fagan.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
I'm excited for spring training games tomorrow day after tomorrow tonight,
I'm joined by John Nielsen. Hey, j John, you're muted.
There you go, John, say, hello, how are you all right?

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Notes looking forward to baseball this week?

Speaker 1 (00:38):
That's right? And Pat Gunn Hello.

Speaker 4 (00:40):
It's the baseball start of spring, which in some cultures
is the actual start of spring.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, and for some people it's when you start arriving
for spring. We're not going to talk about that though,
that that much. Today we got we got some Yankee news.
Then we're gonna talk about the farm system. So uh
Yankee news. John Carlo Stanton is currently injured. There's some
other guys have some minor injuries, but Stanton's kind of
the real story here. He has something akin to tennis

(01:08):
elbow in both elbows, probably because he swings so hard
or grips the bat so hard, and is questionable for
opening day. John, I don't know what to make of
this story, Like, is the is he is this a
big deal?

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Is this no deal?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
I'm not sure.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Well, it's it's interesting. I did read on start spreading
the News an interesting take you had, EJ. That I
tend to agree with. I think the Yankees are conveniently
putting him out to a rest for a little while.
They figure they don't need him early in the season,
and it maybe they're just going to hide him for

(01:46):
a couple of months here.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Yeah, it's an injury that existed at the end of
this playoffs, yet he played through it, so he was fine.
It sounds like a thing that's just gonna be with
him for a very the way that the Ages are
talking about it's something. It's just like a chronic injury
that he's gonna have to nurse for the rest of
his career, the rest of his life. And that's okay,

(02:10):
that makes that makes that makes sense. But I don't
pat you tell me like I also wouldn't be shocked
if the guy has like elbow surgery next week.

Speaker 5 (02:20):
You never know.

Speaker 4 (02:21):
It's stan and it's so hard to tell that this
is gonna be just a couple of week injury or
if this is gonna be the entire season. We've seen
that happen before, literally a couple of years ago, where
he just missed too basically a couple of full seasons
It really does stink, because I mean, you can say
what you will about Stan and I know there's people
in this podcast isn't the kindest to him, but he's uh,

(02:44):
he's what probably there's arguably their second best hitter on
the team and definitely their second best power threat. So
losing him in the lineup, it really just shows how
thin they are, particularly in just terms of.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Power and right hand right handed hitting.

Speaker 4 (02:59):
Really yeah, and especially they're going to really struggle against lefties,
and it makes you wonder, I think more so why
there hasn't been more emphasis on getting another bat and
not the Yankees haven't made improvement, made changes, but they
I mean, they really could use someone else, particularly for
third base. They really could just go out and get somebody.
I think that the Bragmant contract is high, but I

(03:20):
don't think it's completely unreasonable for the Yankees overall.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
I thought it was high till I saw the deferred
money and I was like, oh, okay, he's getting paid
thirty million dollars for three years.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
Yeah, So the Yankees just I think the Aches just
need to either get creative and get another bat or
just hope that they're really an Aaron Judge injury away
from being in a crisis with their lineup.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
I mean, I think I think that Aaron Judge is
so important that, like I agree with you that an
Aaron Judge injury would be bad.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
I think Stanton is fine. He is a one sixteen
WRC plus hitter. They're probably not going to find that
in DH. We'll talk about some of their DH options
in a second. But it's not like you're not losing
Wan so to Aaron Judge, right, You're you're you're not
even losing Cody Ballinger or you know, Jash Chisholm. Right,

(04:09):
these are much better players in Stanton and I'm just
I'm not I'm just not that concerned about it. But John,
I want to ask you, there's kind of two scenarios here.
So one of the stands out for a couple of
weeks we have to talk about kind of what the
who would take a spot in that situation? Or another
one is that he's out for longer, that he could
be out for months of the year or whatever. Right,

(04:31):
who knows what what's if there's something wrong with his
elbow that could be could be long term. So John,
let me ask you a couple of weeks scenario. Let's say, yeah,
you know, it's a little bit of a vacation, stands
gonna be ready May first, you know, when it warms
up a little bit, and and and that's it.

Speaker 1 (04:45):
Who do you think is the d h in that scenario.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
I think this is a golden opportunity to uh, maybe
give Ben Rice another shot. I would much rather see
him get some playing time and some ad bats and
see what he might be able to do. He's been
a proven hitter in the minor leagues. Each level, he's
tained something close to a four hundred on base percentage

(05:09):
with about a two hundred ISO. That's a real quality bet.
It's probably better than Stanton's bet, to be quite honest. Now,
the problem with Ben is he's going to be another
left hand hitter, So that's a dynamic. That's a concern.
But I think they can manage for a month without
Stanton without any grave consequences.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
All right, Pat, I want to ask you a different
and less optimistic question. What are you afraid they'll do?

Speaker 5 (05:33):
What am I afraid they'll do?

Speaker 3 (05:35):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (05:37):
I think it's probably the I mean, there's an easy
answer here and that's just DJ LeMay who full time
starter again, and they say, oh, he's gonna be better,
He's gonna be the version that's closer to the All
Star version. They are talking him up years ago, and
he's probably more like what last year. I mean, there's
nothing that LeMay you showed last year that tells me

(05:58):
he's going to be improved. I just think all the
age plus lower body injuries have been a really bad
combination for him. That's probably the worst case scenario. I mean,
third base, we're lady going to see probably a lot
of him, probably Oswaldo Caprera, oswald Perrazza, at least with Parazza.
There's like some untapped potential in that Yaggies haven't given
him a chance.

Speaker 5 (06:19):
That what I hope they do is they give Everson.

Speaker 4 (06:21):
Pereira an opportunity because especially with the need for right
handed power. We'll talk maybe you'll talk a little bit
about him in the prospect section, but he's the guy
that could use an opportunity.

Speaker 5 (06:31):
He's only twenty four years.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
Old about and I think he could help. But yeah,
I think that that's really the main internal thing. Unless
the Aggies go out and get another like stop gap
player who we don't know about yet.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
I could imagine a job share with Ben Rice against
righty's and Prayer against lefties and see how that goes
for two, three, four.

Speaker 2 (06:50):
I mean, Rice really did struggle against against lefties and
the minors last year, So that's really I think wouldn't
shock me that much. The problem is that you you know,
le May, he was supposed to be a substandard option
at third, and now you have you got to fill
third still, right, you still have that problem. I really
do wonder if if this is something a little more
serious that if Nolan Aeronado is still kind of on

(07:13):
the table. The Red Sox were a landing spot for
Aeronauto and then they got when I got bregmant and
and I just I could imagine, I can imagine that
he's in play or maybe this would be like maybe
as a trade deadline guy, right the Cardinals still want
to get rid of his salary, and so if he's playing, well,
maybe at the trade deadline you also get him. A
couple of the names that I just I'm just trying

(07:34):
to figure out all the other names that we might have.
Brendan Davis is a former Cubs prospect that the Yankees
brought into camp, who I think has some promise.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
T J.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
Rumfield is they're kind of their triple A first base depth.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
I am worried.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
About the last option because I think I'm not sure.
I saw a YouTube penline, and ever even watched the video,
either Aaron Boone said his name or reporter said his name.
I think Tom Smith is gonna happen if he's only
out for a couple of weeks. Tom Smith pat Is
that a good idea?

Speaker 4 (08:09):
I mean, if we're talking about twenty twenty mets, maybe,
but I mean it feels kind of like he's just.

Speaker 5 (08:15):
Kind of a blow replacement level player.

Speaker 4 (08:17):
He kind of feels like maybe a slightly more more
walk rate of Willy Calhoun at first base.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
I mean he hits like Anthony Volpini is the first baseman.

Speaker 4 (08:26):
Yeah, he's just never he's been a player who's supposed
to be at least a good platoon.

Speaker 5 (08:29):
Hitter, and he's never really hitting the major leagues. There's
a reason he's been bouncing around a bunch.

Speaker 4 (08:34):
He's a decent guy, and I understand the talent, but
he's at this point.

Speaker 5 (08:40):
I don't really think that there's I think I might
rather go with what they have.

Speaker 2 (08:43):
There's no upside, there is no talent. He like he
has played in the major leagues. That is Dom Smith
like he is in the equivalent of Willy Calhoun or
Jake Bowers or any of those guys, guys who are
failed major leaguers and you're hoping to recapture some magic.
And I just worry that either you know, being the
veteran guy in the room, that they're okay cutting if

(09:04):
they have to that. You know, they give him a
couple of weeks of run and he hits like one
eighty and just cost theykes on winner too turning he
hunter during that time and uh uh, or he goes
down to triple A and hits really well for three
weeks and then the Yanks go, oh, we might have
a Jake Bowers on our hand, and then then he
gets too much playing time. That really concerns me that

(09:25):
we're like repeating this history again. I would just much
rather they try somebody with some upside.

Speaker 4 (09:32):
I will say, though, at least with like Willie Calhoun
and Bowers, they could play the outfield. Whereas Smith is
he really he's really just a first base. He was
just a first basement, so that would I don't he's
either just dhing or backing up gold Schmidt, and I
don't think they're gonna I think at least early in
the year, they're not going to platoon Paul Goldschmidt yet,
so that makes it a little less likely.

Speaker 5 (09:50):
But I can totally see what you're saying.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Any final thoughts on Stanton's injury, all right, go for it.

Speaker 3 (09:59):
John just gonna say, I'm not that worried about his
circumstance right now. What would be more concerning is if
Goldschmidt continues his decline, that would create potentially a third
hole in the lineup, and you're really getting into a
very desperate situation at that point. A trade Arnatto, if

(10:21):
he were the target, and it appears the Yankee circus
is gonna wait until the price comes down to try
and make a deal like that, that would that would
be certainly a solution for third base, And as long
as that's the the solution, I think the Yankees can
get through this time without stand.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
There's also some stuff Austin Wells has is starting off
a little slow that doesn't seem too concerning. Trent Grisham
has had a hamstring strain a few weeks ago. That
doesn't seem too concerned concerning, but things to keep an
eye on. But really that's that's the news so far
out of spring training. We can get into Jason Deminge
is hanging a home run off of Carlos Rodan, but
that really not a lot has happened yet. We're gonna

(11:04):
have games uh every day for a week starting on Friday,
and so we'll we'll get by the time we record
our next episode, we will have some real information, UH,
which is why we are going to spend the rest
of the episode talking about the farm system the Yankees.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
UH.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
Farm system is we now have scouting reports from Fan Graves,
Baseball America, Baseball Perspectives, the Athletic and UH. And I
wanted to, you know, take a moment and talk about
the farm system, generally some of the big players and
then some of the more interesting things we we learned
from these scouting reports. I love this moment because it's
the time when we get some new information. Some guys

(11:45):
that we didn't know much about, we start learning things
about them and kind of determining if they're may be
a part of the Yankee future. Let's start with big picture. John,
You've read, You've been studying these, you you've read these,
these all these these uh write ups pretty thoroughly. What's
your general impression of the Yankee farm system right now?

Speaker 3 (12:04):
It's at it's near nader. Perhaps it's really sunk dramatically
in the last two years. Now there's good news in
that there's a silver lining, and that is you've graduated
several from the prospect list out of the major league roster,
the guys like Volpi for example, in Austin Wells. Those

(12:25):
are wonderful reclamations from the farm system. That's something that
the Yankees historically, going back twenty twenty five years, haven't
really done. So that's the positive in it. At the
same time, you now have a farm system where I'm
looking at it and I think there's only two obvious
minor league players and the prospect list at least that

(12:45):
are going to be advancing this coming year. That's Jason
Dominguez and probably Will Warren. We'll see some significant time
beyond that. I don't know that they have another prospect
that at least since in their top ten or twelve,
it is likely to be making contributions this year, so
it's at kind of a low point, perhaps as low
a point as it's been since about twenty fifteen.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Pat, you're a big picture thoughts.

Speaker 4 (13:09):
I think that I don't know if I'm quite as dire.
I will say that this is probably.

Speaker 5 (13:14):
A lower lower floor group than we've been in a while.

Speaker 4 (13:19):
And you mentioned a lot of people that have graduated
well as Volpi, there's all.

Speaker 5 (13:23):
At least heel.

Speaker 4 (13:24):
There's also a bunch of players that they've traded a
lot of prospects over the last couple of years to
just try and make the roster better and that, and
while maybe a lot of those prospects have broken out,
it does make this bring the system down now. I
think there are some interesting names here. Unfortunately, I think
we're going to talk about a lot of players who
a lot of hitters that need to lower the strikeout rate,

(13:46):
a lot of pictures that need to improve their control,
which partially is just minor league players in general, but
also there are a lot of players who have some
concern some really high end talent that if they hit,
they can be really good, and a lot also a
lot some pretty glaring concerns here and some interesting names
lower down the level. But yeah, I think there's not
a ton of players right now that we can I

(14:08):
can really comfortably say are going to be impact players
for them this year. And part of that is because
Austin Wells just became a regular starter last year.

Speaker 5 (14:16):
But also it's just not the best system.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
I don't know if I would say this is quite
like bottom five, but you can make a case it's
bottom ten. If they really hit this year, they could
be I don't think this is a top ten system
or close to that, but they could be in the
eleven to fifteen range if they really really do well.
But it's just kind of a mediocre farm system.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
I would say I'm gonna be a little meaner.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
The Yankees have brought up a lot of high, high
end prospects to the major successfully. So they brought up volby,
Austin Wells, Jason Dominguez, Clark Schmidt, and.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
Those guys are.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
First round picks and big signings right so they have
been able to hit reasonably well lately in the first
round and when the dump all their money on international
signings and they have done nothing else.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
And I think reading.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
Through these offseason scattering reports, I have never seen the
Yankee farm system so empty, so top heavy. Right if
you took Jason Dominguez out of the system, you don't
have a single top one hundred prospect. I completely agree
with with John. You don't have really more than two
or three guys that might impact the major leagues. And

(15:32):
you have a lot of guys who just have obvious flaws,
who have just problems that the Yankees have had no
progress in solving, lots of potential, lots of guys with tools,
and especially on the pitching side. It's just a grave
yard right now. I mean, if you look at their
their list from a year ago, I'm almost not them
are there anymore? Not just some of them got traded,

(15:54):
most of them just got injured or were just bad.
And if I am Bran Cash, I'm firing my entire
farm system crew, and I'm paying someone from the padres
of the Dodgers or the you know whatever to do
a better job. This is a bad farm system.

Speaker 3 (16:13):
If you look at their top ten prospect lists from
Baseball Prospectives, just as one example, there are only two
position players in the top ten, Jason Dominguez and George Lombard.
The rest are pitchers, and almost all of them have
less than two or at most three years in the system.

(16:34):
Several of their top ten were drafted last year when
they had a draft of a very specific type, and
that's a Southeast Conference power pitcher who had underperformed all
standing above six foot four.

Speaker 1 (16:49):
At about two hundred and forty.

Speaker 2 (16:50):
They drafted, and we talked about this during the draft,
like they drafted a bunch of power guys with terrible control,
not great results. I got hit a ton in college.
And no one need, none of these lists seems to
think that was a good idea. No one is like,
oh man, they found Ben hess Like, let's let's go
right like it it is. It was an obvious attempt

(17:12):
to show up a weakness that they had, and it
does not seem like they did much to do it.
I I to to to to succeed there. I I
I think this is really I think this is like
the Yankees right now are fine, they're they're they're a
younger team than they're used to. But a couple of
years from now, like, I think it's really going to
hurt that that there's just a giant hole in the

(17:32):
farm system. You're right, you got a bunch of guys
in low A and complexle play, and uh, you know
a bunch of guys you know in the high minors
who just aren't worthing it.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
I I think they are depending upon the past success
of Matt Blake and others in the organization that have
helped to develop young pitching, have been able to help
guys with control problems.

Speaker 2 (17:55):
Master well, say, Matt Blake isn't a young pitching guy, right,
he takes he takes me in Hamilton and makes him
good or a Luke Weaver.

Speaker 3 (18:05):
Right. The history has been picking up somebody who'd been
a failed prospect and trying to run them through that
run and doing it with fair amount of success. I
think they've pivoted now to say, all right, can we
do this with college players had three years in the
SEC that can throw the ball ninety eight miles an hour,
And what's suit we can do to harness that kind
of talent and build build the farm system that way.

(18:28):
But you look at Ben Hess, Bryce Cunningham that you're heard,
they're all of exactly that type and if they're not successful,
they really are in a world of hurt right now.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
Yeah, and I'll like to me. To me, that strategy
was like a surrender, right. It was them saying, like,
we can't find guys in the second, third, third, fourth
round who are major league players, and so we're just
going to We're just going to give up.

Speaker 3 (18:57):
It was also in recognition of the fact that they
had to some extent mortgage the pharmist pat invention. We
made the preseason deal for Sodo last year and a
lot of young pitching went in trying to acquire him
from San Diego, and the farm systems for his young
pitching talent was really much depleted. So they I think
we're kind of forced into this strategy.

Speaker 2 (19:19):
Uh yeah, And I to me, it's it's a band aid.
It's it's them trying to solve a wound with a
band aid, and it's I just don't think it's gonna work.
Reading like these these lists, like no one even thinks
that bet Hess is any good and uh, you know,
people even think that Brian Cunningham is better than Ben
Hess was their first round pick.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
Huntingham was their second round pick. It like the Yankees.

Speaker 2 (19:40):
If you look at the guys the Yankees have have
succeeded for the Yankees, they are not players who wear
the Yankees zig and other zag it's first guys who
were consensus first round picks. Anthony Volpi was a consensus
first round pick. Austin Wells was the consensus first round pick.
Jason Amigos was the top international free age. Clark Schmidt

(20:01):
was a normal first round pick. Luis Heel might be
the only guy you can point to and say that
was a bit of a weird one and that wasn't.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
A draft, that was a trade.

Speaker 2 (20:09):
So I am just I am just so so skeptical
right now of this farm system. That said, there's a
lot of players to talk about and some interesting players
to talk about, and I want to talk about one
of those first round picks, Spencer Jones. Pat You've you've
read some of these skyting reports. How is Spencer Jones doing?

Speaker 4 (20:30):
I've actually watched him play at once when he came
to Reading. He went double a team with the They
played with the play the Reading Fight and pills over
the summer. If you've never been to Reading, Pennsylvania, they
have lovely ballpark in a nice little section with photos
of some of the legends who have played in the area.
So a good plall park to check out and Spencer

(20:50):
Jones didn't have the most impressive game, and it's only
one game, so it's really hard to make something of it.
But he believed he was over four with three strikeouts
and the ground ball ground out to the right side,
and I don't really.

Speaker 5 (21:01):
Know if that's overall indicative of his skill.

Speaker 4 (21:03):
He didn't hit any in a fly ball or a
meaning in the air in that game, But the issue
is the problem in that game. The strikeouts has been
a big issue of his throughout the Miners and seemingly
been getting worse lately. Baseball America noted that he has
missed on forty more than forty percent of his swings overall,
and more the almost thirty three percent of out of

(21:25):
pitches within the strike within the strike zone. That means
about a third of the time he's swinging it pitches
in the zones he's missing, which is a problem. When
you're a player with a six to seven player, large guy,
you're already gonna have a little bit of a hole
in the hitch in the swing right there, and that
he's just swinging missing at a way higher level. Even though
what Aaron Judge was doing, and I think he's the

(21:45):
player that he gets compared a lot to Aaron Judge,
because well, he's tall, and he has a ton of power,
and defensively he's actually a pretty solid player, like he
can seff certainly be a really good corner if not,
and while it showing a little bit in center field
right now, but he's got to get the strikeouts under control.
If he doesn't get those strikeouts under control at all,
he's not going to be able to be a productive hitter.

Speaker 1 (22:05):
John What do you think about Johnes?

Speaker 3 (22:08):
Spencer Jones struck out two hundred times in five hundred
and forty four at bats last year at Double A.
I don't think there are very many successful major league
players that have struck out at that rate at that
level of baseball. I am very concerned that he will
not develop in any meaningful way, and I long hope

(22:33):
that they would try and make him the part of
a trade before he gets exposed. I think he was
exposed last year at Double A, and I am very
concerned that that is the number two prospect in the organization.

Speaker 2 (22:46):
It depends on the list. I mean at BP has
him at or Ba Hashim at six, right, they think
he's awful behind those pitchers I just talked about behind
Roderi Kuri said an awful year. I think he's not
a top one hrd prospect anymore. I agree with Pat

(23:06):
that thirty five percent strike ira at double A usually
that means you're not not really a major league player anymore.
I do think there's a little bit of an overcorrection
in some of these lists, just because he does have
those other skills, like he has the power, he has
the defense that maybe he hits two thirty like he's

(23:27):
going to be an All Star, but he also could
hit one fifty, and until he does something at double A,
like there's just no no. He is just this like high, high,
high ceiling, but very very low floor prospect that.

Speaker 1 (23:47):
I agree.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
I wish they trade him. And I've been skeptical Jones
for a while. I think I think you understand an
organization that has Aaron Judge looking at the miracle that
was Aaron Judge and saying, we can do it again.
And I mean Judges then might be the best right
handed hitter in major league history. So like that worked,
and I think that there's a reason why it was

(24:10):
so rare for someone of Judge's size and strength to
make the majors, and Spencer Jones is showing why it
is so difficult that set like you go for it.

Speaker 5 (24:22):
I will say to give to cut him a little
bit of slack.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
He's only twenty three years old, turning twenty four this year,
so he's still young.

Speaker 5 (24:29):
Even with the.

Speaker 4 (24:30):
Two hundred strikeouts, he still had a four to fifty
slug and get a seventy eighty eight ohps seventy eight walks.
It's fifty four walk excuse me. So it's not like
he didn't do anything at the plate, and he did
have a more steals than judge usually have twenty five
steals last year forty three.

Speaker 2 (24:43):
He is legitimately fast, right like every scott On report
is basically saying, like this guy's a true So.

Speaker 4 (24:48):
There's talent, I think, but it's hard not to look
at that strikeout a and be concerned. I would agree
with you' all about I kind of thought he would
be someone they tried, including the trade. Maybe other teams
didn't really buy it, and like I get I would
understan if teams weren't, Like if he's the centerpiece of
a trade, I think you'd probably say no for most
of the time depending on the player, but I understandably
there is still talent here. And I think with Aaron Judge,

(25:10):
the way he did is he would struggle at a
level for a year and then improve, and that was
kind of the pattern he took every single year. We'll
see if Joe, I don't think. I think I don't
know if they're gonna strike with lightning in a bottle
again with Jones, Judge is kind of a special player,
but I think he does have a shot.

Speaker 5 (25:26):
This is a big year for him.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
I mean, I think there's a world where he comes
in he has changed up his swing, he has he
has changed something about his approach and then takes all
his natural skills and kind of goes out. It's like
to me that that's realistic. But like a is a
low probability event, you know. I think about a guy
like like Joe Adell for the Angels, who just never
was able to make contact in the majors. There are

(25:49):
major league players that strike out two hundred plus times
and they're great, like Ellide Da La Cruz like So
there's a world where Jones is one of those guys
and he has the bad bit ability and the speed
to really make the most of any contact he makes.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
But I.

Speaker 2 (26:06):
Like these are not good scale, Like, no, these these
are third party skying reports, right, they're they're consulting with
people both inside outside the Eggy organization, and they all
hate him.

Speaker 3 (26:17):
I will I will add that it appears he plays
a solid defense, he's a legitimate center fielder. He's got
great speed. He's translated that speed into ability of steel bases.
So there's some things that make him an interesting prospect
from that standpoint. But the strikeout rate is just so
abominably high. They were concerned last year when in just

(26:40):
about the same number of ed bats as he had
in twenty four and twenty three he struck out one
hundred and fifty five times. He struck out another forty
five times and about the same number of ed bats.
There's not improvement at double A, and unless he gets
off to a hot start, this could be a very
pivotal year for his future the organization.

Speaker 2 (27:01):
Let's talk about Jason Dominguez. Let's let's talk about a
good guy. Jason Diminguez is the number one prospect and
all these lists he is somewhere between the around the
twentieth best prospect in baseball on the top one hundred list. Personally,
I think that is underrating him. Pat Uh, Is there
anything that you pulled out of these these scouting reports

(27:21):
on Di Mingez that you know might that that you
are or someone listening might not know.

Speaker 5 (27:27):
I think we saw.

Speaker 4 (27:28):
I think unfortunately, his brief stint in the majors got
very hyper analyzed and because he wasn't hitting home runs
off of everybody and on the Houston Astros when he
was playing in the Yankees were for some reason still playing.
Alex Rodugo, by the way, still has not signed a
major league contract yet.

Speaker 2 (27:44):
But that's that's that Bowie. That was one of my
other nightmare picks. If yeah stands.

Speaker 4 (27:48):
Out, Yeah, you know, it's not wrong because it's still looming.
It's been looming in my head too that he's still
not signed. But that's we don't need to talk about
he's not prospect anymore. But I think we unfortunately, we've
seen so much about Domingas and like, will he be
Mickey Mantle and the next Mike Trout. No, but like
he can still be who is He can still be
very good. But he so much has been talked about

(28:11):
his defense and what position. I've seen multiple different prospect
listss like some people are saying he should stay in
center field because where it's most comfortable. Some saying he
should go to left field because it's an easier position
for him. Everyone seems to say that there's questions about
his route running and also he and just also he's
barely played at the major league level, and I think
the big thing is he's got to hit bet I
think the big thing with me, I think is the

(28:33):
swing skill, is how he hits against lefties, because he
really struggled last.

Speaker 5 (28:36):
Year in the majors and miners at the right side
of the plate.

Speaker 4 (28:39):
But I think I think I'm just most excited is
just to see him actually get a real opportunity to
play because he's healthy this year and he's getting a
normal He's gonna have a normal spring training. I think
Aaron Boone and Cashman said he'd have to earn the
starting spot, but given the options, I don't think they're
starting Everson Pereiro or Trent Grisham over him. I think
he's probably gonna be able to get that spot even

(29:00):
with a mediocre spring training. I'm just happy to see
him just get a real run for it and actually
just get consistent playing time at the major league level.
And I wonder whether I'm interested to see where they
hit in the lineup. I think his beetle play. I
don't think he's someone who should hit lead off immediately,
but I don't but we'll see where they go with that.
I'm excited to see what he can do.

Speaker 2 (29:21):
John, anything pop out to you.

Speaker 3 (29:24):
I was impressed with both his consistency of hitting at
three levels last year. Now he didn't translate that into
the sixty seven at bets in the majors. He did
kind of as poorly as amazingly he did in twenty
twenty three in his short time with the Yankees that year.
But he was a three hundred hitter. His on base

(29:44):
percentage was in the mid three fifties. He had excellent power.
He stole twenty one out of twenty two bases last year.
I think the biggest question is health. If he can
stay healthy, I think he will be fine, and he
will be a rookie to year candidate.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
We had a couple of things, so number one, a
couple of scattering reports excuse me, mentioned that his swing
is getting better. That there were flaws in his swing
in twenty twenty three that he corrected and even though
he didn't have a ton of playing time due to
the two injuries, that that was an improvement. Keith Law

(30:22):
puts him as a seventy runner, which is pretty impressive.
I really want to get like a good solid sprint
speed number on. I mean, it looks like he's like
vulpi fast kind of right now, which would be true
center field or Yankee Stadium left field kind of running.
Everybody mentions that he has some of the best exit
velocity in the miners. In fact, would we have some
of the best exit velocity in the majors if you

(30:44):
were a major league player? And then I something was
said on the John Boy podcast, the Talking Eggs podcast
today which is something I hadn't thought of, which I
think makes a lot of sense. If you look at
his numbers last year, it was he hit a massive
platoon split. He's always had a little bit of a
platoon split, but he had like a four hundred ops
difference between left and right. He is a much better

(31:05):
left handed hitter and than right handed hitter. And today
or yesterday or something like that, he was taking light
batting practice and he hit a nice big home run
off Carlos Renan, and I was reported out because we've
reported on any little thing that happened in spring training,
including batting practice.

Speaker 1 (31:21):
What is interesting? What what?

Speaker 2 (31:22):
What? What John Boy mentioned which is interesting and I
think about this is that he had he he had
an oblique strain and because he you know, he struggled
from the left side, Mate, I think that was the
oblique and so I wonder if a lot of the
like the slightly muted numbers and numbers were still good,
but the slightly muted numbers he had this year, especially

(31:46):
from from the right side, were either caught like related
to like a slow recovery from the oblique strain, or
he got a little mechanics out of whack due to
the oblique strain. And to me, that's a really good sign,
like an explanation for the tune split, to me, is
really helpful because if he could come in and be
a good enough hitter against righties, completely transformed the transforms

(32:08):
the lineup.

Speaker 4 (32:11):
Yeah, I think that's a very good that's a really
good point, EJ. I think that and in serns the
health point, I mean, Tommy John feels like kind of
a fluke injury for an outfielder.

Speaker 5 (32:20):
If it was a picture, I before concerned.

Speaker 4 (32:22):
But for outfielder, especially at his age, I don't think
it's a big big deal. He seems like he still
has a decent arm that not incredible, But I don't
think he needs to be like Vladimir Guerrero senior in
the outfield.

Speaker 5 (32:34):
You know, or going as cesspitus with it. You know,
he can just be.

Speaker 4 (32:38):
He just needs to be like able to this cat
has to not get lost as much in the outfield,
and I think he'll be able to do that with
more playing time. And again if he if he hits
like even like in like the middle ground of where
his potential is like, he's.

Speaker 5 (32:50):
Really gonna be really really helped. It really helped his team.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
All right.

Speaker 2 (32:54):
So we're at half an hour, and we've talked a
lot about the farm system generally in these two guys,
and I will want to go a little bit quicker
and just talk about some of the names that are
new or guys we have new information about. So some
guys are kind of boring on here, you know, some
guys that you know, we haven't really seen much of
since the draft but there's some other guys that we
get a lot of information out of these scattering reports,

(33:16):
and I just want to kind of search for some treasures.
So we're gonna go around the table. John's going to
go first, and we're going to pick a player that
we learned something about reading through all of these scouting reports.
So John, tell me about an interesting player you learned
something about.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
I'll go with George Lombard. George is probably two or
three seasons away from making his first appearance at the
major league level, but what I was impressed by was
that he appears to have some very good defensive chops.
He is a natural shortstop, with volt be pretty well

(33:54):
established at that position, and the Yankees possible need for
a third baseman down the road. I think he may
be slotted for third base eventually, but it looks like
his defense is strong. He's got one of the strongest
arms in minor league baseball. And I'm actually very optimistic
about George Lombard and his future.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Delve And the reason why I think the scouting reports
are fast enatings because the stat line was bad. Right
Lombard was their first round pick in twenty twenty three,
It was another one of those just kind of consensus
first round picks, son of a major league player, and
had a six seventy two oh ps. Basically right struck
out a lot, didn't just it's an ugly batting line,

(34:34):
and other than the fact that he stole some basses, like,
there's really not a lot to love. But then you
read these scouting reports, and all the scottering reports are like,
don't look at the batting line, right, Like, he had
some injury stuff at the beginning of the of the season,
his swing got a little bit off, but once he
kind of dialed in, all the scouting reports are like,

(34:56):
this guy can hit, he can play a solid shortstop,
he's fast, like he seems like basically everybody's breakout pick.
And then that that's really really nice.

Speaker 4 (35:08):
And for a player that young, I will say he's
a he's one of the youngies' youngest players. He's just nineteen,
still turned twenty in June. He had a twelve point
three walk percentage at that age, at that level.

Speaker 5 (35:19):
That's really impressive.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
Yeah, yes, and no, right, like a lot of guys
take a lot of walks in low miners. Now, no
one here says like he was like passive at the plate,
but I would just be very careful with walk rates
in the low miners, Like there's a lot of guys
down there with good stuff that can't can't control it.
I will say, though, Pat your point about him being young,
I think one thing that like you see these little

(35:42):
whispers of around Major League Baseball right now that they
they want to push a lot of the low level
player development to college ball.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
And I think the.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
Reason is is that, like low A has become really hard.
There's a lot of like twenty two, twenty three, two
four year old guys throw ninety eight in loway right now,
and you throw in a nineteen year old kid who's
only played high school ball and hasn't seen that really
killer stuff. Like I think, I think it is hard,
is harder now than it has ever been to do that.

(36:14):
And and so maybe you're right, maybe that's part of
what explains the bad batting line.

Speaker 1 (36:21):
Pat, give me another guy.

Speaker 4 (36:22):
I'm gonna give another low player. But I think that
the more I'm reading about him, the more fascinating it's
an The Yankees a pretty deep catching system. Another prospect
I might talk about Yankee's got from trading a catcher.
But this player is name I'm hoping I'm pronouncing his
first name right.

Speaker 5 (36:35):
Edge Glean Perez.

Speaker 4 (36:37):
He's only eighteen year old to sign the twenty twenty
three international signing period. Everywhere I've read seems to suggest
that this guy has a really good hit tool. One
of the articles noted that he didn't just an eighteen
eight percent chase rate overall and a thirteen percent chase
rate with two strikes, so basically doesn't chase a ton swing,
not a ton of swing and miss out, especially out

(36:58):
of his own He cut that with a forty five
percent hard hit rate and an eighty three percent contact
right now. Again, this is low minor leagues level and
that only turned into a three eighty slugging and I
think pretty consistently his power. It seems to be a
lower tool, but that could a he's only eighteen, that
could still grow and be He's already showing a pretty
good feel at the plate. And while the defense overall

(37:21):
in these work, he does have a sixty rate arm
and I was watching a couple of his videos and
his pot time is pretty quick and he was able
to get some pretty hard throws in there, So I
think Perez is a player that could ease, could be
someone to watch over the next couple of years.

Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yeah, the Yankees have been to a weird thing lately
where they've been converting like guys who aren't that athletic,
everybody who's not that athletic but can hit. They've been
just like making him a catcher. And they have a
bunch of these guys whore kind of entering the high
miners like Ben Rice, who probably aren't catchers, but they
they've been you know, that's been kind of their landing
spot for that type of guy. Pez is a catcher, right.

(37:54):
The Scattago ports like, on, Oh, this guy's a great
catcher and he might be able to hit. He has
some other potential. I think every single top ten list
except for maybe Baseball America, which went first or went early,
labeled him as a top prospect. So yeah, I mean,
he is to me, the one guy whose name I
had never heard of that really pops out of these lists.

Speaker 1 (38:17):
John, give me another name.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
Let's talk about Will Warren. Will's right handed pitcher. He's
been groomed to become a starter. I think he has
a likelihood to make some contributions out of the bullpen
this coming year. He struggled last year at Triple A
and at the major leagues era of over ten with
the Yankees over twenty two and two thirds innings, so

(38:44):
not any success really, But in prior years twenty two,
twenty three, twenty four, he looked like twenty two to
twenty three, I should say he looked like a real promising,
developing starter and one that I think last year about
this time was talked in the same glowing terms as
Louis Heel was Heel being out of options, was given

(39:04):
the first shot and he did the most with it.
Warren then just struggled. But I think one of the
interesting things I learned about him and looking through his
scouting report, was that they believe that he was in
some ways spooked by the automated balls and strike calls

(39:24):
at Triple A last year, and that he had a
hard time adjusting to that. And he has a lot
of movement as pitch. I know he throws a sweeper
and that if it's just off the plate and doesn't
get the benefit of a call or a good frame,
that's a ball and instead of a strike, and that

(39:44):
is an interesting dynamic that he would not have to
worry about at the major league level. We still have
human umpires, and I'm hopeful that he's going to develop
this coming year and actually make some contributions at the
major league level.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yeah, so, Eric long and Hanging at Fangrafts actually put
him at the number two prospects in the system and
the only other top one hundred prospect in the system
right now. I know one others are kind of less
high on him, but at least Long and Hanging thinks
he's still a major league starter. So someone to keep
an eye on it. Definitely is a death guy. Uh, Pat,
give another name.

Speaker 4 (40:15):
I'm gonna go with the name I just mentioned. He's
actually someone new to the Yanche system. They acquired him
on the Red Sox named Elmer Rodriguez Cruz. I think
one fun fact from elie pipeline is that he was
the lightest, the lightest player drafted in his class. He's
right now six foot listened sixty. Last year he was
a six foot three, just one hundred and sixty pounds,
so tallest, skinny guy, but decent starter size, and he's

(40:37):
a pitcher who has been improving with every season. His
bastball gained some velocity so like up to mid nineties
to upper nineties and long. He's also learning how to
use his secondary separately splitter low ady sweeper curve. He's
able to strike out one hundred and two batters in
eighty nine innings last year, reached double A. Now he's
gonna have to cut down on the walks like a
lot of other pictures he's controlled. Is going to be

(40:58):
a concern, But there is some decent stuff here. And yeah,
you can be concerned about whether or not the Eggs
were trading from the Red Sox, but they were trading
out of position of strength.

Speaker 5 (41:05):
They traded.

Speaker 2 (41:05):
They gave up a guy who's going to be their
their backup catcher. So a real you a real as Yeah.

Speaker 4 (41:10):
So they've and he's just a picture who's improved at
every single level. So I think that there's got there
is some confidence in in uh cruise, in uh Rodriguez cruise.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
All Right, I'm gonna I'm gonna name a name, uh
one of those catchers. Hey, sus Rodriguez. He was a
guy who was added to the forty man roster to
protect from the real five draft barely hit double A.
So he was added a little early, but a lot
of American players often they kind of have to be added, uh,
you know, when they're not really ready yet. For example,

(41:42):
ever since Perreira got at it a little bit earlier,
earlier than you might you might like, and he was
a catcher, and the question was always can you catch
the scouting reports previously previously said no, But now we
have all seasoned scouting reports to say he's a pretty
good third baseman.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
And if you look at his hitting.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
Numbers, he has he has hit really well throughout the
little miners, has only had a taste of double as.
We don't know about that yet, but I think that
he might be a stealth third base option for the
Yankees midseason. Any other anyone else anything pop out about
Rodrigez to people.

Speaker 3 (42:19):
I was going to suggest that Rodriguez looked like he
was going to be another a guy who is defense first,
but he's He's appeared to be a well rounded hitter
and one without particular weakness. He can hit for a
little bit of power some contact. I think he's a

(42:39):
sleeper to get involved in that backup catcher spot that
remains open.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
All right, any other names you guys want to throw out.

Speaker 4 (42:49):
I think we got to talk about Roderick Arius. He's
probably the last big name prospect that we have. Him's
a couple other pitchers here and there, but another very
young player. Had a really rough season last year, very
very rough season, I think, another player with a very
high strike out rate, and again he's just twenty years old,
but didn't really do anything much of the plate. His

(43:10):
strike out rate was in the thirty percent mark by
June last year. He was able to cut that by
eleven percent over the last three months. But yeah, just
in the pros are he's incredible tools, really good power,
particularly against right handed pitching, struggle another game, struck against lefties.
He just needs to I think there's concerns about his maturity.

(43:30):
Fan Grafts I think had him all the way down
at fifteen in their system.

Speaker 5 (43:34):
A lot of other lists had him in the top ten.

Speaker 4 (43:36):
Uh, he's gonna have to really show something this year
because he was really really rough because and then Agains
put a lot of slot value him in the international draft.

Speaker 5 (43:42):
So we'll see what he does this year.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
Not a good year for arias Uh. I want to
bring up an a name real quick. I want I
want to power through these a little quicker. Cam Shalittler.
Littler kind of stood out because not only is he
sixty six, but he had killer strait had numbers of
the miners. He had a really good year last year
brought Cam up through the high miners and kind of

(44:05):
came out of nowhere. There was no scouting reports on
him before before now, and now we know that he
is a guy who throws in the mid to high
nineties and U has a solid slider, but more importantly,
Cam Schlittler throws a splitter. And so I am looking

(44:27):
forward to Michael Kay one day in New York having
to say Schlittler splitter. That is that that has a
lot of teas and a lot of eyes, and it
just sounds wonderful. Keith low things, maybe he's a reliever
because he might have trouble with lefties, but he's got time,
he's new. Maybe the Yankees can kind of teach him
a new pitch. Any other names to throw out?

Speaker 3 (44:52):
I got one about. How about Clayton Beater.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
Relief pitcher Clayton Peter.

Speaker 3 (44:58):
Officially converted to real He's been long hoped to be
a starter, but I think he's got a chance to
make some contributions out of the bullpen as well. This
year they've.

Speaker 2 (45:09):
Had him, so the Yggies announced that he is now
a full time reliever.

Speaker 3 (45:14):
Right. He throws hard, he's got a complete arsenal fastball,
curve change, and they're all plus offerings. I think he
is legitimately in the conversation, I expect the Yankees will
have a couple of guys that are going to be
bouncing back and forth between Triple A and the team

(45:38):
in the Bronx, and he could be one that could
be making I don't know, fifteen or twenty appearances.

Speaker 2 (45:42):
This year for the Yankees and is like I think
the highest and relief prospect in the organization right now.
Like have you told me, like who's the stealth like
setup guy at the end of the year, Like he
really is not a bad pick for that, and the
fact that they've kind of given up on starting finally
to me, he's a good sign.

Speaker 1 (46:02):
Pat, you have a reliever.

Speaker 4 (46:04):
Yes, I do have another reliever that I also think
could be a sleeper pick to make the team. And
someone I was just looking up. His name is Eric Razelman.
He probably made someone I was just kind of found
out about recently. He's someone who has an interesting journey,
bounced around college, ended up at LSU as pretty much
a fastball only pitcher like ninety five percent of the time.

(46:26):
Like I think that's a level even Bartolo Colone with
scoff at and was able to pitch decently, and he
missed a lot of twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four,
but he was able to come back with a really
solid slider and change up. And again, this is a
reliever and there are some control issues with that, but
he was able to strike out sixty three batters in
thirty eight point two innings, last in the miners across

(46:46):
levels last year. And mind you, he was already at
Double A last year where he pitched twenty one games,
and that was really his first full season in the
miners with the Yankee So he's moving quickly at a
one point nine to three erra at double A.

Speaker 5 (47:00):
So there's a lot of talent. There's a lot of
talent here in a lot of strikeout upside.

Speaker 4 (47:04):
I don't know if he makes it this year, but
I think with a guy with the basketball like that
and getting that kind of swing and miss.

Speaker 5 (47:09):
Is really interesting and the Aggies could use some swing
and miss in their bullpen.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
All right, John, do you have one more for me?

Speaker 3 (47:17):
How about Chase Hampton? And I don't claim to be
a Chase Hampton expert, but I know he is certainly
very high in their organizational rankings. He was the Minor
league pitcher of the Year in twenty three, and last
year he was limited to five and two thirds innings
at Double A and nine and two thirds at low Way.

(47:39):
I believe he's coming off an injured forearm from spring training.
Looking for him to bounce back. He would be a
high upside prospect.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
And it's got indicated that by the end of the
season he looked like his old self.

Speaker 3 (47:54):
Right, I'm hoping that a year from now we'll be
talking about him as a possible addition to the.

Speaker 1 (48:02):
I mean, I think you could see him as a
midseason guy.

Speaker 3 (48:03):
Right.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
This is the guy who just has.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
Incredible stuff, right, like hard Sinker, like was their number
one pitching prospect and during last year and which is
injured all year. But he's now healthy. And you know
the bad performance last year is the Scotti reports seemed
to indicate that he's gonna be okay. And I forget
which list, but one of the lists actually had him
I think number two in the Yankee system still, so

(48:25):
it's still a really good prospect. So I think that's
definitely a good name to mention. I'll add just a
couple of quick ones. J c Ascara, kind of an
independent league older guy that they signed. Weren't really sure
if he was much of a catcher, but we have
a scott a report from fangrafts. He's actually a plus catcher,
really good catcher, so that that's probably your backup catcher.

Speaker 3 (48:45):
Now.

Speaker 2 (48:46):
He'll probably make his major league debut pretty soon. I
don't think it's gonna be Alex Jackson, but but hopefully,
hopefully I'm wrong.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
And uh, I don't know. I think that's I think
that's about it.

Speaker 2 (49:01):
It's not a great system, but you know, there's always
guys you can dream on, and hopefully a couple of
these guys end up making their way to the majors. Hopefully, uh,
you know, Lombard Junior or or you know, someone like that,
or Perez ends up being you know, the next top
one hair prospect the Yankees have in their system. But
once Jason di Minguz graduates, oh it's gonna be it's

(49:22):
gonna be a little bit rough, but at least uh
graduation is a good reason to have a bad farm system. UH,
and we get to watch them in the major leagues.
You guys, thank you so much for joining me. Everybody,
thank you for listening. This has been your Bronx Beat
podcast