It’s been about a month since the minor league season ended. A few prospects are down in Arizona playing in the Fall League, and few more are down in Tampa rehabbing toward next year, and others are back home after seasons good and bad.
About time to single out a few minor league performances, I guess.
There aren’t necessarily MVP awards and such, just a few players and performances worth your attention. As always, I tend to make much more of the things that happen in the upper levels. The low levels are important, but they can be misleading because players have such a long way to go.
While it’s worth noticing when a guy like Nelson Gomez hits 11 homers in the Dominican Summer League or a guy like Kyle Holder hits just .213 in Staten Island, I’m not sure either of those performance define those players one way or another. If Gomez is going to be a huge power threat, and if Holder is going to be an offensive disappointment, we’ll find out in the next few years.
All minor league numbers are worth looking at and keeping in mind, I just approach it with a bias toward the higher levels where there’s usually a larger body of work and a more complete picture.
With that in mind, here are some of the Yankees’ minor league performances that stand out from this season.
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BIGGEST DIFFERENCE MAKER — Luis Severino
Minor league performance only matters if it leads to something meaningful at the big league level. In the case of Severino, that’s exactly what happened. The Yankees kept his workload in check early in the year then let him loose in the Majors for the final two-plus months of the season (his presence, it seems, helped guide the decision not to trade for a starter at the deadline). Severino was terrific in his big league debut, not only helping the Yankees in the short-term but emerging as an obvious part of the long-term future. At this point, Severino is about as dependable as a prospect can be.
Worth mentioning: After opening in Double-A, Greg Bird wound up being one of the Yankees’ best hitters down the stretch. Good approach at the plate and legitimate big league power. … Rob Refsnyder wound up having more hits than any of the rookie outfielders who filled in for Jacoby Ellsbury. Refsnyder also wound up playing a fairly significant role down the stretch. Worth strong consideration for a big league job for next season. … Slade Heathcott only had 25 big league at-bats, but one of them was a game-winning home run. He had a 1.149 OPS. … Lefty James Pazos wound up getting into 11 big league games late in the season and did enough to earn a spot on the wild card roster. He wasn’t great against lefties, but big league opponents hit just .176 against him.
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BEST MINOR LEAGUE SEASON — Ben Gamel
Not many guys open the season as essentially a fourth outfielder and finish with probably the best overall season in the entire system. That’s what Gamel did as MVP of the Yankees’ Triple-A team. For most of his career, Gamel has been overshadowed by other left-handed outfielders — and to some extent, he still is — but hitting .300/.358/.472 has made him impossible to ignore completely, and the Yankees have to seriously consider putting him on the 40-man roster this offseason. Power. Speed. Defense. Versatility. Consistency. Gamel did it all. Not that he was off the prospect radar before this season, but it would have been difficult to see this sort of breakout season coming. He was system’s best everyday player and probably it’s biggest surprise.
Worth mentioning: Earning believers with his improved defense and maturity, Gary Sanchez finally got to Triple-A and hit .295/.349/.500 at that level before earning a September call-up. … Luis Severino had the system’s best year on the mound, but it was Jordan Montgomery who led the system in strikeouts while also pitching to a 2.95 ERA as a 22-year-old between Low-A and High-A. … Kind of a light version of Gamel’s year, Dustin Fowler hit .298/.334/.394 while playing center field in Low-A and High-A. … Didn’t do much in the big leagues, but Nick Goody was the system’s best reliever with a 1.03 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in Double-A and Triple-A. … Of all pitchers with more than 60 innings, the lowest ERA in the system belonged to 2011 38th rounder Joey Maher who had a 2.20 in Charleston. … Plenty of others deserve mention here (Wade, Mateo, Lail, Judge, Bird, etc.) but we’ll focus on them elsewhere.
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BACK ON THE MAP — Slade Heathcott
As the injuries mounted, Heathcott nearly lost his spot in the organization. He was removed from the 40-man and released with the hope of getting him back on a minor league contract, which is exactly what happened. Given another chance — second chance? third chance? fourth chance? — Heathcott was outstanding from the very beginning. He was so good in spring training that he opened in Triple-A, and as soon as a big league job opened, he was the first called up. Hard to know where he fits going forward, but Heathcott has shown he can definitely help out at the big league level and might still have that high-end potential the Yankees saw years ago out of high school.
Worth mentioning: Similar story with Mason Williams. The Yankees showed faith in him by putting him on the 40-man roster last winter, then he rewarded that faith with big numbers in Double-A, Triple-A and even the big leagues before a shoulder injury. … It’s probably going too far to say Austin Aune is on the map, but for the third year in a row his OPS improved. The former second rounder has big power, but even with his strikeout rate coming down a little, he still strikes out too much. Slugged .422, though. … Jonathan Holder was drafted last year and has never gotten a ton of attention. The former college reliever, though, has been converted to the rotation and pitched to a 2.44 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in Tampa this year. Worth taking notice.
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MOST MEANINGFUL SURPRISE — Rookie Davis
Great and surprising year for Gamel, but the Yankees already knew they had a lot of left-handed outfield depth, and in many ways Gamel’s season didn’t change much about the system itself. A breakout performance that changed the way you look at the Yankees’ minor league system was the arrival of Davis as one of the system’s top pitching prospects. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline ranked Davis 10th in their updated Yankees prospect rankings this season. Some of that was because of injuries to other players, but a lot of it was because Davis greatly improved his strikeouts while cutting down on his walks. At 22 years old, he emerged in a big way right before he needs to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.
Worth mentioning: Not even invited to big league spring training, Caleb Cotham wound up pitching his way into a big league call-up and a few relatively high-leverage outings. Diego Moreno also surprised by pitching his way into a big league call-up. … Having almost completely fallen off the prospect radar, Mason Williams showed he still has plenty of potential in a season cut short by injury. … Moved from the bullpen to the rotation mid-season, Cale Coshaw had a 2.45 ERA while climbing through three levels and finishing in Double-A. … Back from Tommy John surgery, Dietrich Enns didn’t have quite the strikeout rate of previous seasons, but he still struck out a lot while keeping his walks in check. Excellent year with a 1.84 ERA mostly in High-A Tampa. Interesting to see how the Yankees handle him going forward.
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BIGGEST HEALTHY DISAPPOINTMENT — Tyler Austin
Added to the 40-man roster after a strong second half last season, it seemed Austin might be playing his way back among the Yankees’ top offensive prospects. Instead, he hit just .235/.309/.311 in Triple-A, got demoted to Double-A and was eventually outrighted from the 40-man roster without another team claiming him off waivers. Now Austin’s back in the Arizona Fall League trying to regain some traction. In his best moments, he looks like a bat big enough to play the corners, but his standout 2012 season was a long time ago.
Worth mentioning: There’s no doubt Jose Pirela can hit. He put up a brilliant .325/.390/.433 slash line in Triple-A this year. The disappointment comes from his .230/.247/.311 slash line in 74 big league at-bats. Could be that he’s not as good if he’s not playing every day. … Jaron Long‘s terrific 2014 season earned him a spot in the Triple-A rotation out of spring training, but he pitched to a 4.94 ERA before a demotion to Double-A. His numbers improved at the lower level, but there was obviously hope for more. … Back from Tommy John surgery, Vicente Campos had a 7.05 ERA through 11 starts with High-A Tampa. … Former top picks Cito Culver and Dante Bichette Jr. took more steps backwards. Culver lost his everyday job at shortstop and Bichette was demoted. … Gosuke Katoh was terrific after a demotion to Pulaski, but that was after hitting .161/.264/.202 in his return to Charleston.
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BIGGEST INJURY DISAPPOINTMENT — Ian Clarkin
Universally considered a Top 10 prospect in the Yankees’ system, Clarkin seemed ready to spend a full season at High-A Tampa with every opportunity to pitch his way to Double-A by the end of the year. Could have outshined that that Rookie Davis, Cale Coshaw, Brady Lail group that moved into the upper levels this year. But Clarkin never got in a game because of an elbow issue that kept him from pitching in an official game until his recent Arizona Fall League assignment. Injuries crushed many high-end prospects in the Yankees’ system this year, but Clarkin’s was probably the most disappointing because it was unclear for so long and wiped out his whole season.
Worth mentioning: Minor league injuries started in spring training the news that catcher Luis Torrens needed season-ending shoulder surgery. That’s another guy who seemed ready to become of the system’s truly elite young players. … Three of the system’s better rotation prospects — Austin DeCarr, Ty Hensley and Domingo German — each had Tommy John surgery this season. So did Chase Whitley, who opened the season in Triple-A as rotation depth. … Just when it seemed Jacob Lindgren was going to break into the big leagues, his results weren’t as great as expected and he wound up needing season-ending surgery to clear out some bone chips in his elbow. … Speaking of guys who had finally gotten to the big leagues, injuries hit Slade Heathcott and Mason Williams just when they were starting to help out in the wake of Jacoby Ellsbury’s knee injury.
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VICTIM OF EXPECTATION — Aaron Judge
If we see Judge’s season as a disappointment, it’s only because expectations were so high. The top offensive prospect in the Yankees’ farm system — and really, one of the better offensive prospects in the game — Judge led the organization in both home runs and RBI this year. In his second full season of pro ball, Judge hit .284/.350/.516 in Double-A, but when he was promoted to Triple-A his numbers dropped to .224/.308/.373. It wasn’t the overwhelming performance many hoped to see, and it wasn’t the kind of year that’s likely to make the Yankees give Judge an Opening Day job next season. But a .255/.330/.448 season slash line is pretty good, and there’s still plenty of reason to believe Judge is an elite young hitter.
Worth mentioning: A .243/.288/.363 doesn’t look like much for a high-end prospect, but it can’t go unnoticed that Miguel Andujar was a 20-year-old in High-A, and he was much better in the second half with a .277/.325/.400 slash line in his last 220 at-bats. … Easy to be impressed by Brady Lail‘s 2.45 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in Double-A Trenton, and it’s easy to be disappointed by his 4.62 ERA and 1.70 WHIP after a bump up to Triple-A. Have to remember that Lail spent most of the year as a 21-year-old who’d hardly pitched above Low-A before this season. Double-A was meant to be a challenge, and he exceeded expectations there. … Solid year for Jake Cave in Double-A, but his .269/.330/.345 slash line wasn’t as good as the .273/.344/.455 he put up in a partial Double-A season last year.
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NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED — Tyler Wade
Jorge Mateo gets all of the attention at shortstop, and for good reason, but Wade is one level ahead of him in the minor league system and just had a terrific year of his own. Given an everyday job in High-A at just 20 years old — everyday job at shortstop, no less — Wade shined with a .280/.349/.353 slash line, 31 stolen bases and positive reviews of his defense at the position. Wade was a fourth-rounder in 2013, and now he’s in the Arizona Fall League getting more experience against advanced pitching. He can play second base as well, and MLB Pipeline moved him into its Yankees Top 10 prospects this year. He might be overshadowed by Mateo, but Wade made sure he won’t be overlooked entirely.
Worth mentioning: An influx of young shortstops has pushed most of Thairo Estrada‘s playing time to second base, but he still played some short and hit .267/.338/.360 as a 19-year-old in Staten Island. … Other upper-level pitchers get more attention, but Bryan Mitchell had a 3.12 ERA as a Triple-A starter and showed promise out of the big league bullpen — the Yankees thought he was about to become a key reliever — before that line drive hit him in the face. … Acquired this winter, Johnny Barbato joined an organization overloaded with upper-level relief prospects but pitched to a 1.19 WHIP and more than a strikeout per inning in Double-A and Triple-A. … Branden Pinder got into 25 big league games this season and at times looked pretty good in lower-leverage situations.
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STRONGEST DEBUT — Trey Amburgey
Between last year’s international crop and this year’s draft, there were actually quite a few terrific debuts this year (counting a U.S. debut as a player’s debut). I’ll settle on Amburgey as the best of the bunch. The 13th-round pick hit .346/.399/.523 while playing all three outfield positions in the Gulf Coast League and Staten Island. He didn’t strikeout a ton, hit for power, stole some bases and moved up the ladder as a 20-year-old. He’ll play all of next season at 21 and should presumably open in Charleston. Pretty promising first look.
Worth mentioning: What do you know? Another left-handed center fielder. Carlos Vidal slashed .303/.389/.492 as a 19-year-old with Pulaski. … Two players from last year’s international haul, Wilkerman Garcia and Hoy Jun Park, were everyday shortstops in the U.S. this season, and each one played well. With Kyle Holder, Jorge Mateo and Tyler Wade as well, shortstop suddenly looks like a position of some depth in the Yankees’ system, though most of it remains in the lower levels. … Seventh-rounder Jhalan Jackson hit .266/.338/.452 in Staten Island. His raw power makes him an interesting corner outfield possibility alongside Amburgey. … At 22 years old, 29th rounder Kane Sweeney raked with Pulaski hitting .320/.437/.562 as the regular first baseman.
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WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR — Eric Jagielo
Through mid-June, Jagielo was hitting .284/.347/.495 in Double-A. He was hitting pretty well against both lefties and righties — higher average against left-handers, more power against righties — and he was also getting his feet wet at first base. The Yankees believed he could be in Triple-A before the end of the season, joining the crowd with Judge, Bird, Severino, Williams and Sanchez in jumping from Trenton to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Surgery cut his season short, though, and now the Yankees have to wait until next year to see if Jagielo’s power bat can continue making strides to become a big league option sooner rather than later. Promising start. Just got cut short a little bit.
Worth mentioning: For most of the year, Rob Refsnyder was stuck in Triple-A waiting for a real opportunity. His second-half batting average wasn’t impressive, but he did show some decent power after the all-star break, and his platoon role late in the season suggests he could get a real opportunity next year. … Triple-A opponents hit .200 against Jacob Lindgren, and he struck out well over a batter per inning. If he hadn’t been hurt, he could have had a lasting role in New York. … The Yankees top pick this season, James Kaprielian, made just three professional starts this season. Those results were good and promising, but he won’t make a real first impression until next season.
Associated Press photos
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