The Yankees promoted Melky Mesa and Thomas Neal today. One will replace Zoilo Almonte. It is still uncertain on the other player they are demoting. In all likelihood, you would think it is Alberto Gonzalez, unless there is another injury we aren't aware of.
Both should be familiar to Yankees fans - Neal had a brief cup of coffee earlier this season, while Melky Mesa missed third base on a key play late in the 2012 season in his most memorable moment thus far as a Yankee.
Mesa has been around the Yankees for a while, showing off an impressive speed/power/defense combination that any team would strive to have on their bench. He had his first true breakout in 2010, when he hit .260/.338/.475 with 31 steals in 40 attempts for High-A Tampa. He was 23 years old at the time, a bit old for a prospect at that level, but not outrageously so.
After a bit of a down year upon going to Trenton in 2011, he came back strong in 2012, hitting .264/.325/.480 with 23 home runs and 22 stolen bases between Trenton and Scranton. He earned himself a promotion to the major leagues.
He has regressed in 2013, however. He hit .249/.277/.424 for Scranton with a whopping 94 strikeouts in 245 AB. Whenever he does get on base, he can still steal at a high rate (7-for-8), but getting on base has been a problem. He's never been an OBP savant, but this year he has taken it to new lows. The power/speed/defense still exist, however, and if he can get hot, he can provide the Yankees with an offensive boost. This season, he has shown a reverse split (.784 OPS vs. RHP/.466 in 63 AB vs. LHP). This is not a fluke, as he historically has been better hitting right-handed pitchers.
Neal is a bit more iffy. He doesn't really possess great defensive skill, or much of a skill to steal bases. The power is also (mostly) non-existent, which turns him into more of a singles-hitting corner outfielder who can take a few more walks than Mesa. For Scranton, he has put up a .314/.387/.402 line in 239 AB. He hits right-handed and left-handed pitching similarly.
I wouldn't expect either to cure the Yankees' offensive woes, but at this point, I think most fans would take any production they can get. Maybe they can squeeze something out of these two.
No comments:
Post a Comment