Thank you to everyone who read all of these reports in 2014! Not to knock any other site, but I am proud to say for the second straight season that not one day was missed this season - came close a few times, but was able to get the reports in.
Staten Island is playing a late game tonight vs. Brooklyn (Seriously? Closing out the season in the NYP league with a 7 pm game on Labor Day?), so I won't be covering that one in this report - if something significant happens (defined as a no-hitter, 4 home run game, or a player running through a wall), I will report on it later.
A post-season Top 20 prospects list will be typed up in the next few weeks or so.
Overall, not a terrible season on the farm - Robert Refsnyder became a legitimate prospect for a team that needs one in the infield, while guys like Luis Severino and Aaron Judge emerged. On the other side of the coin, the big outfield prospects before the 2013 season in Trenton mostly have crashed and burned. Slade Heathcott is not likely going to make it given all of his injuries, Mason Williams is a slug, and Tyler Austin continued to struggle with his offense, though he did hit better as the season went along. Ramon Flores was a young player in Triple-A, but couldn't stay on the field. The #1 prospect entering the season (Gary Sanchez) had a strong, but hardly standout, campaign. Eric Jagielo survived a mid-season injury and played well enough to make you think something may be there, while Ian Clarkin had a strong season before being shut down.
Manny Banuelos made it back from injury and could see some big league action in September. Greg Bird started the year on the disabled list and seemed to get back to normal the moment he was promoted to Trenton, where he went on a power splurge.
As for the 2014 draftees, Jacob Lindgren tired a tad towards the end (he had a heavy workload in college this year), but showed that he may just be worth that second round pick. Guys like Mark Payton and Ty McFarland also played well in what was a very safe overall draft for the franchise - going more for college polish over high school upside.
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Scranton (Won two games vs. Lehigh Valley, 2-1 and 4-1, to finish 68-76)
2B Robert Refsnyder: 1-for-4, 2B (19), RBI. K
Walk-off double in only Game 1 AB. Finishes at .296/.386/.453 in 287 AB for Scranton and .317/.385/.495 in 515 AB overall with 38 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs, 63 runs batted in, 82 runs scored, 55 walks, 105 strikeouts, and a 9-for-18 SB rate.
C John Ryan Murphy: 2-for-3, 2B (9)
Started Game 1 on Sunday night, pulled from the game on Monday - likely due to promotion. Finishes Triple-A season at .246/.292/.397 in 51 games
1B Kyle Roller: 4-for-7, 2B (24), HR (17), RBI, 2 RS, 3 K
Finishes year with 26 home runs, second in the organization to the departed Pete O'Brien. Overall, he hit .300/.391/.550 in 456 AB between Trenton/Scranton with 30 doubles, three triples, 26 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 77 runs scored, and 146 strikeouts
UTIL Jose Pirela: 0-for-4, K
Didn't play in Game 2, which could lead some to think he may be on his way up for a September bench spot. We shall see. Finishes the year at .305/.351/.441 in 535 AB with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 10 home runs, 60 runs batted in, and 87 runs scored. The only two positions (other than pitcher) that he did not play this year were catcher and third base.
OF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-7, BB, 2 K
.261/.311/.437 in 421 AB. Switch hitter is much more effective vs. RHP and should be under consideration for a 2015 bench spot.
C Austin Romine: 3-for-3, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 RS
.242/.300/.365 in 285 AB. The Yankees could call him up for to be the 4th catcher I suppose, but it is not a given.
OF Ramon Flores: 1-for-7, K
.247/.339/.443 in 235 AB in an injury-plagued season.
OF Taylor Dugas: 1-for-5, RBI, K
Finishes at .299/.399/.390 in 351 AB between Trenton/Scranton with 47 walks and 59 strikeouts.
IF Scott Sizemore: 1-for-4, HR (7), RBI, RS, K
Just remember: Before the season began, there was talk about a Sizemore/Johnson platoon at 3B for the Yankees this season.
OF Chris Young: 0-for-3, K
RHP Diego Moreno: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Finishes season with a 4.06 ERA over 57.2 IP with a 55/17 K/BB ratio.
RHP Danny Burawa: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Burawa really came on strong down the stretch. His final numbers aren't great (4.70 ERA in 59.1 IP with a 73/30 K/BB ratio), but his finish was strong - he supposedly will be promoted.
RHP Nick Rumbelow: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
Finishes season with a 2.62 ERA over 58.1 IP with a 81/18 K/BB ratio. He will be in the bullpen discussion next season.
LHP Ty Webb (W, 2-0): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Finishes season with a 3.80 ERA over 68.2 IP with a 94/22 K/BB ratio. Will also figure into the 2015 bullpen competition.
LHP Nik Turley (W, 5-3): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
4.62 ERA; 60.1 IP, 55 H, 36 R, 31 ER, 8 HR, 43 BB, 44 K
Season got off to a tough start due to an arm injury (and also being released off of the 40-man roster before being resigned). The Yankees pretty much have no real choice but to protect him this winter in my opinion.
LHP Matt Tracy (S, 1): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
3.75 ERA; 151 IP, 171 H, 73 R, 63 ER, 11 HR, 55 BB, 89 K
If he is still around in 2015 (I bet he is), he will be a depth starter in Triple-A, which turned out to be a nice position to be in with the 2014 Yankees club.
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Trenton (Lost to Reading, 7-3, to finish 67-75)
C Gary Sanchez did not play and finishes the season at .270/.338/.406 in 429 AB with 19 doubles, 13 home runs, 65 RBI, 48 runs scored, 43 walks and 91 strikeouts.
RF Tyler Austin did not play after 8/22 (temporary inactive list, which I guess became permanent for 2014). He hit .275/.336/.419 in 396 AB with 20 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, and 47 runs batted in.
3B Dante Bichette didn't play after 8/26 and finished his season at .264/.345/.397 in 469 AB with 30 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 68 RBI, and 63 runs scored. He struggled a bit after his promotion (15-for-67), which deflated his overall strong campaign in Tampa.
1B Greg Bird: 2-for-2, 2B (8), RS, 3 BB
Finishes at .271/.376/.472 in 369 AB between Tampa/Trenton with 30 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 43 runs batted in, 52 runs scored, 63 walks, and 97 strikeouts. The best part is that the power surge came in his 27 games at Trenton, where he had 15 XBH.
CF Jake Cave: 0-for-5, 3 K
Finishes at .294/.351/.414 in 561 AB between Tampa/Trenton with 28 doubles, nine triples, seven home runs, 42 runs batted in, 74 runs scored, 46 walks, 124 strikeouts, and 12 steals in 18 attempts. Jumped from two HR in 2013 to seven this year.
CF Mason Williams: 1-for-5, RBI, RS
Finishes at .223/.290/.304 in 507 AB. His strikeout rate was fine (68), but that is about it - Williams was horrible this year - there is nothing that can be said to even attempt to sugarcoat it.
3B Rob Segedin: 0-for-4, BB
Finishes at .256/.361/.386 in 402 AB between Trenton/Scranton. Was a complete disaster in his exposure to Scranton, going 11-for-77, which is pretty much in line with how he hit in his first exposure to Trenton (31-for-165 in 2012)
OF Ben Gamel: 1-for-3, 2 BB
Finishes at a disappointing .261/.308/.340 in 544 AB. With some doubles power, decent defense (can play CF in a pinch), and better than average speed, it looked like Gamel had a #4 OF upside - but that triple-slash will not cut it no matter what his role is.
C Francisco Arcia: 3-for-5, 2 RBI
Finishes at .276/.311/.347 in 225 AB between Trenton/Scranton. Pretty much a roving backup in the upper minors.
LHP Jeremy Bleich (L, 5-6): 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Bottom line for Bleich is that his shoulder injury turned out to be too much to overcome.
RHP Nick Goody: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Finishes with a 4.60 ERA in 31.1 IP with a 46/15 K/BB ratio between Tampa/Trenton. Don't let the poor numbers cloud your judgement too much - he was coming off Tommy John surgery. We'll see if the results return in 2015.
RHP Mark Montgomery: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Finishes with a 2.10 ERA over 51.1 IP with 34 hits allowed and a 51/26 K/BB ratio. Statistically, a strong season - but the fastball supposedly still has not returned. Amazing just how close he was to the major leagues in 2013.
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Tampa had their season come to an end on Sunday.
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Charleston (Lost to Augusta, 2-0, to finish 71-69)
3B Miguel Andujar: 0-for-3
Finishes at .267/.318/.397 in 484 AB with 25 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 70 runs batted in, 75 runs scored, 35 walks, and 83 strikeouts. Had a strong second half to the season (.319/.367/.456 in last 248 AB), and in the world of teenage prospects at this level, that is what you want to see - in the majors, you are what you are at the end of the year. In the minors, it is all about showing improvement as a season goes along, especially when you are this young.
SS Tyler Wade: 0-for-4, 2 K
Finishes at .272/.350/.349 in 507 AB with 24 doubles, six triples, one home run, 51 runs batted in, 77 runs scored, 57 walks, 118 strikeouts, and 22 stolen bases in 35 attempts. Forced into a lot of playing time at SS due to injuries to Abiatal Avelino, Wade performed very well. He was a bit more steady than Andujar, but still showed some second half improvement (.683 OPS in first half; .714 in second half)
OF Michael O'Neill: 0-for-4
Finishes at .256/.333/.384 in 489 AB with an organizational-leading 42 stolen bases in 51 tries. His early season strikeouts were well-documented, but he did cut them down a bit to finish at 133. (64 Ks in first 50 games; 69 in last 78 games).
CF Brandon Thomas: 0-for-3, 2 K
Finishes at .204/.318/.311 in 299 AB with 22 steals in 26 attempts. Thomas started off horribly - hitting .147/.270/.243 in his first 41 games before putting up a more respectable .252/.358/.368 in his final 52 games. Once a well-regarded prospect at Georgia Tech, he succumbed to illness, fell in the draft, and the Yankees took a bit of a flyer on him.
C/3B Kale Sumner: 0-for-3, 2 K
.233/.415/.364 in 46 games for the 23-year old.
UTIL Claudio Custodio: 2-for-4, K
Just to prove that SOMEONE got a hit today.
RHP Gabriel Encinas (L, 0-4): 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HR
Finished with a 5.81 ERA in 31 innings in what was essentially an 11 start rehab stint. He will make or break his prospect status in 2015.
RHP Conor Mullee: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Finishes with a 1.38 ERA in 39 IP between Staten Island/Charleston with a 37/13 K/BB ratio. The problem? He has been injured a lot and is already 26 years old. You never know if a reliever will blossom late, but he would still be a very rare case given where he is right now.
