Late Night Yankees Links: Reading Material

by Travis G on Jan 7, 2012 12:32 AM EST in New York Yankees News

Seedlings to Stars profiled their 17th best prospect, catcher Gary Sanchez. To sum up -

Like [Jesus] Montero, he should be the rare catcher who will hit enough to play elsewhere, but that's still far from an optimal outcome.

Road to Yankee Stadium interviewed control artist LHP Shaeffer Hall.

The BBWAA will announce on Monday who will be the next entrants to the Hall of Fame. Chris Jaffe of THT made predictions.

MLB Daily Dish collected even more Yankees links that deserve your attention.

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Seedlings to Stars has Montero as their 42nd best prospect…..

Contributing writer for Pinstripe Alley.
Follow me on Twitter @frankiecamp48

by Frank Campagnola on Jan 7, 2012 1:34 AM EST reply actions

and Alonso 97th.

2 high upside young bats who have had success in the high minors as well as the bigs, so far behind teenagers who have zero success above A ball.

These guys are vastly overestimating what they think they know about this sport to have the audacity to rate Harper 39 spots above Montero. These guys have not been following baseball very long.

Most arguments are really about context.

by SheaWasBettor21 on Jan 7, 2012 1:41 AM EST up reply actions

It’s because Harper wears make-up.

Romine!

by david d on Jan 7, 2012 2:03 AM EST up reply actions

Everyone has Harper above Montero. And they should.

Contributing writer for Pinstripe Alley.
Follow me on Twitter @frankiecamp48

by Frank Campagnola on Jan 7, 2012 2:18 AM EST up reply actions

Disagree.

I’m going to go out on a limb and go with the 21 year old that OPS-ed 996 in his first taste of the bigs, 800+ in AAA and 900 in AA. Good luck with your choice.

Most arguments are really about context.

by SheaWasBettor21 on Jan 7, 2012 7:51 AM EST up reply actions

Burnitz

I think the Nationals would be lucky to get Jeromy Burnitz production from Harper.

He was quite pleased with himself until AA taught him that it’s possible to command a breaking ball. It’s a whole new ball game when a pitcher can throw a slider to 2 sides of the plate.

He had an impressive debut, but AA is where you separate the men from the boys. When he can OPS 800+ without striking out at least every 5 at bats, I will consider whether he deserves to be mentioned with a Jesus Montero.

Most arguments are really about context.

by SheaWasBettor21 on Jan 7, 2012 8:33 AM EST up reply actions

He was 18 at Double-A and had arguably the most dominant Sally League numbers ever. No one is worried about Harper.

Contributing writer for Pinstripe Alley.
Follow me on Twitter @frankiecamp48

by Frank Campagnola on Jan 7, 2012 2:22 PM EST up reply actions

Also, his wRC+ was above league average and he lowered his K% to 17, which is amazing for a young power hitter in general, let alone one advancing two levels.

Contributing writer for Pinstripe Alley.
Follow me on Twitter @frankiecamp48

by Frank Campagnola on Jan 7, 2012 2:26 PM EST up reply actions

Single A

I’m impressed with what Harper accomplished in single A. With this said, I think his performance gets him above the “adequate pro” barrier, which is significantly below the “average major leaguer” barrier. (impressive for an 18 year old hitter nonetheless.)

Compare top 10 prospects that already had success in AA vs those that hadn’t yet. The success rate of prospects jumps if you use AA as a cut off. The difference is much smaller between AA and AAA.

Single A is vastly overrated as an indicator of success in the majors.

Most arguments are really about context.

by SheaWasBettor21 on Jan 7, 2012 8:15 PM EST up reply actions