Here’s a quick nightcap for you:
BA GIVES A-JAX PROPS
Baseball America has named Austin Jackson the 7th best International League prospect in the game (the list features the top-20 IL prospects). The only other position players listed before him were Matt Wieters and Andrew McCutchen, which speaks volumes about Jackson’s talent (he’s rated higher than Cleveland’s Matt LaPorta, as well). That’s another big honor for the Yankees’ young outfielder.
BRONX BOUND: TOWERS AND PETERSON?
Kevin Towers was released by the San Diego Padres earlier this month. Prior to the release, Towers had been the Padres’ GM for 14 years. While there are many organizations that have expressed an interest in Towers since his firing, Buster Olney notes that the Yankees may be the best destination for him. Cashman and Towers are longtime friends and Towers could serve as a talent “evaluator” for Cashman, assisting him with pitching decisions, trade deadline ideas, etc. Olney claims that the odds are “excellent” for Towers to end up working with the Yankees, which would be a good thing for the organization. His expertise would certainly strengthen the team’s scouting system by a significant margin.
Also, while we’re addressing matters of team personnel, according to Jon Heyman, pitching aficionado Rick Peterson, who was fired by the Mets along with Willie Randolph last June, “might have a chance” to become a “pitching coordinator” for the Yankees. Peterson lives in New Jersey and recently offered his take, via video, on the Yankees’ postseason pitching staff for 3P Sports.
RED SOX FAN WITH ALS
Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe provides us with this gem about 50-year old Paul Szantyr, a lifelong Red Sox fan who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Definitely check it out. It’s a great read.
(props to RAB)
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
2 Responses to Nightly Bits: A-Jax, Towers, Peterson…
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
I look at Austin as a guy who has to develop a part of his swing at a time in order to not get caught up in HRs… I love what they did with him this year in triple A they had him basically trying to hit everything for a single the other way to help develop his inside out swing and his average numbers. I think with in this next year in the minors you are going to see the doubles start to go up and the strike out will start to go down and eventually the doubles will become HRs and he will eventually be fine tuned to be right around a .300 hitter with 20-25 HR power with the ability to play above average D in CF and steal 20+ bases a year. I think it is going to be a good 3 years before you start to see that Jackson but I fully believe he can be up and playing full time in the majors by the end of next year… He should be a September call up or maybe a little before if need arises and then he will start 2011 with the Yankees.
No surprise here but Jesus Montero is the 5th rated prospect in the top 20 Eastern League prospect list, surprisingly enough though however a C ranks above him and a 3B rank above him when you are talking position players.
1.Pedro Alvarez, 3b
2.Madison Bumgarner, LHP
3.Kyle Drabek, RHP
4.Carlos Santana, C
5.Jesus Montero, C