Minor League Notes, 4/16

Scranton and Trenton were rained out today.

Tampa defeats Daytona, 8-4

• Although he only went 1 for 4 tonight, Abraham Almonte is off to a hot start for the Yankees.  Through 8 games, the 20 year-old outfielder is putting up a .344/.400/.469 line, with 4 steals (and caught 2 times).  Almonte, playing right field in deference to Melky Mesa, has long been a favorite prospect of mine, whose combination of speed, switch-hitting ability, and patience makes for an intriguing prospect.  Abe has frequently played against players older than him, which perhaps explains why his numbers in previous years (particularly 2008) were not super impressive.  In 2009 in the low-A Sally League, Almonte put up a .280/.333/.391 line, with 36 steals (caught only 5 times).  He is definitely a player to watch for Tampa, and now that he is playing against players around his age, he could be in for a breakout season.

Charleston defeated by Augusta, 5-2

• Jose Ramirez, every Yankee prospect watcher’s pick to have a breakout season, put together a strong start tonight.  In 5 1/3 innings, the 20 year-old Dominican gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 9.  For the season, Ramirez has a 3.48 ERA, with 15 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.  Ramirez is an intriguing prospect because he has the ability to run his fastball into the mid-90′s, and combines his heater with a plus changeup that is a great strikeout pitch.  His breaking ball is still raw, but at age 20, he still has time to improve.  In 2009, Ramirez set the Gulf Coast League on fire with a 1.48 ERA, and 53 strikeouts in 61 innings.  It is probably premature to get too excited about his performance at a low level, but if he continues to post a high strikeout rate, Ramirez will begin to get more attention from prospect gurus, and he will become more than just a sleeper prospect.

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