Keith Law held his weekly chat this Thursday, and had some nice things to say about Jesus Montero:
Q: Which current hitter would you compare Jesus Montero to? If he goes to a different team any chance he stays behind the plate?
Klaw: Physically and in his swing, he reminds me of Frank Thomas. And I know that’s an insane comp to put on a guy, but I don’t think that’s out of the question as an optimistic long-term projection.
Now, KLaw was talking about his swing, so I doubt he was suggesting that Montero would replicate Frank’s otherworldly OBP skills. That said, if Frank Thomas is not out of the question as a projection for Jesus, I think the Yankees could find a way to get him at-bats regardless of position. As I have stated since Montero established himself as an elite hitting prospect, trading him is a bad idea.
Q: KLAW, Yankee prospects to keep an eye on besides Montero. Thanks.
Klaw: Most exciting guys are Betances, Brackman (I don’t want to say he’s back … but he might be), and Heathcott. JR Murphy’s a long-term guy, but with Romine’s hot start fading out I think some hype might shift over to him as the Yanks’ potential C of the future.Q: Re: Yanks to keep an eye on. How about Gary Sanchez?
Klaw: Yes, thanks, forgot him. That’s a pretty good line of catching prospects – even if Romine’s just a fringe starter, that’s three catchers who project as that or better in their system.Q: Brackman had a BB9 over 6 last year, this year it’s in the mid-2s, is that normal recovery from TJS? Or did he improve mechanics?
Klaw: Command is the last thing to come back.
Regarding Romine, his fade does not concern me, as he is likely experiencing the effects of his first full season of catching. He had previously been splitting catching duties with Montero, but with Jesus at AAA he had the job all to his lonesome. Additionally, the ballpark in Trenton is a notorious pitcher’s park, and Romine has significantly better numbers on the road. I have a feeling his second half fade will be long forgotten by May or June of next season.
As for the Yankees catching depth, it is amazing that most of their legit non-pitching prospects are backstops. It is also important to note that Murphy is athletic enough to play elsewhere and Sanchez may be as well, so on the off chance that all of these guys are not traded AND turn into everyday MLB players, the team will have the ability to move those who are blocked to other positions.
Finally, the buzz around Brackman continues to build, and it looks like he has recovered much of his prospect status. I would not be surprised to see him make a number of top 100 prospects lists, along with Montero, Romine, and Sanchez, with Betances possibly sneaking onto a few as well. This really has been a strong bounce-back year for the Yankee farm system.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
10 Responses to KLaw Chats Montero, Yankee Prospects
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
I don’t see how we’re not a top 5 farm system in baseball next season, especially considering we’ll have the #1 prospect, as many as FOUR of the best catching prospects in all of baseball, and some of the best pitching depth in the minors.
I think it’s more likely that we are in the 8-12 range. Outside of catcher, few poisition players, not a ton of power,light on power LHP.
Yep. Not a ton of positional depth outside the catching position.
There’s a problem when the second best OF prospect in the farm is Melky Mesa (who’s older than the hi-A competition). Its nice and all that Angelo Gumbs has signed, but there’s a very noticeable lack of OF hitting talent in this farm.
You also hit on the fact that there’s not much power in this farm aside of Montero, Laird, and Mesa. Sure you got college heavies like Mack and Medchill in the farm, but the switch from aluminum to wood has taken alot of that power. Segedin’s intriguing b/c he’s got a frame that could produce 20 hr power, and he’s already got a plus hit tool. We’ll see.
I know power is the last thing that develops for a hitter, but that said, we’re another season in and only a couple guys (laird and mesa) have shown real power.
I feel better about the system than I have for several years, mostly because of the Betances and Brackman recoveries and pleasant surprises such as Noesi, Laird, and Stoneburner. There’s still a lack of power hitters, but not everything can recover at once. On the other hand, I was unimpressed by the 2011 draft, and I’m not expecting much from it.
this years draft will end up better than you think.
I hope you are right and I’m wrong!
I hope you are right and I’m wrong!
He’s not out of line with the Frank Thomas comparison when you strictly look at swings, put to videos next to each other of Montero and Thomas both cracking a HR they look very similar and in fact Frank was the first one I thought of when I saw Montero swing for the first time.
Too bad Montero cant catch.
[...] KLaw Chats Montero, Yankee Prospects [...]