Harvesting Opinion is a regular feature on Seedlings to Stars. Each week, a handful of FanSided’s MLB sites send S2S a question relating to their team’s minor league system, and we answer them in this space–each question gets one article devoted to answering it. In this way, we make sure we regularly get to discuss hot-button issues relating to the systems of every team, as we cover the teams in a regular, recurring cycle.
In this edition, we tackle a question sent to us from our New York Yankees blog Yanks Go Yard:
The Yanks called up — and played — Jesus Montero and Austin Romine this season, does this mean that they’ll start the 2012 campaign in the Bronx? And what roster will the Killer B’s (Brackman, Banuelos and Betances) be on come Opening Day 2012?
Nathaniel says:
It would be silly to keep Montero in Triple-A for a third straight year, particularly in light of how good he’s looked into September, but the consensus is that he’s not going to catch, which means the Yankees would either need to re-sign Russell Martin or promote Romine to play along with Francisco Cervelli. Romine, however, has almost no Triple-A experience, and wasn’t exactly dominant in Double-A this season, so the always title-hungry Yankees may want somebody more obviously ready to contribute. That could mean Martin or another one-season rental.
Brackman’s awful season really removes him from top prospect consideration and means he’ll be repeating Triple-A at best; he could even be demoted. Banuelos and Betances remain intriguing prospects, but both had disturbingly high walk rates in Double-A and need more Triple-A time before they can be counted on in a big-league rotation, much less New York’s.
I see them all opening 2012 in Triple-A save for Montero, unless the team decides to move Betances to relief, in which case he could break camp in the Yankees’ bullpen.
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Wally says:
It’s small sample size and all but in his first 15 games and 58 major league plate appearances, Jesus Montero has proven he can hit. Of course, we already knew that. Through their actions, the Yankees have clearly also determined what everyone in the prospect and scouting community – that was objective and unbiased – has known for a while; Montero is NOT a catcher. 13 games at DH and 2 behind the plate speaks volumes.
Given that he’s not a viable option at catcher, what do the Yankees do with him? As Nathaniel referenced, there would be no point in making him rot in Triple-A for another season, so they either make him a full-time 22-year old DH next season, try to teach him another position on the fly, or trade him. I can’t imagine they will try to teach him another position, and the options are non-existent since the only real place they could even think of moving him to is 1B. Since Teixeira will call that home through 2016, and I don’t think Jesus could handle 1B, a trade or DH role are the two real options.
The trade market for Jesus is very limited, since there are only 14 DH roles out there to fill and there are teams like the Royals who have their own young DH already in place. With limited options and a limited trade market, the Yankees aren’t going to just give him away after all, he should be the team’s DH on Opening Day. However, I won’t dismiss a trade entirely, as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are going to need more DH time in upcoming seasons as they continue to age.
As for Romine, he only has 4 games of Triple-A experience and 6 games in the majors at this point. Given the fact that he’s a combined 4-26 in those 8 games, he really needs to spend at least part of 2012 adapting to theAAA pitching and environment.
Brackman turned back into a pumpkin, thanks to a dreadful season which saw him strike out only 75 and walk the same number in 96.0 innings of work in Triple-A. Since he’ll turn 26 in December, I can’t imagine they will bump him down to Double-A but he’d need a miracle to open with the big league team. Triple-A is almost assuredly his destination, and it is sink or swim time at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was packaged in a trade and sent to a team that thinks they can “fix” him.
Dellin Betances had a fairly successful season in Double-A, and has a 119.2 innings logged at the level (105.1 in 2011 and 14.1 in 2010). He needs to cut his walk rate (5.0 BB/9 in 2011) but that is something he can work on in Triple-A. He’s not ready for a major league rotation just yet, as evidenced by his horrific first MLB game (just seven strikes in 27 pitches; four walks), but he’s not too far away. I’d expect him to make his first big league start in 2012, just not at the start of the season.
Manny Banuelos turned in a season very similar to Betances. He didn’t strike as many guys out, but his 4.9 BB/9 was almost identical. They are on almost the exact same track, but given that he is a couple years younger than his counterpart, it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if he spent most if not all of 2012 in Triple-A. Then again, he’s a lefty, so you never know.
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For more on the Yankees, check out Yanks Go Yard
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