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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Depth

Injuries/News:

The GCL and NYPL started today, which means 150% the daily box scores to check and games to pay attention to. Yay.

AAA:

With Andy Phillips’ promotion to AAA, Eric Duncan was moved into the number 3 spot in the Scranton lineup. He responded by going 0 for 5 with 3 Ks. The Yankees are almost begging for Duncan to prove he’s ready and he’s been unable to do so. It’s a bit sad. His BB:K ratio, which was the one thing you could hang your hat on all season, has now deteriorated to 24:35. Alberto Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout as he continues to search for new lows.

Colter Bean got the start, but didn’t pitch very well. Coming on in relief of Bean was Steven Jackson, who didn’t pitch much better. Jackson allowed 5 baserunners in 2 innings. It has to be depressing to come into the organization relatively highly touted and then, halfway through the season, you’re relieving for Colter Bean. This is not the season the Yankees or Jackson imagined.

AA:

Trenton lost to Akron and while Jeff Marquez did not take the loss, he pitched poorly enough to deserve it. Jeff walked 4 in 5 innings, showing some of the control inconsistency that has plagued him in the past. As pitching coach Scott Aldred hinted in his recent interview with Pinstripes Plus, Jeff has been somewhat surprisingly consistent this season; hopefully this is an anomalous start.

Brett Gardner was 1 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout and Cody Ehlers was 1 for 3 with a homer and 2 walks.

A+:

George Kontos pitched wonderfully, but did not get a victory because the offense took the day off and he only lasted 5 innings. Kontos would only allow 1 walk and 3 hits while striking out 6 in those 5 innings. In a very small sample, Kontos has been excellent thus far. I’d love to see him get a shot at Trenton if he does this for 3 or so more starts, but I doubt that will happen with the current logjam at the upper levels.

Frank Cervelli was 1 for 3 with a double and a strikeout and Jose Tabata was 2 for 4. Other than that, the offense was shackled.

A-:

All Star Game

SS:

Staten Island lost their season opener. They don’t have too much in the way of position prospects at the moment and their least interesting starter took the mound, so…

R:

The GCL Yankees lost, but Jairo Heredia shone. Heredia was one of the top pitchers the Yankees signed last summer and he showed why by striking out 5 while allowing 3 hits and 1 walk in 3.2 innings. Heredia is just 17 and is one to keep an eye on. Abe Almonte, Prilys Cuello, Zoilo Almonte, and Andres Dionicio all got their GCL seasons underway. Almonte is a speedy INF compared to Jose Reyes, Cuello is slugging INF compared to Cano, Almonte is a toolsy CF compared to Melky and Dionicio is a guy who plays H.

Spotlight On:

Staten Island. Dellin Betances gets his first start of the year.

Depth Chart:

1B
S. Duncan-Playing at AAA...Ready to hit the occasional homer, but won’t contribute much, if anything else...This is as good as he’s going to be
E. Duncan-Playing at AAA...Ready to draw the occasional walk, but won’t contribute much, if anything else...He should/could be better, but isn’t thanks to injuries and not doing a good enough job of capitalizing on HIS pitches
C. Ehlers-Playing at AA...Not near ready...Power is a huge question...Smaller 1B with good eye, can draw walks, solid defender
J. Miranda-Playing at A+...Big time power...Strike zone control is a bit shaky...Defense is still up in the air...Probably at least a year away despite advanced age

More tomorrow, I’m tired.