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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Promise

-Zoilo Almonte was one of the Yankees big international signees a little while back and after what seems like forever, he’s finally made his way stateside. Despite the fact that it seems like Almonte’s been around forever, at least to me, he’s still only 17 and is off to a very nice start for a 17-year-old in the GCL. Almonte was 2 for 4 with a double today and is hitting .393/.452/.643 through the first 8 games of the GCL season. He has 3 walks and 5 strikeouts in that 28 at bat stretch, which is nice to see from a guy who posted a 28 to 52 ratio in 192 Dominican Summer League at bats last year.

-Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata were both 1 for 4 today as they hit back-to-back blasts. I’m still not sold that Jackson’s hot start is anything more than just that, a hot start, but it’s nice to see him adding some power. One thing that is certain is that Austin’s make marked improvements in his K rate. Based on subjective as well as objective information, I feel that what’s occurred is that Austin’s gotten a better idea of which pitches to hit. He’s striking out and walking less because he’s learning that it’s ok to attack pitches early in the count if they’re your pitch.