Welcome To Scranton

The Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees are looking good so far in their first 11 games.  This Yankees system is filled with promising prospects, who may make an appearance at the Major League level soon.  Even if they Yankees don’t call them up, they can be used as trade bait for a starting pitcher.  Right now, these are the guys to keep an eye on! 

Jesus Montero:  Although he had a very slow spring, he has started to heat up in the first 11 games.  Girardi though Montero was pressing too hard in spring training to make the team, which hurt him offensively.  He was sent to AAA to get some confidence and build his offensive numbers.  He now is batting .423 on the season and is 22-50 at the plate.  His slugging percentage is at .558.  By far the most impressive stat is the amount of 3-Hit games he has, which is now 6!  Montero has 3 hits in more than 50% of the games he played so far.  He had a shot to make the Yankees as the backup catcher, which he blew in the Spring with poor offensive numbers.  It seems like he is trying to make a case for himself again before Cervelli makes his way back.  If Montero continues to hit like this…. Cervelli who?

Side Note: Cervelli is beginning his rehab assignment tonight in High –A Tampa.

Jorge Vasquez:  I don’t think anybody expected Vasquez to have such a strong spring or start to the season.  Vasquez was one of those players in spring training that was crushing the ball and was even leading the Yankees in batting average.  Prior to spring training, Vazquez was playing down in the Mexican league and hitting .346 witha  .647 slugging percentage.  Those numbers continued to climb as the AAA Season started.  In Scranton, Vasquez is leading the team with 7 home runs through 11 games, and is hitting .321.  Even more impressive is his slugging percentage which is .714!  Vazquez was named batter of the week, last week when he went 11-26 with 5 Homers and 11 RBI’s.  I don’t know where he fits with the Yankees, but if he keeps hitting like this, I am sure the Yankees will find a spot.

The only thing he needs to work on is the strikeouts.  He struck out 41 times in 36 games in the Mexican league and has already struck out 12 times in AAA.

Justin Maxwell:  Maxwell was another name that was floated around as a backup outfielder for the Yankees this season, but didn’t make the cut after the spring.  Maxwell is widely known for his speed on the bases, and has already stolen 4 bases in the first 11 games in AAA.  Although his batting average is mediocre at .267, his on base percentage is .400 and he has a .625 slugging percentage.  Maxwell has been on fire this past week hitting a home run in every game this week.  With Gardner totally crapping out so far, Maxwell may have an opportunity.

Andy Sisco:  Sisco is a lefty relief pitcher, and I have a strong feeling we may see him get called up at some point throughout the season.  Right now the only lefty in the Yankees bullpen is Boone Logan.  Luis Ayala who started as the other lefty in the pen, went on the DL last week and Lance Pendleton was called up.  Pendleton is a righty, which makes me think that Girardi will eventually drop Pendleton within the next month or two as the odd man out, when they really want to play the numbers and use a lefty specialist for a batter or two.  Sisco & Logan would be those late inning lefties.  Right now Sisco is on fire in his first 6.2 innings.  It may be a very small sample size, but he has a 0.00 ERA and only allowed 3 hits.  He has struck out 7 batters in those 6 innings and his WHIP is 1.05.  If Pendleton pitches like he did on Wednesday night against the Jay allowing one hit and walking a batter, Sisco will get called up sooner than expected. 

Hector Noesi:  Last week the Yankees called up Noesi and I wrote about him HERE.  Noesi has not been used yet by the Yankees, but he was warming up the other night in Toronto before Pendleton pitched the 9^th inning.  Noesi was in contention this spring as a possible 5^th starter, and has only pitched one game for AAA going 5 innings and allowing 2 earned runs.

UPDATE:  Noesi was optioned down to AAA today for Buddy Carlyle.  The Yankees want Noesi to be a starting pitcher and he wasn't getting any action with the Yankees.  Better to keep him fresh in AAA for now.

Lance Pendleton:  Pendleton was called up by the Yankees last week and has appeared in two games so far for them.  I wrote about him HERE, when he was called up.  He was used last Friday in mop up duty for three innings against the Rangers after Nova was pulled from the game.  Since everyone was wearing #42 that night, nobody really noticed Pendleton pitch three scoreless innings.  Pendleton looked great in that appearance, and was given another opportunity on Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.  His second appearance was much shakier when he was called in for the 9^th inning.  The Yankees were up by four runs, but Pendleton walked the first batter and allowed the second batter to hit a single.  Girardi didn’t mess around and quickly called in Soriano to put out a fire before it began.  Pendleton may have had an off night, but his control was poor and more notably, his fastball never hit 90 MPH.  Normally he pitches 90-92, but the highest it hit on Wednesday was 89.  If Pendleton continues with those control issues and lack of velocity for a relief pitcher, he will surely be replaced. 

Adam Warren:  Warren started Wednesday night for Scranton and pitched 8 shutout innings.  He was totally dominant and even when he began to get himself in trouble in the 4^th inning, he pitched his way out of it.  The leadoff batter in the 4^th laid down a bunt and the second batter his a single, allowing the first batter to reach third.  With no outs and a man on first and third, Warren forced two ground outs and a strikeout to get out of the jam.  He allowed 5 hits on the night, and walked one batter.  If he continues to pitch like this, I know a team that needs a few starting pitchers!

Warren has quite a few pitches in his reportoire, with superb command.  He throws a mid 90's fastball, cutter, two seamer and a changeup in the low 80's. 

More updates to come soon on the Killer B’s, but the sample size is too small at this point.  You can check out the Killer B’s HERE until we get some updates.