Prospect Stock Watch: May 2014

(The new second baseman of the future?  Courtesy of MiLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Another month is almost in the books.  That means it's time to check the prospect ticker and see who's been making gains and who's been dropping with their performance this month.  Two months in and I still don't know how I feel about the farm system this year.  There's a lot of guys having better seasons than I expected, but there's also a lot of preseason top guys who aren't living up to expectations at all.  Here are the players who stood out to me for better and worse in May.

Dirty Dave Part Deux

(Might be time to update this classic and put the fireman gear on Betances)

Remember when David Robertson was carving guys up with his curveball last May?  Well he's back at it again.  D-Rob recorded all 4 of his outs via the strikeout last night, the last 3 on his curveball and all 3 of them swinging.  It was the continuation of an exceptional run he's been on over the last 2 weeks that would be getting more talk if he didn't have the Adam Dunn walk-off blown save sandwiched right in the middle of it.

In his last 7 appearances dating back to May 15th, D-Rob has pitched 7.1 innings, given up 2 ER on 7 hits (both runs on the Dunn HR), walked 2, and struck out 18.  Yes, 18.  He's recorded 22 outs in the last 2 weeks and all but 4 of them have been strikeouts.  That's pure filth.

Game 52 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 STL 4

(Brendan Ryan at shortstop?  It can't be.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

There was a lot of good that could have happened last night.  Hiroki Kuroda could have turned in a throwback performance from last year or 2012 and inspired confidence that he can be a stabilizing force in the rotation, the offense could have woken up against a very erratic and hittable Shelby Miller, and the Yankees could have wrapped up a victorious series and road trip with a win.  2 and a half of those things happened, so I'd say there was plenty of good that came out of last night.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks stranded 2-out singles in each of the first 2 innings, then unloaded on Miller in the 3rd and 4th.  It started with a Brett Gardner walk, 3 straight singles, and an Ichiro RBI groundout to get 4 in the 3rd.

- It ended with a Brian Roberts double, Jacoby Ellsbury 2-run single (his 3rd hit of the game at that point), and a Brian McCann RBI single for 3 more in the 4th.  It was a barrage of base hits.

- The half part was Kuroda's.  He started off strong in the 1st and 2nd, danced around a bases loaded situation in the 3rd, and then never really got a grip on his command again.  He gave up a run each in the 4th, 5th, and 6th, and didn't make it out of that inning.

- Once again, Dellin Betances did his fireman thing.  He came on with 2 outs and runners on the corners in a 7-3 game and got the last out of the inning,  No flashy strikeout, but he got the job done and effectively ended the St. Louis comeback attempt.

- The early runs were all the Yankees would get.  They managed to not score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 8th, but it didn't hurt them as Adam Warren and David Robertson teamed up to get the final 9 outs.