Aaron Judge Ranks 45th On Keith Law's Midseason Top 50 Prospects List

Keith Law released his midseason top 50 prospect rankings list today, the update from his preseason top 100.  The lone Yankee representative was Aaron Judge, the 22-year-old outfielder who's made a lot of noise in A-ball this season after an injury prevented him from starting his pro career in 2013.  Judge has hit .321/427/.523 in 386 plate appearances, three-quarters of which were spent at Low-A Charleston, with 13 HR, 54 R scored, 61 RBI, and 59 BB.  He did not make Law's preseason top 100.

When describing Judge and his performance so far this season, Law had this to say:

"Judge is a beast at 6-7 and 230 (or more) pounds, but with a surprisingly short path to the ball for a guy his size and plenty of loft in his finish for power. He's also quite mobile for someone his size and should be an above-average or better defender in right, with plenty of arm to stay there as well."

Basically touched on all 5 tools in those 2 sentences and had positive comments about all 5.  Judge has impressed many with his patient approach and compact swing, potentially raising the ceiling of his hitting tool that had been in question.  Right now, he profiles as a guy who will hit for a lot of power, some average, and provide above-average defense, all things the Yankee lineup could use.  Law acknowledges this by saying Judge "could be the middle-of-the-order bat the Yankees have tried to develop for years."

Luis Severino Promoted To Double-A

Finally got it confirmed: Luis Severino has been promoted to Double-A Trenton and will pitch Saturday. #Yankees
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) July 15, 2014

I know a lot of people aren't fans of this move, saying it was too soon and that Severino would have benefited more from spending the rest of this year in Tampa.  Here's why all of those people are wrong.  Severino averaged a shade under 5 IP per start with a 2.79 ERA and a 25.3% K rate in 67.2 IP at Low-A before getting bumped to Tampa.  In 4 starts there he's averaged a shade OVER 5 IP with a 1.31 ERA and 35.0% K rate in 20.2 IP.  He's been markedly better against what is supposed to be better competition.  There's nothing left for him to learn at the High-A level and so he should be moved up.  Keeping him in Tampa solely for the sake of keeping him there would be a waste of time.

By moving Severino up to Double-A, the Yankees are giving him a real challenge and giving themselves and the rest of baseball a new measuring stick by which to evaluate his talents.  The jump from High-A to Double-A is much bigger than Low-A to High-A, and a good performance here for the rest of this year will legitimize all the early praise and prospect ranking raises Severino has received and solidify him as one of the best young pitching prospects in baseball.  If he does experience a few growing pains, then he can spend more time at this level next year to work on things.  Really a no-lose situation for him and the Yankees if you think about it.

Severino And O'Brien Do What They Do In The Futures Game

The MLB Futures Game kicked off All-Star Week yesterday, and the Yankees were represented by a pair of prospects.  Luis Severino from High-A Tampa and Peter O'Brien from Double-A Trenton were the reps, playing for the World and USA teams respectively.  In their first performances on a big national stage, each displayed in a small sample size their calling cards as prospects.

Severino was the 4th World pitcher to enter the game and he worked a scoreless inning in the 4th, allowing 1 base hit and striking a batter out.  The strikeout victim was Joey Gallo, baseball HR leader and eventual game MVP, and Keith Law had Severino sitting 93-95 with his fastball.  O'Brien went 0-2 with 2 strikeouts, a somewhat expected result given his free-swinging tendencies.  Against the best pitchers the Minors have to offer, it's understandable that those skills overshadowed his high power potential.

All in all, not a bad night for the Yankee system in the Futures Game.  Just the fact that they got 2 reps for the first time in a few years is a step in the right direction for the organization.

Draft Signing Updates: Lindgren, DeCarr And Foley

The Yankees signed a group of lower round draft picks earlier this week.  Yesterday they locked up 3 of their higher picks when 2nd rounder Jacob Lindgren, 3rd rounder Austin DeCarr, and 5th round Jordan Foley all agreed to deals.

Lindgren, via his dad's Twitter, signed for exactly slot value of $1,078,700.  Not much of a surprise considering the pick and his profile as a college pitcher.  Foley also signed for exactly slot value at $317,500, according to Chris Cotillo.  DeCarr signed for an even million bucks, not quite double the slot value of his pick (585.1k), but a good enough chunk of change to get him to pass on his commitment to Clemson.

DeCarr was the biggest and only real no-sign risk from the Yankees' picks in the first 10 rounds, so the rest of the signings should just be a formality now.  No word yet on where DeCarr will be heading, although my guess would be SS Staten Island.  Both Lindgren and Foley are ticketed for Low-A Charleston to start their pro careers.  Have to think there's a very good chance that neither stick there long.

2014 Draft: Signing Updates (UPDATED)

With last weekend's draft in the rearview, the focus now shifts to player signings.  The Yankees had a handful of guys make it all but official yesterday and another 1 or 2 strongly indicate that they would be signing in the near future.  Here's the latest:

- All but official: RHP Matt Borens (11th round), 1B Bo Thompson (13th), RHP Sean Carley (14th), RHP Corey Holmes (20th).  Thompson will start at Low-A Charleston, Carley and Holmes with SS Staten Island.

- Strongly indicated: RHPs Jordan Foley (5th) and Jonathan Holder (6th).  There are reports and tweets from multiple sources that state both are expected to sign this week, including Holder tweeting a picture of himself wearing a Yankee hat.

- Austin DeCarr (3rd) was expected to report to Tampa to sign today, according to the NE Baseball Journal.  Slot money for his pick is $575,000 and the report says he'll sign for twice that amount.

- Jonathan Lindgren (2nd) is also reportedly on his way to Tampa to take his physical and make his signing official, and that will take place on Thursday.  No word on what he'll get.  Slot value is 1.0187 mil.

** UPDATE 4:47 PM- A few more updates that came out today: Jordan Montgomery (4th) has agreed to sign and is heading to Tampa.  He'll be going to SS Staten Island.  Damon Oppenheimer has confirmed that 10th round pick Ty McFarland has been signed.  No word on the amount. **

Report: A Handful Of Injured Prospects Close To Returning

Chad Jennings of LoHud put together one of his classic prospect update posts yesterday, and you didn't have to sift through it very long to find the best bits of news.  According to Mark Newman, DL-stricken prospects Slade Heathcott, Tyler Austin, Bryan Mitchell, and Dan Burawa are all "about a week away" from being activated and returning to game action.

You'll remember that Heathcott has yet to play at all this season as he's been rehabbing from offseason knee surgery.  Austin has been out with a groin strain for a few weeks, Mitchell with a sore elbow, and Burawa with an oblique strain.  Greg Bird was activated earlier this week and assigned to High-A Tampa, so the rest of this crew following him back into action would be a nice boost to a prospect crop that's had another uneven start to the year.

Newman also told Jennings that 2012 1st rounder Ty Hensley has been throwing bullpen sessions at the Tampa complex and should start facing hitters next week.  Getting him ready in time for the start of the short season leagues would be great.  Dude has missed a lot of time.

Minor League Injury Update

(Later, guy.  See you in 2016.  Maybe.  Courtesy of the AP)

I don't know what it is about the Yankee farm system that has it so susceptible to injuries, but the body count is already starting to rise this season.  A handful of big names have hit the DL this week and more than a handful of smaller ones are dealing with smaller physical issues of their own.  After the jump, a quick recap of all the new injuries in case you missed any of the news.

Report: Tyler Austin Removed From The AZFL

Even when the season is over the Yankee organization can't escape injury problems.  At least that's what appears to be happening with Tyler Austin.  Josh Norris reported yesterday that he has been pulled out of the Arizona Fall League after playing in just 4 games.  Austin hasn't played in over a week, and based on his injury problems earlier in the year and now the decision to remove him from the fall league, it's only logical that a setback would be the cause.

You'll recall that Austin missed a large chunk of time due to a wrist injury and he was dinged up late in the 2012 season.  If this does indeed turn out to be health-related, and especially if it turns out to be a setback with his wrist, that's another bad look for the Yankee training/medical staff.  They've gotten burned a lot by rushing guys back before they were ready to play in both the Major and Minor Leagues and another setback to a top prospect makes them look even worse than they already do.  Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be something serious that could impact Austin's ability to start the 2014 season on time.

Early AZFL Update

The Arizona Fall League is still in its early days, but there are already some results worth talking about.

- Tyler Austin has gone 4-10 at the plate in 3 games with 1 3B and 3 RBI.  The plan was to get him work at both infield corners this fall, but I've yet to see any reports on what position he's played in the 3 games.

- It's been a bit slower going for Mason Williams (4-18, 2 2B in 4 games) and Peter O'Brien (1-8, 1 HR, 4 K in 3 games), although O'Brien did win the inaugural Bowman Hitting Challenge over the weekend.

- Mixed bag results for the pitchers as well.  Vidal Nuno struck out 5 in 2.2 IP in his first start, but also gave up 5 hits and 4 runs (2 ER).  Brett Gerritse has also gotten knocked around in his 2 relief appearances (4 ER in 2.2 IP), but the lefty tandem of Fred Lewis and James Pazos has combined for 8 K and 4 BB in 4 scoreless appearances.

Yanks Put Six In Baseball America's Top 20 GCL Prospects List

Now that the Minor League season has officially been over for a few weeks, it's time to start rolling out the end-of-season top prospects lists.  Baseball America is posting their top 20 for the Rookie Gulf Coast League today, and the Yankees are well represented with 6 players making the list.

The 6 Yankee farmhands to make it, in order, are Luis Torrens (10th), Miguel Andujar (11th), Abi Avelino (13th), Gosuke Katoh (15th), Luis Severino (17th), and Thairo Estrada (20th).  That's an impressive number of reps at any level of the system, but it does come with the obvious disclaimer of the GCL being the lowest level of US pro ball.  These guys are all far too young to say definitively that any of them will be stars or even make the Majors.

Still, it's an encouraging sign that the lower levels of the system are stocked with potential to come up and fill that talent gap that exists in High and Low-A in the near future.  If you're a BA subscriber, you can log in and read the full write-up on each guy.  BA seems especially high on Torrens, praising his "sound hitting approach," and Avelino, who drew positive remarks for his offense and defensive tools.

Marc Hulet's End-Of-Season Yankee MiL Recap

Marc Hulet of FanGraphs is on my favorite prospect evaluators in the baseball blogosphere.  He sees a lot of games, gives really detailed scouting reports from his firsthand game accounts, and has a strong statistical knowledge to tie tools and mechanics to future Major League projections.  He released his 2013 "Minor Review" report on the Yankee farm system and it's definitely worth checking out if you're a big time prospect hugger.

Highlights include Hulet naming High-A C/3B Peter O'Brien the "riser" of 2013 and Double-A OF Tyler Austin the "tumbler."  He praised 2013 2nd round pick 2B Gosuke Katoh for his plate discipline and "advanced bat," and pegged Low-A Charleston 1B Greg Bird the organization's sleeper.  That's a label being put on Bird by many despite his outstanding season at the plate, and it's one I agree with.  I was a little surprised to see Hulet so down on Austin though.  I was willing to give him more of a pass on his down year because of the injury problems and the negative park factor effects of hitting in Trenton's stadium.  Check out the whole article and more of Hulet's evaluations here.

Heathcott Back To The DL, Could Miss The Rest Of The Season

He had already set new career highs for games played (103) and plate appearances (444) this season, so I guess it's not a huge surprise that the injury bug finally caught up to Slade Heathcott.  As first reported by Nick Peruffo yesterday, Heathcott has been put on the DL with "right knee tendonopathy."  Coming on the heels of Tyler Austin's disappointing and injury-shortened season and a relatively "meh" season from Ramon Flores, this adds to the overall tough campaign for the top crop of Yankee OF prospects.

As someone with a very checkered injury history, this latest one comes as more cause for concern about Heathcott's future.  Per Peruffo, manager Tony Franklin said Heathcott's knee has been bothering him all season, not a good thing for somebody with hi.  Franklin also said that he thought it would only take rest for this injury to heal, but acknowledged Heathcott could miss the remainder of the season.  It's a shame too, since Heathcott had started hitting better recently and had his season batting line up to .261/.327/.411.  Hopefully there are no lingering effects of this injury and the season-long knee problems heading into 2014.

Yanks Could Call Up David Adams Next Week

I haven't seen it confirmed by many other reporters, but according to Mark Feinsand the Yankees are planning on calling up David Adams next week to assume the full-time replacement third base job while Kevin Youkilis is on the DL.  Adams, who was surprisingly released by the team in March due to the roster problems, is eligible to be called up on May 15th per MLB's rules on player release and re-sign and would be another option to help cover for the loss of Youkilis.  With Eduardo Nunez still banged up, the team has few options on the left side and Chris Nelson has been little help.

Adams, who also happens to turn 26 on May 15th, has been raking since returning to Triple-A SWB.  He's currently hitting .314/.404/.477 in 99 PA, with 9 XBH, 9 RBI, and a healthy 11.1% BB rate.  He's been the full-time third baseman for the RailRiders, and has also recently got some work at second and first.  Adams' right-handedness would not only be a likely upgrade to the production of Nunez/Nix/Nelson, he could also offer some depth behind Cano and Overbay on the right side, and they're two players that could probably use a day off.

Adams doesn't project as that type of hitter in the Majors, but he's a likely upgrade over what the Yanks have right now and this is his best shot to break into the show.  If it happens, it sounds like a good move.

More Injury News! Ty Hensley Done For The Year

It's been a a day or two since we've had any bad injury news.  Luckily VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman, by way of Chad Jennings, was there to provide that much needed bad news to keep everything normal.

Remember Ty Hensley's recent hip surgery?  Remember how he was originally expected to miss 3 months?  Yeah, you can forget about that.  According to Newman, the team is now viewing "Spring Training" as his targeted comeback date.  As in, "next year."

That makes tons of big picture sense.  Hensley is still young, still very raw, and there's no need to push a comeback timetable for a player like him who wasn't going to to throw a lot of innings this season anyway.  Better to give him time to heal, give him another offseason to work out and prep, and see how he comes back in 2014.  At the same time, between Hensley and ManBan, the Yanks will have their top upper and lower level pitching prospects coming off major injuries and missed seasons next year.  That's not good.

Breaking Prospect News: Ty Hensley Out 2-3 Months After Hip Surgery

Well ain't it just Prospect Day here at AB4AR?  Too bad this post isn't of the positive variety.

George King of The Post is reporting that 2012 1st round draft pick Ty Hensley will have surgery today to fix a bone impingement in his right hip and is expected to miss 2-3 months recovering and rehabbing.  There were reports that Hensley was dealing with a pulled abdominal muscle early in Spring Training and as Mark Newman so plainly put it, "it turned out this was the cause."

Hensley, a top 10 Yankee prospect in pretty much every list out there (including the AB4AR Top 30) caused a bit of a stir last year after word came out of an "abnormality" being discovered in his pitching shoulder during a physical, although that turned out to be a non-issue.  This latest injury news will surely add concern about Hensley's ability to stay healthy long-term, but with him likely being targeted for another short-season league anyway in 2013 it's not the biggest loss in the world.  Assuming he doesn't suffer any setbacks, we should still be able to see him on a mound this year.

Welcome To 2013 AB4AR Prospect Week

At long last, the day has come.  It's been a long while since I've done this, over a calendar year in fact since the inaugural AB4AR Top 30 actually started in late December of 2011.  But the stars have aligned, the prospects have all been ranked, and the time has finally come for them to be unveiled to the world.  And like last year, I'm not just going to plop 30 names out in a single post and call it a day, oh no.  This celebration is going to stretch across this entire week, building what I'm sure will be a tidal wave of emotion and anticipation towards the release of the top 10.

Here's the plan for this week.  Not only am I going to release the 2nd edition of the AB4AR Top 30, I'm also going to take a look back at some of last year's Top 30 member who were removed from this year's list, I'm going to cover the players who just missed the cut for this year's list, and I'm going to dig even deeper to find some guys who may not qualify as true "prospects," but are still worth knowing about.  Yes sir, it's going to be a week chock full of prospecty goodness, because let's be honest, when we're sitting here talking about the idea of signing Jim Thome or Javy Vazquez, that's a clear sign that it's the dead time of the offseason.  And what better way to brighten that up then by looking to the future?

So strap yourselves in, clear your schedules, tell your boss to pound sand, and tell the wife/husband and kids you'll see them next week.  This party kicks off this afternoon at 1 PM Eastern/12 Central.

Yankees 11th In Preliminary Baseball America Farm System Rankings

The official Baseball America organizational farm system rankings don't come out until March, but BA writer Jim Callis released his personal top 10 earlier in the week.  The Yankees weren't included in that top 10, but Callis did confirm via Twitter that he and his fellow BA contributors all had the Yankees ranked 11th in their preliminary rankings.

This comes as a bit of a surprise after such a down year for the Yankee MiL organization.  A lot of their top prospects were hindered by injuries or poor performance, many of them at the higher levels of the system, and the trading away of former top prospect Jesus Montero left the upper levels very light on impact talent.  But there is a lot of low-level strength in the organization, both on the mound and on the field, and those players, guys like Gary Sanchez, Tyler Austin, Slade Heathcott, and Mason Williams, all had very good years.  They're starting to rise, and that crew plus the high amount of mid-tier prospect depth in the system probably worked to get the Yankees that 11th-place ranking.

If the new crop of top prospects continues to progress on the pace they're presently on, if Jose Campos stays healthy in 2013, if Rafael DePaula turns out to be the real deal, and if the Yankees make a big splash with their multiple 1st-round picks in this year's draft, we could be looking at a top 5 farm system this time in 2014.

This would probably be a good time to mention that we're just 4 days away from the start of 2013 Prospect Week at AB4AR, highlighted by the unveiling of the 2012-2013 edition of the AB4AR Top 30.  Mark your calendars, set your watches, and double check your alarms, people, because it's going to be a good time.

Checking In On The Yankees' AZFL Contingent

The Major League guys are done for 2012, but there's still plenty of fall and winter league play worth covering for the MiL boys.  The Arizona Fall League has been underway for a few weeks now, and with the Yankees sending the full 7-man compliment of prospects there, including 5 of the AB4AR Top 30, that definitely warrants catching up on now that there isn't 100% focus on the postseason.  After the jump, check out how this group has been doing so far.