Optimism lies in Charleston

[jacksonianmarch]

Charleston is the yankees long season A affiliate and it has just been fun to check the box scores all season long. Some of the highest ceiling players in the organization played here this yr. Also, there were some guys who were advanced a bit faster than they should have and struggled. Here's a list of some guys who played here.

Zach McAllister 20y.o threw 10 games in CHA and was promoted to Tampa. His combined stats are filthy. 151IP 133H 35ER 115K 21BB 2.09ERA 1.02WHIP 1.5GO/AO

Jairo Heredia 18y.o 102.1IP 99H 37ER 95K 43BB 3.25ERA 1.39WHIP. At 18, he has been solid. His walk totals are a bit high, but he has solid stuff and should grow into his frame as he ages

Dellin Betances 20y.o 115IP 87H 47ER 135K 59BB 3.67ERA 1.27WHIP, but he really started to show some promise of late. In his final 10 starts, his BB/9IP was under 3, while at the beginning of the yr, it was near 6. If he is finally locating, he will dominate.

Wilkins de la Rosa 23y.o He's a converted OFer who made his pitching debut in 2007. He started this yr in the pen, but was converted to starter after dominating. He made 11 starts after being used 21 times in relief to start the yr. He was promoted to Tampa with 3 starts to go. Here are his combined numbers. 106.2IP 72H 125K 44BB 2.11ERA 1.09WHIP. This coming from a lefty who can throw high 90s and has a great slider.

Bradley Suttle 22y.o .273/.348/.461. OPS>.800 in his first yr while amassing 41 of his 102H for extra bases. It also helps that he switch hits.

Brandon Laird 20y.o .276/.335/.502 with 23 homeruns. The best part is, he hit 18 of those homeruns after the AS break. Meaning he is adjusting well. He's a beast

Austin Romine 19y.o .300/.340/.440 from the catcher spot. What makes him so interesting is that he has hit all 10 of his homeruns after the AS break.

Jesus Montero 18y.o .326/.377/.491 from the catcher/DH spot. You guys know what I think about this kid. In his last third of the season, he's hitting nearly .400 with a near .600SLG. He is a special bat.

Justin Snyder 22y.o .289/.370/.408. Little speedy 2b who takes walks and can play multiple positions. Reminds be a bit of a faster Eckstein, except Snyder projected to be able to play 2b, ss, 3b, and all 3 OF positions.

Austin Krum 22y.o .273/.356/.400. Another 2007 draftee who projects more as a 4th OFer, but he takes walks, can steal a bag or two and has some power (unlike Gardner). What put him on the map is how he has come to the finish line. In his last 2 months, he's hitting .311 with a near .400OBP and a .435SLG.

Looking at the above list, there are two guys with ace type stuff in Heredia and Betances. You has a lefty power arm in De La Rosa and a sinkerballer in McAllister who is just dominating at a young age. For the offense, you have one of the best young offensive prospects in the game in Montero, you have a very powerful youngster in Laird, a consistent, pure hitter in Suttle, a solid catcher with budding power in Romine and two guys who are playing well above their backup potential. That is all from one team. Too bad all levels couldnt be like this. But with the good come the bad...

Carmen Angelini 19y.o He's the guy who was drafted and signed to a 1mil contract to break his commit to Rice. He was considered the heir apparent to Jeter when he signed. Well.... .234/.300/.295. He's been pretty bad since the AS break too (.214 BA). He'll likely repeat the yr in Charleston as he was pushed a bit too far for a HS grad with no pro experience (he signed too late to play in the short season leagues in 2007). Not time to give up on him now, but that yr is hardly something that will get you excited and is certainly something to drop him on most lists. (He was in the 20-21 range in our system prior to this yr, I think he'll fall back into the high 20s this yr).

Abraham Almonte 19y.o .230/.305/.360. This is the kid that was billed from Carlos Rios (the guy the yankees just fired for the kickback scandal) as being a better raw player at 16 than Jose Reyes of the mets. The similarities are there. Short, switch hitter with speed to burn and more power than you'd expect from his frame. He actually started out pretty good, hitting .300 with a near .500SLG in the first two months of the yr, but he was abysmal since then. He might end up repeating the season again. But unlike Angelini above, Almonte did show flashes of the player they thought he could be. Both are projects right now and unfortunately, they did not play up to their ceilings.

Adam Olbrychowski 21y.o Another 2007 draftee out of Pepperdine who I thought would be nasty. He throws mid to high 90s and has a devastating slider. And he started out like he belonged, throwing high quality innings from April to June, keeping the hits right around the IP and getting about 7K/9IP and keeping the walk totals to ridiculously low numbers. But he sustained an injury at the end of June and his ERA after that has been over 8. He will likely be moving on so long as they are sure he's healthy. His level of dominance before the injury and his lack of control and stuff after says to me that he wasnt healthy.

So there you have it. Typically, in the yankees system, players are stuck in the SAL for their first long season experience and stay there the whole yr. Only guys who are truly getting nothing out of it are moved on. Some guys were kept here the whole yr to work on things when it was obvious they could advance (like Montero). But typically, once a player proves they can play a whole yr and be productive, they can then rocket through the system. I would not be surprised to see De La Rosa in the big leagues in some capacity next yr. I also would not be surprised to see Montero, Suttle and Laird in the bigs by the end of 2010. Hell, one of the yankee insiders is speculating that Montero may be donning pinstripes next yr. That would entail a move off the catcher's position obviously. Well, there you have it. My favorite box score all yr has been CHA and next yr, these guys will be in Tampa.