Heels On The Field: A Baseball Blog

Yankees Farm System Brimming With Near Major League-Ready Pitching

It is easy to turn your nose up to the Yankees and scoff at their ability to spend big.

But prepare to be impressed by the players they have coming up the pipeline. The Yankees have done a fine job drafting and developing players that could have a major impact in the next two to three years. 

While most of the attention is on their mythical status, a lot of attention is also paid to their top prospect, catcher Jesus Montero. The debate about his future at catcher is endless, but it's only a piece of what makes their farm system so impressive and intriguing.

Pitchers Manny Banuelos, Andrew Brackman, Dellin Betances, as well as Adam Warren, have all developed at a healthy pace. Banuelos made MLB.com's Top 50 Prospects list, revealed earlier this week. He ranked 35th.

Brackman did have to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2007. That was a roadblock in the former first-rounder's progress, but look at his 2010 campaign and you'll see why the righty is highly regarded. It was technically only his second full season at the minor league level.

Though he struggled with some issues in 2009, Brackman made a terrific 2010 comeback finishing up with a 3.01 ERA in 80 innings of work for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. Brackman had been bothered by the mental aspect of being a Yankees player and the pressure that entails. 2010 was about coming back from everything he felt held him back.

"The whole thing of being a Yankee, I don't look at it like that anymore," he said. "I'm a very competitive person and when things don't go right, I try to do more. And that's not exactly the right thing to do."

Thunder catcher and top Yankees prospect Austin Romine saw many differences in Brackman.

"He's getting more confident. He has a lot more command. He's just getting people out," Romine said.

Brackman and Betances spent time with the Yankees in a learning capacity in 2010 after being added to the 40-man roster in September.

It's hard to say if the Yankees see Warren as a future part of their rotation. The 24-year-old has good fastball command and works both sides of the plate well. Warren was faced with the challenges of making the jump from Class-A to Double-A, where the top of every lineup has a bit more power and hitters are talented from top to bottom.

In 2010 he completed his first Double-A stint with a 3.15 ERA, allowing just 2 home runs in 54 innings. Between Class-A Tampa and Trenton he surrendered only 4. His walks were an issue and one he addressed before the end of the season.

"I just have to go right after them and not try to change anything," Warren said. "I have to get ahead of hitters."

Thunder manager Tony Franklin talked about Warren's demeanor and approach.

"He seemed very sure of what he wanted to do in his plan of attack. And he's a strong guy," Franklin said.

But Warren has a lot of work to do to get his shot at making the big league roster. His changeup is still a work in progress. He needs to have better breaking pitches to get guys out, something that was clear in his time at Trenton and that pitching coach Tommy Phelps worked with him on.

Betances was an 8th round pick for the Yankees in 2006 and has moved up and down the levels, with the exception of Triple-A, but underwent ligament surgery in 2009. He fired back at the setback with commanding results between Tampa and Trenton.

Before his promotion to Trenton, the 22-year-old right-hander went 8-1 and posted a 1.44 ERA at Tampa. He finished the season with the Thunder posting a 3.77 ERA.

Banuelos appears closest to the majors, but even with a successful 2010 campaign he needs a full season of Double-A. The 19-year-old lefty pitched just 15 innings for the ELDS champs (putting up a 3.52 ERA), but he'd made an impressive jump from GCL to Tampa to Trenton, developing at a more rapid pace than even expected.

The Yankees have a solid group of young pitchers set to make their mark. All that's left is wondering who will be catching them.

 

 

 

 

 

Nationals Minor Leaguer Erik Arnesen Faces Uncertain Future With Faith

Handyman, office engineer at the local sewage plant, house painter, landscaper. Professional pitcher. Erik Arnesen has been all of those things.

Now giving pitching lessons, the Nationals didn't add Arnesen to their 40-man-roster and he wasn't selected in the Rule Five draft.

The New Jersey native doesn't know his fate, but he's doing what players learn to do early. He's exhibiting patience and keeping an upbeat attitude.

"I"m excited to see what God has in store for me," Arnesen said by e-mail over the weekend.

With his wife expecting their first child in April, he is keeping busy supporting his family. He changed off-season direction a bit.

"I decided against finding a full-time job, as I wanted to get ready for next season," he said.

The 27-year-old righty doesn't know what he's getting ready for just yet, but his attitude is that of a guy who understands that opportunities in baseball come (and go) at unexpected times. The off-season  requires forward-thinking.

"My philosophy has always been to work as hard as I can and accept what I can and can't control," he said.

That might sound familiar, but it's how they survive upstairs.

Arnesen was drafted in the 17th round (34th overall) by the Nationals in 2006 and made his professional debut for the Class-A Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York Penn League. In 49 innings he posted a 4.38 ERA. In 2007 he was promoted to Hagerstown and pitched 98 innings for the Suns, keeping his walks and home run totals down for the most part throughout his career.

Over the next three seasons he pitched at three different levels. He spent half of 2009 with the Advanced-A Potomac Nationals, before his promotion to Double-A Harrisburg. He pitched a career high 155 innings in '09, finishing '10 with 148 innings of work. He began the season at Harrisburg before being promoted to Triple-A Syracuse. His ERA went up from 2.81 at Harrisburg, to 3.95 for the Chiefs.  A highly coachable player, Arnesen felt that listening to his coaches was an important part of his progress. He's praised his coaches for helping him see what he needed to change to be successful.

In 2010 he bagged his changeup after struggling with it, and instead focused on developing his splitter, as well as curveball-slider combo (the slurve). But it's the splitter he felt needed the most work.

"It's probably the pitch that needs the most work," he said.

At the halfway point of '10, Arnesen was 6-3 with a 2.96 ERA for the Senators. August was his hottest month when his 3.48 ERA led all Senators starters.

After taking a short time off Arnesen headed to winter ball to pitch some more innings and make an impression.

"I've just started throwing [again] after playing in Puerto Rico," he said.

Arnesen posted a 2.35 ERA in 38 innings and struck out 15 for the Criollos de Caguas

"I believe the one thing I struggle with the most is being too aggressive," Arnesen said "I do not like to give in, but I know there are times when it really is the right thing to do."

His focus is unshakable as he looks ahead and works hard for an opportunity.

For now he's a coach.

 

 

Future Major Leaguers And The Lure Of Steroids

I hate addressing the topic of steroids. And I've avoided writing anything in regard to the subject here. But then I started wondering why.

The truth is I feel protective toward those who chose to go that route. And saying that out loud was scary. I know people may not respect that or even understand it. What I mean by protective is that I didn't want to judge players who had felt that would help them get an edge over guys with a lot more talent. I didn't want to judge the guys who did it when their jobs were on the line, and they weren't considered among the best in the game. I don't want to throw those desperate souls in with the superstars who were already talented or highly regarded. Maybe that doesn't fly with a lot of people. But it's part of my staying the distance.

Also, I'd much rather just write about the games and the numbers and the interesting stories and developing prospects, than who tested positive for what. I guess that was me trying to be a bit purer of heart. I'd rather not think about it and leave that to the writers who feel compelled to tell that story. I understand it needs to be told. It just didn't garner much of my interest.

But two questions keep coming to me as the steroids question is hotly debated during HOF voting season:

How does steroids affect this generation of prospects? Will they be smarter or less encouraged to go that route?

It's really the only questions I have. I leave the HOF business to those who have a vote and run that show. For me the larger issue is the future, not the past.

The culture in the rear view is one we can neither completely leave behind, nor can we afford to take our focus off the road ahead. The future of baseball is developing as we consider the past sins of their baseball fathers.

Despite the crackdown, minor league players are still testing positive and getting suspended. Because they make so little at that point, you'd think they'd avoid the temptation. But they're not. And we can't ignore that. There is a fear driven by their hope to succeed. They've seen their heroes rise, the ones that have now been publicly outed as users. But their outing and subsequent fall from idolatry hasn't stopped them. They continue to try to get around the tests that are in place to nab them in the act. When you talk to them for a living, they're easier to understand. You see their daily struggles up close. And how down and dirty the competition is between players vying for a job.

The financial part of the equation might make no sense if you consider only what they'll lose in the short term. Their rationalizing that if they don't get caught the payoff will be huge. And there's only one reason for that. Because it's happened. Major League baseball knows it and they're partially responsible. The deal seems to have been made in a back alley where all parties who could benefit - or get into deep trouble - agreed to wack baseball. When we all discovered it's remains we were shocked. Much of the ticket-buying public was anyway.

Young players need new role models. This generation of major leaguers is vitally important. Seeing new superstars in the cleaned up era could provide a lot of inspiration.

It doesn't eliminate the deeper and more painful question they have to ask themselves. If they don't turn to those things, will they have any shot at a career in the majors? Fame is a drug and that's extremely attractive. But more often it's the desire to keep a job that motivates them. It's the promise that any drug makes. If I try this, maybe all my problems will be solved....

And there are just as many guys that made it to the big leagues that felt broken and scared. They could get their hands on the good stuff. They could ninja their way through it. And they did. Many of those guys never became superstars. But they stayed employed.

I suppose the reason I don't write about it is that the desire to judge and ridicule players is so intense. Baseball fans need to dehumanize the players who did it, because they never saw them as human in the first place. They saw them as heroes. And they never were. So count yourself among the responsible parties in this mess. Holding them accountable doesn't mean casting them out of baseball. The hard part is facing our own humanity. They failed. Accept it and move on.

For today's top prospects and the players that will impact the game whose names we don't yet know, moving on is up to them as well. Embracing the truth will be difficult. If they can't make it on talent alone, they'll have to work harder. And if that's not enough...then they go home. But the inspiration they need is doing the job now. Whether they're big name players or not doesn't matter. They're making a living or they're rich or they're richer than the average person, but they're all in a uniform and they have something in common. They're following the rules. They're taking the matter seriously. As the future unfolds, that will purify baseball more than any denial or harsh judgement.

The questions I started with made me think back to a player I interviewed at the start of my career.

He had been released by a major league team and had gotten a job with an independent team. He's one of many to use indy ball as a way back in with a big league team. Many for the same reason as him.

I knew he'd been working hard toward another shot at affiliated baseball. I actually didn't feel compelled to ask him about the release until the very end of the interview. I didn't do it in an outright sort of way. I used subtle language, but we both knew what I was talking about.

I'll never forget the look of shock and embarrassment on his face. We'd had a great conversation about baseball. And then I was bringing up the one thing he likely didn't want to talk about. He was gracious and apologetic. But the question quieted him. I felt terrible. And you may not agree with that either.

In that moment I saw the raw bleeding heart of the matter. We were sitting in an independent baseball stadium for a team that brought in a couple hundred fans a night, if that. He was looking at the long road home from a dream he thought he could touch. He never did. He was out of baseball soon after that.

I think about that guy when I contemplate the question of steroids and how young players will handle the temptation. For some the answer will still be to try and see if they can get away with it.

But if they're asking themselves the right and very tough questions, they'll get the right answer. Unfortunately, their humanness might get in the way. And I don't hate them for that.

 

 

 

 

HHOTF Q: Which of your favorite team's prospects would you be willing to part with or feel has no future with your team? Which prospect do you value overall for your team's future? Any that you consider overrated in your team's system? Please post your answer in the comments section.