Evil Empire Yankees Blog

  6-foot-7 235-pounds Right-handed relief pitcher 22-years-old Draft: 15 th round of the 2021 draft out of Virginia Commonwealth University In addition to Jack Neely and Bailey Dees, the Yankees drafted a third huge pitcher in 2021. Watson is still young, and spent the whole season in Low-A last year. He had respectable numbers, finishing with 66 K : 36 BB and a 4.01 ERA in 58.1 innings. This was pretty similar to the season he had in 2021 for Virginia Commonwealth. Similar to Neely and Dees, Watson carries with him a substantial ceiling for a player drafted in the 15 th round. At the time he was drafted, Watson was already hitting 96 mph regularly on the radar gun and had a nice slider to complement it. The Yankees have worked with him to improve his control power, velocity, and secondary pitches. Watson began the year at High-A, where he has excelled. He has a 2.45 ERA and 28 K : 8 BB in 14.2 innings. That's an incredible strikeout rate, and unsurprisingly batters...

6-foot-8 225-pounds Right-handed relief pitcher 22-years-old Draft: 11 th round of the 2021 draft out of Ohio State University In 2021, the Yankees drafted several big pitchers later in the draft. In doing so, they infused the lower minors with some high ceiling talent. One of these players was Jack Neely. In 2021, Neely was coming off a bad year for Ohio State. He had a 6.1 ERA and struggled with walks (5.2 BB/9) and homeruns (2.0/9). Despite that, the Yankees saw something in him. They drafted him in the 11 th round. 2022 was a different year for Neely. He was a dominant reliever in Low-A and briefly in High-A. The walks improved, he developed a slider and improved his strikeout rate. He finished with a 3.58 ERA and 87 K : 26 BB in 50.1 innings. Neely is equipped with a fastball that averages 97 mph and hits 98-99 regularly. If that wasn’t enough, the fastball also features a high spin rate. He added a slider in 2022 that catapulted him to bigger success. Neely stil...

6-foot-1 180-pounds Shortstop/Second baseman/Third baseman Right-handed batter 23-years-old Draft: 10th round o the 2021 draft out of the University of Maryland The Yankees have been successful in recent years with drafting middle infielders in the middle rounds. They have drafted Trevor Hauver, Josh Smith, Rob Refsnyder, and Cooper Bowman in recent years. All of these players have worked out nicely for them, mostly in terms of trade returns. Cowles is the latest in this line of players, and he has acquainted himself nicely to pro ball so far. In 2021, Cowles had his best year in college at Maryland, where he hit .287/.409/.632/1.042 with 18 homeruns and six doubles. The Yankees then drafted him and he continued to be successful in the Yankees system. He finished the year with an .804 OPS in 36 games. Ben hit the ground running in 2021, starting in Low-A and hitting his way to a promotion about three quarters of the way through the season. He hit a bit of a wall in High-A, but he didn’...

6-foot-6 225-pounds Right-handed 23-years-old Last level: Low-A Expected level: High-A Draft: 13 th round in the 2021 draft Similar to his last college season, Messinger split 2022 between relieving and starting. The results were mixed but encouraging. Messinger began the 2022 season as a reliever, likely in an attempt to limit his innings. He finished the season as a starter and logged a total of 83.2 innings. This was a career high by 26.2 innings. He finished with a 4.3 ERA and 112 K : 45 BB. To put these numbers into better perspective, it is important to realize that he was also learning two new pitches in the changeup and slider all season. Moreover, he was dealing with an increase in his velocity from low-90’s to mid-90’s (93-95 mph, topping out at 97). The stuff and velocity is coming along nicely, and should only improve with more time, innings, time in the gas station, and strength and conditioning. With a batting average against of just .221, there are sig...

5-foot-8 168-pounds Second baseman Right-handed batter 20-years-old  Signed: July 2nd, 2019 out of Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico The Yankees have made a habit recently of not letting height get in the way of signing guys with talent. Keiner Delgado, Abrahan Ramirez, and Jared Serna are all players are the shorter side and the Yankees are giving them every opportunity. Jared Serna has so far demonstrated that his height bears no importance on the quality of his game and the numbers he can put up. In 2021, Serna’s first season, his numbers were good but not great in the DSL. He hit .238/.404/.384/.788 with three homers, nine doubles, and two triples with 24 SB. Not the best numbers, but when combined with his mature approach, patience, hit tool, and defensive capabilities at second base it was enough to get him a promotion to the FCL in 2022.  That’s when he really took off. He hit .302/.438/.527/.965 with six homeruns, nine doubles and a triple in 37 FCL games. He also stole 16 bases...

  Low-A Tampa Tarpons Jared Serna, 2B, RHB – 11 for his last 24 (.458) with a double and three walks (.518 OBP) in his last six games. His season total is now .310/412/.774. He also has 6 SB already on the season in 16 games. Nelson Medina, LF, RHB – 10 for his last 29 (.344) with a homerun, a triple, and three doubles (.620 SLG), and three BB (.406 OBP) in his last nine games. He struck out 10 times in those nine games and still needs work on his contact rate, but the results have been encouraging. On the season he is now hitting .296/.371/.908 with two homeruns. Omar Martinez, C, LHB – 11 hits in his last 28 (.392) with three doubles (.500 SLG) and six walks (.500 OBP) and 10 K in his last nine games. Again, too many strikeouts but Martinez is off to a great start to the season and is now up to .264/.400/.834 with two homeruns on the season. Martinez is a sleeper at catcher who can both hit and defend the position well. Ronny Rojas, SS/2B/3B, SH – 10 for his last 30 (.3...

6-foot-0 165-pounds Right-handed starting pitcher 24-years-old Signed May 21, 2018 out of the Dominican Republic For the first time in a long time, the entire Triple-A rotation for the RailRiders will be composed of prospects instead of reclamation projects. Randy Vasquez is one of the five starting pitchers who are now one step away from the major leagues. He is also on the 40-man roster which means he has a leg up on some of the competition to get the call at some point this season. Vasquez has slowly increased his innings total year by year, culminating in a 115.1 inning performance in 2022 in Double-A. He had a 3.9 ERA and 120 K : 41 BB on the season. It was a solid performance all around, though a slight decline from the year prior. The Yankees can give Randy just about as many innings as he can handle this season in the minor leagues. If a need arises in the majors, he could be one of the first to make it to the show. Stuff-wise, Vasquez has five useable pitches. None grade out a...

5-foot-10 150-pounds Shortstop Switch-hitter 21-years-old Signed: August 1, 2018 out of Cuba Some guys take time to develop their man strength and put on mass. I recall drinking “Weight gainer 3,000,” a protein shake with 3,000 calories per serving, in high school in a desperate attempt to pack on a few pounds and somehow failing miserably. Before the current offseason, it was the same story for Alexander Vargas. He’s a skinny, athletically gifted kid who may just need some time to grow into his body. Despite a trying season in 2022, it’s easy to forget that he finished 2021 as one of the most intriguing prospects in the system.  In his first crack at the full season leagues and under the bright lights of evening games, Vargas stumbled a bit. He hit .203/.271/.311/.582 with eight homeruns, 14 doubles, two triples, and 27 SB. He also struck out 123 times in 100 games. Just one year prior, he had hit .273/.362/.393/.755 in the FCL.  Despite the rude awakening, there were several...

  Two weeks into the regular season, it appeared the Yankees had caught lightning in a bottle with Franchy Cordero in pinstripes. He hit four homeruns in a short period of time, and won a couple of games for the Yankees. Fast forward a few weeks, and that lightning has escaped the bottle. His average is down to .160 with an OBP of .192. He hasn't hit a homerun since his early streak. Defensively, Cordero has been average at best. With injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader, the team needs offense now more than ever. Jake Bauers has entered the chat. All indications are that the Yankees training and development teams have unlocked him in Triple-A.  Bauers is posting career bests in average, OBP, and slugging percentage. Just 20 games in, he is just five off from his career high in homeruns (14) with nine. Better yet, he has struck out just 15 times while walking 18. He is currently sporting a .328/.476/. 859/1.335 quad slash.  The best news, however, is that his ...

  6-foot-4 190-pounds Right-handed starting pitcher 22-years-old Draft: 2 nd round of the 2022 draft out of California Polytechnic State University The Yankees now have a robust system in place for their draft. Vice-president and Director of Amateur Scouting Damon Oppenheimer has assembled a team of scouts, development coaches, and analytic staff to consult about every pick. In the case of Drew Thorpe, the three came together to determine that he was grossly underrated in the second round of the 2022 draft. The analytics team liked his accuracy, spin rates, and movement, though felt he needed more velocity. The development team looked at his size and mechanics and determined they could get more velocity and movement out of his frame. The scouts loved his bulldog mentality on the mound, ability to get through lineups multiple times, and the way his pitches generate bad swings. It was a no brainer once he fell to the Yankees in round two. Thorpe had a successful seas...

  6-foot-2 205-pounds Catcher, First baseman Left-handed batter 24-years-old Draft: 12 th round of the 2021 draft out of Dartmouth   Sometimes scouting a player means being in the right place at the right time. In the case of Ben Rice, the best time to see him was in summer league wood bat leagues. In college, he didn’t get much run at Dartmouth due to injuries and COVID-19 shutdowns, but he managed to play quite a few games between the Futures College Baseball League and the Cape Cod Baseball League. Yankees scouts got their looks at these venues, and Rice performed well enough to get drafted in the 12 th round. Ben’s best performance came in the FCBL in 2020, when he hit .350/.467/.683/1.150 with 11 homeruns, six doubles and a triple in 43 games. He followed that up in 2021 with mediocre stats in the CCBL, but was drafted nonetheless. He got into 23 games with the Yankees in 2021 and posted a forgettable stat line. When 2022 came around, Rice was ready....

6-foot-0  205-pounds Rightfielder Left-handed batter 22-years-old Draft: 15 th round of the 2022 draft out of Grand Canyon University Power is the name of the game for Tayler Aguilar, and it’s the reason he got drafted by the Yankees despite playing in a subpar division in college. Aguilar hit 23 homeruns in 59 games last season, with 13 doubles and three triples on the way to a .326/.397/.719/1.116 line. Aguilar also does a good job avoiding strikeouts, with just 49 in 59 games. He was drafted as a junior and played an additional 23 games with Yankees affiliates after being drafted. Unfortunately, his first taste of professional baseball did not go as planned. He did show some of the power that made him attractive to Yankees scouts though. It was enough that there should be some optimism heading into the 2023 season. As far as tools go, Aguilar has power and is expected to be a good hitter. He hits the ball hard and makes good contact. The biggest question in hi...

  6-foot-3   155-pounds   Right-handed relief pitcher   21-years-old   Signed: August 16 th , 2018 out of the Dominican Republic   What’s the best way to start your season as a pitcher? Outside of a perfect game, most pitchers would say a no hitter. Yorlin Calderon did just that in 2022, with a seven-inning no-no for Tampa in his first appearance. He went on to have his best season as a professional, with 75 K : 16 BB in 58 innings pitched. Finishing with a 3.88 ERA, he was then sent to the Arizona Fall League where he threw 12.2 ineffective innings.   The results matter not; the important part is that Calderon threw a career high 70.2 innings, which is 40 more than his previous high. This will allow him to throw at least 100 this season if he earns it and stays healthy.   Calderon has a fastball that sits 90-93 mph with big spin and a nasty changeup. He already has two good pitches to work with. He also throws a slid...

   6-foot-7   195-pounds   Right-handed starting pitcher   19-years-old   Signed: February 3 rd , 2022 out of the Dominican Republic   In his first year as a professional, Carlos Lagrange impressed. He spent the whole season in the DSL, where he had a 3.00 ERA and 43 K : 19 BB in 33 innings pitched. Batters hit just .094 against him. He signed with little fanfare, but is quickly making a name for himself.   Lagrange sports a fastball that has already hit 100 mph. I saw a video of him hitting 99.7 on the rhapsodo so that checks out. There’s also a video of him pitching in the DSL in August of 2022 during which he appears to feature a 4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, slider, and curveball. All of these pitches got swings and misses during this start. The fastball is plus by virtue of velocity, the 2-seam appears to have good tailing action, the curveball has nice downward motion, and the slider looks like it is inconsisten...

  5-foot-10   162-pounds   Right-handed starting pitcher   24-years-old   Signed: 2018 out of the Dominican Republic   The key to being successful in minor league baseball is to show improvement every season. Blas Castano has done just that. Most recently he improved his ERA to 3.86 and set career highs in innings pitched (107.1), strikeouts (103), and average against (.256). He is a control pitcher, with just 34 BB in 107.1 innings.   The story of Castano’s career came from humble beginnings, but he has slowly but surely put himself on the map. Though not tall in stature, Castano has a bulldog mentality and tons of deception in his delivery. With a couple of tweaks, Castano could be in for a big season in Double-A.   Castano sports a 92-95 mph fastball and filthy secondary pitches. His slider and curveball have big spin, and the changeup has excellent fade. As previously mentioned, his delivery has deception. Still jus...

  6-foot-4   220-pounds   Right-handed starting pitcher   21-years-old   Draft: 1 st round (34 th pick) in the 2020 draft   When the Yankees were looking to trade Luke Voit, I was surprised to hear they got a former first round pick in return. Sure, his numbers were bad in his first professional season, but Justin Lange had big stuff and a great arm. The Padres were ready to move on, however, and it may turn out to be to the Yankees’ benefit.   In his first year as a pro, he had a 6.95 ERA and 29 K : 15 BB in 22 innings pitched. He had a .217 average against. That offseason he was traded to the Yankees, and he had a similar season with a better strikeout rate. He finished 2022 with a 6.44 ERA and 51 K : 30 BB in 36.1 innings pitched. He again had an impressive .215 average against.   While these are not the numbers you want to see from a first-round pick, they portray a pitcher who simply needs to do one thing to be s...

6-foot-3 186-pounds Right-handed 21-years-old Last level: High-A Expected level: High-A Signed: July 2, 2018 Carela came out of the gait hot in 2022, sporting a re-tooled delivery with improved control. The Yankees worked with him to tighten his slider which got a ton of strikeouts. He mowed down the competition until August, when he hit the proverbial wall over his last 27 innings. At that point he was already 48 innings over his previous career high, so it’s neither surprising nor concerning that he tired out. Even with the forgettable last month, Carela finished with respectable numbers. He finished with a 4.21 ERA and 131 K : 52 BB in 107 innings. Opponents also batted just .192 against him. Considering that he was 20-years-old in Low-A and High-A for the entire season, those are not numbers to be scoffed at. Carela is working with a 92-94 mph fastball which already tops out at 97 and has sinking action. He has what is now a plus slider to go with the fastball. The next steps, per ...

  It is fun to imagine what would happen if the Yankees traded every player who was originally from another team and stuck only with homegrown talent. This is a fun exercise, and in no way is the author suggesting that the Yankees should do this. It’s just for kicks.   The criteria for this list are as follows:   1. The player must have spent at least one full season in the Yankees minor leagues. 2. The player must currently be in the Yankees system, including both the major and minor leagues. 3. Every player currently on the roster who does not meet the above criteria will be traded or released sometime over the next three seasons in this hypothetical scenario.   C – Austin Wells – If the catching skills are merely average, the Yankees are going to want his bat in the lineup. Slotting in a lefty starting catcher would provide great balance to the lineup, especially with Wells being a power threat.   Predicted line: .267/.345/.500/.845 wi...

It’s about a week into the minor league season and there are some minor league pitchers who appear to have taken a step forward. Sean Hermann, Brock Selvidge, and Luis Velasquez all started their season at Low-A this year, and their stuff appears to have taken a step forward.   First up, Sean Hermann In Sean Hermann's start on 4/8/24 he threw 6 innings and let up no earned runs. He let up three hits, no walks, and struck out four. His sinker averaged 91.4 mph and topped out at 94. It had 24 inches of vertical break and 18 inches of horizontal movement. His cutter averaged 89.5 mph and topped out at 90.4, with 27 inches of vertical break and six inches of horizontal movement. The changeup averaged 87.6, peaking at 88.3. It showed 30 inches of vertical break and 16 inches horizontal. Lastly, his slider sat at 84.7 mph, peaked at 86.1, and had 36 inches of vertical break. Most importantly, Hermann controlled all of his pitches well and navigated the lineup while allowing just thre...

  1. Keiner Delgado – 5-foot-8, 145-pounds, SS/2B, SH, 19-years-old – Soon to be everyone’s favorite prospect, the diminutive shortstop was dominant in the DSL in 2022. He hit .310/.504/.506/1.010 with three homeruns, 16 doubles, and four triples in 52 games. He had an incredible 58 BB : 28 K, and stole 34 bases. Delgado does everything well, including in the field. His maturity and talent should allow him to move quickly through the system. He’s drawn comparisons to Jose Altuve, though that is of course not fair. Of all the people on this list who may have a breakout season in 2023, he might be the most likely. He has been highly touted by scouts despite his size, which is both unusual and exciting. For talent evaluators to rave about a player his size as much as they have, he must be special.   2. Roderick Arias - 6-foot-2, 178-pounds, SS, SH, 18-years-old – Arias had a disappointing season in the DSL in 2022, but he was playing through an injury and adjusting to life as...