Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
Darth_Lazarus asks: Do we think Garver has anything left in the tank?
Not particularly, but with the complete lack of catchers added at the deadline it doesn’t hurt to take another flyer. Garver’s been missing in action since going to the Pacific Northwest, becoming a below-average bat backing
up Cal Raleigh until he was released at the start of August. His defense has also slid in recent years, but in joining the Yankees he’s now reunited with Tanner Swanson who pushed him to become one of the first catchers to utilize the one-knee-down catching stance, so perhaps the two could get back in the lab and revitalize his defensive prowess. Regardless, between signing Garver and Christian Bethancourt the Yanks have added whatever freebies the league has offered them and will see if there’s a need to bring either of them up. New York has seen some payoff in sticking to Austin Wells through thick and thin at long last, as the starting catcher posted a 95 wRC+ in July and has thus far erupted for a 184 wRC+ halfway into August. He obviously won’t stay that hot, but if Wells has gotten out of the doldrums then the offense suddenly looks a lot less thin, especially as we start to look ahead to Cody Bellinger returning.
Lewis W. asks: Now that the minor league seasons are winding down, who are the top five lesser known, lower level (A or below) players to watch for in the next few years?
The Yankees’ organizational depth is heavily favored towards the top levels of their system, with their two most recent first-round picks in Dax Kilby and Hunter Dietz as two of the few standout ranked prospects yet to progress far. Among those further down in the rankings, Wilberson De Pena has had a phenomenal summer hitting for a 1.088 OPS in 56 games for the FCL Yankees earning him a spot in Tampa to end the year out. He’s cooled off in the couple of weeks he’s spent at the new level, but this stint with the Tarpons could be a valuable jumping off point for the 19-year-old. Jumping out of the top 30 entirely though, we’ve seen an even bigger breakout from Yostin Pena, an 18-year-old outfielder who crushed in the Dominican League to the point that the Yankees gave him a promotion stateside and jumped him straight into Tampa’s roster where he’s continued to put the bat on the ball at an elite rate, even if he’s forgotten how to take walks for a bit. He’ll possibly pop up on the tail end of the top 30 for scouts on their end-of-year re-evaluations, and could have a spotlight on him going forward should he continue to hit the cover off the ball to start next season.
Core Jackson recently moved up to Double-A Somerset, but he did so thanks to a solid season in Hudson Valley where he posted an .843 OPS primarily playing shortstop. He followed in the footsteps of Roderick Arias’ promotion, enjoying a bit of a renaissance over the summer — after an ice-cold April and May, Arias hit for a 1.049 OPS in June and stayed hot with a .904 mark in July. Arias has remained in the zone in August, and while he hasn’t gotten back into the top 30 on anyone’s prospect boards he’s at least reignited a spark of his former blue-chip status. I’d also like to give some love to Richard Matic’s season, playing in the Complex League after a few years in the DSL and carrying his hitting over with an .833 OPS. If you haven’t been able to tell by this point, offense is the name of the game down in these levels, but an honorable mention should go to Antonio Gomez, the former catcher who converted into a pitcher this year. He’s only just recently made pro appearances on the mound, but he’s showcased a lot to be excited about already slinging 100 mph heaters. For a more in-depth look across the Yankees’ system, I’ll point you in the direction of our own Michael Zeno and his weekly breakdowns of how the minor league teams have been progressing.
Jmack175 asks: I see that Volpe is taking reps at second in the minors. Please tell me he won’t be our starting second baseman next year if/when Jazz leaves.
Anthony Volpe’s future with the team is up in the air, much like Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s is. I wouldn’t say Volpe is lined up to replace Jazz, but if there was an avenue back into the starting lineup second base would be the path of least resistance for him. George Lombard Jr. has taken over at shortstop, and the Yankees wouldn’t be aggressive in promoting their top prospect this way if they weren’t certain that they wanted him to hold down the position full-time. So far, he’s passing all the tests to stay and hopefully contribute to the team’s playoff push. With the gap in defensive capabilities being part of the reason that Lombard got promoted while Volpe got demoted, covering over one of Volpe’s main weaknesses by seeing if he can stick it shifting over to the right side of the infield could be his best shot at returning to the majors.
Similarly, there’s no guarantee that Jazz is going to walk after this season, especially since he’s entering free agency on his weakest season in pinstripes and probably won’t find the suitors he was aiming for, but it’s also not out of the realm of possibility that the Yankees would be a little skittish on offering a significant deal after the unfortunate year he’s had. He’s not as simple of a qualifying offer candidate as Trent Grisham was last year, but would Jazz accept anything more than a one-year deal at this point if he has hopes of proving his first two seasons in New York were a truer valuation of his skills? It’s a roster decision that will be impossible to navigate until the offseason, but putting Volpe in a position to be a backup option is a sensible move to make for now.
