Prospect Pulse: Winning At Every Level

By John Manuel
April 22, 2004

Winning matters to the New York Yankees.

That's obvious at the major league level, but it's also true in the minor leagues, as the organization has had a winning percentage of .500 or better every year since 1976.

As Mark Newman, the organization's senior vice president of baseball operations, puts it, "When you put on that 'NY' on your uniform, if you're not playing to win, to me that in some way desecrates that uniform and what it stands for."

As another professional scout put it, "Mr. Steinbrenner likes to win as many rings as he can."

Aside from New York, he may like to win them the most at Triple-A Columbus and high Class A Tampa. Columbus has been a Yankees affiliate since 1979--it won International League championships each of its first three seasons with the Yanks--and Steinbrenner, a Cleveland native, has close family ties to the club. And of course Tampa is the spring home of the Yankees, as well as the base of the organization's minor league operations.

Tampa's 2004 team probably has the best chance of any Yankees affiliate to win a league championship, with a team boasting several top prospects as well as enough veterans to make a run at the Florida State League pennant.

"I like that Tampa team," said Damon Oppenheimer, who as vice president of player development and scouting is the Yankees' scouting and farm director. "Rudy Guillen in center field is a talent. Bronson Sardinha is off to a great start--he's getting on base, walking, making strides at third base. Those are two legit talents. (Righthander) Edwardo Sierra has a huge arm. We have a lot of interesting pieces there."

Oppenheimer named the three most intriguing ones, and all three were off to good starts. Dominican signee Guillen, who was hitting .370-0-9 in 46 at-bats, matches excellent size at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with graceful actions and oozes tools. The 20-year-old remains a plus runner despite maturing into his frame and has excellent raw power. Sardinha, a supplemental first-round pick in 2001, started the '03 season at Tampa but hit just .193 in 212 at-bats before a return to low Class A. He's moved from shortstop to second base to the outfield and finally to third, where Newman said the organization thought he would end up all along. A lefthanded hitter who has shown good patience in his career, Sardinha, 21, was off to a .417-0-9 start in 36 at-bats and had more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six).

The Yankees acquired Sierra, 22, in the offseason Chris Hammond deal with the Athletics, one of several trades the organization has made where it acquired prospects, instead of giving them up. Sierra was 5-for-5 in save opportunities with nine strikeouts in five innings so far in '04 while showcasing a fastball touching 97 mph and a tough splitter. He heads up a bullpen with two other recently acquired prospects. Five-foot-11 righthander Juan De Leon had eight whiffs in six innings using an above-average fastball-changeup mix. He was acquired from the Astros in the Mike Lamb trade this spring. And lefty Ben Julianel, obtained from the Cardinals in the Sterling Hitchcock trade last summer, was showing the plus slider (nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings) that makes him a future lefty specialist candidate.

Often, those pitchers are throwing to catcher Jon-Mark Sprowl, an intriguing hitter acquired from the Diamondbacks in the Raul Mondesi trade last summer. Sprowl, 23, was off to a .300-1-3 start in 30 at-bats and had six walks and just two strikeouts.

"We haven't always been in position to do that," Newman said of the organization actually trading for prospects. "Usually, we're in the position like we were on the Aaron Boone trade, giving up (Brandon) Claussen, or with A-Rod (giving up Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias).

"But when we got Boone, that made (Robin) Ventura available, and we got Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor, who are both in New York now. And Hammond just didn't pan out in New York, and we were able to turn him around for Sierra and (infielder J.T.) Stotts."

The Yankees have surrounded their true prospects in Tampa with several veterans, such as 25-year-old Jayson Drobiak, who hit 30 homers last year at Class A Battle Creek and already has three this year. And they're waiting for second baseman Enrique Cruz, the starter for Rice's national championship team, to get cranked up after an 0-for-17 start. On the mound, righthander Matt DeSalvo, the NCAA's all-time strikeouts leader out of Division III Marietta (Ohio), and hard-throwing Jose Valdez, a Dominican who throws in the 90-94 range, to bloom at the front of the rotation.

Guillen looks like the team's top prospect, and has a chance to be its best player. But like the big league team, Tampa has talent at nearly every position.

And like the big league team, it is expected to win.

Through The Grapevine

BA caught up with a pair of pro scouts making the rounds through the Double-A Texas League and Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Here's some of what they're seeing and hearing . . .

• Double-A El Paso is struggling with a 4-10 start, but top prospect Sergio Santos hasn't been affected by the slide. He was hitting .352-2-10, though he had struck out 15 times in 54 at-bats. "He was tinkering when I saw him,” one scout said. “He kept changing his setup; the first day, his hands were at his belly button, and the next day, they were in tight. I heard he was doing it on his own, and the next day, his hands were above his shoulder. I realize he’s only 20, but he’s going to have to move to third pretty soon. He’s definitely not a shortstop."

The Diablos have several intriguing arms, including righthanders Dustin Nippert and Adriano Rosario, but their top starter has been righthander Lance Cormier. The former Alabama ace, whose best pitch is an 88-92 mph sinking fastball, was off to a 1-0, 1.31 start. "He's a strike-thrower, and his stuff was fringy but a little better than I thought," the scout said. "He commands his sinker and slider very well. It’s back-of-the-rotation stuff, but he makes it work because he really pounds the zone."

• In the PCL, the Pirates have their top two pitching prospects on the Triple-A Nashville staff, and they have had very different Aprils. Lefthander Sean Burnett, working on a strict pitch count that has limited him to two four-inning starts, has nonetheless looked impressive. His fastball was in the 88-91 mph range in a start against Albuquerque, usually sitting around 89. The key, another scout said, was his command of his fastball and change and the development of his slider. "The slider was a good pitch for him; he was keeping it down in the zone," the scout said. "The change is a plus pitch, and he kept the ball in that ballpark in Albuquerque, where everything just jumps out. He was pretty impressive, working to both sides of the plate."

In contrast, righthander John Van Benschoten was struggling mightily, getting hit hard again Wednesday night to leave him 0-2, 12.34. He already had given up 24 hits in just 11 2/3 innings, and this scout thought he knew why. "I saw him last year and he was 93 mph, even touched some 95s, but I didn’t see that when I saw him this year," he said. "It was more in the 88-90 range and it was up in the zone. His stuff was ordinary across the board."

• The two highest-picked members of Oakland's famed "Moneyball" 2002 draft class, righthander Joe Blanton and outfielder Nick Swisher, are both at Triple-A Sacramento ahead of schedule. Blanton wasn't throwing in the mid 90s range that he has shown in the past, but the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder competed well without his best stuff nonetheless, working aggressively inside. He was off to a 1-0, 3.18 start with 12 strikeouts and six walks in 17 innings.

Swisher, who had a thumb injury that interrupted his Triple-A debut, was nonetheless off to an excellent start at .333-2-8 in 27 at-bats, with six walks and five strikeouts. “He’s swinging the bat very well, and he's strong for his size," the scout said. "The question with him when he was drafted was the position. He might hit enough for first base or left field; people thought he would hit, but the question was would it be enough for a corner. They've got him in center field, but if he's your center fielder in the big leagues, you're probably looking to replace him. He's just not good enough out there for me."

AROUND THE MINORS

• Righthander Andrew Brown wasn't an integral part of the trade between the Braves and Dodgers; the principles were Brian Jordan, Odalis Perez and Gary Sheffield. The Dodgers acquired Brown to help even up the deal, and Brown is starting to pay major dividends. A Tommy John surgery alumnus, Brown is coming off surgery last year to remove bone hips in his throwing elbow. His free, easy delivery produces mid-90s heat, and he was touching 97 in three April starts, making it very hard for opponents to touch him. Brown, 23, struck out 13 and 10 in separate starts for Class A Jacksonville and had 28 strikeouts and just two walks in his first 14 innings, despite an 0-1, 4.61 record. "He has a great arm, really an electric arm," scouting director Logan White said. "He's been 96-97 and right now, we're being cautious (with his workload). He has the normal stiffness that you go through with that (elbow) surgery, but he's shown some good signs. He has such a good upside, he's a guy we feel, if he stays healthy is a front-line starter."

• Blue Jays righthander Francisco Rosario had a minor setback in a start at Class A Dunedin; he left after getting just five outs in a 5-3 loss to Tampa. Rosario, on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery, had muscle soreness that affected his delivery. He came out early as a precaution but shouldn't miss a start. Righthander Tracy Thorpe, who pitched with Rosario in 2002 at Class A Charleston, relieved him in his first appearance of the year. Thorpe, who prior to shoulder surgery in June 2002 showed a 93-97 mph fastball, tossed two innings without giving up an earned run in his first outing of the year.

• The Angels put toolsy outfielder Warner Madrigal on the disabled list at Class A Cedar Rapids with a stress fracture in the hamate bone in his left wrist. Farm director Tony Reagins said Madrigal, who hit .369-9-51 while leading the Rookie-level Pioneer League last summer in runs, hits, doubles and extra-base hits, could miss a month.

• Red-hot Chad Tracy is now Big League Chad Tracy. The Diamondbacks called him up from Triple-A Tucson when Roberto Alomar went on the big league disabled list with a broken hand. Tracy was playing two games a week in the outfield with the Sidewinders to increase his versatility but could get an opportunity at third base, where Shea Hillenbrand was off to a rough start. Tracy just hits--he was at .400-2-11 when promoted, including eight walks and just five strikeouts in 40 at-bats. Tucson manager Chip Hale said Tracy had adjusted well to the outfield as well. "He was just getting his feet wet at that position, but he played outfield a lot in spring training," Hale said. "That's just where the organization thought it might need him this year, and it gives you a guy who can play first, third and either corner spot. His speed and range out there is just fair; he's adequate. He makes the right decisions when he's out there, and hat's important. But he has the tools for third. I think he'll be a Rafael Palmeiro type of player, that kind of hitter. The power will come because good hitters always develop at least decent power. "

• Another day, another Padres prospect on the disabled list. Xavier Nady landed on the DL at Triple-A Portland with a sprained ankle.