Yankees and Mets Home Grown Talent

[AFJF]

I must admit, as a Yankee fan I am more pleased with the production of Robinson Cano, Chein Ming Wang, and Melky Cabrera than I am with any free agent that's been brought in or player that has been traded for.

While Mets fans have plenty of reason to be excited about some of their young players too.

A couple of years ago when Drew Henson was allowed to move on to football, Yankee fans were told that was it. There was no more talent in the Yankee system worth talking about and there were no players that other teams might covet in a trade.

Now Robinson Cano is looking more and more like player who will be around .300 on a regular basis with power to come. Probably a 25 HR guy eventually.

Wang is one of the best ground ball pitchers in baseball and almost unbeatable at home. He does a great job of keeping his composure when he's in a jam, something he's shown from his first start in the bigs. He's a tough kid to rattle.

Melky...I can't remember the last time I saw a player this young with this kind of discipline at the plate. More walks than Ks? At this age? You watch some of the ABs this kid has against some of the best pitchers in baseball and it has to impress you. At such a young age the kid is mature beyond his years. I think he'll eventually become a 20/20 guy on a regular basis and a guy that'll be able to hit almost anywhere in a line up.

I'd even add Scott Proctor to that list. While he wasn't drafted as a Yankee, he was a guy they traded for right around that time. Right when we were being told that the farm system was barren. Nobody said "at least there's some hope for Scott Proctor" It seemed to me that Bubba Crosby was the key to that deal since he was hitting well over .300 in the minors. Proctor was a minor league throw in. The Yankees let him spend a little more time in Columbus and eventually groomed him to pitch in the Bronx.

Add those four players to the list and the Yankees have a nice core of home grown talent. Jeter, Cano, Melky, Mo, Posada, Wang, Proctor, and Bernie was having a nice season prior to the arrival of Abreu and Wilson.

As for the Mets, what can you say about some of the players they've produced? Sure there have been several big dollar signings like the Yankees, but with Reyes and Wright, the Mets have one of the best left sides in baseball. The arguement can even be fairly made that it's the best already. Either way, two players the organization can be very proud of.

Wright is already one of the best 5 tool players in the game, and Reyes, not as good as Wright, can beat you in a lot of different ways.

I'm not sure how Mets fans are feeling about Aaron Heilman right now. I think he's a kid with a bright future but I don't know that he's lived up to his expectations this year. Still a youg arm with a lot of potential who has shown flashes.

Lastings Milledge looked a bit overmatched at the ML level this year in his first call up (Melky Cabrera anyone?) but he'll get another shot down the road and is still considered one of the top prospects in baseball.

John Maine? Tough to say....he's looked very good at times but 44 IP just isn't enough IMO to say how good he is just yet. He could be asked to step it up a bit though with Pedro hurting, and very little pressure on the Mets since they lead their division by....ahh who the hell is counting anymore.

Both teams have more help on the way. The Yankees have Phillip Hughes who was recently dubbed the no. 1 pitching prospect in baseball. He's dominating AA hitters right now (0.98 WHIP 121 Ks, 30 BB) and is expected to compete for a spot in the rotation next year.

The Mets have a hurler by the name of Milke Pelfrey. An intimidating guy on the mound at 6' 7'' 210, he, like Hughes dominted in AA going 4-2 with a 2.71 ERA with 77 Ks to just 26 walks. He's now in Norfolk trying to work his way to the bigs as early as next year.

Either way, it's nice to see the big dollar clubs, the "bad guys" able to produce some talent through their own system.

JMO of course.

[JonEJet]

Excellent read.....the Yankees youngsters have the brighter future, but that is always the case when comparing anything Mess, to anything Yankees

[GimmeShelter]

Good read AirForce.

Couple of correction on the Mets side.

Maine was brought over in the Benson trade with Baltimore while Pelfry has already been up in the bigs this year with two good starts and two bad ones.

Pelfrey needs one more pitch IMO.

Not sure if Melky becomes a steady 20-20 guy and Milledge has not looked anything close to a can't miss player as of yet. Like you said though, Melky looked worse last season.

[GimmeShelter]

Excellent read.....the Yankees youngsters have the brighter future, but that is always the case when comparing anything Mess, to anything Yankees

That's just plain stupid. Both teams have some great young talent but to say the Yanks is much brighter??

It's debatable that the Yanks may not have any player other than ARod-Jeter as talented as Wright total package wise let alone one of their yougsters.

[AFJF]

Good read AirForce.

Couple of correction on the Mets side.

Maine was brought over in the Benson trade with Baltimore while Pelfry has already been up in the bigs this year with two good starts and two bad ones.

Pelfrey needs one more pitch IMO.

Not sure if Melky becomes a steady 20-20 guy and Milledge has not looked anything close to a can't miss player as of yet. Like you said though, Melky looked worse last season.

I look at how Melky plays now and in all honesty I think he's a 20/20 guy at the very least. This season he could realistically hit 12-13 HRs which is not all that many but considering he went his first couple of hundred ABs with 2 or 3 HRs, it seems he's gaining confidence and driving the ball more. Like a lot of young guys it's going to take him a little bit for the power to develop. If he hits double digits this year after the terrible power numbers he put up early, I see no reason there won't be a gradual increase. As far as stolen bases go, he'll probably end up with 14-15 this year and to bump that up by a few as he learns the pitchers in the league is realisitic IMO. We shall see.

[mbn007]

Good read AirForce.

Couple of correction on the Mets side.

Maine was brought over in the Benson trade with Baltimore while Pelfry has already been up in the bigs this year with two good starts and two bad ones.

Pelfrey needs one more pitch IMO.

Not sure if Melky becomes a steady 20-20 guy and Milledge has not looked anything close to a can't miss player as of yet. Like you said though, Melky looked worse last season.

First off, Pelfrey has the excellent fastball. He needs other pitches. I do not like what I have seen of his breaking stuff. Granted, I have only seen a very small sample. But this area looks like his biggest need. I do think he will be a solid starter for years to come if he can get better command of his off-speed stuff. Otherwise, he may be a dominant closer some day.

Milledge is overmatched. Plain and simple. What gets me is that he is not showing that great defensive play that he was label to have had. He has had his moments, and there is no questioning his arm. But there are "lapses", at least so far.

I can't comment on the Mets farm system, but I understand a kid named Gomez, and OF, is moving up, and is the next 5 tool player in Baseball. So there must be good stuff down there.

I can comment on the Yankees system, and there is a lot, albeitmost of it is in the lower levels. But next season, guys like J. Karstens, White, Hughes and Clippard should all start at AAA, and all are about a year away from making the Majors, and sticking. Hughes projects as a top of the rotation guy, Clippard as a #3, the other 2 as a bottom of the rotation type.

JB Cox is a dominant relief pitcher, who does not strike out guys. Similar motion to Jeff Nelson, without the overpowering fastball.

Jose Tabata, just turned 18 last week, is a real solid 5 tool guy. He has it all, and just needs time to develop. Think 2-3 years before he shows up. Guys like Brett Gardner and Reegie Corona are young speedy (especially Gardner) guys who will shine someday. Gardner should be ready late next year. Corona is 2 years+ away.

And there is a lot more.

[Scott Dierking]

the Yankees youngsters have the brighter future,

How do you draw that conclusion?

[shawn306]

Melky has been a real nice suprise this season.

I think alot of us thought the kid was toast after his aborted call-up last season. What Torre was thinking putting him right into the fire against the Red Sox last year is beyond me.

AirForce is dead on though about Melky. The kid has great plate discipline and could be a 20-20.

The problem though is next year. Where does he fit in ? Melky was the reason I was not crazy about the Yankees going after a hitter. Abreu has been a real nice addition and should Matsui come back even better.

2007 though could be a different story. Now you are going to have a glut of outfielders (I'm not even going to put Sheffield in the mix) and with and OF of Matsui, Damon, and Abreu it looks like Melky won't have a spot.

He is too good at this point right now to be a bench player. So it looks to me like he could be part of package that brings in a pitcher next year.

[AFJF]

Melky has been a real nice suprise this season.

I think alot of us thought the kid was toast after his aborted call-up last season. What Torre was thinking putting him right into the fire against the Red Sox last year is beyond me.

AirForce is dead on though about Melky. The kid has great plate discipline and could be a 20-20.

The problem though is next year. Where does he fit in ? Melky was the reason I was not crazy about the Yankees going after a hitter. Abreu has been a real nice addition and should Matsui come back even better.

2007 though could be a different story. Now you are going to have a glut of outfielders (I'm not even going to put Sheffield in the mix) and with and OF of Matsui, Damon, and Abreu it looks like Melky won't have a spot.

He is too good at this point right now to be a bench player. So it looks to me like he could be part of package that brings in a pitcher next year.

The Yankees would be crazy to do that. Deal Melky because you have a guy like Abreu who has one year left on his deal? If anything, I'd say pick up enough of Abreus contrat to get somebody to take him or just find ways to get Melky at least 300 ABs next season with him starting once Abreu leaves in 08.

[mbn007]

Trading Melky would be a big mistake, IMO. He is on teh cusp of being a valuble contributor. Based on wht i saw over teh years at Staten island, and again at Trenton, and now in NY, he has the makings of a solid, if unspectular, defensive OF. He covers a decent amount of ground, and has a strong throwing arm. Not a laser, like Vlad, but a strong arm. More than enough for LF, and it is at leats average, if not above average, for a Rfs arm.

He has the plate disciple of a guy who has already played 2-3 seasons in teh Majors. His power the last 150 ABs dwarfts his frist 100+ ABs, when everything seemed to be a dink and dunk type of hit. He has decent instincts on the bases, and handles the bat well. He does struggle a bit trying to go the opposite way with outside pitches, but he has had his share of success there also, so he is learning.

His advanced plate disciple and power that he showed over the years tells me he wil be a guy who sits in the 18-22 HR range, amybe reaching 25. He should be a .280 - .300 hitter, with at least 15+ SBs every season. He will probably be either a 32 hitter in the Yankee lineup, or a bottom 1/3 hitter. So his RBI totals may be limited to the 80s, which is not bad, but would be better if he were a #3 hitter.

Basically, a faster version of a Paul O'Neill type of hitter. A few less Ks, and maybe a few less BBs.

I think the Yankees will settle for that.