Morrissey Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/yankees/2009/02/montero-is-posadas-heir-appare.html Montero is Posada's heir apparent February 11, 2009 TAMPA - On one field at the Yankees’ minor-league complex, Jorge Posada is working out daily to rehab from shoulder surgery. On another, 19-year-old catching prospect Jesus Montero performs drills alongside other minor-leaguers and pounds batting-practice pitches off a building that sits beyond the left-field fence. Montero, perhaps the Yanks’ best position-player prospect, could one day be Posada’s replacement behind the plate. Though there’s been speculation that Montero, a burly, 6-3, 230-pound Venezuelan, might have to switch positions, the Yankees say they are committed to him as a receiver. “That’s our intention and, more importantly, that’s his intention, too,” said Mark Newman, the Yankees’ vice president of baseball operations. “Right now, he hasn’t shown us anything that tells us he can’t do it. He improved his throw-out percentage last year. He’s a big boy, so he’s got to maintain lower body flexibility, but he’s got very good arm strength and he’s very bright, so he’ll run a game very well.” “The conventional wisdom might be that he’s too big. But our attitude is that he can do it and we expect him to do it. He’s a catcher and he’s nothing beyond that, at this time.” Montero, who played in the Futures Game at Yankee Stadium last summer, had a huge season at Charleston, the Yankees’ low-Class A affiliate in 2008, batting .326 with 17 homers and 87 RBI. It was his first full season. Montero likely will move up to high-A Tampa in 2009, Newman said. Not a fan or these kinda headlines, but Montero has a lot promise, though all prospect outlets are saying he has little chance to stick behind the plate, but I'm sure the Yankees will force feed him on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadwayJoe12 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Montero is a stud, but i personally feel he will be moved to first base or DH to save the added wear and tear of being an everyday catcher. He had an 80 on the power scale as a 17 year old, the kid is a phenom. I actually think Austin Romine is the heir apparent to Posada, and most who follow the yankees minor league prospects regularly think so as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talisaynon Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 yea, i'm going to be pissed if Montero is our future catcher. The man needs to play DH/something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrissey Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 yea, i'm going to be pissed if Montero is our future catcher. The man needs to play DH/something else Why would you be pissed? Do you know valuable a catcher who can hit like Montero can is? There are plenty of DH/1B types who have power. Behind the plate? Not so much.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morrissey Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 Montero is a stud, but i personally feel he will be moved to first base or DH to save the added wear and tear of being an everyday catcher. He had an 80 on the power scale as a 17 year old, the kid is a phenom. I actually think Austin Romine is the heir apparent to Posada, and most who follow the yankees minor league prospects regularly think so as well. I'll go ahead and agree with this, but I hope they give Montero every chance to stick behind the plate. His value is sky high if he can stick there. Austin Romine had a great 1st full season in the minors, so I won't underrate him. He can hit, though not the power type like Montero. We also just drafted a kid from California, Kyle Higashioka, so hopefully one of these guys can take over for Posada in a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadwayJoe12 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I'll go ahead and agree with this, but I hope they give Montero every chance to stick behind the plate. His value is sky high if he can stick there. Austin Romine had a great 1st full season in the minors, so I won't underrate him. He can hit, though not the power type like Montero. We also just drafted a kid from California, Kyle Higashioka, so hopefully one of these guys can take over for Posada in a few years. Oh i agree, I would love to see him behind the plate; i've heard he handles pitchers quite well. I don't think his size will deter him from playing catcher in his early years, much like Joey Mauer. However, Mauer also is aided from playing in a dome. I just feel that Montero will be moved eventually to 1st or DH in order to prolong his career. I would rather stretch him out an additional 4 or so years if at all possible, but first we need to see how he does in the bigs. Romine impressed me this year and if he could take the reins from posada than we'll be even in a better postion. On a sidenote, I cannot wait to see Brackman and Betances. I sure hope they pan out. McAllister has always been a favorite of mine as well...man we are stacked with pitching prospects. I wouldn't at all be surprised if we depart with a few of them for a SS or COF. OOOh and action Jackson should be up soon as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GimmeShelter Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Posada's replacement will likely be a FA signing or another teams salary dump. It will be interesting how quickly that needs to happen. Spring Training is always full of these type stories. This kid depending how fast he moves through the system could be a potential Matsui replacement but I don't see how in a month he has suddenly been pegged as back being a sure fire catcher by the time he reaches the Big's. Almost to a man, scouts have said little chance he stays at catcher. Still, a very nice bat to have in the system......reminds me of the kid Sandoval who came up for SF last season and moved to 1B/3B but just rakes without Montero's power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbro22 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 If montero can hold down catcher while Jeter and Posada DH and stuff as they get old I'm totally fine with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GimmeShelter Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 cbs: Yankees C Jorge Posada, coming off shoulder surgery, isn't likely to catch in exhibition games until mid-March, manager Joe Girardi said. He probably will catch 100-110 games during the regular season if there are no setbacks, down from Posada's September estimate of 120-130. That's about 30-40 less games a year than in the past. Heart and soul of the team but unfortunately a bad contract due to the injury unless a Matsui/Swisher/Nady gets traded. Hopefully the projections improve over the course of the spring. Yanks can also sit Matsui and Nady against LH's and play Swisher in right Posada at DH although Matsui is usually fine against Lefties. 2009: $13.1 million, 2010: $13.1 million, 2011: $13.1 million Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeebers Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 cbs: Yankees C Jorge Posada, coming off shoulder surgery, isn't likely to catch in exhibition games until mid-March, manager Joe Girardi said. He probably will catch 100-110 games during the regular season if there are no setbacks, down from Posada's September estimate of 120-130. That's about 30-40 less games a year than in the past. Heart and soul of the team but unfortunately a bad contract due to the injury unless a Matsui/Swisher/Nady gets traded. Hopefully the projections improve over the course of the spring. Yanks can also sit Matsui and Nady against LH's and play Swisher in right Posada at DH although Matsui is usually fine against Lefties. 2009: $13.1 million, 2010: $13.1 million, 2011: $13.1 million Jon Heyman made a great point on FAN. The Yankee trio of outfielders, Matsui, Nady, Swisher will be almost impossible to trade unless the Yankees eat a huge portion of their contract. The point was Abreu was only able to get one year at 5mil plus, how in the world will anyone take Swisher with 3 years and 23 million left when they are not in the same league as players. Interesting take, the recession really has phucked things up for some free agents this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdropOFvenom Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Why would you be pissed? Do you know valuable a catcher who can hit like Montero can is? There are plenty of DH/1B types who have power. Behind the plate? Not so much.. Maybe, but you're assuming he's going to be able to play there at a tolerable level. From what I've read/heard, he seems decent there now, but considering he's already listed as 6'4 and 225 as a 19 year old and is likely to continue to fill out for another 2-3 years, I'd say the odds of him playing catcher in the big leagues (At least at a tolerable level) are rather slim when he'll likely be pushing 250 pounds as a 23 year old. It's funny, in that Montero is the one prospect who I think his stock might be helped if it turned out he was 2 years older then he actually is. His numbers would still be eye-popping, but you'd be more confident he won't outgrow the position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECURB Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 If montero can hold down catcher while Jeter and Posada DH and stuff as they get old I'm totally fine with that. What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norway'sWaddlingMarmaloof Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Montero is a stud, but i personally feel he will be moved to first base or DH to save the added wear and tear of being an everyday catcher. He had an 80 on the power scale as a 17 year old, the kid is a phenom. I actually think Austin Romine is the heir apparent to Posada, and most who follow the yankees minor league prospects regularly think so as well. Yeah, I agree. And with our budget, we don't have to have a plus offensive player at catcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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