A Look at the Tampa Yankees

Sean wrote a great preview of the l0w-A Charleston Riverdogs yesterday that I definitely recommend checking out if you missed it.  I will attempt to do the same for the Tampa Yankees, the Yankees’ high-A affiliate.

The Tampa Yankees, who play in the appropriately named Florida State League, make their home in George Steinbrenner Field (also the spring training home of the big league club).  They will be managed this year by Luis Sojo.  The Florida State League is frequently considered to be a pitcher friendly league, especially in comparison to the hitters’ paradise that is the California League.  Park factors from 2010 show that Steinbrenner field was pretty close to average as far as hits, runs, doubles, walks, and strikeouts (all very close to 1.0), but it suppressed home runs by 14 percent (a park factor of 0.86).  This pitcher-friendly reputation for the park and the league should definitely be kept in mind when evaluating the performance of prospects.

Hitting prospects to watch:

Tampa has kind of a weird assortment of prospects this year.  There aren’t really any top guys to speak of, though there are a number of players looking to recover lost prospect status.  This includes former bonus baby Carmen Angelini (who has had a nightmarish minor league career thus far), catcher Kyle Higashioka (has been strong defensively, but weak at the plate), and outfielder Abraham Almonte (inconsistent and injury-prone with flashes of brilliance).  Almonte and Taylor Grote should provide some speed at the top of the lineup, while Neil Medchill, Zoilo Almonte, Deangelo Mack, and Luke Murton should provide some pop in the middle of the order.   Of all these prospects, my favorite is probably Abe Almonte, who seems to have been around forever despite being just 21.

Pitching prospects to watch:

Brett Marshall (who was roughed up last night) and Jose Ramirez are the two top pitching prospects on the staff.  Marshall will look to follow up on his strong 2010, in which he returned effectively from Tommy John Surgery, and demonstrate that he can maintain good velocity and control while refining his secondary offerings.  Ramirez needs to demonstrate that he can hold up over a full season without wearing down (as he did last year).  Jairo Heredia is another guy I will be watching.  Like Almonte, he has been in the system a while, and has battled injuries and inconsistency.  At just 21, he still has time to turn things around.

Overall take:

As a whole, the Tampa squad is rather unimpressive compared to the Yankees’ other full season affiliates.  Brett Marshall is probably the best prospect on the team, and after Marshall and Ramirez, there are a whole host of guys who are trying to put themselves back on the prospect radar.  A few surprising breakouts are possible among this crowd, and I will definitely be keeping an eye on that.

The squad could see midseason reinforcements from the talented Charleston squad, which might impact the overall talent level of the team.  I imagine the Yankees won’t be graduating any significant talent midseason, unless Marshall or Ramirez get off to very hot starts.  The Yankees will still be an interesting team to follow, despite the lack of top-tier prospects.