Questions for 2011: The Minor Leagues

This is the last of the Questions for 2011 series and it’ll be pretty brief. I’m not going to look much on the macro level, just at a few key players.

Slade Heathcott: We saw patience from Heathcott in 2010–.101 IsoD–but his IsoP was under .100 and that’s not good. So the big question for 2011 is will the power show up? Slade also displayed some speed with 15 steals, but he was also thrown out ten times. He needs to get better at picking his spots–or just get quick enough to avoid getting caught.

: When will Mark join the big league team? He’s starting the year in High-A Tampa and will presumably work his way up. I’m not sure exactly when we’ll see him in the Bronx, but we will at some point in 2011.

Manny Banuelos: What is there to improve? What we need to see is what we won’ see, unless we’re watching each game or are privy to constant scouting reports. What we’ll need to look for is if Banuelos can improve his curveball so that it catches up with his strong fastball and advanced changeup.

Dellin Betances: The question here, as with all pitchers, but especially Betances, is if he can stay healthy. He did in 2010, but health has been an issue for him since he was drafted.

Andrew Brackman: 1. When will he reach the majors? 2. Can he repeat 2010? I want to see, as you do, the control stick around.

Jesus Montero: When will he reach the majors? How will he do behind the plate?

Brandon Laird: Honestly, how much longer will he be a Yankee? I’m shocked he wasn’t traded this offseason considering his hot 2010. His stock will never be as high as it was in the past few months. Still, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Laird out of the organization before making his Major League debut.

Austin Romine: Which Romine will show up? Overall, he had a good season but his bat tailed off in the second half and according to many, his defense regressed a bit. A lot of this could’ve been due to fatigue, so we’ll have to play close attention to exactly how Romine starts and how he finishes.