On Wednesday in Scranton Wilkes Barre, the spotlight was on Alex Rodriguez as he was continuing his rehab en route to his return to the Bronx. He went 1-2 with a two out RBI single, two walks, and a strikeout. But that's not who we were focusing on. Our eyes were all on top pitching prospect Manny Banuelos in his start against the Durham Bulls, AAA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
(In Photo: Matt Moore)Manny faced off against Ray's top pitching prospect Matt Moore. You can read a scouting report about Moore HERE and his stats HERE. Like Manny, Moore has the goods and will probably be a star in the future for the Rays. Anyway, it's good for Banuelos to be pitching against a guy like Moore. It adds some pressure which is good for young minor leaguers who are trying to accelerate their ascension to the major leagues.
Manny's line looked like this: Four innings, five hits, two earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts on 91 pitches, 56 of them for strikes. Now, that doesn't sound terribly impressive; he had to use 91 pitches in just four innings, but you gotta look beyond the numbers, especially with young minor leaguers.
Banuelos had to throw 41 of his 91 pitches in the first inning. The first two batters of the game reached on singles, then a weak ground ball slid under second baseman Luis Nunez's glove and into center field to drive in a run.
Could have easily been a double play, instead the first run scored. Later in the inning there was a ball hit right at A-Rod at third, which was a no doubt about it tailor made, inning ending double play which would have gotten Manny out of the jam with only one run allowed. Instead, the ball went right through Alex's legs--Bill Buckner style--which allowed the second run to score.
Of course you can't assume a double play would have been turned, so the run was charged to Manny regardless of the error. It took Manny 21(!) extra pitches to get out of the inning because of the error, which all but killed his outing as soon as it had begun. Manny then proceeded to throw 3 shutout innings, setting down the final seven batters he faced in order without a whimper.All in all the end result was by no means a terrible outing, but it certainly wasn't a great one either. As I previously said, if Nunez would have played the ball correctly and fielded it cleanly, Manny could have been out of the first inning in less than 20 pitches and he could've gone on to throw 6 or 7 shutout innings. As much as I like to see outings like that from our young studs, I like to see outings like this just as much, if not more. Why? Simple: They prove character.
As the great Yogi Berra said "Ninety percent of this game is half mental." He may have been a catcher, but it's just as true for pitchers, or at least what he was trying to say is true. Look at AJ Burnett, he never developed a strong, resilient mind, and look where he is now. Sure he has the ability to be pretty good and despite recent failures he's put together an altogether average season, but mediocrity is unacceptable for a guy with talent like that. Casey preaches confidence on Bleeding Yankee Blue and you need to have that mentality coming into a ballgame as a pitcher.
In his first four starts at the AAA level, Manny has already been screwed over by umps and let down by his defense numerous times, and he's handled it like a pro consistently. Every single time he's faced with adversity derived from elements beyond his control, he's shown an ability to bounce right back and get the job done. That's what separates a back end starter from a front end starter: gumption. Manny has displayed an ace like ability to work out of jams and move on from bad calls and defensive miscues.It is for that very reason that I couldn't be much happier with Manny's last outing, despite the mediocre end result... Okay maybe I would've preferred a perfect game, but games that help Manny build character are every bit as important as the rest.
In four AAA starts Banuelos' stats look like this: 0-2, 3.48 ERA, 20.2 innings, 25 hits allowed with 21 strikeouts and 9 walks (WHIP 1.65). The hits allowed are a bit much. But remember, this kid is just 20 years old, the youngest player in his league right now. With that in mind he's given more than one could really hope for since his promotion. It will certainly be fun to watch this kid blossom into a future ace for the Yankees, and here at BYB we'll keep you covered along the way.
Speaking of future aces, Dellin Betances is expected to take the mound as a SWB Yankee for the first time tomorrow. Look for a rundown on his first start from Grant Cederquist or myself tomorrow evening or Friday morning... Stay tuned.
--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer
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