WHY THE YANKEE KIDS ARE GROWING UP

There's no way to question it; Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos are the future of the New York Yankees, and the day is coming when they'll no longer be top prospects, but instead rookies. Some have suggested that the two are looking at a starting spot for the 2012 season, but in light of recent events and rumors its looking like the future is today, if you'll excuse the cliché. Manny recently became the youngest player in Scranton Wilkes-Barre, and Jesus Montero's power surge and rising average (both of which I said would come around July-August, as usual with him.)

Manny made his first start since being promoted to the AAA level last Tuesday and reminded us all why he had the Yankees universe buzzing in the spring. He pitched in and out of danger against the Iron Pigs, displaying the advanced pitching arsenal and veteran-like understanding of sequences he's become known for. His final line was 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 3 BB, 7 H. Looks pretty good, but even better is the fact that he would've had 9 or 10 strikeouts and only 1 walk if the umpire hadn't blatantly blown a few calls. But perhaps it's for the best that the umpire created a bit of adversity for Manny in his very 1st inning in AAA. After striking out the first batter he faced, Manny gave up a single to Pete Orr, and walked two straight on blown full count calls. A normal 20 year old kid would absolutely fold under such pressure, but Man-Ban is no ordinary 20 year old. He proceeded to strike Delwyn Young out swinging, and forced Erik Kratz to weakly pop out and strand the bases loaded.That was basically the story of the entire game, Manny kept guys out of scoring position, but when they managed to get there he'd strand them every time. The Iron Pigs were a pathetic 1 for 9 with RISP and left 10 men on. The first of the two Iron Pigs runs came off a monstrous Domonic Brown solo blast, and let me tell you if it takes arguably the best hitter in the Minor Leagues (he and Montero likely tie) to score off Baneulos, he's making huge strides. The second came with 2 outs and a man on second, when Pete Orr hit a deep fly ball which center fielder Greg Golson misplayed and allowed to drop for a triple. Frankly, he should have read it, caught it, and ended the inning, but instead he allowed the go ahead run to score and put a man on 3rd with Domonic Brown coming back up to the plate. Manny wasn't fazed at all, he got a ground ball right back to the mound which he casually took over to 1st to close out the inning. He got into a little trouble again in the 5th when with 2 outs he gave up two straight singles and moved up the runners with a wild pitch, but he instantly snapped back and got Cody Overbeck to strikeout swinging, and end his AAA debut.

Perhaps most importantly he threw an even 100 pitches, a sign that he's being stretched out and is ready to take the next step. It's not a great sign that it took 100 pitches to get through 5 innings, but if he gets those two strikeouts instead of seeing them turn into walks, and the defense makes a few plays that get covered almost every time at the major league level (such as a failed double play by Bernier and Golson's misread), he would've been closer to 80 and had enough gas to go an inning or two longer. With this in mind, I have to say it was quite an excellent first outing.
There's been talk of calling him up in a month to work out of the bullpen as a lefty specialist, not a LOOGY mind you, a full inning guy, through the pennant race and post-season. While some fans may moan and groan at the idea, seeing how bouncing Joba and Phil between the pen and rotation worked out, I'm in full support of it. People forget that pitchers have been broken in as relief pitchers for ages. For example, two time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, a man many have compared Banuelos to, spent two full seasons hopping between the bullpen and rotation before becoming a mainstay. David Price too was broken in as a relief pitcher, and do you see him on the DL? No last I checked he's making some merchandise that says “I gave up DJ3K” with his signature, so clearly it didn't completely wreck his career. Hell Joba had health issues before he was even drafted, which is why he fell to us, so his issues should be no surprise. He isn't a disaster either, he was having a great season before undergoing what is these days a very routine surgery. Hughes was an 18 game winner, so obviously it didn't kill him, rather he's gone through what even Roy Halladay, who posted an ERA of 10.64 in his second year, has gone through: a major slump that causes him to change things and work hard. If his last start is any indication, he's going to throw like the All-Star he can be again, so I don't see how there's some huge issue with it. Manny may very well be introduced as a reliever, and I'll just be happy to see him up in the Bronx.
And how fitting that Montero was behind the dish to guide Manny through his first start. These are two battery mates we hope to be seeing for a while, so seeing them work together on Tuesday was like a glimpse into the not so distant future. Montero had a huge night himself, going 3 for 4 with a homer, which he followed up with a 1 for 3 1 BB performance last night. Jesus has really caught fire at the plate; in his last 10 games he's batting .342/.395/.632 (1.027 OPS) with 3 homers and 2 doubles. I know I've said it many times before, but now I can confidently say that Jesus is coming (pun intended, please excuse it). Look for a more expansive look at his numbers and his future role with the Yankees from me in the next day or two.

In the meantime, I found an excellent article by Donnie Collins from July 22nd HERE that I found to be one of the most insightful and level-headed articles on Montero around. Check it out.




--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer

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