McAllister Surpassing Betances,Cutch Shuts Out Syracuse

Zach McAllister is quickly [and surprisingly] leaving Dellin Betances in the dust.

The pair of 20 year-olds were expected to spend 2008 together in Charleston dominating Sally hitters alongside Jairo Heredia. Unfortunately, while McAllister is keeping up his end, Betances hit a period of shoulder soreness recently and is still working his way back into the Charleston rotation.

In the mean time, McAllister was promoted to High-A Tampa on May 31st, has already started seven games there and is posting a very impressive 2.47 ERA against the next level of minor league hitters.

Though Betances oozes the projectability and raw stuff that makes scouts take notice, McAllister has shown the maturation, versatility and maintained health teams love to see in a young prospect.

Thus far this season split between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister has logged 106 innings, with a 2.46 ERA while striking out 85 [to only 13 walks], allowing 103 hits, a promising 1.62 groundball to flyball ratio and a .252 opponent batting average.

The 6-foot-6, 235 lbs. Illinois product has only had one bad outing at the High A level which came in his Tampa debut. That poor start was the only time McAllister did not give his team a quality start - and Yesterday's start may have been McAllister's best outing yet at Tampa as he pitched 8 innings, struck out 9 batters, walked zero, and allowed two runs on five hits.


- IN SCRANTON

Tonight, Dan McCutchen posted his second complete game shutout for Scranton this season, allowing just five hits, zero walks and striking out 10 on 109 pitches [with 77 for strikes].

According to Chad Jennings, the Danimal "was hitting 93 consistently in the seventh." That's more than enough velocity to work with - and the new addition of a slider to compliment his curve, change and plus fastball makes for a solid arsenal for Cutch.

After a pedestrian start to his AAA campaign, McCutchen's latest shutout lowered his ERA to a very respectable 3.36 for Scranton. The shutout was his second at AAA since June 14th, which could be an encouraging sign of things to come.

Should that be the case, McCutchen may supplant the mediocre Jeff Karstens as the next internal rotation option should Darrell Rasner's downward spiral continue. The fact that Alan Horne is currently on the DL and Ian Kennedy has yet to again earn a spot in the big league rotation helps him as well.

And, if the Yankees swing a trade for a starting pitcher [in a deal not including him], McCutchen has the versatility to move to the bullpen and contribute there if necessary. Though this appears to be a long shot right now.

Garcia Impresses, McAllister Doesn't

There is bounty of young power pitchers spread throughout the Yankees farm system these days. Some are flying through the ranks, some are struggling with recent promotions and others are working their way back from injuries.

From the excellent writers at Saberscouting comes this glowing praise for Tampa starter Chris Garcia this season:

Garcia’s been up to 93 [mph] with life with a curveball that’s flashed 70, best one I’ve ever seen. So I’m on the bandwagon if he can stay healthy and put it together.

Meanwhile Garcia's rotation mate, Zach McAllister, had a humbling High-A debut for Tampa tonight, allowing four runs on seven hits in four innings. True to form, McAllister's impressive 2008 k/bb ratio remains intact, striking out four and walking one [intentionally] during his outing.

In Scranton, the story was Dave Robertson who struck out six [walking zero] over 2.1 innings to get the win. Chad Jennings offered his take on Robertson:

Robertson was outstanding and the coaching staff was raving about his curveball. That might have been the best it's been this season, and his fastball still cuts like crazy. Chaves used a different bit of terminology to describe the fastball movement, but we'll keep this a family blog.

As far as I know, Garcia is slated to start for Tampa tomorrow. Keep in mind, Alan Horne is supposedly pitching "somewhere" tomorrow in either Charleston, Tampa, Trenton or Scranton. Whether or not this effects Garcia I do not know.

McAllister Promoted To Tampa

Even Brian Cashman's preseason declaration that Zach McAllister [and Dellin Betances] would remain at Low-A Charleston all year couldn't hold off McAllister's promotion to Tampa.

The 20 year-old had proven all that was necessary at Charleston and having him continue to embarrass Low-A hitters would only delay his development. His XBox-like strikeout to walk ratio [53:8] and groundball to flyball ratio [2.16] are glaring supports of McAllister's promotion.

The Tampa Yankees rotation now has a very talented, young triumvirate of starters in McAllister [20], Ivan Nova [21], and Chris Garcia [22].

McAllister marks the first RiverDog to be promoted in the 2008 season.

The 6’6”, 230 lb. right-hander was enjoying a phenomenal first season in the South Atlantic League (SAL), posting a team-best 6-3 record with a 2.45 ERA. In 62.1 innings of work, the Chillicothe, Ill. native surrendered 28 runs (17 earned), while allowing just eight walks and striking out 53 batters.

From what I hear, McAllister added some velocity to his fastball and may have found a better feel for his four-seamer. Last year McAllister was primarily a sinker ball pitcher whose curve and changeup had not yet clicked. It would appear the youngster found something in Charleston and has been extremely consistent since that time.

Regardless of what minor league level Yankee fans decide to follow, chances are you will encounter some rising pitching prospects. Charleston awaits the return of Jairo Heredia and Betances [who was DLed with shoulder fatigue], while Trenton has George Kontos and Mark Melancon and, finally, Scranton boasts Alan Horne, Dan McCutchen, JB Cox and Dave Robertson.

As Big Club Falters, Minors Prosper

The big club in the Bronx may look like the Bad News Bears recently, but the Yankees minor leaguers are giving fans something to smile about.

With Joba Chamberlain's meteoric rise through the minors a well-chronicled journey last year, fans will be much more inclined to keep their ears open for the next young fireballer. Hopefully some of my thoughts will contribute toward your overall prospect knowledge in some capacity.

Periodically throughout every week I will recap the most noteworthy goings-on in the baby bombers arena. Today the focus will be on rising pitching prospects who all took the mound on Tuesday night.

Zach McAllister continues to dominate Sally league:

Last night - 8 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts.

Over his past two starts McAllister [pictured above] has thrown 15 innings, struck out 17, walked zero and allowed one earned run. That's domination. Over nine starts this season McAllister has had exactly one outing which was not very good.

Mark Melancon's progression has been superaltive:

Last night - 3 hitless and scoreless innings, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk, 5 groundball outs to zero in the air. [Melancon entered the game in a 0-0 tie and held off Reading until his team scored three runs in the top of the 10th before closing it out with a 1-2-3 inning]

Once again, that's domination. If you had never heard his name before and went to see him pitch now, you would assume Melancon had been making his way through the minor league ranks for at least a couple years before arriving in Trenton. [Try 37 career minor league innings] His mound demeanor and stuff continue to soar off scouting charts.

JB Cox knocking on the door:

Last night - 1.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk

His last professional season - which was at AA Trenton - was a dominant campaign for the former Texas University closer. Since returning from elbow surgery this year, Cox has pitched 16.1 innings with a 1.65 ERA and 2.38 GO/AO rate. Safe to say the sinker/slider repertoire remained intact for Cox. Should JB continue to pitch this well at AAA - for say a month or so - he could soon bolster a Joba-less bullpen.

Scott Patterson recovers from early woes:

Last night - 1 inning, 0 hits/runs/walks/strikeouts

In his last nine appearances, Patterson has not allowed an earned run. Over those 9.1 innings the funky righthander allowed 6 hits, 2 walks to go with 9 strikeouts. On the year Patterson has now tossed 20 innings, giving up 17 hits while striking out 19 to just 5 walks and posting a solid 2.70 ERA. It would seem Patterson has fully returned after a poor start to his 2008 season.

Ivan Nova looking to get on track:

Last night - 8 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk

In by far his best start of the season, Nova looked like the dominating pitcher many Yankee fans hope he can develop into. Though this season - and somewhat his career - has been extremely inconsistent, the 21 year-old still has a great deal of promise, evidenced by last night's performance. There had been rumors this April that Nova had lost some of the velocity off his plus fastball [which averaged 93mph last year], but building on his last start would help to quiet his critics.

Farnsworthless Reappears,McAllister & Betances Dominant

Not the most exciting game I've seen at the stadium, but hey, at least the real Kyle Farnsworth stood up. Two homers, three runs coughed up during a one-run game that Andy Pettitte scratched and clawed through turned a nail-biter into another ugly Yankees loss. Like every baseball fan already knows, Farnsworth can string together a couple weeks of good pitching, but every time he's placed in a pressure spot he'll fold, as today once again proves.

Joba Chamberlain has been going to the curveball with much more regularity. Maybe the Yankees have told him to refine his curve and changeup in preparation for joining the starting rotation. Maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse. Either way, Carlos Delgado won a hard fought battle, resulting in a much needed insurance run as the Mets earned an important 7-4 win.

Mark Melancon and JB Cox continue to move up the ranks. Soon the words Farnsworth and pressure situation will be aliens to a Yankee fan's vocabulary.

- Meanwhile, in the lower ranks:

Charleston young guns Zach McAllister [20] and Dellin Betances [20] are making real progress. McAllister has been especially dominant: 49 innings, 44 hits, 43 strikeouts, 7 walks, 2.20 ERA. The 6:1 ratio of strikeouts to walks and 2.66 GO/AO are video game numbers and his last outing was extremely impressive.

After the only terrible outing of his 2008 campaign [8 runs on 11 hits over 3 innings], McAllister dominated in his next start by tossing 7 shutout innings, striking out 11 and walking zero. Though he is still a youngan, McAllister has already outclassed the Sally League competition and is deserving of a Tampa promotion.

Betances, in the meantime, has been striking out batters left and right. Unfortunately, he's also been handing out walks like they're going out of style. Over 47 innings Betances has only allowed 27 hits and struck out a ridiculous 57 batters [while walking an equally noticeable 32], with a 3.26 ERA and .167 batting average against. A source in Charleston let me know Betances has been sitting 92-94 mph with his fastball and hitting 96 on occasion.

Like McAllister, Betances had suffered the worst start of his 2008 season a week ago before recovering extremely well yesterday by throwing 6 no-hit innings and striking out 8 batters before being pulled for pitchcount. (Betances is regularly held to 90 pitches and was taken out of the game after throwing 94 last night) According to multiple forums, Betances was sitting at 94 mph all night, hit 95 on the gun 15 times and topped out at 97.

Though Betances has the higher ceiling, McAllister is obviously showing the greater command and maturity. Before the season started, Brian Cashman decreed both elite arms would spend the entire season at Charleston. However, McAllister has already proven to need a higher level of competition and Betances may soon follow suit - if he can ever reduce his current walk rate of 6.80 b/9.

Finally, the much anticipated return of Christian Garcia took place tonight as the oft-injured pitching prospect threw 4.2 innings for Tampa, allowed 6 hits, 1 earned run, struck out 6 and walked 1. Garcia has been making his way back from Tommy John and serious knee surgeries and, when healthy, possesses some of the best stuff in the entire Yankees farm system. Keep an eye on Garcia this year as he is an very intriguing project.