De La Rosa Torching Competition

Wilkins De La Rosa is a name you should file away in the back of your mind so here's a little scouting report.

The 23 year-old began his professional career as a toolsy outfielder signed by the Yankees way back in 2001. But, when it became evident his hitting prowess did not match his mammoth arm in the outfield, the organization decided to put him on the mound instead.

The results have been nothing short of dazzling thus far. I first started following De La Rosa last season when he tossed 24 innings of relief for the GCL Yankees, striking out 32 batters, walking 11, allowing 20 hits and posting a 2.63 ERA. At that early stage of his pitching career, De La Rosa was reportedly already pumping fastballs 92-95mph and touching the high 90s when he needed it.

Considering the dearth of lefthanded pitching in the Yankees farm system at that time [hello Phil Coke, Anthony Bleich], De La Rosa became an intriguing must-monitor prospect for me. His rise has been fun to watch.

Moving up a level to Low-A Charleston this year, De La Rosa continued torching through hitters with ease and striking out opposing hitters at an absurd rate. Though his slider is a bit inconsistent in terms of command it projects to be a solid weapon in the future, and De La Rosa does have a solid grasp of his changeup right now to compliment a surprisingly repeatable delivery.

The result has been a stellar 2008 campaign, headed by his 94 strikeouts over 75.2 innings, .189 opponent batting average and sparkling 2.26 ERA. After spending the bulk of his year as a shutdown multi-inning reliever for the Riverdogs, De La Rosa was recently converted to the rotation. As has become a trend for De La Rosa, he again excelled in the new role. [And, believe it or not, his numbers have actually improved since becoming a starter]

Of his six starts this year, De La Rosa has only been truly stretched out as a starter for his last four outings. Over those last four starts the 6-foot-3 lean lefty tossed 23.1 innings, struck out 26 batters, walked just 5 and allowed only 4 earned runs. For a converted outfielder to not only pick up the art of pitching this quickly but simultaneously dominate his competition is rare, to say the very least.

Below are De La Rosa's last four starts:

July 2nd..... 5.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
July 7th...... 6 innings, 2 hits, 0 ER, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts
July 13th.... 6 innings, 3 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts
July 18th.... 6 innings, 7 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

And finally, De La Rosa's career stats as a minor league pitcher:

2.32 ERA, 93.2 IP, 63 hits, 119 strikeouts, 44 walks, 1 HR
11.49 K/9 - 1.15 WHIP - 6.08 H/9 - 0.10 HR/9 - 4.25 BB/9

It's safe to say that Wilkins has catapulted himself from an underwhelming outfielder limited to minor league limbo into a bona fide major league pitching prospect.

What To Expect From Gardner

SPEED

Brett Gardner is a legitimate burner on the basepaths - he already has 34 stolen bases and 59 runs scored at AAA. His speed ranks as an 80 on the scouting scale [which ranges from 20-80]. Basically, Gardner has gamebreaking speed and should showcase it during a 3-game series against Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

BAT
While Gardner's hitting prowess is a major topic of debate amongst prospect watchers, there is no arguing his plate discipline and patience. His .412 OBP this year is a testament to his ability to work counts, find a pitch to hit or take his walks. Essentially, Gardner can do whatever it takes to get on base - a great sign from a potential leadoff batter.

Where Gardner's power projects in the majors is tough to say. Most say he has gap power, but I would call it more of gap+ power in that he can turn around on an inside fastball with more conviction than most might think. That said, he won't be putting balls over the right field short porch with regularity like, say, Johnny Damon can.

GLOVE
Gardner is not as polished an outfielder as say Aaron Rowand, but he has that same tenacity and gritty approach to the game. It comes out most clearly in his fielding. You won't see any Bobby Abreu type plays at the warning track - in other words, if making a catch in centerfield means cracking his head into a fence [like Rowand], there will be no hesitation. As is the case with his baserunning, Gardner's speed allows him to get to balls that other fielders cannot. He takes good routes to flyballs in the gap, but his instincts are not elite.

ARM
Gardner's arm is not a cannon in center, and is probably just about average in left tonight, but he has a good enough arm to play in the middle of the outfield and is very accurate as well. There will be no confusing Gardner with Melky in that regard, so that will be something to keep an eye on should Gardner ever supplant Cabrera.

Here's a bit on Gardner's 2007 accolades taken from MinorLeagueBaseball.com:

Over the last two seasons, [Gardner] has successfully stolen a base in 83.6 percent of his tries (97-for-116)...led all Yankees Minor Leaguers in stolen bases and tied for the Thunder team lead with five triples...successfully stole a base in 21-of-24 attempts with Scranton/WB...

following the season, was named to the 2007 Arizona Fall League Top Prospects Team after hitting safely in 24-of-26 contests with the Peoria Javelinas...led the AFL in stolen bases (16) and runs scored (27) while ranking second in hits (37), tying for third in walks (17), and placing fourth in on-base percentage (.433) and fifth in batting average (.343).

That two season stolen base percentage of 83.6 is an excellent indicator of Gardner's breakaway speed and great instincts in base thievery.

Trenton Report: George Kontos

I made the trip to Trenton last night and was able to see George Kontos pitch for the first time. Kontos had started the year poorly, walking more men than he struck out, but Thursday night was the best start of his AA campaign.

The line: 6.1 innings, four hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO.

I had heard his stuff was electric, and though his velocity was a tick or two lower than I had expected, his stuff is certainly overpowering. Kontos showed that last night against a tough New Britain offense. I spent the first four innings in the pressbox, but finally made my way down behind homeplate before the fifth frame. ESPN baseball analyst Keith Law sat a few rows in front of me.

Scouting Report:

Fastball: Topping out at 93 mph but mostly 90-92. Good boring action in on righties and strong late life when thrown belt high or below. At times he commanded it very well on the corners. His velocity may have been better in the earlier innings, very possibly hitting 94 or 95, but it is his tendency to overthrow which has hurt Kontos most.

Slider: Ranged from 83-87 mph with strong movement both downward and laterally. Not Joba's two-plane slidepiece, but it is an electric pitch which at times has a slurve's movement at hard slider velocity. Was especially effective away from right handed hitters.

Changeup: 81-83 mph with average fade. Kontos threw the changeup 10+ times - mostly to lefties - and commanded it decently throughout the start. If Kontos is to move forward as a starter it will be the development of this pitch that gets him there. Konto's admitted as much after the game.

Curveball: Thrown at 72-74 mph. Only threw about 3 or 4 curves, but the pitch has some projection. Probably major league average right now, but may develop into a plus pitch if Kontos is able to use it enough from start to start. Control was average but his command could use some work as one hung in the zone. Consistently good tight spin and downward break.

Thursday's start was Kontos' first major step toward becoming comfortable at the AA level. If last night's performance is any indication, Kontos gives the Yankees another effective power arm on the cusp of the majors.