Just some real quick thoughts…Thunder Thoughts, if you will…regarding who was added to the 40-man roster and who wasn’t protected.
Anthony Claggett, Steven Jackson, Christian Garcia and Mike Dunn were all added to the roster.
- I like Claggett’s stuff the best out of the four, think he probably has the best upside of the group. Would be curious to see if he remains a reliever down the road.
- I think Jackson’s stuff is pretty average. It seems like he’s OK when he’s on, and really bad when he isn’t. I question why he was kept over several others guys I’ll bring up in a bit. Apparently, he really came into his own in Scranton…didn’t see it here, though.
- I haven’t bought into the hype on Garcia just yet. I’ve stressed on here before that I can only base my assessments on guys off of what I’ve seen in person. He pitched at Waterfront Park once and he wasn’t that sharp. Everything I read leads me to believe he’s better than that, but I’ll believe it when I see it…that’s not a knock on him, just the way I approach things.
- Liked Dunn a lot in the short amount of time I got to see him, but I need to see more of him. For an organization that has as much left-handed pitching as I have a chance of getting a date with Jenna Fischer anytime this millennium, he could become a very valuable prospect, very quickly.
Among the Thunder players left unprotected: P.J. Pilittere, Zach Kroenke, Kevin Whelan, Chris Malec, Marcos Vechionacci, Reegie Corona, Ramiro Pena, Jason Jones, J.B. Cox.
I think that’s all of them, I might have missed one or two…
The name that stands out to me here is Chris Malec. I’d be rather surprised if a team doesn’t take a chance on him. I’ve said before that I think that if he can improve his defense, his bat will advance him through many a farm system.
Pilittere and Jones also stand out for me…I think moving to another organization could be a blessing for them, especially Jones. I still think Pilittere has a chance to advance with the Yankees, and I feel like he’s going to be a big league backstop one day. Maybe not with the Yankees, and maybe not as a full-time guy, but he deserves a shot to wear a big league uniform. As for JJ, I think the Yankees have shown time and time again that no matter what he does, they’re not going to give him a shot.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
November 22, 2008 at 12:59 am |
I feel the same way about Malec, and am a little worried that the Yankees will lose him. But, by all accounts, he has a tremendous work ethic, so it would be good to see him get a chance somewhere.
As for JJ, the best thing that could happen for him would be to sign elsewhere (isn’t he a free agent?) The Yankees just have too much pitching depth…and they’ll have even more if they sign 2-3 free agent pitchers this offseason. He’s also getting a little older, so it’s time for him to make a run. But I believe he has the ability…he should have pitched at AAA last yr, but the organization’s depth hurt him a bit.
November 24, 2008 at 7:59 am |
I doubt that anyone will take Malec and keep him on the 25 man roster all season long.
November 24, 2008 at 6:02 pm |
I like Michael Gardner personally, but keep in mind he got picked last year…the Rule 5 draft is way too unpredictable to have any idea of who’s going to get picked and who isn’t.