The Padres announced that they returned Rule 5 draft pick George Kontos to the Yankees.
The 25-year-old split the 2010 season between Class A, Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 3.60 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 45 innings. It was his first action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2009 and his first extended stint as a reliever. Baseball America ranked Kontos 27th among Padres prospects this offseason and suggested that his future is in the 'pen, since he hasn't developed a quality change-up and struggles to throw strikes at times.
Kontos has appeared in 97 minor league games (73 starts) since the Yankees selected him in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. Overall, he has a 3.47 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in the minors. The right-hander posted a 9.82 ERA in three spring appearances.
Watching tonights game between the Yanks and BoSox, I’m astounded at some of the prospect rankings that have been given to several Yanks. Betances was ridiculously bad, and Montero was awful behind the plate. Banuelos lived up to all the hype. You’ve got a future winner there. Romine was actually much better than sold, framing pitches with the subtlety of Posada. I’m completely unconvinced with the rankings after watching them in action, albeit just one outing.
Figures a Red Sox fan who watched one game could give major insight….haha
Jake….it was only a few days before that Yankees fans were saying that Betances should be a top 50 prospect off 3 innings, so it happens both ways with Yankee prospects. The hype has dramatically outpaced results over the past 5-10 years though, see Chamberlain, Joba and plenty of others.