The Yankees announced this evening they’ve selected right-hander Randy Vásquez onto the 40-man roster. The move keeps him from being eligible for the Rule 5 draft.
Vásquez signed as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic during the 2018-19 international signing period. A curveball specialist, he recently ranked as the #9 prospect in the New York farm system at Baseball America. The outlet credits him with a low-mid 90s fastball and suggests he could develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter if he makes some strides with his control.
The 24-year-old spent this past season at Double-A Somerset. He made 25 starts and worked 115 1/3 innings, pitching to a 3.90 ERA with a 24.2% strikeout rate and a 48.3% ground-ball percentage. Those are both solid marks, as is his 8.3% walk rate. He figures to start next season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but has a good chance at debuting in the majors at some point in 2023.
Randy Vasquez has got a good arm and should definitely get a look this season.
Yeah, he was certainly a Rule V concern for me. Will Warren was another one. There are a few more too , both position players and pitchers.
@Yankee Clipper- thinking Will Warren doesn’t need protection, and still has options. I could be wrong though. The Yankees supposedly are higher on Warren then Vasquez.
No, you’re right my friend, I can’t remember the guy’s name now. It’s not Warren. I think I wrote Warren the other day too.
I’ll have to research their minors and check out his name again.
The top four players I have at risk being picked:
1) Zach Greene — righty pitcher
2) Mitch Spence — righty pitcher
3) Matt Sauer == Another righty pitcher and former top pick. Slow going as he had TJS, but he had a 17-K performance this season. Ended the season on the IL, so who knows his condition. Seems like a likely Red Sox pick!
4) Josh Breaux — Bro! A catcher. Nick Swisher will cry if he’s taken.
The first two are older, but they have lots of swing-and-miss in their stuff. The Yankees manufacture these arms. It’s possible they stick if taken, but just as easily they get bounced back like most of these picks.
Sauer is interesting. I think some team takes a shot on him unless he’s really injured.
Breaux as a catcher interesting. There’s power in his bat and just enough glove that he might stick on some roster as a third catcher. The catcher position really does suck across the game. My guess is he isn’t taken, but wouldn’t be a surprise.
Will the Yankees make a pick? I’ll say no. The Yankees haven’t make a Rule 5 pick in over a decade, but there are some conditions that might lead to it this year. Their farm has always been packed over the past decade, even if only with many power arms. That’s the real reason they lost Whitlock. They hung on to too many and got caught in a crunch. The farm has thinned, so they just might see an opportunity this year.
Matt Sauer is who I was thinking of, not Will Warren. I’m shocked they haven’t traded or protected Breaux yet. He’s going to be another Cashman mistake, imo.
Another mistake? How many mistakes has Cashman made with players that have become stars somewhere else? Unless you are one of those Yankees fans who never want a player the Yankees trade to ever be good. Then of course no team would ever trade with the Yankees again if all their prospects bombed. You want your young players to work out on other teams after trading them for a vet cause that means more teams will want to trade with you.
Breaux is a very limited player. Calm down about him. The Yankees are much higher on Seigler behind Wells and Gomez.
“Yankees fans who never want a player the Yankees trade to ever be good.” It’s the opposite actually.
And that’s my point. He could’ve been traded, but he’s another prospect that is on the cusp of Rule V, not being assigned to the 40-man, and not being traded.
So to answer your question, how many mistakes? There’s not enough room in the virtual server to list them all. Just pick any season that Cashman has held on to prospects for too long, not brought them up, not traded them and let them languish in the minors.
To specifically answer your question: Andujar, Frazier, Whitlock, Garcia, Florial, and on and on. I never said he should be on the roster. But, if he’s not going to be, they should trade him when they get something back for him. Instead they trade for Gallo and overpay for Montas.
But, *the Cashman mistake* that typifies my comment is: waiting way too long on Sanchez and taking on Donaldson’s albatross.
Will Warren doesn’t need protection for rule 5 draft
As good as the Gallo return has been for the Rangers, still wish he could’ve been apart of it.
@Rangers29- It’s funny you say that because originally Vasquez was part of the trade that sent Gallo to NY. Gallo should sign with the Rangers in the off-season. He’ll probably have a good year with no shifts, and a fully grown beard.
I’m not sure the end of the shift will help Gallo very much, All Rise. Of batters with at least 200 plate appearances this year, only two had a higher fly ball rate. In that same pool of players, Gallo ranked 354th in Ground Ball% at only 28%. The new rule allows an outfielder to move in closer to the infield, but teams can no longer use an infielder as a fourth outfielder.
Gallo needs to learn better plate discipline, or he’ll continue to be his own worst enemy, IMO.
He actually walks at a pretty good clip (went down a bit last year as one can imagine). The problem is his swing is longer than War and Peace.
Yeah, he’s been good at not swinging at pitches outside the zone and taking his walks. But then he does swing at pitches at the top of the zone that he can’t hit, and he strikes out. Over the last five years, out of 315 qualified batters, he ranks 314th in contact in the zone and second in K%.
The Pirates had a randy Vazquez but that POS is in prison now.
That was Felipe?
Yes, but he was randy. In a very bad way.