I've been away for a while, but it's February now and that means roses, chocolates and baseball. It's just three days until pitchers and catchers report, with all the other players reporting just five days later. For the Yankees, that'll be a whopping 69 players altogether:
That's a full 40 man roster, 29 non-roster invitees and a lot of names for anyone to keep straight. So, over the next couple of days I'm going to break it down for you, starting with the catchers:
40-Man Roster Players:
Non-Roster Invitees:As usual, the Yankees are bringing nearly every catcher in the organization to camp, for the simple reason that there's a lot of pitchers who need to throw to someone. Obviously, only Posada and Molina will be on the team come April, but keep an eye on Francisco Cervelli. Posada and Molina are both getting old, especially for catchers, and its very possible that the 20 year-old Cervelli would be called up if either was injured.
Among the non-roster invitees, Montero and Romine stand out as the prospects to watch. Both appear on my list of the Yankees' top prospects (which I'll be sharing here over the coming weeks), and both are players with loads of raw talent. I'm especially interested in seeing how Montero handles himself behind the plate, as defense said to be his biggest weakness. As for the other three NRIs, there's not much to say. Anson, Brown and Pilittere are all decent minor league catchers, but it's hard to imagine any of them having an impact on the major league level.
Tomorrow, I'll take a look at the starting pitchers, where there's a lot more players, questions and competition.
1 comment:
Girardi is very strong on Montero. As a former catcher, I think this camp is going to be very good for all the roster and non roster catchers.
Keep in mind, Montero is one of the younger of the bunch, and is one of the better options to groom to take Posada's place in four years.
Post a Comment