.420/.532/.740 in July 8 for his last 9 with 2 2B and 2 HR Hasn't struck out in 10 days. SWB Yankees Twitter: ...and still mashing. He has always been a good fastball hitter, had some trouble with breaking balls. Guess not anymore. His line on the season: .278/.356/.467 with 10 HR and 43 RBI. About a month ago, his avg was ~.230.
Last I saw last night he was 9 of his last 10. No one can get him out. Plus he even has the discipline to walk when he doesn't get something he likes. I have a feeling the only reason he isn't with the Yankees right now is because they're truly hoping he can stick behind the plate. He did get a start this week at DH though, which might be telling. I'm torn between just bringing him up and letting the chips fall and letting him continue to work as a catcher in AAA. When he hits the majors he has the potential for a lot of offensive production. If he's even at Posada's defensive level he'll be better overall than Jorge. No matter what, he's going to be special.
Kay just mentioned on the broadcast that he's 16/30 since the Lee deal and has 4 homers in his last 10 games.
Maybe they will put him on the 40 man roster when they expand in September. Id love to see him in Yankee Stadium
According to ESPN, Montero was offered in a deal for Soria, but KC passed. A little surprising if true. I was under the impression that Montero was near-untouchable, and that Cliff Lee was the only pitcher he'd be dealt for.
According to ESPN, Dan Haren to the Yankees was imminent. I'm not denying that Montero was offered, just saying that you can't put too much stock in ESPN's trade rumors. It wouldn't surprise me if he were offered, to be honest; clearly they don't see him as a longterm catcher. If he was indeed offered, the bigger surprise would be that KC said no.
There's no way Montero was offered for Soria. I'm certain of it. He's going to be a Yankee unless it's a Cliff Lee-like deal. It has to be a blockbuster or there's no way the Yankees will give him up.
I tend to agree, as Montero may be the best hitting prospect in the league right now. That's why ESPN's report was a little surprising. I do take their "news" with a grain of salt though. Soria is a stud, but I'd rather not deal a 20-year-old potential Manny Ramirez-type talent for him.
Here's the thing with the "Montero for Soria" "news": look at all three "news" events the Yankees have been involved with this year. The first time was Montero driving up the value of Cliff Lee. The next was Joba/Nova driving up the value of Dan Haren. Now it's Montero driving up the value for Soria. The Yankees are being used, and I am happy they were vocal about the Haren thing where they basically laughed off the idea that they were ever even close in talks before the deal with LAA ever happened. It's the same thing I'm proud of the Rams for doing with T.O. Teams shouldn't submit to being used as bargaining chips in deals, and I admire when teams refuse to be roped into that nonsense.
The more I think about it, the more I agree with you. Put it this way: The Yankees couldn't bring in Haren because they refused to raise their offer from two average prospects, Nova and Z-Mac. They made Joba Chamberlain, the setup man, untouchable. Now we're supposed to believe that 2 days later they offered their #1 prospect for a different setup man? Doesn't really add up.
They said that about Austin Jackson too and then gave him away (along with Phil Coke) for a .250 hitter that looks scared to play center field. (His last three Hrs aside)
I can't wait until Nova turns into a big-time pitcher. Your insistence that he he's average drives me batty. :smile: Of course, if I turn out to be wrong I'm going to weep like a child. Couple of things with that Don: 1) AJax was just the most highly rated prospect in the system at the time. That was because he was a package player. A very good centerfielder, and a pretty good hitter. Montero is possibly an "All-Time" type of hitter. Plus, he's continuing to improve almost daily. That's the kind of player you can trade for an established vet and only put a throwaway and a "player to be named later" in as filler. Montero isn't going anywhere unless he absolutely can't play catcher and the team is willing to dump Posada, and I don't think either will be the case. Let's be honest, Posada can still hit, and after his backstop skills over the last decade and a half, it's pretty hard to worry that we can do much worse. 2) You know I was against the Granderson trade, but it happened. Granderson is actually playing significantly worse than he should be though, which is making the trade look a lot more lopsided. He was out for significant amount of time though, and maybe he's just now picking it up. You have to give Granderson another month or two before you just write him off as a busted trade.
nova has always been an average type prospect, but if he keeps up his good GB ratio he could have some success at the mlb level.
I'm saying right now that Nova has #2 starter ability. Which on a team with CC, Lee, and Hughes will make him baseball's best #4. EDIT: Did anyone hear Soria has the Yankees on his no-trade list? Really? I understood Douche Schilling never wanted to be a Yankee, but why would any player who 1) wants to make money, and 2) wants to win not have the Yankees on his list? Whatever.
This is basically what I've been hearing. Nova looks like he should be a blue-chip prospect, but he's just not. He's big and shows flashes, but it's not like he's a strikeout pitcher or is consistently dominant. From the stats and scouting reports, he seems like he could be a nice 3/4 starter. He's not close to the level that Hughes/Joba were as "stud" pitching prospects. Nobody is scrambling to snatch away Ivan Nova from our farm system.
His reason? Leverage. And from that leverage, money. If the Yanks want him, he can agree to waive his no-trade if the Yankees offer him an extension he knows they can afford.
