Jesus Montero Is Jorge Posada's Heir Apparent
Mark Feinsand of the Daily News wrote an interesting piece today on his blog.ย He talks about Jesus Montero possibly being Jorgeโs replacement after his career is over.
Many doubt that Jesus can stay at the catcher position, but I really havenโt heard anything as to why he canโt. He has tremendous power, and playing the catcher position makes him even more valuable. Jesus is only 19 years old, so he has time to develop in the minors before he gets the call.
Monteroโs best year in the minor leagues
Charleston Riverdogs -
(2008) 525ABย .326AVGย 171Hย 86Rย 17HRย 87RBIย .376OBPย .491SLGย [First full season]
Posadaโs best year in the minor leagues
Prince Williams Cannons & Colonie Yankees
(1993) 435ABย .260AVGย 113Hย 74Rย 17HRย 61RBIย .361OBPย .448SLG
from Mark Newman (Yankees Vice President of Baseball Operations):
"โThatโs our intention and, more importantly, thatโs his intention, too,โ said Mark Newman, the Yankeesโ vice president of baseball operations. โRight now, he hasnโt shown us anything that tells us he canโt do it. He improved his throw-out percentage last year. Heโs a big boy, so heโs got to maintain lower body flexibility, but heโs got very good arm strength and heโs very bright, so heโll run a game very well.โ
โThe conventional wisdom might be that heโs too big. But our attitude is that he can do it and we expect him to do it. Heโs a catcher and heโs nothing beyond that, at this time.โ
Montero, who played in the Futures Game at Yankee Stadium last summer, had a huge season at Charleston, the Yankeesโ low-Class A affiliate in 2008, batting .326 with 17 homers and 87 RBI. It was his first full season. Montero likely will move up to high-A Tampa in 2009, Newman said.
"
ย ย ย ย I have high hopes for Montero, and I expect big things out of him. I still canโt believe he is less then two years older then me. He has a really high ceiling, and heโs a guy that you should keep an eye on.
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