Charles Nolte

http://mvn.com/pendingpinstripes/2009/03/nova-returns-jones-gets-dealt.html

In other news, Jason Jones (taken in the Rule V by the Twins), did not make the major league roster for Minnesota. However, they liked him enough to trade A-ball reliver Charles Nolte to the Yanks for the right to keep Jones in the minors. Nolte, who had Tommy John Surgery in his senior year of high school, was drafted in the 24th round out of the University of San Diego. Nolte, 23, put up great numbers in low-A last year, to the tune of a 2.05 ERA, and 75 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings. However, control was a problem, as he walked a batter every other inning, 35 in total. Nolte gets tons of groundballs (putting up an exceptional 74% GB rate) with his low-90's fastball that can touch the mid-90's, and a hard breaking ball with nice potential. He also was very successful at keeping the ball in the park, surrendering only one homer on the season.
While Nolte was old for the league and his control needs some work, this was a nice acquisition for a guy in Jones who was going nowhere in the Yankee organization. I expect Nolte to start in the Tampa bullpen, but he could move quickly if he pitches well. He could be a useful bullpen piece in the majors if he can get his control together, with a nasty sinker like that he doesn't need much in the way of secondary offerings, though his curve has promise.

Eric Duncan (by Mike A.)

From River Ave. Blues

Background
Born just outside of Morristown in Florham Park, NJ, Duncan grew up a Yankee fan and idolized Paul O’Neill. He spent most of his childhood in California, moving back to New Jersey when he was in the eighth grade. Duncan attended Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange and set school records for batting avg (.536), hits (52), homers (12) and RBI (60) as a senior. He was named the Gatorade New Jersey High School Player of the Year and earned a spot on the Baseball America All-American First Team.
Committed to Louisiana State strictly for negotiation leverage purposes, Baseball America rated Duncan the best prospect in the state and 23rd best prospect overall for the 2003 draft. The Yankees selected him with their first round pick, number 27 overall, and he signed days after the draft for a $1,250,000 bonus. Duncan is the best high school hitter to come out of New Jersey in the last decade, if not longer.

Pro Career
Assigned to the Rookie level Gulf Coast League after signing, Duncan hit .278-.343-.400 with twelves doubles and two homers in 180 at-bats before being bumped up to Short Season Staten Island for a late season cameo. In fourteen games (59 AB) with the Baby Bombers he hit .373-.393-.695 with five doubles, four triples and two homers. Baseball America rated him the top prospect in the GCL after the season, ahead of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Matt Capps.
Duncan started his first full professional season with Low-A Battle Creek, where he was named to the All-Star Team after hitting .260-.347-.479. The Yanks moved him up to High-A Tampa in the second half where he held his own by hitting .254-.365-.458. All told, Duncan’s line on the year was .258-.354-.471 with 16 homers and an 43 freaking doubles. He struck out 131 times in 130 games, but his K/BB ratio went from 2.21 with Battle Creek to 1.52 after the promotion. Duncan was named the third best prospect in the Midwest League and the tenth best prospect in the Florida State League after the season, and he was clearly the top prospect in the Yanks’ system.
The Yanks continued to move Duncan up the ladder aggressively by sending him to Double-A Trenton to start 2005. He struggled as one of the youngest hitters in the league, posting then career lows across the board with a .235-.325-.408 batting line, although he did set a career mark by clubbing 19 homers. Duncan was hit in the head by a pitch on August 14th and didn’t play the rest of the season. Despite the down year, Baseball America still rated him as one of the twenty best prospects in the Eastern League.
Even with his struggles and injury at Double-A the year prior, the team bumped Duncan up to Triple-A Columbus at the outset of 2006. He predictably struggled, hitting just .209-.279-.255 with no homers in 31 games before going down with a back injury. He missed just about two months with the injury, and once healthy the team was kind enough to send him back to Trenton. He rebounded well in his second go around with the Thunder, hitting .248-.355-.485 with 10 homers and 15 doubles in 57 games to close out the season. The Yanks sent him to the Arizona Fall League after the season to make up for lost time, and Duncan regained some prospect status by hitting .362-.423-.734 and winning the league MVP.
Duncan had a decent showing in Spring Training, highlighted by a two-run pinch-hit homer off Salomon Torres. He started 2007 at the Triple-A level for the second consecutive year and performed better than his 2006 showing, although that’s not saying much. He hit .241-.323-.389 with 11 homers and 26 doubles in 113 games, continuing to battle nagging back issues. The Yankees declined to add Duncan to the 40-man roster after the season and he was left exposed in the Rule 5 Draft, though he ultimately went unselected and remaining with the organization.
Once again starting the year in Triple-A, Duncan had the worst season of his career in 2008 and was relegated to part-time duty for stretches of the season. He hit .233-.295-.366, career lows across the board. The highlight of his season came in Game One of the International League Championship Series, when he knocked home the winning run with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 9th. Duncan went 3 for 19 (.158) with that one run batted in and twelve strike outs during the four game series, striking out exactly three times in all four games. Again Rule 5 Draft eligible after the season, Duncan again went undrafted after the Yanks left him off the 40-man roster.

Scouting Report
Duncan’s calling card has always been his light tower power from the left side. His swing is picture perfect and his wrists are quick enough to turn on quality fastballs on the inner half. He can absolutely annihilate mistake pitches. Breaking balls have long been his bane however, as Duncan hasn’t learned to recognize them out of the pitcher’s hand or developed the ability stay back and trust his hands. His knowledge of the strike zone is generally good, and he’s shown a knack for coming up with big hits.
Defensively, Duncan had to slide over to first base from the hot corner as his career progressed, a move that wasn’t unexpected. His hands are decent and he’s okay around the bag, but his range is limited and his throws are inconsistent. Duncan’s not a total butcher, but he’ll never save a game with his glove. He’s a below average runner, and the nagging back injuries are also a concern. To his credit, Duncan has outstanding makeup and has shown tremendous work ethic and dedication despite all of his struggles.
You can see a clip of Duncan in the AzFL here, as well as a clip of him falling victim to David Price here.

2009 Outlook
Duncan will make another return trip to Triple-A this year. As always, a strong showing there could earn him some big league action if everything goes his way.

My Take
The Yankees rushed Duncan up the ladder because they had very few prospects when he was drafted and they wanted to boost his trade value, and it’s certainly crippled his development. If he was ever going to have that long awaited breakout, this would be the year to do it; he’ll become a six year minor league free agent after the season unless he’s added to the 40-man roster. Because he’s left handed, can hit the ball a long way on occasion, and play two positions passably, it’s still possible for Duncan to carve out a nice career as a bench player/pinch hit specialist with a NL club. He’s also going to give the outfield a try this year, which would give him an even better chance to land a bench job. He’s over a full year younger than Brett Gardner, so we’re not talking about a prospect past his expiration date just yet. I figured this might be one of the last opportunities I get to profile E-Dunc, so here you go.

Kanekoa Texeira (by Mike A.)

From River Ave. Blues

Background

orn in Maui and raised in Honolulu, Texeira attended Kamehameha High School, which has produced two fringe big leaguers: ex-Yank Bronson Sardinha and his brother Dane. His high school career was plagued by inconsistency - after flashing premium arm strength as a junior his stock took a hit when he was merely ordinary as a senior. Baseball America rated Texeira the second best talent in the state for the 2004 Draft, but he lasted until the 34th round of the draft (916th overall), when the Brewers grabbed him. He didn’t sign and instead headed to Saddleback College in Orange County, CA, a two-year institution.
Texeira served as a swingman as a freshman, going 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and a 4.72 Kper9 over thirteen appearances (four starts). He struggled mightily with his command, posting a 14-22 K/BB ratio in his 26.2 IP. Saddleback went 8-13 in conference play and 20-14 overall, and did not qualify for the California Community College postseason. Although he was eligible for the 2005 draft, Texeira went undrafted and returned to Saddleback for his sophomore season.
Working almost exclusively out of the rotation, Texeira was the Gauchos’ number two starter as a sophomore. He went 6-1 with a 4.00 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and a 5.57 Kper9. He was second on the team in wins, starts (11), innings (63), and strikeouts (39), and more importantly he cut his walk rate from 7.42 BBper9 to 3.43. Saddleback went 1-2 in the Orange Empire Conference Tournament and again failed to qualify for the postseason. Because he was an underwhelming prospect and was relatively unrecruited by a four-year universities, Texeira turned pro when the White Sox selected him in the 22nd round of the 2006 draft, 675th overall.

Pro Career

The White Sox assigned Texeira to Bristol of the Rookie level Appalachian League after he signed, where he dominated out of the bullpen. He worked 23.2 IP over 19 appearances, allowing just 15 hits and 5 walks against 29 strikeouts, and posted a microscopic 0.76 ERA thanks to a stretch of eleven consecutive scoreless outings. Bumped up to Low-A Kannapolis to finish up the year, Texeira allowed eight hits and three runs in six mop-up innings.
Texeira showed up to Spring Training overweight in 2007 and was placed in a conditioning program affectionately known as Fat Camp in the ChiSox organization. He was sent back to Low-A Kannapolis after camp and served as the Intimidators’ closer all year, racking up 16 saves for a team that finished 19.5 games out of first. He allowed 49 hits and 22 walks in 53.2 IP (39 appearances), striking out 58 (9.73 Kper9). Texeira joined the Honolulu Sharks of Hawaii Winter Baseball after the season as an injury replacement, pitching an additional 22 innings (3.71 ERA).
Bumped to High-A Winston-Salem in 2008 , Texeira had a breakout year by notching twenty saves, second in the league. He threw 38.2 IP over 36 appearances, putting up a 1.09 WHIP and 0.93 ERA, and picked up the win in the Carolina League All-Star Game by pitching a scoreless eighth inning. The White Sox bumped him up to Double-A Birmingham in the second half, where he pitched to a 1.12 WHIP and 2.01 ERA in 22.1 IP. All told, Texeira’s 2008 season line was 61 IP, 46 H, 21 BB, 60 K, 2.13 GB/FB and 1.33 ERA.
Texeira was traded to the Yankees along with 1B/OF Nick Swisher on November 13, 2008 in exchange for RHP Jeff Marquez, RHP Jhonny Nunez and IF Wilson Betemit.

Scouting Report

Texeira is a classic sinker-slider reliever. His best offering is a slider that dives away from righties with hard two-plane break, which explains why they hit just .186 with a 2.38 GB/FB rate off him in 2008. His fastball generally sits in the 89-91 mph range, although he can hump it up to 93 if he puts everything into it. Texeira is most effective in the upper 80’s, when he gets the most movement out of his heater. The White Sox had him work on a changeup earlier in his career, but it’s nothing more than a show-me pitch. He does an excellent job of keeping the ball in the park, allowing just three homers total in the last three years.
Working from a low three-quarters arm slot, Texeira isn’t too far off from being a sidearmer. That arm slot is what makes his slider so good, and so far he’s been durable as a pro. His control needs work, and although he had no issues in 2008 he has to work diligently to keep his weight in check. As a dominant reliever he hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity to work on holding runners.

2009 Outlook

Texeira will start the year as a key cog in Double-A Trenton’s bullpen, and could be in line for a midseason promotion to Triple-A Scranton. Rule 5 Draft eligible after the season, Texeira could be trade bait at the deadline given the Yanks’ crowded 40-man roster.

My Take

The Yankees have more relievers in the uppers levels of their farm system than they know what to do with, and Texeira just adds to that crop. I’m a huge JB Cox fan and that’s who Texeira reminds me of, albeit with less control and without the impressive track record at an elite college program. In reality, he’s just another young and cheap relief option with good stuff that’s near Major League ready. With all do respect, I’m glad he’s only the second best Tex the Yanks picked up this offseason.