Minor Leaguer Underperformers and Busts

We've already taken a look at those who have greatly exceeded their expectations, so let's see who has not nearly lived up to their hype at all...

J. Brent Cox: I criticized the Yankees this offseason for not protecting him from the Rule V draft, but I guess I should have trusted the guys that see him on a regular basis. He struggled badly in Scranton and left the team after being demoted to Trenton. It's too bad that the Tommy John surgery that he had will probably prevent him from having a career. Maybe it wouldn't be a terrible idea for him to try to learn a funky sidearm/underhand type of delivery. He's still only 25. In Scranton he missed time with an injury and had a 7.08 ERA when he did pitch.

Marcos Vechionacci: I hoped this would be the season where he did something productive after hitting .302 in an injury-shortened 53 at-bat season last year, but the 22 year old Venezuelan is only hitting .199. I don't understand why he is not in Tampa right now. He's young enough that he should continue getting at-bats as long as he is not blocking someone, but it should be at a lower level.

Justin Snyder: There wasn't room at Tampa, so the Yankees had Snyder skip High-A completely and start the year in Trenton. So far, Snyder has been terrible, which is surprising considering his numbers the previous two years - he has always had a good contact ability and a lot of walks. He is only 23 though and has a track record so he's not a lost cause, but he is only hitting an abysmal .181/.292/.551 with only 7 extra base hits.

Chris Garcia: After rebounding from yet another injury he put up a 0.71 ERA in 5 starts. But then Mr. Glass hurt his shoulder again and will need surgery, likely putting him out for most of next year.

Alan Horne: I hoped that his struggles last year were related to his shoulder injury. Well, he went into this season and did even worse, putting up an 11.15 ERA in Trenton and now he is back on the DL. Too bad.

Damon Sublett: He had to repeat Tampa due to missing a lot of last season, but he's just been mediocre this year at Tampa with a .752 OPS. But I wouldn't be surprised if the 23 year old second baseman really picks it up in the second half of the season.

Jairo Heredia: Heredia got a lot of hype after putting up very good numbers in Charleston as an 18-year old. Unfortunately, he has not thrown a single pitch this season with an "upper body" injury that the Yankees won't reveal. Hopefully he can get into action by August and get some innings in the offseason, and avoids (or avoided) surgery.

Brad Suttle: After a decent season in Charleston last year, he had two shoulder surgeries and will miss the entire season.

Brandon Laird: Last year he had 23 homers in Charleston and clearly got better as the season moved on. But he has hit a wall in Tampa so far. The 21 year old has a .678 OPS with only 5 homeruns and a .247 batting average.

Dellin Betances: It looked as if he found the ability to locate his pitches the second half of last year. However, this year, he walked 27 in 44 innings and has missed most of the season with injuries.

Humberto Sanchez: He made his Major League debut last September and looked like he could be a piece in the bullpen this season. But he got injured again and is now struggling down in Tampa.

And the award for biggest bust goes to...
Andrew Brackman: He was actually doing very well for the first 2 months of the season, but then just hit a wall. Now he has 56 walks in 73.1 innings and a 6.01 ERA in Charleston. The only encouraging sign is the almost 1 strikeout/inning. Not a great first season for the 1st round draft pick...