Post by $heriff Tom on Mar 6, 2014 9:12:02 GMT -5
NEW YORK—Jacoby Ellsbury is entering the first season of a seven-year deal to play center field for the Yankees. Brett Gardner moves from center to left field and can become a free agent at the end of the 2014 season.
Mason Williams
So with center covered for a while and left possibly being open in 2015, are the Yankees thinking about taking a look at top outfield prospect and center fielder Mason Williams in left field during his first major league spring training camp?
“No. He has a chance to be a very good player at that position,” general manager Brian Cashman said of the 22-year-old who was picked in the fourth round of the 2010 draft out of West Orange (Fla.) High. “When you are looking at center fielders, anybody who can play center can play the other outfield positions.”
Williams’ father, Derwin, played for the New England Patriots. In 2011, Williams’ first full professional season, scouts raved about his defensive ability while playing for short-season Staten Island. That didn’t stop in 2012, but what propelled him to be ranked by Baseball America as the top Yankees’ prospect was the bat.
Yet, after batting .349/.395/.468 in 269 at-bats over 68 games for Staten Island in 2011 and .298/.346/.474 in 359 at-bats over a combined 91 games for low Class A Charleston and high Class A Tampa in 2012, Williams fell off at the plate in 2013 when he played for Tampa and Double-A Trenton.
In 117 games (100 with Tampa), the lefthanded hitter with well above-average speed, hit .245/.304/.337 in 478 at-bats. However, the season’s lowlight came in April, when Williams was arrested for DUI.
At Tampa, Williams batted .261/.327/.350 in 406 at-bats. In 17 games for Trenton, Williams hit .153/.164/.264 in 72 at-bats.
“He is a table-setter, not a power guy,” Cashman said of the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder who hit .267/.330/.337 in 86 at-bats for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League.
In order to be considered for a major league spot in 2015 should Gardner leave, Williams would have to at least reach Triple-A at some point this coming season
Mason Williams
So with center covered for a while and left possibly being open in 2015, are the Yankees thinking about taking a look at top outfield prospect and center fielder Mason Williams in left field during his first major league spring training camp?
“No. He has a chance to be a very good player at that position,” general manager Brian Cashman said of the 22-year-old who was picked in the fourth round of the 2010 draft out of West Orange (Fla.) High. “When you are looking at center fielders, anybody who can play center can play the other outfield positions.”
Williams’ father, Derwin, played for the New England Patriots. In 2011, Williams’ first full professional season, scouts raved about his defensive ability while playing for short-season Staten Island. That didn’t stop in 2012, but what propelled him to be ranked by Baseball America as the top Yankees’ prospect was the bat.
Yet, after batting .349/.395/.468 in 269 at-bats over 68 games for Staten Island in 2011 and .298/.346/.474 in 359 at-bats over a combined 91 games for low Class A Charleston and high Class A Tampa in 2012, Williams fell off at the plate in 2013 when he played for Tampa and Double-A Trenton.
In 117 games (100 with Tampa), the lefthanded hitter with well above-average speed, hit .245/.304/.337 in 478 at-bats. However, the season’s lowlight came in April, when Williams was arrested for DUI.
At Tampa, Williams batted .261/.327/.350 in 406 at-bats. In 17 games for Trenton, Williams hit .153/.164/.264 in 72 at-bats.
“He is a table-setter, not a power guy,” Cashman said of the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder who hit .267/.330/.337 in 86 at-bats for Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League.
In order to be considered for a major league spot in 2015 should Gardner leave, Williams would have to at least reach Triple-A at some point this coming season
