But what happens to the guys who play well, they put up good numbers, but you know why aren't going to get a shot with the big club?
Here we have Brandon Laird
, a third baseman for the Yankees Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder. Laird was drafted in the 27th round in 2005 and 2007, first by the Indians and then by the Yankees. He's 22 years old and has a guy ahead of him in New York that may not be going anywhere anytime soon.Alex Rodriguez has dealt with injuries as of late, but he is signed through 2017. ARod will be 40 by then.
Laird is hitting the ball well in double-A. Through Thursday, he has a .293 batting average, but 18 home runs and 76 RBIs through 71 RBIs.
Laird doesn't have much out there when it comes to baseball cards. He appeared in 2008 Bowman Chrome
. That's it. What do you do with a guy like this?
The Yankees should trade this guy. They aren't very high on his future and when the Yankees are ready for another third baseman, they'll just loot the major league farm system (say, get Ryan Zimmerman from the Nats) rather than look to their minor league farm system.
ReplyDeleteLaird deserves to be in an organization where there is opportunity and they'll value him more.
p.s. there is a guy here that is similar to Laird in that there is very little chance of getting a big league shot.
ReplyDeleteJohn Lindsey was tearing up the PCL until he got hurt. He's not on the Dodgers 40man roster so he's hard to add to the Dodgers roster without a lot of tough decisions being made in Los Angeles -- and the Dodgers seem to have a love fest with Xavier Paul so whenever an outfielder is needed, Paul gets the call.
He'll get to the Major Leagues somehow. A guy with a brother already playing in the Major Leagues and is a relatively decent prospect will get their opportunity.
ReplyDeleteWhether it is playing for the Yankees or another team is the issue.
I'd root for the guy [if I was a Yankees fan] and tell him to not get into too much trouble with his bro during the offseason before he is even called up to The Show.
He's not a prospect (yet). I looked in my prospect handbook and he makes no appearance (so he's not a top 30 prospect for the Yankees) and that fact among other things makes me not surprised that he only has one bowman chrome card and no hobby love like you get for most Yankees prospects.
ReplyDeleteThat being said...John Lindsey is also not a prospect. I saw him at a Las Vegas 51's game like 3 years ago. He's been the NL's version of Mike Hessmann for the past 5 years. A Triple A stud that never sticks in the majors. The guys has to be 30 years old by now.
ReplyDeleteAn update for Laird in Baseball America's most recent Hot Sheet
ReplyDeleteDouble-A Trenton 3B Brandon Laird (Yankees) has been the pleasant surprise among organization prospects. The 22-year-old slugged four home runs this week, including a two-homer, seven-RBI night on Thursday. Laird now leads the minors with 76 RBIs and is tied for third in home runs with 18 . . .
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2010/2610247.html