MINORS: The eyes have it—Peter O'Brien's hot streak

Prospects streak, too.

The past several weeks have been a boon for Yankees catching prospect Peter O'Brien. Ranked near the middle of the pack (#9) in our off-season New York Organization Report, his first two months in 2014 have been dazzling and his performance is gaining notice. 

O'Brien was a 2012 second-round draftee out of the University of Miami, and he started hitting home runs immediately in pro ball. He hit 10 in 198 AB in short-season Staten Island in 2012, followed it up with 11 bombs in 194 AB in Low-A Charleston to begin 2013. The Yankees then moved him up to High-A Tampa in mid-season 2013, where he continued the barrage: 11 more HR in 252 AB.

Still, coming into 2014, there were some nicks on his profile, most notably the swing-and-miss in his game (70% ct% at both stops in 2013) and the reports of his below-average defense at catcher. Added to the circumstance is that the organization's #1 prospect, Gary Sánchez, is also a catcher who received less than 100 AB at Double-A Trenton in 2013, and the Yankees chose to have O'Brien repeat High-A to start 2014.

It didn't last long; 112 AB, to be exact. O'Brien forced the team's hand with a .321/.353/.688 slash mark over that time, when he clubbed 10 more HR. The math is impressive: 42 HR in 771 AB before O'Brien even reached Double-A. There were still flaws—O'Brien had only four walks against 29 strikeouts in Tampa this season, and his defense was still a concern. But Sanchez or no, he needed to be challenged, especially as a 23-year-old with major college experience. So he got the call to Double-A Trenton on May 8. 

And the hitting continued. The Double-A Eastern League is a circuit known for its pitcher-friendly parks. O'Brien laughed: In his first 10 games: 42 AB, 13 H, 7 HR. His seventh HR of this stretch was a mammoth 400+ foot shot over the batter's eye in dead center field in Trenton that had even Reggie Jackson, a Yankees advisor in attendance, talking about it several days later. 

Obviously power like this is a fantasy baseball staple, and attempting to project minor-league skills sets to the major-league performance is one of the main tasks of our prospect coverage here at BaseballHQ.com. So with Trenton playing host to Harrisburg this week, I got the chance to sit in on the two games immediately following O'Brien's white-hot 10-game stretch to get some in-game looks. Observations:

Peter O'Brien (C, NYY)

O'Brien is certainly well-proportioned for role of both power-hitter and catcher (though more on that later). He stands 6-3, 215 with broad shoulders and a strong core; at 23, there's not a lot of projection left physically. As such, he has a big, leveraged right-handed swing that got long at times, but he muscled several balls that he didn't seem to hit particularly well into long fly ball outs. Alas, there were no O'Brien HR during the two games, but you could see the elements in place (coordination, balance, bat speed) for MLB game power.

But there were some concerns, too. In the first game, Harrisburg fed him a steady diet of off-speed stuff that produced several awkward swings (and misses) in his first couple of at-bats. When he did make contact, he lofted a couple routine fly balls to left. Later in the game, they attempted to pound O'Brien inside with hard stuff, and he made good contact but resulted in two grounders to short (one of which was generously scored a hit, though a big-league SS converts it into an out).

Harrisburg starter A.J. Cole didn't continue the off-speed party in second game, though O'Brien's plate appearances were a mixed bag, He struck out once and hit three fly balls, one of which was tagged to right-center field. Though they were not all hit hard, O'Brien did get a lot of carry, and overall indicated that he is still able to do some damage without exactly squaring the ball up. But he'll need to continue to find a better approach in recognizing and learning how to make solid contact with off-speed pitches. Which Double-A will be perfect for.

In the field, there are problems that could affect his eventual value as both a real-life and fantasy player. O'Brien started the first game at catcher. And once on base, Harrisburg ran on him all day. He had trouble making the glove-to-throwing hand transfer; twice bobbled ball that cost him a chance at throwing out the runner. And when didn't bobble, his footwork and release looked deliberate and slow in delivering the throw. He had pop times (catcher's mitt to infielder's mitt) in the 2.0-2.3 range; 1.95 is considered MLB average. He showed a strong (if not particularly accurate) arm; and did throw out a runner trying to steal third. Additionally, he missed a couple balls in dirt and one catchable pitch went off his glove with a runner on third who scored. Reports of his shaky catcher defense coming into this season were confirmed in this admittedly small one-game sample. 

The night after, O'Brien started in right field, a position he just started trying out some this year, both in Tampa and Trenton. Again the results were less than optimal; he looked shaky at best on two of the three chances out there. Took an odd route to one fly ball but made the catch, but on a second, only a last-moment leap kept the ball from sailing over his head due to another questionable read.  With Gary Sánchez also needing reps at Double-A behind the plate, it seems logical that the Yankees should attempt to explore other defensive options for O'Brien. And given his athleticism in the batter's box, it would make sense that he could learn to play the outfield. But as for right now, it's a work in progress.

Longer-term, these questions on where O'Brien fits defensively are important for both New York and fantasy owners. Obviously, the Yankees need a DH, but if O'Brien's hit tool continues be deficient as far as handling off-speed pitches, one has to question whether slotting a player in his mid-20s into that role is the best use of their resources—especially when New York's budget can afford just about any established major-league free-agent hitter that comes along. As stated above, O'Brien is already 23, so there's not a huge window of time for him to learn a new position. 

And he could still stick at catcher, either in this organization or another—which of course would make him a huge fantasy asset. 

The circumstances here are fascinating: O'Brien's quick rise, undeniable power, holes in both his offensive and defensive game, the presence of Sanchez—not to mention the expectations of both New York and the Yankees. If O'Brien continues to deposit balls into the seats at Double-A, the plot will only thicken.

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