Melancon Gettting A Lot Of Attention This Spring

Today was Mark Melancon's day to throw some to live hitting and many people came away impressed.

First there was this from Tyler Kepner of the NY Times:

Melancon looked good Sunday, with a crisp fastball and curveball. He induced missed swings, broke Cano’s bat and impressed the veterans.

“He’s got a bright future, there’s no doubt about that,” said Jorge Posada, who caught Melancon’s session. “He could be a short reliever, a closer type. I think he could do it.”

Posada also talked about Melancon’s professional demeanor, the diligent way he works out in the weight room and his commanding presence on the mound. Those were some of the same sentiments I found last June, when I wrote this piece on Melancon, then blowing away hitters for Class AA Trenton.

Peter Abraham was equally impressed:

Wow. 30 pitches and there were four swing and misses. He also broke Cano’s bat. There were two balls put in play, singles by Jeter and Romine.

Melancon’s fastball was as advertised. He also threw five curveballs and all but one were strikes. It’s a big curve, too.

And so was Mark Feinsand:

I'm certainly no scout, but Melancon's stuff looked pretty impressive from my vantage point, which was behind the cage and about six feet to the right.

Instead of trusting my own amateur evaluation, I went to some more qualified people to ask their opinions on Melancon.

Joe Girardi: “His ball cuts, it sinks; it's got a lot of movement and late life to it. That usually translates into swings and misses, not solid contact.”

Jorge Posada: “Good curveball, his four-seamer naturally cuts and he's got a very good two-seamer. … His attitude, his demeanor, he works really hard. It's good to watch what he's doing. He's very professional.”

And in a different article Melancon told Feinsand:

"I think I'm ready," Melancon said when asked if he feels he belongs in the majors. "I still think I have a lot of learning to do. I'm definitely not at the level I want to be at."

Roderick Boone had this quote from Girardi:

"Obviously, you don't want to make too much of what you see right now because I believe his stuff is going to get better as he goes in spring training," Girardi said. "I love his arm. I love the movement on his fastball. His curveball is very good. So he's an interesting young man."

Girardi also told Pete Caldera that:

Melancon is “a guy we expect to be in the [relievers] mix,”

And finally here's some quotes from Melancon from Bryan Hoch:

Melancon has become the readiest available answer to this eternal question:Who will replace Mariano Rivera as the Yankees' closer?

"I think it's able to be done, so I'm excited for that," Melancon said. "I'm excited that people are throwing that out there, but I know it's not true until I make it true."

"I knew this year would be a good opportunity for me to possibly get in and have a shot at making the team," Melancon said. "I think I'm ready. I still think I have a lot of learning to do. I'm definitely not at the level that I want to be at."

"Mo is awesome," Melancon said. "Obviously on the field, he's great. But off the field, he's a standup person and you can see that by the way he carries himself. That was fun for me to try and get to know him. What I realize about the older guys -- [Andy] Pettitte and Mo -- they just know the game like the back of their hands."

I don't have much to add to this, except that I think he will be a major part of that bullpen at some point this season. The injury to Edwar Ramirez, if serious, may open that door even sooner.

Last season in the minors Melancon went 8-1 with 3 saves and a 2.27 ERA with Tampa, Trenton, and Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. In 95 innings he struck out 89 and walked just 22. For more on Melancon check out his Baseball Cube page here.