Sports

PAUL SOKOLOSKI

Shelley Duncan took his 30 home runs and 99 RBI and signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.

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Eric Duncan, no relation but almost as popular, followed him out the door.

They both followed the lead of Josh Towers, Doug Bernier, Cody Ransom, Steven Jackson and Anthony Claggett.

So the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees who open this season are going to look a lot different from the team that began last year at PNC Field.

“We lost some guys, via the free agent and other things,” SWB Yankees manager Dave Miley said.

The SWB Yankees even lost their biggest prospect when parent New York traded away promising center fielder Austin Jackson to Detroit. He was packaged in a three-team deal that sent SWB pitching prospect Ian Kennedy to Arizona, in exchange for Curtis Granderson – who will patrol center field for the big club this season.

Shelley Duncan saw a big opportunity to play in the major leagues with Cleveland, so he left the Yankees organization after three seasons of leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in home runs.

Infielder Eric Duncan ran to the Atlanta organization as a free agent, infielder Ransom signed on with Philadelphia and Towers took a free agent offer from the Dodgers.

Bernier took off for Pittsburgh, where former SWB Yankees Claggett and Steven Jackson were already waiting after being released and claimed off waivers by the Pirates last summer.

A lot of guys never seem to last with the same organization at the Triple-A level.

That kind of turnover makes you wonder if the the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, who won the Governors’ Cup championship in 2008 and played for it again last year, aren’t in the business of developing someone else’s prospects.

“That’s Triple-A baseball,” Miley said.

But as soon as the door closes on one year, it opens for another.

And this year promises an exciting chance for a fresh group of faces.

The SWB Yankees have a new top organization prospect to develop now in 20-year-old catcher Jesus Monterro. He has the organization raving about his potential, as Monterro’s destined to become the replacement for Jorge Posada in New York soon.

Monterro will be easy to find, because he’ll be the guy drilling the baseball daily in the middle of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s lineup.

And anyone who believes the SWB Yankees lost a lot of power with the loss of Shelley Duncan hasn’t watched Monterro and David Winfree hit.

Winfree, an outfielder who can play first base and DH, brings an electric bat - and 45 home runs over the last three years - with him from the Minnesota Twins organization.

He’ll join Jon Weber, who was a big threat with Triple-A Durham the past two years and led the Yankees with a .583 batting average in big league camp, as free agent outfielders intent on hammering the ball in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

If pitcher Mark Melancon keeps dropping the hammer on opposing hitters as a late-inning relief specialist the way he did for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, he may be on his way to New York for good real soon.

He may even drive to the Yankee Stadium clubhouse with infielders Kevin Russo and Reegie Corona, who will play various infield positions in Triple-A this season while preparing to provide immediate utility help to defending World Champion New York.

“Preparing guys to play in New York is always the primary objective,” said Mark Newman, New York’s senior vice president of baseball operations. “We try to prepare our guys in Scranton to fill needs when they become available.”

And if those guys aren’t around after the end of one season, a new group always awaits the next.

Paul Sokoloski is a columnist for The Times Leader. Reach him at psokoloski@timesleader.com