Splitsville: Reegie Corona v1.1

"Splitsville" is a series of articles on the Yankees' prospects that we'll be doing throughout their minor league careers. In version one/chapter one (v1.1) of Reegie Corona, we'll look how he did against the right-handed pitchers versus the southpaws, how he hit with runners in scoring position, and more.

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Wet Behind The Ears: 2B Reegie Corona was signed by the Yankees as an International free agent out of Venezuela as a 16-year old back in July of 2003. Since then, the switch-hitting middle infielder has played just two years of short-season baseball, the last of which came with the Staten Island Yankees in 2005. While still seeking his first home run as a professional, it must be pointed out that the slick-fielding second baseman has really only truly begun his progression in the farm system.

Road Patience: One of the more telling signs about how a young player handles pressure situations is to see how they manage playing on the road. If 2005 was any indication, the Yankees have to be encouraged by Reegie Corona's mature approach away from Richmond County Ballpark, the home of the Staten Island Yankees.

Reegie Corona played in 36 home games and 36 road games, hitting 38 points higher on the road. He hit just .208 at home and .246 away from Richmond County Ballpark. While his better batting average on the road was a welcomed sight, it was his patience at the plate away from home that was a great sign of things to come. Corona drew 11 more walks on the road, a significant number for short-season baseball. It will be interesting to see if Corona's patience at the plate on the road continues as he progresses through the Yankees' minor league system. If it does, he could become the elite offensive second base prospect many believe he could be.

Fizzled Late: While Corona's greater success on the road was an impressive sign, his late-season struggles were discouraging. He began the year hitting .252 with 8 doubles and 23 runs scored in his first 37 games with the Staten Island Yankees this past season, but finished off the year in dreadful fashion.

Corona hit just .214 in the final 35 games of the season, scoring just 9 runs and collecting just 3 doubles. In fact, he went hitless (0-19) in his final seven games, his longest streak without a hit all year. His late-season collapse in 2005 has clouded his previously apparent promotion to Charleston to start next season. Corona and the Yankees are hoping his slump doesn't extend into Spring Training in 2006.

Better From The Left Side: It is not unusual for a switch hitter of Corona's limited experience to show a pronounced favoritism hitting from one side of the plate over another. Corona, who batted just .196 while batting right-handed, hit .234 from the left side in 2005. Although with his speed, it doesn't come as a complete shock that Corona would have better success coming down the first base line quicker while batting left-handed.

But Corona also hit for a higher extra-base hit percentage while batting from the left side, another sign that he's more comfortable hitting against right-handed pitchers. He collected just one extra-base hit against southpaws for a 11.1% extra-base hit percentage. Corona smacked 20.4% of his hits for extra-bases while batting lefty, a number more in line with the expectations of a middle infielder. The Yankees will most likely keep a close eye on Corona's lefty-righty splits over the next couple of years to see if he would be better utilized as a platoon player or if he can hit lefties enough to be legitimate starting second base prospect.

Better In The Back End: Currently, Reegie Corona's lack of power would normally be enough evidence to show that he's better hitting further down in the lineup. However, among his 2005 splits, Corona's varying batting averages in different spots in the batting order only proved that point even more.

Corona hit just a combined .194 batting either first or second in the Staten Island lineup this past season with 6 walks and 17 strikeouts in 23 games. Batting anywhere from seventh to ninth in the order however, Corona hit a combined .247 with 21 walks and just 15 strikeouts in 49 games. It is still very early in his development, but Reegie Corona clearly feels more comfortable on the back end of the batting order.

Showing His Age: Where Reegie Corona was at his worst, and where it wasn't all too surprising given his young age and lack of experience, was hitting with two outs. Corona, who hit .261 with runners on base overall this past season, batted just .133 with runners on base and with two outs for the Staten Island Yankees.

And when the pressure mounted even more, Corona continually failed to deliver. He hit just .235 with runners in scoring position, and again, with two outs, was even worse. Corona batted just .107 this past season with runners in scoring position and with two outs. He's going to have work on his focus in the higher pressure situations, especially batting with two outs, in order to make that next leap in prospect status.

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