Erick Almonte
From BR Bullpen
Erick Almonte
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut September 4, 2001
- Born February 1, 1978 in Santo Domingo, D.R.
[edit] Biographical Information
Erick Almonte is the brother of Hector Almonte and enters 2007 in his 12th year in professional baseball.
He was signed at the age of 16 by the New York Yankees. He debuted professionally with the 1996 DSL Yankees, hitting .282 with 8 HR and 36 RBI. In 1997, Erick was on the GCL Yankees and batted .283/~.352/.400. He made the Gulf Coast League All-Star team at third base and led the league's third basemen in putouts (53). Baseball America rated him the #4 prospect in the GCL, ahead of highly-touted teammate Jackson Melian.
Almonte struggled in his first look at a full-season league, hitting .209/~.257/.278 in 120 games while striking out 121 times for the 1998 Greensboro Bats. In 1999, Erick hit .257/~.312/.374 in 61 games for the Tampa Yankees, battling injury. He spent 9 games with the GCL Yankees on a rehab stint, hitting .300/~.367/.567.
In 2000, Almonte made it to AA and had a solid year for the Norwich Navigators, hitting .271/.326/.427 with 16 homers, 77 RBI and 12 steals in 14 tries. He led Eastern League shortstops with 33 errors. Baseball America ranked him the Yankees' #7 prospect. In the Arizona Fall League, he hit .301/?/.515 and made the All-Star team for the Maryvale Saguaros.
Almonte spent 3 games in 2001 with Norwich (.250/.308/.250) but spent most of the year with the Columbus Clippers, hitting .287/.369/.464. He led International League shortstops with 27 errors. Baseball America rated him as the IL's 8th-best prospect, ahead of fellow infielders Joe Crede, Marcus Giles and Brian Roberts and #8 in the Yankees chain. He got a September call-up and went 2 for 4 with a double and two steals in 8 games. In his first game, he was a defensive substitute, handling a Shannon Stewart grounder in his first inning of work. In his first at-bat, he singled to left against Chris Carpenter.
In 2002, Almonte struggled, only hitting .235/.282/.412 for Columbus and getting sent back down to Norwich, where he worked with Luis Sojo. He batted .241/.342/.306 for Norwich. Overall, he smacked 17 homers that year and made 26 errors.
No longer a hot prospect, Almonte batted .240/.310/.380 for Columbus in 48 games in 2003. When Derek Jeter was hurt, Erick stepped in to hit .260/.321/.350 in 31 games while fielding .906.
A free agent, Erick moved to the Colorado Rockies organization and had fine year, hitting .318/.402/.507 for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox with 17 home runs and 91 runs scored. He primarily played second base. In a hitter-friendly league and park, he did finish among the top 10 in average, unlike infield mates Clint Barmes (.328) and Garrett Atkins (.366). Chris Burke was named the All-Star 2B in the Pacific Coast League. Almonte did play in the AAA All-StarGame, going 0 for 2 as Barmes' backyp at shortstop. He had a shot at an extra-base hit but was robbed by Midre Cummings in the 8th inning.
Still just 26, Almonte had a fine campaign for the 2004-2005 Licey Tigers, hitting .325/?/.550. He led the Dominican League in both home runs (7) and RBI (38).
Moving to Japan for 2005, Almonte struggled with the Nippon Ham Fighters, only hitting .193/.330/.318 with 27 strikeouts in 88 AB. Makoto Kaneko reclaimed the SS role during the year.
In 2006 he played for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, hitting .302/?/.448 with 73 runs, 77 RBI and 16 steals. He tied Ryan Radmanovich and Reggie Taylor for 7th in the league in average. Jeff Nettles was picked as the All-Star third baseman ahead of Almonte.
In 2007, Almonte attended spring training camp for the Colorado Rockies until the final weeks. During this time he played four positions including first, second, third base, and shortstop.
After being released by Colorado, Almonte was signed by the Detroit Tigers and assigned to their AA club, the Erie SeaWolves. After 98 AB, he is batting .306/.395/.490 with 19 RBI in 27 games.
Almonte has a shot to return to the Major Leagues. He is a position player who can play four positions in the infield and is still just 29 years old. He has decent range and has consistently hit about .300 over the past 4 years, excluding his time in Japan. One negative has been Almonte's fielding percentage. From 1999 to 2005, Almonte made a lot of errors, but it seems he has cleaned up his fielding for another trip to the majors.
Sources include 1997-2007 Baseball Almanacs, Japan Baseball Daily by Gary Garland, MILB.com
