At the beginning of '10, A-rod just wasn't himself. He hit .250 in April with just 2 homers and 14 RBI. Then he seemed to turn it on in May, hitting .330 with 5 homers and 27 RBI. But then, at least partially because of his groin injury, A-rod hit just .220 with just 1 homer and 4 RBI in the 15 games he played between June 1st and June 21st. But since then, A-rod has finally shown some flashes of his former self. He has hit .417 since June 21st, with 2 homers and 7 RBI. In these 4 games, A-rod hit more homers and drove in more runs than he had all of June before this little streak.
Is A-rod back? Well, 4 games is a very short stretch of time. We'll have to see. But, from these 4 games we can see that A-rod can still do it. He can still be that player who the Yankees signed to such a huge contract. Can he do it consistently the rest of the year? That remains to be seen. Still, we can now justify having hope that A-rod will put up his career averages of 35 homers and 103 RBI per season. With 10 homers and 52 RBI in 68 games, he is currently on pace for 22 homers and 114 RBI, which would still be a pretty good year for A-rod, but, he would have hit less than 30 homers in a season for the first time since 1997. Hopefully A-rod can stay on this little hot streak and his homers will catch up to his RBI's.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Colin Curtis comes out of nowhere
.666, 3 RBI in 3 at-bats. I realize it's 3 at-bats, but Curtis looks so comfortable out there. He has been so clutch. In 3 games, he already has a 2-run double to break open a game, and an RBI single to get the Yankees within a run. Where did he come from?
I'm not sure if anyone thought that Curtis would make it to the majors so fast. Curtis, a 4th round draft pick out of Arizona State, had a good first season between the Rookie level GCL Yankees and the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees, hitting .311 with 11 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBI, 5 SB, and a .374 OBP in 47 games. In '07, Curtis hit .270 with 19 doubles, 8 homers, 41 RBI, 5 SB, 69 runs, and a .339 OBP in 126 games between the High-A Tampa Yankees and the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He looked like a decent hitter at that point, but nothing special.
In '08, Curtis hit .255 with 20 doubles, 10 homers, 71 RBI, 6 SB, 68 runs, and a .329 OBP in 132 games at Trenton. His power numbers improved, but his BA and OBP were not good enough. Between Trenton and the Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees in '09, Curtis did even worse, hitting .250 with 24 doubles, 7 homers, 48 RBI, 8 SB, 57 runs, and a .321 OBP in 126 games. His BA and OBP went down every year from '06 to '09. Who would have thought he'd be in the majors just one year later!
At Scranton in '10, Curtis hit .280 with 11 doubles, 0 homers, 12 RBI, 0 SB, 12 runs, and a .357 OBP in 34 games. Apparently the improvement in BA and OBP by Curtis was enough- he was called up to be a lefty hitter against the Arizona bullpen, which consists of all righties. Who thought he would have been called up this year?
Will he be this good in '10? Well, he won't hit .666. Still, he has a shot to make a good impact, similar to Kevin Russo. I would not be surprised if Chad Huffman and not Chad Curtis is sent down to the minors when Marcus Thames comes back from the DL.
I'm not sure if anyone thought that Curtis would make it to the majors so fast. Curtis, a 4th round draft pick out of Arizona State, had a good first season between the Rookie level GCL Yankees and the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees, hitting .311 with 11 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBI, 5 SB, and a .374 OBP in 47 games. In '07, Curtis hit .270 with 19 doubles, 8 homers, 41 RBI, 5 SB, 69 runs, and a .339 OBP in 126 games between the High-A Tampa Yankees and the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He looked like a decent hitter at that point, but nothing special.
In '08, Curtis hit .255 with 20 doubles, 10 homers, 71 RBI, 6 SB, 68 runs, and a .329 OBP in 132 games at Trenton. His power numbers improved, but his BA and OBP were not good enough. Between Trenton and the Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees in '09, Curtis did even worse, hitting .250 with 24 doubles, 7 homers, 48 RBI, 8 SB, 57 runs, and a .321 OBP in 126 games. His BA and OBP went down every year from '06 to '09. Who would have thought he'd be in the majors just one year later!
At Scranton in '10, Curtis hit .280 with 11 doubles, 0 homers, 12 RBI, 0 SB, 12 runs, and a .357 OBP in 34 games. Apparently the improvement in BA and OBP by Curtis was enough- he was called up to be a lefty hitter against the Arizona bullpen, which consists of all righties. Who thought he would have been called up this year?
Will he be this good in '10? Well, he won't hit .666. Still, he has a shot to make a good impact, similar to Kevin Russo. I would not be surprised if Chad Huffman and not Chad Curtis is sent down to the minors when Marcus Thames comes back from the DL.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
What's wrong with Burnett?
Burnett got off to an incredible start this year. After 6 starts, he was 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA. Batters were hitting just .245 against him. In the 9 starts since then, he's been 2-6 with a 7.11 ERA. Batters have been hitting .304 against him during this time period. To cap it off, Burnett has gone 0-4 with a 10.35 in his last 4 starts, and 0-2 with a 15.95 ERA in his last 2. Batters have hit .335 against him in his last 4 starts, and .405 against him in his last 2 starts. Yeah, that's right, .405. Every batter on the Phillies and Diamondbacks has turned into Ted Williams against him. What's going on?
For the whole year, there has been a world of difference between home and away for Burnett. At home, he has gone 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA. On the road, he has gone 3-4 with a 5.85 ERA. That's obviously a problem. Are the opposing crowds getting to him?
He doesn't appear to be comfortable unless he has a big lead. He has gone 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in his starts when the Yankees have scored 0-2 runs for him, 2-4 with a 6.53 ERA when given 3-5 runs, and 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA when given 6 or more runs of run support.
He also never seems to settle in during his starts. After hitting just .349 against Burnett in the 1st inning, batters hit just .211 against him in the 2nd inning. He's settled in, right? Wrong. Batters hit .315 against him in the 3rd inning. Then, after hitting just .241 against him in the 4th inning, they hit .300 against him in the 5th, .297 in the 6th, and .276 in the 7th. Then batters hit just .000 against him in the 8th. Maybe you can say that he settles down in the 8th, but that's way too late in the game. To put this all in different terms, batters hit .295 against him in their first at-bat, .267 in their 2nd, .290 in their 3rd at-bat, and .211 in their 4th at bat. It's reasonable for him to allow a .349 BA in the 1st inning, but he really needs to consistently settle in after that.
So, without talking about mechanics or anything like that, the 3 things that Burnett needs to fix are pitching away from Yankee Stadium, getting comfortable no matter the score, and settling in after the 1st inning. If he can fix those problems, he can be a very good pitcher.
For the whole year, there has been a world of difference between home and away for Burnett. At home, he has gone 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA. On the road, he has gone 3-4 with a 5.85 ERA. That's obviously a problem. Are the opposing crowds getting to him?
He doesn't appear to be comfortable unless he has a big lead. He has gone 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in his starts when the Yankees have scored 0-2 runs for him, 2-4 with a 6.53 ERA when given 3-5 runs, and 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA when given 6 or more runs of run support.
He also never seems to settle in during his starts. After hitting just .349 against Burnett in the 1st inning, batters hit just .211 against him in the 2nd inning. He's settled in, right? Wrong. Batters hit .315 against him in the 3rd inning. Then, after hitting just .241 against him in the 4th inning, they hit .300 against him in the 5th, .297 in the 6th, and .276 in the 7th. Then batters hit just .000 against him in the 8th. Maybe you can say that he settles down in the 8th, but that's way too late in the game. To put this all in different terms, batters hit .295 against him in their first at-bat, .267 in their 2nd, .290 in their 3rd at-bat, and .211 in their 4th at bat. It's reasonable for him to allow a .349 BA in the 1st inning, but he really needs to consistently settle in after that.
So, without talking about mechanics or anything like that, the 3 things that Burnett needs to fix are pitching away from Yankee Stadium, getting comfortable no matter the score, and settling in after the 1st inning. If he can fix those problems, he can be a very good pitcher.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
What's the difference with Kazmir?
We all remember Scott Kazmir as that great Devil Rays pitcher on terrible teams. But now he's struggling with a 5.27 ERA. What's going on?
From 2005, his first full season, to 2008, Kazmir averaged 29 starts, a 11-8 record, 186 K's, and a 3.51 ERA per season. He was an all-star in '06 with the D-rays and '08 with the Rays. But, in '09, everything was different. In his first 20 starts, Kazmir went 8-7 with 91 K's, but with a bad 5.92 ERA. The Rays, seeing that something was off with him, traded him to the Angels for 2 prospects and a player to be named later. (That player to be named later turned out to be Sean Rodriguez, Tampa's current starting 2nd baseman.)
Kazmir responded in a big way after being traded to the Angels, going 2-2 with a 1.73 ERA in 6 starts. He appeared to have fixed whatever was wrong with him. But then, he exploded in the playoffs, going 0-0 with a 7.50 ERA in 1 start in the ALDS against Boston, and then going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 1 start and 1 relief appearance against the Yankees in the ALCS. Kazmir has carried that bad stretch in the '09 playoffs into '10, as he has 6-5 with a 5.27 ERA and 42 K's. What has been the difference between the '05-'08 Kazmir and the '09-'10 Kazmir?
From '05-'08, Kazmir averaged 9.7 strikeouts, 4.1 walks, 8.1 hits, and 0.9 homers per 9 inning. From '08-'09, he has struck out just 6.9 batters, walked 4.0, allowed 9.1 hits, and allowed 1.1 homers per 9 innings. The strikeouts have gone way down, and the increases in hits and homers allowed per 9 innings just make matters worse. Kazmir has always been a strikeout pitcher, but he has gotten away from that now. That's clearly why he's doing worse.
To put it in perspective, let's compare his terrible '10 to his career stats. During his career, righty batters have hit .250 against Kazmir, while lefties have hit .233 against him. (If you don't already know, he's a lefty pitcher.) But in '10, things have been crazy. Righties have hit just .225 against Kazmir, but lefties have hit .420. Every lefty hitter has been Ted Williams against Kazmir! Kazmir is having a lot of trouble pitching to lefty hitters right now. He obviously needs to fix that somehow.
My final example: how Kazmir has fared against the Yankees and Red Sox. I remember Kazmir dominating both the Yanks and the Red Sox. While that's not completely accurate, he has posted a 3.34 ERA against the Yankees and a 3.94 ERA against the Red Sox. In '10, he has posted a 9.64 ERA against the Yankees, and a 14.54 ERA against the Red Sox. Kazmir is not the same pitcher that every Yankee and Red Sox fan used to hate.
Kazmir just isn't the same pitcher. He doesn't strike out that many batters anymore. Lefties dominate him. Even teams that he did well against in the past can hit him now. Something is wrong with Kazmir. He better fix this problem, or we'll always remember him as that great Devil Rays starter on those terrible teams who never did well once his teams became good.
From 2005, his first full season, to 2008, Kazmir averaged 29 starts, a 11-8 record, 186 K's, and a 3.51 ERA per season. He was an all-star in '06 with the D-rays and '08 with the Rays. But, in '09, everything was different. In his first 20 starts, Kazmir went 8-7 with 91 K's, but with a bad 5.92 ERA. The Rays, seeing that something was off with him, traded him to the Angels for 2 prospects and a player to be named later. (That player to be named later turned out to be Sean Rodriguez, Tampa's current starting 2nd baseman.)
Kazmir responded in a big way after being traded to the Angels, going 2-2 with a 1.73 ERA in 6 starts. He appeared to have fixed whatever was wrong with him. But then, he exploded in the playoffs, going 0-0 with a 7.50 ERA in 1 start in the ALDS against Boston, and then going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 1 start and 1 relief appearance against the Yankees in the ALCS. Kazmir has carried that bad stretch in the '09 playoffs into '10, as he has 6-5 with a 5.27 ERA and 42 K's. What has been the difference between the '05-'08 Kazmir and the '09-'10 Kazmir?
From '05-'08, Kazmir averaged 9.7 strikeouts, 4.1 walks, 8.1 hits, and 0.9 homers per 9 inning. From '08-'09, he has struck out just 6.9 batters, walked 4.0, allowed 9.1 hits, and allowed 1.1 homers per 9 innings. The strikeouts have gone way down, and the increases in hits and homers allowed per 9 innings just make matters worse. Kazmir has always been a strikeout pitcher, but he has gotten away from that now. That's clearly why he's doing worse.
To put it in perspective, let's compare his terrible '10 to his career stats. During his career, righty batters have hit .250 against Kazmir, while lefties have hit .233 against him. (If you don't already know, he's a lefty pitcher.) But in '10, things have been crazy. Righties have hit just .225 against Kazmir, but lefties have hit .420. Every lefty hitter has been Ted Williams against Kazmir! Kazmir is having a lot of trouble pitching to lefty hitters right now. He obviously needs to fix that somehow.
My final example: how Kazmir has fared against the Yankees and Red Sox. I remember Kazmir dominating both the Yanks and the Red Sox. While that's not completely accurate, he has posted a 3.34 ERA against the Yankees and a 3.94 ERA against the Red Sox. In '10, he has posted a 9.64 ERA against the Yankees, and a 14.54 ERA against the Red Sox. Kazmir is not the same pitcher that every Yankee and Red Sox fan used to hate.
Kazmir just isn't the same pitcher. He doesn't strike out that many batters anymore. Lefties dominate him. Even teams that he did well against in the past can hit him now. Something is wrong with Kazmir. He better fix this problem, or we'll always remember him as that great Devil Rays starter on those terrible teams who never did well once his teams became good.
The return of JB Cox
Former Texas Longhorns closer JB Cox has finally returned to the Yankee minor league system after mulling retirement. Not that Cox did well- he allowed 5 runs in one inning for the High-A Tampa Yankees- but at least he's not done with baseball. Full post on him here: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/628565-what-ever-happened-to-jb-cox. (Copy the link, and then paste it into your browser and click enter.)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Yankees draft depth chart: position by position
In this post, I will just go through the Yankee draft picks, position by position. If you want detailed reports when available on every Yankee draft pick, please see my post Analysis on all 50 Yankee draft picks. For each position, I will list them in order of likelihood of making it into the majors in my opinion. I will also explain the impact the players at that position will have as a whole. (Round drafted in parentheses)
Catcher: Christopher Austin (13), Shane Brown (23), James Rice (50), Nick McCoy (36).
This group will probably make a very small impact if they make any impact at all in the majors for the Yankees. Posada will retire within the next couple of years, but Francisco Cervelli will undoubtedly be the next Yankee catcher, and if he isn't good enough, Austin Romine is next in line. Maybe one of these guys, most likely Christopher Austin, will make it into a few games as a backup catcher for the Yanks. In case you're wondering, Rice is before McCoy because McCoy is already 23 years old.
First Base: Kyle Roller (8)
Probably several other prospects in this draft will move to first base at some point, but only Roller was drafted specifically as a first baseman. He has a shot to make a small, Juan Miranda-type impact, but nothing more, as Mark Teixeira is in his way.
Second Base: Casey Stevenson (25)
The Yankees sure have confidence in Robinson Cano, and rightfully so. He's having a great year. There is no way Stevenson will make any impact for the Yankees at the major league level.
Third Base: Robert Segedin (3)
Segedin could be a backup third basman at some point, A-rod will be in his way for a long time. Segedin isn't even that great of a defender, so he couldn't be a utility infielder. Maybe he could make a small impact in the majors for the Yanks.
Shortstop: Cito Culver (1)
Culver is now the shortstop of the future for the Yanks. He has all the tools and hopefully will do fine on that day when Jeter retires. He'll obviously have a big impact on the future of the Yankees. Full post on him here: The future of the Yankees: Cito Culver. 2nd round pick Angelo Gumbs was also a shortstop in high school, but he projects as an outfielder.
Outfield: Mason Williams (4), Kevin Jordan (19), Angelo Gumbs (2), Taylor Jake Anderson (7), Benjamin Gamel (10) Michael Ferraro (20), Stewart Ijames (29), James Ramsay (38), Jaycob Brugman (39), Michael Gerber (40), Tymothy Pearson (41), Michael O'Neill (42), Taylor Johnson (45), Will Arthur 49.
This group should make a decent impact for the Yanks. Williams and Gumbs have a chance to be good 4th outfielders, while Jordan, when healthy, can be an amazing player, playing the outfield, and maybe even the infield at some point as a Mark DeRosa-type utility man because of his great athleticism. The rest of those guys will probably play a combined 5 games for the Yanks. Still, Williams, Gumbs, and Jordan could make this draft class of outfielders have a decent impact if they live up to their potential.
Right-handed pitchers: Gabe Encinas (6), Thomas Kahnle (5), Chase Whitley (15), Kevin Jacob (18), Dustin Hobbs (21), Preston Claiborne (17), Zachary Varce (11), Conor Mullee (24), Taylor Morton (9), Daniel Burawa (12), Travis Dean (14), R.J. Hively (26), Martin Viramontes (27), Josh Dezse (28), Zachary Nuding (30), James Gipson (31), Michael Hachadorian (33), William Kish (34), William Oliver (35), Nathan Forer (46), Alex Brown (48).
The large RHP group has several impact players among its group. Among the top few guys, Encinas and Kahnle could be future starters, Whitley, Jacob, and Hobbs (who throws a cutter) could be shutdown middle relievers, and Claiborne, Varce, and Mullee could at least be decent middle relievers. This group should make a pretty big impact.
Left-handed pitchers: Evan Rutckyj (16), Trevor Johnson (22), Kramer Sneed (32), Cameron Hobson (37), Kyle Hunter (43), David Middendorf (44), Frederick Lewis (47).
Rutckyj has a chance to be a lefty David Robertson-type- a reliever who strikes out a ton of batters without overwhelming velocity. Johnson has a shot to be a starter for the Yanks. This group should make a pretty good impact.
Overall, the Yankees didn't really fill any needs besides shortstop-in-waiting, which they fulfilled with Culver, the 1st round pick. While all the other infielders and all the catchers won't make a very big impact, the large outfield and RHP groups should make big impacts and the LHP group will make a pretty big impact as well. I think that as a whole, this draft class has somewhere from 5-9 players whose names will be recognized by most Yankee fans within the next 5 years. Culver and possibly Kevin Jordan have a chance to be stars. Considering their position in the draft (last in every not supplementary round), I would give the Yankees a B+ for their draft grade. There were some picks that didn't make much sense (look for players with players drafted later than them ahead of them on my 'impact chart'), but overall, it was a pretty good draft.
Catcher: Christopher Austin (13), Shane Brown (23), James Rice (50), Nick McCoy (36).
This group will probably make a very small impact if they make any impact at all in the majors for the Yankees. Posada will retire within the next couple of years, but Francisco Cervelli will undoubtedly be the next Yankee catcher, and if he isn't good enough, Austin Romine is next in line. Maybe one of these guys, most likely Christopher Austin, will make it into a few games as a backup catcher for the Yanks. In case you're wondering, Rice is before McCoy because McCoy is already 23 years old.
First Base: Kyle Roller (8)
Probably several other prospects in this draft will move to first base at some point, but only Roller was drafted specifically as a first baseman. He has a shot to make a small, Juan Miranda-type impact, but nothing more, as Mark Teixeira is in his way.
Second Base: Casey Stevenson (25)
The Yankees sure have confidence in Robinson Cano, and rightfully so. He's having a great year. There is no way Stevenson will make any impact for the Yankees at the major league level.
Third Base: Robert Segedin (3)
Segedin could be a backup third basman at some point, A-rod will be in his way for a long time. Segedin isn't even that great of a defender, so he couldn't be a utility infielder. Maybe he could make a small impact in the majors for the Yanks.
Shortstop: Cito Culver (1)
Culver is now the shortstop of the future for the Yanks. He has all the tools and hopefully will do fine on that day when Jeter retires. He'll obviously have a big impact on the future of the Yankees. Full post on him here: The future of the Yankees: Cito Culver. 2nd round pick Angelo Gumbs was also a shortstop in high school, but he projects as an outfielder.
Outfield: Mason Williams (4), Kevin Jordan (19), Angelo Gumbs (2), Taylor Jake Anderson (7), Benjamin Gamel (10) Michael Ferraro (20), Stewart Ijames (29), James Ramsay (38), Jaycob Brugman (39), Michael Gerber (40), Tymothy Pearson (41), Michael O'Neill (42), Taylor Johnson (45), Will Arthur 49.
This group should make a decent impact for the Yanks. Williams and Gumbs have a chance to be good 4th outfielders, while Jordan, when healthy, can be an amazing player, playing the outfield, and maybe even the infield at some point as a Mark DeRosa-type utility man because of his great athleticism. The rest of those guys will probably play a combined 5 games for the Yanks. Still, Williams, Gumbs, and Jordan could make this draft class of outfielders have a decent impact if they live up to their potential.
Right-handed pitchers: Gabe Encinas (6), Thomas Kahnle (5), Chase Whitley (15), Kevin Jacob (18), Dustin Hobbs (21), Preston Claiborne (17), Zachary Varce (11), Conor Mullee (24), Taylor Morton (9), Daniel Burawa (12), Travis Dean (14), R.J. Hively (26), Martin Viramontes (27), Josh Dezse (28), Zachary Nuding (30), James Gipson (31), Michael Hachadorian (33), William Kish (34), William Oliver (35), Nathan Forer (46), Alex Brown (48).
The large RHP group has several impact players among its group. Among the top few guys, Encinas and Kahnle could be future starters, Whitley, Jacob, and Hobbs (who throws a cutter) could be shutdown middle relievers, and Claiborne, Varce, and Mullee could at least be decent middle relievers. This group should make a pretty big impact.
Left-handed pitchers: Evan Rutckyj (16), Trevor Johnson (22), Kramer Sneed (32), Cameron Hobson (37), Kyle Hunter (43), David Middendorf (44), Frederick Lewis (47).
Rutckyj has a chance to be a lefty David Robertson-type- a reliever who strikes out a ton of batters without overwhelming velocity. Johnson has a shot to be a starter for the Yanks. This group should make a pretty good impact.
Overall, the Yankees didn't really fill any needs besides shortstop-in-waiting, which they fulfilled with Culver, the 1st round pick. While all the other infielders and all the catchers won't make a very big impact, the large outfield and RHP groups should make big impacts and the LHP group will make a pretty big impact as well. I think that as a whole, this draft class has somewhere from 5-9 players whose names will be recognized by most Yankee fans within the next 5 years. Culver and possibly Kevin Jordan have a chance to be stars. Considering their position in the draft (last in every not supplementary round), I would give the Yankees a B+ for their draft grade. There were some picks that didn't make much sense (look for players with players drafted later than them ahead of them on my 'impact chart'), but overall, it was a pretty good draft.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Analysis on all 50 Yankee draft picks
In this post, I will review all 50 Yankees draft picks and explain where they fit in with the organization. WIth all my comments about their future with the Yankees, I'm assuming that they will sign. I know that at least a couple of these guys won't sign. (With a lot of the ages that I'm mentioning, they may almost be the next age. For example, Cito Culver will turn 18 in August.)
1. The Yanks' first round draft pick was 17 year old switch-hitting high school SS/RHP Cito Culver. He also pitched in high school. He is going to be the next Yankee SS after Jeter, assuming he does well in the minors. Remember, even if Jeter retires in 6 years, Culver will be just 23 years old. Full post on him here: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/666525-the-future-of-the-yankees-cito-culver.
2. In the second round, the Yankees drafted another 17 year old high school SS, Angelo Gumbs. He's going to be an outfielder in the Yankee farm system. He is a superb defender whose hitting is coming along nicely. He has a future as a 4th outfielder for the Yankees- think Melky Cabrera. Maybe he'll get a chance because of injury to start at some point.
3. With their 3rd pick in the draft, the Yankees drafted their 3rd infielder in a row, 21 year old 3B Robert Segedin from Tulane. Segedin is a Yankee-type draft pick- he wanted a pretty big signing bonus, so he fell to the 3rd round when the Yankees drafted him, because we all know the Yanks have the money. Segedin is a talented hitter with pretty good power. He is also pretty good defensively. He also dropped because of a back injury that he suffered in '08. He's already 22 years old, so he may not be the 3rd baseman of the future. But if he stays healthy, he'll at least have a shot.
4. With their 4th round pick, the Yankees selected 18 year old high school OF Mason Williams. He is a Brett-Gardner type player- he's great defensively and is very fast, but he has very little power. But, he has better arm strength than Gardner. With Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and potentially Carl Crawford on the team, it will be tough for him to be anything more than a bench player with the Yanks.
5. In the 5th round, the Yankees drafted 20 year old RHP Thomas Kahnle from Lynn University in Divison 2. Kahnle is going to be a reliever for the Yanks. He has a lot of potential, as evidenced by his playoff performance as a freshman. He was awarded the Most Outstanding Player award for the NCAA National Tournament and the South Region Tournament. (I haven't had this confirmed, but I'm sure the NCAA National Tournament is Division 2. Note that the Division 1 tournament is the College World Series.) The Yankees can never have enough good relievers, and hopefully Kahnle will be one of them.
6. In the 6th round, the Yankees got 18 year old high school RHP Gabe Encinas. He has a great sinker and is known for attacking the zone. But, his secondary pitches haven't developed very well yet. After AJ Burnett's contract expires after the 2013 season, Encinas could be in the battle for a rotation spot if those secondary pitches develop.
7. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Taylor Jake Anderson with their 7th round pick. He has a good arm and has a nice, fluid swing. I really can't find very much about him. With the Yankee outfield stacked, maybe he'll be a bench player with the team if he succeeds.
8. With their 8th round pick, the Yankees drafted 22 year old East Carolina 1st baseman Kyle Roller. He was East Carolina's captain and is a class act off the field. His stance and swing remind me of Mark Teixeira, but of course, Teix is signed until 2016. Maybe he can be a Juan Miranda-type part time DH and bench player.
9. In the 9th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school RHP Taylor Morton. He has a great fastball, 95 MPH consistently. I have seen anything about his secondary pitches, so that must be his problem. With his great fastball, Morton projects as a reliever.
10. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Benjamin Gamel with their 10th round pick. Gamel's older brother Matt is a 3rd baseman in the Brewers farm system. Gamel ironically reminds me a little bit of Dustin Pedroia. He is a little guy (5'10), but he swings like he has big-time power. In the outfield, he has strong but inaccurate arm. I doubt Gamel has a future with the Yans kees with 3 other outfielders drafted in front of him, and a solid outfield set in place in the majors.
11. In the 11th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old University of Portland RHP Zachary Varce. He was a reliever in '10, so he'll be a reliever in the minors as well. He throws a 93 MPH fastball, a spilter, a changeup, and a slider. He has great confidence in his pitches. He could make an impact as a reliever for the Yanks.
12. With their 12th round pick, the Yankees drafted 21 year old St. Johns RHP Daniel Burawa. He throws a 95 MPH fastball, but his only other pitch is an average slider. He also struggles with control. He was suspended earlier this year, so he maybe has an attitude problem. Burawa is going to be a reliever in the Yankee organization. He better fix his control if he wants to be a reliever for the Yanks.
13. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school catcher Christopher Austin with their 13th round pick. He has a pretty fluid swing and appears to be a decent line drive hitter. There really is very little information about him. With Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine already ahead of him in the race for the next Yankee catcher after Posada, I don't think Austin will make any impact as a catcher at the major league level for the Yankees.
14. In the 14th round, the Yankees drafted 19 year old high school RHP Travis Dean. Although he's 6'5, he throws only 90 MPH with his fastball. But, according to his would-be future coach (if the Yankees don't sign him), he has a "loose arm" and great upside. There are a lot of right-handed pitchers that the Yankees drafted, and Dean doesn' t seem to stand out. But, like everyone, he has a chance to make an impact in the majors as a reliever if he really lives up to that great upside.
15. Chase Whitley, a 20 year old RHP from Troy. He was Troy's closer. He had a decent fastball, 89-92 MPH, but he has 2 very good pitches: a slider and a changeup. He averaged about a strikeout per inning in '10. He has a chance to be a pretty good reliever for the Yanks.
16. With their 16th pick, the Yankees selected 18 year old high school LHP Evan Rutckyj from Canada. (I don't have any idea how to pronounce his last name.) He's a very raw talent who just started pitching full-time last year. His velocity on his fastball is currently 92 MPH, but it's already moved up from 84 MPH and it's still getting faster and faster. He also throws a good changeup. He possesses the David Robertson-like ability to strike batters out at a great rate without very good velocity. I'm not sure why he slid so far. He was projected as a 5th round pick as recently as the day before the draft began. Anyway, the Yanks got a steal of a pick and I expect that we'll see Rutckyj in the Yankee bullpen someday.
17. In the 17th round, the Yankees drafted another RHP, Preston Claiborne from Tulane. He's been a reliever his whole college career. He showed good control at Tulane in '09 (29 K's, 12 walks), and pitched both as a long reliever and short reliever. With that Alrfredo Aceves-like versatility, we might see him in the Yankee bullpen at some point.
18. With their pick in the 18th round, the Yankees drafted 6'6 RHP Kevin Jacob from Georgia Tech. He throws a fastball at 96, so he should be a good major league reliever. He also throws a pretty good curveball. But, a problem with him was that the ball supposedly is very visible out of his hand. Hopefully, the Yankees can fix that problem in the minors and he'll be a good reliever in a few years.
19. The biggest wild card in this draft might be 18 year old high school CF Kevin Jordan, drafted in the 19th round by the Yanks. He's a 5-tool prospect, with power, speed, hitting for average, arm strength and fielding ability. So, you probably wonder, why did he fall so far in the draft? Well, this year he got strep throat. We've all gotten strep- what does that have to do with anything? Well, after getting strep, he got a throat infection and missed all of this year. He's better now. The Yankees are taking the gamble that he won't get sick again. If he does, they might have a 2nd round talent in the 17th round. Andy Pettitte was a 22nd round pick in 1990 that really turned out to be something special- Jordan could be the Pettitte of this draft. Obviously, the outfield for the Yankees is very crowded, but with his great athleticism, maybe Jordan can become a utility player that plays both infield and outfield similar to Mark DeRosa and Jerry Hairson Jr. In that case, Jordan would be playing somewhere nearly every game and would get to show off his hitting ability. I hope Jordan stays healthy and signs, because he could really be something special for the Yankees.
20. With their 20th pick in the draft, the Yankees drafted 22 year old University of San Diego LF Michael Ferraro. There's not very much information out there about him, but he's a good average hitter with little power. With all the outfielders ahead of him, I don't think he has a future with the team.
21. In the 21st round, the Yankees drafted 20 year old junior college RHP Dustin Hobbs. He has a 90 MPH fastball with very good movement. I've seen it move in two different directions, so he must have 2 different fastballs. I think he has a 4-seamer and a cutter that moves inside to lefties and outside to righties. If he develops that cutter well, who knows? I know a great pitcher that throws nearly all cutters and you all know him too: Mariano Rivera. Maybe Hobbs will make an impact in the bullpen for the Yanks because of that cutter.
22. The Yankees drafted 21 year old junior college LHP Trevor Johnson in the 22nd round. Johnson is a starter who has that need to finish games, like Roy Halladay. He had 5 complete games in '09. I doubt that Johnson as good of a pitcher as Halladay, but it's good to be compared to Halladay at all. I can't find any information on any of Johnson's pitches, but he sounds like a good pitcher. Maybe we'll see him in the future as well.
23. In the 23rd round of the draft, the Yankees drafted 22 year old Central Florida catcher Shane Brown. Brown had an incredible season in '10, hitting .428 with a .541 OBP. He is a good line drive hitter with some power. The question with college catchers is that they don't call their games- the coaches do from the dugout. It's pretty incredible that he fell this far though. He's a good hitter. We'll have to see what happens to him, but it will be tough for any catcher to make it to the majors for the Yankees with Cervelli and Romine among others in front of him for the catchers of the future.
24. With their 24th pick of the draft, the Yankees drafted 22 year old SS/RHP Conor Mullee from St. Peters College. He is a decent hitter for average with good speed as a SS. But, the Yankees drafted Mullee as a pitcher. Mullee pitched for the first time this year. He had just a 10.50 ERA as a pitcher this year, but he showed a 94 MPH fastball and a 75-77 MPH curveball and impressed some scouts. As he develops as a pitcher, he should get better and better. Maybe even good enough to make it into the Yankee bullpen.
25. In the 25th round, the Yankees selected 22 year old 2B Casey Stevenson from UC Irvine. He is a decent average hittter, but with no power and not very much speed. He did post a good OBP. He must be great defensively for the Yankees to have drafted him here. Still, he probably has no future with the team.
26. The Yankees drafted 21 year old junior college RHP R.J. Hively with their 26th round pick. He was a starter and reliever in '10, so he is pretty versatile. But, a 3.06 ERA in junior college isn't good enough. He doesn't have a future with the Yankees.
27. In the 27th round, the Yankees drafted 20 year old RHP Martin Viramontes from Loyola Marymount University. He missed all of '09 with shoulder injuries and struggled in '10. But, he has a good arsenal of pitches. He has a low-90's fastball, an 84 MPH slider, an 80 MPH changeup, and a 76-78 MPH slurve. That slider could potentially be a very good put-away pitch. When healthy, Viramontes is a very good pitcher. But can he stay healthy? If he does stay healthy, he could be a steal. Viramontes could be a good reliever with the big league team.
28. With their pick in the 28th round of the draft, the Yankees drafted 17 year old high school RHP Josn Dezse. He was dominant his last year in high school, posting a 1.60 ERA, not that it means that much. We'll see how he turns out. He better be good since there are a lot of guys ahead of him.
29. The Yankees drafted 21 year old LF Stewart Ijames from Louisville in the 27th round of the draft. He has decent power and should hit for a decent BA. I still don't think he has any future with the team.
30. 20 year old RHP Zachary Nuding was drafted by the Yankees in the 30th round. He has a good fastball, a very good slider, and a decent splitter, but he struggles with control. No way he has a future with the Yanks.
I can't information anywhere on nearly all of the remaining picks. Good luck to all them, but I doubt any of them will ever be on the Yankees.
31. In the 31st round of the draft, the Yankees selected 21 year old Florida Atlantic RHP James Gipson.
32. With their pick in the 32nd round of the draft, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP Kramer Sneed from Division 2 Barton College. He can both start and relieve and he's hard working, but that's all I can find. Guess we'll see what happens, but I doubt he will ever make the Yankees if he even signs.
33. In the 33rd round, the Yankees drafted RHP Michael Hachadorian from San Diego Mesa College.
34. In the 34th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school RHP William Kish. He throws an 86 MPH fastball and a 77 MPH curveball. Neither of those pitches are very good. Good luck to him.
35. The Yankees drafted 22 year old RHP William Oliver from Junior college in the 35th round.
36. In the 36th round, the Yankees drafted 23 year old catcher Nick McCoy from San Diego. He's nothing special according to his high school and college stats. Good luck to him.
37. In the 37th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP Cameron Hobson from Dayton. He has terrible control but strikes out a ton of batters. Sort of like Nolan Ryan... no way. Good luck to him.
38. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school CF James Ramsay in the 38th round.
39. In the 39th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Jaycob Brugman.
40. In the 40th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school CF Michael Gerber.
41. In the 41st round, the Yankees drafted their 4th straight high school outfielder, 19 year old CF Tymothy Pearson.
42. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school CF Michael O'Neill in the 42nd round.
43. In the 43rd round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP Kyle Hunter from Kansas State.
44. In the 44th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP David Middendorf from Northern Kentucky.
45. The Yankees drafted 21 year old Penn State OF Tyler Johnson in the 45th round.
46. In the 46th round, the Yankees drafted RHP Nathan Forer from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. All he throws is a 85-89 fastball with some movement. Good luck to him.
47. In the 47th round, the Yankees drafted 23 year old LHP Frederick Lewis from Tennessee Wesleyan College.
48. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school RHP Alex Brown in the 48th round of the draft.
49. In the 49th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Will Arthur.
50. In the 50th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old catcher James Rice from Western Kentucky.
So that's all 50 Yankee draft picks.
1. The Yanks' first round draft pick was 17 year old switch-hitting high school SS/RHP Cito Culver. He also pitched in high school. He is going to be the next Yankee SS after Jeter, assuming he does well in the minors. Remember, even if Jeter retires in 6 years, Culver will be just 23 years old. Full post on him here: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/666525-the-future-of-the-yankees-cito-culver.
2. In the second round, the Yankees drafted another 17 year old high school SS, Angelo Gumbs. He's going to be an outfielder in the Yankee farm system. He is a superb defender whose hitting is coming along nicely. He has a future as a 4th outfielder for the Yankees- think Melky Cabrera. Maybe he'll get a chance because of injury to start at some point.
3. With their 3rd pick in the draft, the Yankees drafted their 3rd infielder in a row, 21 year old 3B Robert Segedin from Tulane. Segedin is a Yankee-type draft pick- he wanted a pretty big signing bonus, so he fell to the 3rd round when the Yankees drafted him, because we all know the Yanks have the money. Segedin is a talented hitter with pretty good power. He is also pretty good defensively. He also dropped because of a back injury that he suffered in '08. He's already 22 years old, so he may not be the 3rd baseman of the future. But if he stays healthy, he'll at least have a shot.
4. With their 4th round pick, the Yankees selected 18 year old high school OF Mason Williams. He is a Brett-Gardner type player- he's great defensively and is very fast, but he has very little power. But, he has better arm strength than Gardner. With Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and potentially Carl Crawford on the team, it will be tough for him to be anything more than a bench player with the Yanks.
5. In the 5th round, the Yankees drafted 20 year old RHP Thomas Kahnle from Lynn University in Divison 2. Kahnle is going to be a reliever for the Yanks. He has a lot of potential, as evidenced by his playoff performance as a freshman. He was awarded the Most Outstanding Player award for the NCAA National Tournament and the South Region Tournament. (I haven't had this confirmed, but I'm sure the NCAA National Tournament is Division 2. Note that the Division 1 tournament is the College World Series.) The Yankees can never have enough good relievers, and hopefully Kahnle will be one of them.
6. In the 6th round, the Yankees got 18 year old high school RHP Gabe Encinas. He has a great sinker and is known for attacking the zone. But, his secondary pitches haven't developed very well yet. After AJ Burnett's contract expires after the 2013 season, Encinas could be in the battle for a rotation spot if those secondary pitches develop.
7. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Taylor Jake Anderson with their 7th round pick. He has a good arm and has a nice, fluid swing. I really can't find very much about him. With the Yankee outfield stacked, maybe he'll be a bench player with the team if he succeeds.
8. With their 8th round pick, the Yankees drafted 22 year old East Carolina 1st baseman Kyle Roller. He was East Carolina's captain and is a class act off the field. His stance and swing remind me of Mark Teixeira, but of course, Teix is signed until 2016. Maybe he can be a Juan Miranda-type part time DH and bench player.
9. In the 9th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school RHP Taylor Morton. He has a great fastball, 95 MPH consistently. I have seen anything about his secondary pitches, so that must be his problem. With his great fastball, Morton projects as a reliever.
10. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Benjamin Gamel with their 10th round pick. Gamel's older brother Matt is a 3rd baseman in the Brewers farm system. Gamel ironically reminds me a little bit of Dustin Pedroia. He is a little guy (5'10), but he swings like he has big-time power. In the outfield, he has strong but inaccurate arm. I doubt Gamel has a future with the Yans kees with 3 other outfielders drafted in front of him, and a solid outfield set in place in the majors.
11. In the 11th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old University of Portland RHP Zachary Varce. He was a reliever in '10, so he'll be a reliever in the minors as well. He throws a 93 MPH fastball, a spilter, a changeup, and a slider. He has great confidence in his pitches. He could make an impact as a reliever for the Yanks.
12. With their 12th round pick, the Yankees drafted 21 year old St. Johns RHP Daniel Burawa. He throws a 95 MPH fastball, but his only other pitch is an average slider. He also struggles with control. He was suspended earlier this year, so he maybe has an attitude problem. Burawa is going to be a reliever in the Yankee organization. He better fix his control if he wants to be a reliever for the Yanks.
13. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school catcher Christopher Austin with their 13th round pick. He has a pretty fluid swing and appears to be a decent line drive hitter. There really is very little information about him. With Francisco Cervelli and Austin Romine already ahead of him in the race for the next Yankee catcher after Posada, I don't think Austin will make any impact as a catcher at the major league level for the Yankees.
14. In the 14th round, the Yankees drafted 19 year old high school RHP Travis Dean. Although he's 6'5, he throws only 90 MPH with his fastball. But, according to his would-be future coach (if the Yankees don't sign him), he has a "loose arm" and great upside. There are a lot of right-handed pitchers that the Yankees drafted, and Dean doesn' t seem to stand out. But, like everyone, he has a chance to make an impact in the majors as a reliever if he really lives up to that great upside.
15. Chase Whitley, a 20 year old RHP from Troy. He was Troy's closer. He had a decent fastball, 89-92 MPH, but he has 2 very good pitches: a slider and a changeup. He averaged about a strikeout per inning in '10. He has a chance to be a pretty good reliever for the Yanks.
16. With their 16th pick, the Yankees selected 18 year old high school LHP Evan Rutckyj from Canada. (I don't have any idea how to pronounce his last name.) He's a very raw talent who just started pitching full-time last year. His velocity on his fastball is currently 92 MPH, but it's already moved up from 84 MPH and it's still getting faster and faster. He also throws a good changeup. He possesses the David Robertson-like ability to strike batters out at a great rate without very good velocity. I'm not sure why he slid so far. He was projected as a 5th round pick as recently as the day before the draft began. Anyway, the Yanks got a steal of a pick and I expect that we'll see Rutckyj in the Yankee bullpen someday.
17. In the 17th round, the Yankees drafted another RHP, Preston Claiborne from Tulane. He's been a reliever his whole college career. He showed good control at Tulane in '09 (29 K's, 12 walks), and pitched both as a long reliever and short reliever. With that Alrfredo Aceves-like versatility, we might see him in the Yankee bullpen at some point.
18. With their pick in the 18th round, the Yankees drafted 6'6 RHP Kevin Jacob from Georgia Tech. He throws a fastball at 96, so he should be a good major league reliever. He also throws a pretty good curveball. But, a problem with him was that the ball supposedly is very visible out of his hand. Hopefully, the Yankees can fix that problem in the minors and he'll be a good reliever in a few years.
19. The biggest wild card in this draft might be 18 year old high school CF Kevin Jordan, drafted in the 19th round by the Yanks. He's a 5-tool prospect, with power, speed, hitting for average, arm strength and fielding ability. So, you probably wonder, why did he fall so far in the draft? Well, this year he got strep throat. We've all gotten strep- what does that have to do with anything? Well, after getting strep, he got a throat infection and missed all of this year. He's better now. The Yankees are taking the gamble that he won't get sick again. If he does, they might have a 2nd round talent in the 17th round. Andy Pettitte was a 22nd round pick in 1990 that really turned out to be something special- Jordan could be the Pettitte of this draft. Obviously, the outfield for the Yankees is very crowded, but with his great athleticism, maybe Jordan can become a utility player that plays both infield and outfield similar to Mark DeRosa and Jerry Hairson Jr. In that case, Jordan would be playing somewhere nearly every game and would get to show off his hitting ability. I hope Jordan stays healthy and signs, because he could really be something special for the Yankees.
20. With their 20th pick in the draft, the Yankees drafted 22 year old University of San Diego LF Michael Ferraro. There's not very much information out there about him, but he's a good average hitter with little power. With all the outfielders ahead of him, I don't think he has a future with the team.
21. In the 21st round, the Yankees drafted 20 year old junior college RHP Dustin Hobbs. He has a 90 MPH fastball with very good movement. I've seen it move in two different directions, so he must have 2 different fastballs. I think he has a 4-seamer and a cutter that moves inside to lefties and outside to righties. If he develops that cutter well, who knows? I know a great pitcher that throws nearly all cutters and you all know him too: Mariano Rivera. Maybe Hobbs will make an impact in the bullpen for the Yanks because of that cutter.
22. The Yankees drafted 21 year old junior college LHP Trevor Johnson in the 22nd round. Johnson is a starter who has that need to finish games, like Roy Halladay. He had 5 complete games in '09. I doubt that Johnson as good of a pitcher as Halladay, but it's good to be compared to Halladay at all. I can't find any information on any of Johnson's pitches, but he sounds like a good pitcher. Maybe we'll see him in the future as well.
23. In the 23rd round of the draft, the Yankees drafted 22 year old Central Florida catcher Shane Brown. Brown had an incredible season in '10, hitting .428 with a .541 OBP. He is a good line drive hitter with some power. The question with college catchers is that they don't call their games- the coaches do from the dugout. It's pretty incredible that he fell this far though. He's a good hitter. We'll have to see what happens to him, but it will be tough for any catcher to make it to the majors for the Yankees with Cervelli and Romine among others in front of him for the catchers of the future.
24. With their 24th pick of the draft, the Yankees drafted 22 year old SS/RHP Conor Mullee from St. Peters College. He is a decent hitter for average with good speed as a SS. But, the Yankees drafted Mullee as a pitcher. Mullee pitched for the first time this year. He had just a 10.50 ERA as a pitcher this year, but he showed a 94 MPH fastball and a 75-77 MPH curveball and impressed some scouts. As he develops as a pitcher, he should get better and better. Maybe even good enough to make it into the Yankee bullpen.
25. In the 25th round, the Yankees selected 22 year old 2B Casey Stevenson from UC Irvine. He is a decent average hittter, but with no power and not very much speed. He did post a good OBP. He must be great defensively for the Yankees to have drafted him here. Still, he probably has no future with the team.
26. The Yankees drafted 21 year old junior college RHP R.J. Hively with their 26th round pick. He was a starter and reliever in '10, so he is pretty versatile. But, a 3.06 ERA in junior college isn't good enough. He doesn't have a future with the Yankees.
27. In the 27th round, the Yankees drafted 20 year old RHP Martin Viramontes from Loyola Marymount University. He missed all of '09 with shoulder injuries and struggled in '10. But, he has a good arsenal of pitches. He has a low-90's fastball, an 84 MPH slider, an 80 MPH changeup, and a 76-78 MPH slurve. That slider could potentially be a very good put-away pitch. When healthy, Viramontes is a very good pitcher. But can he stay healthy? If he does stay healthy, he could be a steal. Viramontes could be a good reliever with the big league team.
28. With their pick in the 28th round of the draft, the Yankees drafted 17 year old high school RHP Josn Dezse. He was dominant his last year in high school, posting a 1.60 ERA, not that it means that much. We'll see how he turns out. He better be good since there are a lot of guys ahead of him.
29. The Yankees drafted 21 year old LF Stewart Ijames from Louisville in the 27th round of the draft. He has decent power and should hit for a decent BA. I still don't think he has any future with the team.
30. 20 year old RHP Zachary Nuding was drafted by the Yankees in the 30th round. He has a good fastball, a very good slider, and a decent splitter, but he struggles with control. No way he has a future with the Yanks.
I can't information anywhere on nearly all of the remaining picks. Good luck to all them, but I doubt any of them will ever be on the Yankees.
31. In the 31st round of the draft, the Yankees selected 21 year old Florida Atlantic RHP James Gipson.
32. With their pick in the 32nd round of the draft, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP Kramer Sneed from Division 2 Barton College. He can both start and relieve and he's hard working, but that's all I can find. Guess we'll see what happens, but I doubt he will ever make the Yankees if he even signs.
33. In the 33rd round, the Yankees drafted RHP Michael Hachadorian from San Diego Mesa College.
34. In the 34th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school RHP William Kish. He throws an 86 MPH fastball and a 77 MPH curveball. Neither of those pitches are very good. Good luck to him.
35. The Yankees drafted 22 year old RHP William Oliver from Junior college in the 35th round.
36. In the 36th round, the Yankees drafted 23 year old catcher Nick McCoy from San Diego. He's nothing special according to his high school and college stats. Good luck to him.
37. In the 37th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP Cameron Hobson from Dayton. He has terrible control but strikes out a ton of batters. Sort of like Nolan Ryan... no way. Good luck to him.
38. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school CF James Ramsay in the 38th round.
39. In the 39th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Jaycob Brugman.
40. In the 40th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school CF Michael Gerber.
41. In the 41st round, the Yankees drafted their 4th straight high school outfielder, 19 year old CF Tymothy Pearson.
42. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school CF Michael O'Neill in the 42nd round.
43. In the 43rd round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP Kyle Hunter from Kansas State.
44. In the 44th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old LHP David Middendorf from Northern Kentucky.
45. The Yankees drafted 21 year old Penn State OF Tyler Johnson in the 45th round.
46. In the 46th round, the Yankees drafted RHP Nathan Forer from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. All he throws is a 85-89 fastball with some movement. Good luck to him.
47. In the 47th round, the Yankees drafted 23 year old LHP Frederick Lewis from Tennessee Wesleyan College.
48. The Yankees drafted 18 year old high school RHP Alex Brown in the 48th round of the draft.
49. In the 49th round, the Yankees drafted 18 year old high school OF Will Arthur.
50. In the 50th round, the Yankees drafted 21 year old catcher James Rice from Western Kentucky.
So that's all 50 Yankee draft picks.
What's the signicance of Bryce Harper being drafted as an OF?
When the Washington Nationals drafted Bryce Harper with the number 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft, the announced him not as "catcher Bryce Harper", but "outfielder Bryce Harper". Why did the Nationals do that and what does it mean for the future?
Harper's future with the Nats is as a RF. Nyjer Morgan is entrenched in CF, and while Willingham could be moveable in LF, he isn't anywhere near as moveable as Roger Bernadina. Not that the Nats could necessarily trade Bernadina for anything, but they could release him or send him down to the minors with no questions asked. If he's lucky, he'll be a bench player. Bernadina is hitting just .255 with 2 homers and 15 RBI, so the Nats' future was looking cloudy in RF. So, the Nats got rid of that problem by making Harper their RF of the future.
But, the Nats have no long-term answer at catcher also! Ivan Rodriguez is going to retire by 2013, and 33 year old Wil Nieves is their backup. Nieves was hitting just .180 entering tonight! The answer to that is Nats' 6th round draft pick, Cole Leonida, a catcher from Georgia Tech. The Nats must have known that they would draft him (or another good catching prospect) later in the draft when they announced Harper as an outfielder. Maybe they think Harper will develop better as a hitter if he doesn't have to focus on being a catcher. Also, like all of you have probably already heard, Harper will make the majors faster as a RF than he would have as a catcher. So, they'll let Leonida, a more experienced catcher, be the potential catcher of the future in order to maximize Harper's ability as a hitter and to get him to the majors more quickly.
Harper's future with the Nats is as a RF. Nyjer Morgan is entrenched in CF, and while Willingham could be moveable in LF, he isn't anywhere near as moveable as Roger Bernadina. Not that the Nats could necessarily trade Bernadina for anything, but they could release him or send him down to the minors with no questions asked. If he's lucky, he'll be a bench player. Bernadina is hitting just .255 with 2 homers and 15 RBI, so the Nats' future was looking cloudy in RF. So, the Nats got rid of that problem by making Harper their RF of the future.
But, the Nats have no long-term answer at catcher also! Ivan Rodriguez is going to retire by 2013, and 33 year old Wil Nieves is their backup. Nieves was hitting just .180 entering tonight! The answer to that is Nats' 6th round draft pick, Cole Leonida, a catcher from Georgia Tech. The Nats must have known that they would draft him (or another good catching prospect) later in the draft when they announced Harper as an outfielder. Maybe they think Harper will develop better as a hitter if he doesn't have to focus on being a catcher. Also, like all of you have probably already heard, Harper will make the majors faster as a RF than he would have as a catcher. So, they'll let Leonida, a more experienced catcher, be the potential catcher of the future in order to maximize Harper's ability as a hitter and to get him to the majors more quickly.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Strasburg dominates in his first MLB start
Strasburg's line pretty much tells it all: 7.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, and 14 strikeouts. Yeah, that's right, 14 strikeouts. 2/3 of his outs in the game were via the strikeout. 0 walks- how incredible is that! 14 strikeouts and 0 walks. That's an infinity K/BB! 14/0! Not to mention that his K/9 after that 1 start is now a ridiculous 18.0. A couple more stats: Strasburg started off with a strike to 16 of 24 batters and had a very good 5-2 ground-ball ratio. Wait a second- only 7 combined ground balls and fly balls in a 7 inning start! Well, when you strike out 14, you can do that. His only mistake was a changeup right over the plate to Delwyn Young which resulted in a 2-run homer. Strasburg got the win with help from homers by Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn, and Josh Willingham. The final score of the game was 5-2.
Just present Strasburg with the NL Rookie of the Year award right now. I'm impressed. I might even have to admit that I was wrong about Strasburg in my recent post about him (Nats prospect Stephen Strasburg makes his MLB debut). He'll be the NL ROY- you can book that.
Just present Strasburg with the NL Rookie of the Year award right now. I'm impressed. I might even have to admit that I was wrong about Strasburg in my recent post about him (Nats prospect Stephen Strasburg makes his MLB debut). He'll be the NL ROY- you can book that.
The future of the Yankees: Cito Culver
If you're a Yankees fan who's reading this, chances are that you've googled Cito Culver and read like 5 different articles or blogs on him. I want to unique with my take on Culver. You've heard the scouting report on all that, but do you actually know what kind of player he is?
Christopher "Cito" Culver is a SS/RHP drafted by the Yankees out of West Irondequoit High School in Rochester New York. The Yankees have first-hand experience with him because he's a local kid so although other teams had him as a 4th or 5th round pick, the Yankees know what they're doing. According to this website (http://www.eteamz.com/eaglesbb/stats/), Culver (referred to as Chris Culver) hit .561 with 10 doubles, 9 homes, 38 RBI, 7 SB, and a .633 OBP in 22 games. Those high school stats mean nothing, but it at least gives us an idea of what kind of player Culver is. Culver led his team in homers, RBI, BA, SB, and OBP. He sounds like more of a young A-rod-type player with much less hype, rather than a Jeter-type player.
What's interesting about Culver is that back in February, he was still a work-in-progress in terms of hitting. He looks very unbalanced in this scouting video http://baseballbeginnings.com/2010/02/15/cito-culver-video/. But now, he's become a great hitter, or so the stats say.
Culver is still a work-in-progress defensively at SS. He made 8 errors in 22 games '10, good for a below average a .933 Fld%. To put that in perspective, Derek Jeter made 8 errors in 150 games in '09.
So, now that we've talked about Cito Culver the shortstop, let's talk about Cito Culver the pitcher. According to the first website I mentioned, Culver made 8 relief appearances, going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 2 saves. He allowed 9 hits and 7 walks, and he struck out 23. He seems like a good potential relief pitcher.
It will be interesting to see what the Yankees do with Culver and what ends up happening to him. Is he really the shortstop of the future for the Yanks?
Christopher "Cito" Culver is a SS/RHP drafted by the Yankees out of West Irondequoit High School in Rochester New York. The Yankees have first-hand experience with him because he's a local kid so although other teams had him as a 4th or 5th round pick, the Yankees know what they're doing. According to this website (http://www.eteamz.com/eaglesbb/stats/), Culver (referred to as Chris Culver) hit .561 with 10 doubles, 9 homes, 38 RBI, 7 SB, and a .633 OBP in 22 games. Those high school stats mean nothing, but it at least gives us an idea of what kind of player Culver is. Culver led his team in homers, RBI, BA, SB, and OBP. He sounds like more of a young A-rod-type player with much less hype, rather than a Jeter-type player.
What's interesting about Culver is that back in February, he was still a work-in-progress in terms of hitting. He looks very unbalanced in this scouting video http://baseballbeginnings.com/2010/02/15/cito-culver-video/. But now, he's become a great hitter, or so the stats say.
Culver is still a work-in-progress defensively at SS. He made 8 errors in 22 games '10, good for a below average a .933 Fld%. To put that in perspective, Derek Jeter made 8 errors in 150 games in '09.
So, now that we've talked about Cito Culver the shortstop, let's talk about Cito Culver the pitcher. According to the first website I mentioned, Culver made 8 relief appearances, going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 2 saves. He allowed 9 hits and 7 walks, and he struck out 23. He seems like a good potential relief pitcher.
It will be interesting to see what the Yankees do with Culver and what ends up happening to him. Is he really the shortstop of the future for the Yanks?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Nats prospect Stephen Strasburg makes his MLB debut
Stepen Strasburg. The greatest pitchest prospect ever, or so they say. Will he live up to the hype? Well, it all starts tomorrow night in his major league debut.
Strasburg started the 2010 season with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. He went 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 27 K's in 5 starts and 22 IP before being promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. With Syracuse, Strasburg went 4-1 with a 1.08 ERA and 38 K's in 6 starts and 33.1 IP. So, overall this year in the minors, Strasburg went 7-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 65 K's in 11 starts and 55.1 IP. Now let's look at some other stats. Strasburg allowed just 5.0 hits, 0.2 homers and 2.1 walks per 9 innings, while posting a 10.6 K/9. His K/BB ratio was 5.00. His K/H was an incredible 2.1. He was ridiculous in the minors this year.
Will those stats translate to the majors? Well, obviously not quite at his current level, but he definitely has the ability to post great stats in the majors. I hate to do this to Strasburg, but let's compare his minor league stats to Mark Prior's minor league stats. Prior is the most comparable case to Strasburg because he only made 9 starts in the minors before going to the majors as a top pitching prospect. I hope Strasburg doesn't get injured like Prior did.
Strasburg 2010: 7-1, 1.30 ERA, 65 K's, 5.0 H/9, 0.2 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 10/6 K/9, 5.00 K/BB, 2.1 K/H in 11 starts and 55.1 IP.
Prior 2002: 5-2, 2.29 ERA, 79 K's, 6.9 H/9, 0.2 HR/9, 3.2 BB/9, 13.9 K/9, 4.39 BB/9, 2.0 K/H in 9 starts and 51 IP.
The difference between Strasburg and Prior is that while Prior was a much better strikeout pitcher than Strasburg (not that Strasburg isn't a great strikeout pitcher), Strasburg is a much better all-around pitcher who is harder to hit and who has better control. Still, Prior is closest comparable player to Strasburg.
Prior's rookie year (2002): 6-6, 3.32 ERA, 147 K's, 7.6 H/9, 1.1 HR/9, 2.9 BB/9, 11.3 K.9, 3.87 K/BB, 1.5 K/H in 19 starts and 116.2 IP.
Prior finished 7th in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2002.
Prior 2003: 18-6, 2.43 ERA, 245 K's, 7.8 H/9, 0.6 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 10.4 K/9, 4.90 K/BB, 1.3 K/H in 30 starts and 211.1 IP.
Prior finished 3rd in the NL Cy Young award voting in '03.
Will Strasburg follow Prior's numbers and not put up great numbers until his second year? I think yes. Just like Prior, Strasburg will be under so much pressure his rookie year and although he will do well, he won't be the NL Rookie of the Year. Then, when some of the pressure is off of him, Strasburg should be able to put it all together and have a Cy Young-type year.
Strasburg started the 2010 season with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. He went 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 27 K's in 5 starts and 22 IP before being promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. With Syracuse, Strasburg went 4-1 with a 1.08 ERA and 38 K's in 6 starts and 33.1 IP. So, overall this year in the minors, Strasburg went 7-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 65 K's in 11 starts and 55.1 IP. Now let's look at some other stats. Strasburg allowed just 5.0 hits, 0.2 homers and 2.1 walks per 9 innings, while posting a 10.6 K/9. His K/BB ratio was 5.00. His K/H was an incredible 2.1. He was ridiculous in the minors this year.
Will those stats translate to the majors? Well, obviously not quite at his current level, but he definitely has the ability to post great stats in the majors. I hate to do this to Strasburg, but let's compare his minor league stats to Mark Prior's minor league stats. Prior is the most comparable case to Strasburg because he only made 9 starts in the minors before going to the majors as a top pitching prospect. I hope Strasburg doesn't get injured like Prior did.
Strasburg 2010: 7-1, 1.30 ERA, 65 K's, 5.0 H/9, 0.2 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 10/6 K/9, 5.00 K/BB, 2.1 K/H in 11 starts and 55.1 IP.
Prior 2002: 5-2, 2.29 ERA, 79 K's, 6.9 H/9, 0.2 HR/9, 3.2 BB/9, 13.9 K/9, 4.39 BB/9, 2.0 K/H in 9 starts and 51 IP.
The difference between Strasburg and Prior is that while Prior was a much better strikeout pitcher than Strasburg (not that Strasburg isn't a great strikeout pitcher), Strasburg is a much better all-around pitcher who is harder to hit and who has better control. Still, Prior is closest comparable player to Strasburg.
Prior's rookie year (2002): 6-6, 3.32 ERA, 147 K's, 7.6 H/9, 1.1 HR/9, 2.9 BB/9, 11.3 K.9, 3.87 K/BB, 1.5 K/H in 19 starts and 116.2 IP.
Prior finished 7th in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2002.
Prior 2003: 18-6, 2.43 ERA, 245 K's, 7.8 H/9, 0.6 HR/9, 2.1 BB/9, 10.4 K/9, 4.90 K/BB, 1.3 K/H in 30 starts and 211.1 IP.
Prior finished 3rd in the NL Cy Young award voting in '03.
Will Strasburg follow Prior's numbers and not put up great numbers until his second year? I think yes. Just like Prior, Strasburg will be under so much pressure his rookie year and although he will do well, he won't be the NL Rookie of the Year. Then, when some of the pressure is off of him, Strasburg should be able to put it all together and have a Cy Young-type year.
Jon Weber: a story of perseverence that just didn't work out
You might have heard of Jon Weber. He is a player who had an incredible spring training this year for the Yankees, but didn't make the team. That's been the story of his entire career- just missed.
Jon Weber was signed by the Reds in 1999 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech University. He just missed being drafted. He started out in the Reds' Rookie ball team, the Billings Mustangs. He hit .238 with 6 doubles, 5 homers, 17 RBI, 16 runs, and a .365 OBP in 22 games. He showed an ability to be a good run producer, but his .238 average was too low. In 2000, he hit just .221 in 1087 games with the Low-A Clinton Lumber Kings, with 14 doubles, 6 homers, 34 RBI, 8 SB, 60 runs, and a .333 OBP. His run producing ability was his only good sign in '99, but he couldn't even do that in 2000, so the Reds released him. Weber signed with the Canton Crocodiles of the independent Frontier League. He did much better with Canton in '01, hitting .307 with 15 doubles, 18 homers, 69 RBI, 16 SB, 60 runs, and a .382 OBP in 82 games. For some reason, no major league team signed him and instead he signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the independent Northern League. In '02 with the Redhawks, Weber hit .296 with 30 doubles, 13 homers, 52 RBI, 11 SB, and a .356 OBP in 90 games. No major league team signed Weber again. I find it really amazing that he didn't give up right at this point and pursue another career, but he kept persevering and kept playing.
In '03, Weber started the year with the Redhawks once again, hitting .309 with 8 doubles, 11 homers, 48 RBI, 14 SB, 46 runs, and a .408 OBP in 52 games. Finally, Weber was signed by a major league team, the Oakland A's, and he was assigned to the High-A Modesto A's. He did very well in 35 games with Modesto, hitting .361 with 10 doubles, 7 homers, 38 RBI, 2 SB (Oakland's philosophy is Moneyball), 28 runs, and a .394 OBP. He averaged over 1 RBI per game with Modesto, which is very good. The next year in '04, Weber was assigned to the Double-A Midland RockHounds to start the year. He hit .280 in 111 games at Midland, with 24 doubles, 15 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, 64 runs, and a .356 OBP. He then was promoted to the Triple-A Sacremento River Cats and hit .341 with 4 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBI, 9 runs, and a .383 OBP in 19 games. Still, the A's got rid of him and he signed with the Dodgers. He was assigned to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. In '05 with the Suns, he hit .300 with 27 doubles, 11 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, 81 runs, and a .369 OBP in 117 games. He also made his first career appearance on the mound, giving up 1 run on no hits and 3 walks in .2 innings for a 13.50 ERA. Weber promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51's in '06, but he hit just .258 with 18 doubles, 2 homers, 31 RBI, 9 SB, 39 runs, and a .333 OBP in 82 games. He was released, and he signed with the Diamondbacks organization. He played much better with the Tuscon Sidewinders, Arizona's Triple-A franchise than he did with the 51's. He hit .321 with 18 doubles, 5 homers, 27 RBI, 26 runs, and a .374 OBP in 46 games. He was not retained by the D-backs, and he returned to the independent Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks for the '07 season. Weber was on the Triple-A teams of 3 different major league franchises in a span of 3 years, but he still wasn't called up to the majors. He just missed again.
In '07 with the Redhawks, Weber hit .283 with 5 doubles, 1 homer, 10 RBI, 2 SB, 10 runs, and a .371 OBP in 16 games before being signed by the Rangers and being assigned to their High-A team, the Bakersfield Blaze. Weber hit .356 with the Blaze with 14 doubles, 5 homers, 25 RBI, 9 SB, 34 runs, and a .416 OBP in 37 games before being traded to the Devil Rays for cash and assigned to their Triple-A franchise, the Durham Bulls. Weber hit .265 as a member of the Bulls, with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs, and a .360 OBP in 39 games. Weber, who was 30 years old at that time, was retained by the Rays organization after the year (they had just changed their name). In '08 with Durham, Weber once again hit .265, but this time with 24 doubles, 13 homers, 51 RBI, 11 SB, 58 runs, and a .354 OBP in 108 games. Still, the Rays kept Weber for the '09 season. In '09, Weber had his best year since '04, hitting .302 with 46 doubles, 14 homers, 69 RBI, 63 runs, and a .382 OBP. Despite his great year, he was not called up to the majors. After the year he signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.
Weber had a spring training to remember in '10. He hit .452 with 4 doubles and 6 RBI in 18 games. He even won the James P. Dawson award for the best Yankee rookie (remember, Weber still hasn't made the majors) at spring training. But, being a left handed hitter, he didn't make the team. Just missed.
One day. I hope that day comes for him. He also wasn't called up after Curtis Granderson was injured, giving way to Greg Golson. So far in '10 with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, Weber has hit .258 with 7 doubles, 0 homers, 11 RBI, 18 runs, and a .333 OBP in 47 games.
"Best time in my life and my career that I've ever had. I made it to the final week with the New York Yankees. I'm not righthanded, I'm lefthanded. I have to stay positive, stay focused and hopefully one day I'll get the call."- Jon Weber on his amazing 2010 spring training
One day. I hope that one day comes for him. It won't be with the Yankees- he was released on June 2nd.
Jon Weber was signed by the Reds in 1999 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech University. He just missed being drafted. He started out in the Reds' Rookie ball team, the Billings Mustangs. He hit .238 with 6 doubles, 5 homers, 17 RBI, 16 runs, and a .365 OBP in 22 games. He showed an ability to be a good run producer, but his .238 average was too low. In 2000, he hit just .221 in 1087 games with the Low-A Clinton Lumber Kings, with 14 doubles, 6 homers, 34 RBI, 8 SB, 60 runs, and a .333 OBP. His run producing ability was his only good sign in '99, but he couldn't even do that in 2000, so the Reds released him. Weber signed with the Canton Crocodiles of the independent Frontier League. He did much better with Canton in '01, hitting .307 with 15 doubles, 18 homers, 69 RBI, 16 SB, 60 runs, and a .382 OBP in 82 games. For some reason, no major league team signed him and instead he signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the independent Northern League. In '02 with the Redhawks, Weber hit .296 with 30 doubles, 13 homers, 52 RBI, 11 SB, and a .356 OBP in 90 games. No major league team signed Weber again. I find it really amazing that he didn't give up right at this point and pursue another career, but he kept persevering and kept playing.
In '03, Weber started the year with the Redhawks once again, hitting .309 with 8 doubles, 11 homers, 48 RBI, 14 SB, 46 runs, and a .408 OBP in 52 games. Finally, Weber was signed by a major league team, the Oakland A's, and he was assigned to the High-A Modesto A's. He did very well in 35 games with Modesto, hitting .361 with 10 doubles, 7 homers, 38 RBI, 2 SB (Oakland's philosophy is Moneyball), 28 runs, and a .394 OBP. He averaged over 1 RBI per game with Modesto, which is very good. The next year in '04, Weber was assigned to the Double-A Midland RockHounds to start the year. He hit .280 in 111 games at Midland, with 24 doubles, 15 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, 64 runs, and a .356 OBP. He then was promoted to the Triple-A Sacremento River Cats and hit .341 with 4 doubles, 2 homers, 12 RBI, 9 runs, and a .383 OBP in 19 games. Still, the A's got rid of him and he signed with the Dodgers. He was assigned to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. In '05 with the Suns, he hit .300 with 27 doubles, 11 homers, 68 RBI, 10 SB, 81 runs, and a .369 OBP in 117 games. He also made his first career appearance on the mound, giving up 1 run on no hits and 3 walks in .2 innings for a 13.50 ERA. Weber promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51's in '06, but he hit just .258 with 18 doubles, 2 homers, 31 RBI, 9 SB, 39 runs, and a .333 OBP in 82 games. He was released, and he signed with the Diamondbacks organization. He played much better with the Tuscon Sidewinders, Arizona's Triple-A franchise than he did with the 51's. He hit .321 with 18 doubles, 5 homers, 27 RBI, 26 runs, and a .374 OBP in 46 games. He was not retained by the D-backs, and he returned to the independent Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks for the '07 season. Weber was on the Triple-A teams of 3 different major league franchises in a span of 3 years, but he still wasn't called up to the majors. He just missed again.
In '07 with the Redhawks, Weber hit .283 with 5 doubles, 1 homer, 10 RBI, 2 SB, 10 runs, and a .371 OBP in 16 games before being signed by the Rangers and being assigned to their High-A team, the Bakersfield Blaze. Weber hit .356 with the Blaze with 14 doubles, 5 homers, 25 RBI, 9 SB, 34 runs, and a .416 OBP in 37 games before being traded to the Devil Rays for cash and assigned to their Triple-A franchise, the Durham Bulls. Weber hit .265 as a member of the Bulls, with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs, and a .360 OBP in 39 games. Weber, who was 30 years old at that time, was retained by the Rays organization after the year (they had just changed their name). In '08 with Durham, Weber once again hit .265, but this time with 24 doubles, 13 homers, 51 RBI, 11 SB, 58 runs, and a .354 OBP in 108 games. Still, the Rays kept Weber for the '09 season. In '09, Weber had his best year since '04, hitting .302 with 46 doubles, 14 homers, 69 RBI, 63 runs, and a .382 OBP. Despite his great year, he was not called up to the majors. After the year he signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.
Weber had a spring training to remember in '10. He hit .452 with 4 doubles and 6 RBI in 18 games. He even won the James P. Dawson award for the best Yankee rookie (remember, Weber still hasn't made the majors) at spring training. But, being a left handed hitter, he didn't make the team. Just missed.
One day. I hope that day comes for him. He also wasn't called up after Curtis Granderson was injured, giving way to Greg Golson. So far in '10 with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees, Weber has hit .258 with 7 doubles, 0 homers, 11 RBI, 18 runs, and a .333 OBP in 47 games.
"Best time in my life and my career that I've ever had. I made it to the final week with the New York Yankees. I'm not righthanded, I'm lefthanded. I have to stay positive, stay focused and hopefully one day I'll get the call."- Jon Weber on his amazing 2010 spring training
One day. I hope that one day comes for him. It won't be with the Yankees- he was released on June 2nd.
Yanks '09 1st rounder Slade Heathcott returns to action
After being drafted by the Yankees with the 29th overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, outfielder Slade Heathcott played in 3 games for the GCL Yankees (Rookie level), going 1 for 10. Heathcott has finally played his first minor league ball in '10. In 4 games with the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs, Heathcott has gone 7 for 17 with 1 double, 0 homers, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 4 runs, and a .500 OBP. He has not made any errors in CF. All these stats pretty much mean nothing, considering how few games he has played, but it's nice to know that he's at least playing.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The future of the Yankees: David Phelps
Before my recent post "Are there any impact players waiting in the NYY minors?", I had never heard of David Phelps. But, now I have a feeling that David Phelps will be the next Phil Hughes.
Let's start the comparisons: Hughes is 6'5, while Phelps is 6'3. Obviously those 2 inches make a difference, but it's close. Hughes had a 2.37 minor league ERA, while Phelps has a 2.41 minor league ERA. Hughes had a .795 winning % in the minors, while Phelps has an .800 winning %. Hughes had a 2.2 career BB/9 in the minors, while Phelps has a 2.1 career BB/9 in the minors. Hughes had a 0.3 HR/9 in the minors while Phelps has a 0.5 HR/9. The list goes on.
Obviously there ae some differences. Hughes is a much bigger man than Phelps, weighing 230 pounds compared to 190 and is much more of a power pitcher. He had a 10.0 career K/9 in the minors compared to Phelps' 7.1. Also, Hughes has allowed much fewer hits than Phelps, posting a 6.0 H/9 compared to 8.2 by Phelps. But, Phelps has improved that to 6.0 in '10.
So, I've compared him with Phil Hughes, but just who is David Phelps?
David Phelps was a 14th round draft pick by the Yankees in 2008 out of Notre Dame. He was assigned to the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees, and started off with a bang. He went 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 52 K's in 15 starts and 72.2 IP. In '09, Phelps did even better, going 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA and 122 K's in 26 starts and 151 IP between the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs and the High-A Tampa Yankees.
Phelps has outdone himself once again in '10. He has gone 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA and 52 K's in 10 starts and 63.1 IP for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He just keeps getting better and better.
After posting an untouchable 0.00 ERA in 3 games from the GCL Yankees in '04, Phil Hughes had a 2.19 ERA in '05, a 2.16 ERA in '06, and a 1.91 ERA in '07. Obviously Phelps isn't as good of a prospect as Hughes was since Hughes was a 1st round pick and Phelps was a 14th round pick, but Phelps' ERA dropping every year has to remind you a little bit of Hughes.
The one thing that might be going against David Phelps: his age. He's only 23 years old, but he's less than 4 months younger than Hughes. But, that might be a blessing in disguise. When he reaches the majors, he'll be more developed than Hughes was when he was called up at age 21, as evidenced by his horrendous '08 (0-4, 6.62 ERA) in what was supposed to be his first full major league season. But, will Phelps be anywhere near as good as Hughes? I think he has a shot to perform at a similar level as Hughes at the major league level.
If Phelps finishes off his great '10 in Double-A and then starts out well at Triple-A in 2011, I think he will be called up to the majors, probably as a reliever. We'll have to see what happens.
Let's start the comparisons: Hughes is 6'5, while Phelps is 6'3. Obviously those 2 inches make a difference, but it's close. Hughes had a 2.37 minor league ERA, while Phelps has a 2.41 minor league ERA. Hughes had a .795 winning % in the minors, while Phelps has an .800 winning %. Hughes had a 2.2 career BB/9 in the minors, while Phelps has a 2.1 career BB/9 in the minors. Hughes had a 0.3 HR/9 in the minors while Phelps has a 0.5 HR/9. The list goes on.
Obviously there ae some differences. Hughes is a much bigger man than Phelps, weighing 230 pounds compared to 190 and is much more of a power pitcher. He had a 10.0 career K/9 in the minors compared to Phelps' 7.1. Also, Hughes has allowed much fewer hits than Phelps, posting a 6.0 H/9 compared to 8.2 by Phelps. But, Phelps has improved that to 6.0 in '10.
So, I've compared him with Phil Hughes, but just who is David Phelps?
David Phelps was a 14th round draft pick by the Yankees in 2008 out of Notre Dame. He was assigned to the Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees, and started off with a bang. He went 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 52 K's in 15 starts and 72.2 IP. In '09, Phelps did even better, going 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA and 122 K's in 26 starts and 151 IP between the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs and the High-A Tampa Yankees.
Phelps has outdone himself once again in '10. He has gone 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA and 52 K's in 10 starts and 63.1 IP for the Double-A Trenton Thunder. He just keeps getting better and better.
After posting an untouchable 0.00 ERA in 3 games from the GCL Yankees in '04, Phil Hughes had a 2.19 ERA in '05, a 2.16 ERA in '06, and a 1.91 ERA in '07. Obviously Phelps isn't as good of a prospect as Hughes was since Hughes was a 1st round pick and Phelps was a 14th round pick, but Phelps' ERA dropping every year has to remind you a little bit of Hughes.
The one thing that might be going against David Phelps: his age. He's only 23 years old, but he's less than 4 months younger than Hughes. But, that might be a blessing in disguise. When he reaches the majors, he'll be more developed than Hughes was when he was called up at age 21, as evidenced by his horrendous '08 (0-4, 6.62 ERA) in what was supposed to be his first full major league season. But, will Phelps be anywhere near as good as Hughes? I think he has a shot to perform at a similar level as Hughes at the major league level.
If Phelps finishes off his great '10 in Double-A and then starts out well at Triple-A in 2011, I think he will be called up to the majors, probably as a reliever. We'll have to see what happens.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The call
Armando Galarraga smiled. Miguel Cabrera raised his hands up in the air. Jason Donald stared down at the ground. The umpire called safe and everything was different.
Armando Galarraga had thrown 8.2 perfect innings in the game. Earlier in the 9th inning, Austin Jackson had made a great catch in center to keep it going. Galarraga had struck out just 3 batters, but he was dominating. He had thrown just 85 pitches. Jason Donald hit a grounder to 1st Miguel Cabrera fielded the ball and flipped to Galarraga, who was covering first. Galarraga's foot was clearly on the base, and Donald was out by half a step. But then, the umpire, Jim Joyce, called Donald safe. The whole stadium was stunned. Jim Leyland came out to argue, but to no avail.
2 pitches later, Galarraga retired Trevor Crowe. The game was over and Galarraga had thrown a 1-hitter. After the game ended, many Tigers players went back to argue with Joyce, but, it was too late. So close, but so far away...
Joyce has since admitted his mistake. Thank you for apologizing, Jim, but it's too late. Can MLB, especially Commissioner Selig do anything about it? Even if they could, they probably wouldn't. It's too late.
But, it's not too late to fix this problem. With all likelihood, Galarraga will never get his perfect game, but there's something Commmisioner Selig can do to make sure this never happens again: instant replay review just for the 9th inning. On bang-bang plays, the umpires should be able to go to replay. The instant replay for home runs is great, and umpires are 99% of the time very good, but sometimes the 9th inning determines the entire game. A close play at home- go to replay. A close play at 1st- go to replay. A questionable homer- obviously they would still be able to go to replay. This is an inexcusable mistake that should never happen again.
28 year old RHP Armando Galaraga had a 20-18 career record and a 4.62 ERA in 56 starts and 9 relief appearances entering the near-perfect game. He is now 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 3 starts and a relief appearance so far in '10.
Armando Galarraga had thrown 8.2 perfect innings in the game. Earlier in the 9th inning, Austin Jackson had made a great catch in center to keep it going. Galarraga had struck out just 3 batters, but he was dominating. He had thrown just 85 pitches. Jason Donald hit a grounder to 1st Miguel Cabrera fielded the ball and flipped to Galarraga, who was covering first. Galarraga's foot was clearly on the base, and Donald was out by half a step. But then, the umpire, Jim Joyce, called Donald safe. The whole stadium was stunned. Jim Leyland came out to argue, but to no avail.
2 pitches later, Galarraga retired Trevor Crowe. The game was over and Galarraga had thrown a 1-hitter. After the game ended, many Tigers players went back to argue with Joyce, but, it was too late. So close, but so far away...
Joyce has since admitted his mistake. Thank you for apologizing, Jim, but it's too late. Can MLB, especially Commissioner Selig do anything about it? Even if they could, they probably wouldn't. It's too late.
But, it's not too late to fix this problem. With all likelihood, Galarraga will never get his perfect game, but there's something Commmisioner Selig can do to make sure this never happens again: instant replay review just for the 9th inning. On bang-bang plays, the umpires should be able to go to replay. The instant replay for home runs is great, and umpires are 99% of the time very good, but sometimes the 9th inning determines the entire game. A close play at home- go to replay. A close play at 1st- go to replay. A questionable homer- obviously they would still be able to go to replay. This is an inexcusable mistake that should never happen again.
28 year old RHP Armando Galaraga had a 20-18 career record and a 4.62 ERA in 56 starts and 9 relief appearances entering the near-perfect game. He is now 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 3 starts and a relief appearance so far in '10.
What's going on with 2009 NL ROY Chris Coghlan?
I just did a post on whether Marlins prospect Mike Stanton is ready for the majors, so it got me thinking about the Marlins outfield. Then I saw the stats on the Marlins left fielder, 2009 NL Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan. He is really doing bad. What's going on?
Marlins LF Chris Coghlan was called to the majors on May 8th, 2009, going 2 for 4. But, after starting off with a bang, Coghlan really slowed down. He was hitting just .143 on May 23rd, and just .212 on May 31th. But then he hit .294 in June to improve his BA to .262. But then he hit .231 in July which sent his BA down to .252. The Marlins were waiting to see which Coghlan they would see- the May and July version who struggled, or the June version who did fine. Coghlan showed that he really would excel, as he hit .385 in August and .390 in September/October. He finished batting .321 with 31 doubles, 6 triples, 9 homers, 47 RBI, 8 SB, 84 runs, and a .390 OBP in 128 games. He did have some struggles defensively in left field, as he posted just .977 Fld% (league average: .982). Still, he was good enough to win the NL Rookie of the Year award over J.A. Happ, Tommy Hanson, and others. The Marlins had big expectations for him entering this year.
Right now in 2010, Coghlan is hitting just .237 with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 15 RBI, 6 stolen bases, and a .284 OBP in 49 games. His power numbers and stolen bases are on pace to be better than '09, but the .237 BA and .284 OBP are very low. Last year at this time, Coghlan was hitting just .213, but with a much better .356 OBP. Also, since Coghlan debuted on May 8th, his 49th game with July 1st. He was hitting .262 after 49 games with a .360 OBP. Coghlan has struggled before, but not like this. Let's look into the stats to find out what's going on.
Let's start with some very clear differences between Coghlan '09 season and his '10 season. In '09, he got very lucky- he hit .365 on balls in play, but in '10 his BA on balls in play is .294, a big difference. In '09, Coghlan, who bats lefty, hit .323 against righties and .316 against lefties. It didn't make that much of a difference whether he was facing a righty or a lefty- in both cases he did well. But in '10, Coghlan has hit just .250 against righties and .204 against lefties. He's bad overall so far in '10, but now also lefties neutralize him. That obviously is a big problem.
Now, let's look at Coghlan's clutch stats. In '09, Coghlan hit .352 with runners in scoring position. But in those situations in '10, Coghlan has hit just .174. In '09, Coghlan hit .342 with runners on base, compared to .250 so far in '10. Also, Coghlan hit .308 with 2 outs and runners and scoring position in '09, but he has hit just .176 in those situations in '10.
In 2009, there were 427 times where Coghlan hit a ball in play excluding sac bunts and sac flies (it could have been a foul ball caught by fielders). About 48.2% of those hits were grounders, about 27% of them were fly balls, about 23.4% were line drives, and 1.4% of his hits were bunts. So far in '10, Coghlan has hit 145 balls in play besides sac flies and sac bunts. About 59.3% of those hits have been grounders, 20% of those hits have been fly balls, about 19.3% have been line drives, and about 1.4% have been bunts. So, he's hitting grounders at a way higher rate in '10, and that has caused him to hit fewer fly balls and fewer line drives.
So, to sum up this post, the reason Coghlan is doing much worse in '10 than '09 is that unlike '09, lefties are neutralizing him, he is hitting much worse in the clutch, and he is hitting ground balls at a much higher rate. He'll just have to work with his hitting coach to fix those problems.
Here's the link to the Mike Stanton post: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/659425-is-marlins-prospect-mike-stanton-ready-for-the-majors.
Marlins LF Chris Coghlan was called to the majors on May 8th, 2009, going 2 for 4. But, after starting off with a bang, Coghlan really slowed down. He was hitting just .143 on May 23rd, and just .212 on May 31th. But then he hit .294 in June to improve his BA to .262. But then he hit .231 in July which sent his BA down to .252. The Marlins were waiting to see which Coghlan they would see- the May and July version who struggled, or the June version who did fine. Coghlan showed that he really would excel, as he hit .385 in August and .390 in September/October. He finished batting .321 with 31 doubles, 6 triples, 9 homers, 47 RBI, 8 SB, 84 runs, and a .390 OBP in 128 games. He did have some struggles defensively in left field, as he posted just .977 Fld% (league average: .982). Still, he was good enough to win the NL Rookie of the Year award over J.A. Happ, Tommy Hanson, and others. The Marlins had big expectations for him entering this year.
Right now in 2010, Coghlan is hitting just .237 with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 15 RBI, 6 stolen bases, and a .284 OBP in 49 games. His power numbers and stolen bases are on pace to be better than '09, but the .237 BA and .284 OBP are very low. Last year at this time, Coghlan was hitting just .213, but with a much better .356 OBP. Also, since Coghlan debuted on May 8th, his 49th game with July 1st. He was hitting .262 after 49 games with a .360 OBP. Coghlan has struggled before, but not like this. Let's look into the stats to find out what's going on.
Let's start with some very clear differences between Coghlan '09 season and his '10 season. In '09, he got very lucky- he hit .365 on balls in play, but in '10 his BA on balls in play is .294, a big difference. In '09, Coghlan, who bats lefty, hit .323 against righties and .316 against lefties. It didn't make that much of a difference whether he was facing a righty or a lefty- in both cases he did well. But in '10, Coghlan has hit just .250 against righties and .204 against lefties. He's bad overall so far in '10, but now also lefties neutralize him. That obviously is a big problem.
Now, let's look at Coghlan's clutch stats. In '09, Coghlan hit .352 with runners in scoring position. But in those situations in '10, Coghlan has hit just .174. In '09, Coghlan hit .342 with runners on base, compared to .250 so far in '10. Also, Coghlan hit .308 with 2 outs and runners and scoring position in '09, but he has hit just .176 in those situations in '10.
In 2009, there were 427 times where Coghlan hit a ball in play excluding sac bunts and sac flies (it could have been a foul ball caught by fielders). About 48.2% of those hits were grounders, about 27% of them were fly balls, about 23.4% were line drives, and 1.4% of his hits were bunts. So far in '10, Coghlan has hit 145 balls in play besides sac flies and sac bunts. About 59.3% of those hits have been grounders, 20% of those hits have been fly balls, about 19.3% have been line drives, and about 1.4% have been bunts. So, he's hitting grounders at a way higher rate in '10, and that has caused him to hit fewer fly balls and fewer line drives.
So, to sum up this post, the reason Coghlan is doing much worse in '10 than '09 is that unlike '09, lefties are neutralizing him, he is hitting much worse in the clutch, and he is hitting ground balls at a much higher rate. He'll just have to work with his hitting coach to fix those problems.
Here's the link to the Mike Stanton post: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/659425-is-marlins-prospect-mike-stanton-ready-for-the-majors.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Are there any under-the-radar impact players waiting in the minors for the Yanks?
This year Kevin Russo came out of nowhere from the minors and has made an impact. Last year, Francisco Cervelli came out of nowhere to make a big impact with Posada hurt and has carried his great play into this year with Posada hurt again. Are there any other players like that waiting in the Yankee minor league system that will make an impact like that in 2011? I'm going to name 5 guys. Chances are, at least 4 of them will still be nobodies after the 2011 season. But, hopefully one of these players will make an impact in 2011. I'm not talking about players who will come out of nowhere to win a Rookie of the Year next year- I'm talking about bench players who could make an impact like Russo has had this year because Granderson was hurt and Winn played so badly that he was designated for assignment.
No, I'm not going to mention guys like Jesus Montero or Austin Romine who if you know anything about the players in the Yankee minor league system, you should already recognize. I mentioned many of those kind of players in my "The future of the Yankees" posts or other posts that talk about the future of the Yankees (you can go to the "all posts link on the right to read those posts). Instead I'm going to mention players who you may have seen in spring training or something, but who you probably don't recognize. I'm going to put the players in order of likelihood of making an impact in 2011, in my opinion.
1. Eduardo Nunez: 23 year old infielder Eduardo Nunez is hitting .311 at Triple-A Scranton with 10 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBI, 12 SB (3 CS), and a .353 OBP in 49 games. He hit .322 with 26 doubles, 9 homers, 55 RBI, 19 SB (7 CS), and a .349 OBP at Double-A in '09, so he is really showing signs of improvement. He has posted a very good .980 Fld% at SS so far in '10. He also has some experience at 2B and 3B, but so far in '10 he has just a .800 Fld% at 3B and a .889 Fld% at 2B. He needs to work on those 2 positions. Maybe he could be a utility infielder in 2011. Keep in mind that Ramiro Pena is hitting just .190 right now.
2. Tim Norton: 27 year old RHP Tim Norton impressed so much at High-A Tampa in '10 that he bypassed Double-A Trenton and went straight to Triple-A Scranton. At High-A Tampa, Norton went 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 17 K's, just 4 walks, and 1 save in 8 relief appearances and 14.2 IP. Since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton, Norton has appeared in one game, and he threw a scoreless inning. In '09, Norton went 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 30 K's, and 9 walks in 23 relief appearances and 36 IP. Norton was really set back when he underwent rotator cuff surgery in '07 and missed most of that season and all of '08. If he hadn't gotten hurt, he maybe could have been in the Yankee bullpen right now. Norton has an impressive 9.7 career K/9 in the minors, so I have to think that he has a chance to be a member of the Yankee bullpen in 2011. His career BB/9 is just 2.1, so he also has great control. He also has allowed just 0.1 homers per 9 innings. Obviously we'll have to see how Norton does the rest of the season at Triple-A, but if he does well, he will have an opportunity to make an impact as a reliever in 2011.
(You would expect the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees to have more players on this list, but really don't have any other players who jump out from the stats besides Ivan Nova and Zack McAllister who I've talked about in my "future of the Yankees" posts, and Boone Logan, Mark Melancon, Jonathan Albaladejo, and Royce Ring who all have major league experience.)
3. David Phelps: Even I've never heard of 23 year old RHP David Phelps before I did this post, but he's really good. He has gone 3-0 at Double-A Trenton with a 2.40 ERA, 45 K's, and just 16 walks in 9 starts and 56.1 IP. In '09, he went 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA, 122 K's, and just 31 walks in 27 starts and 151 IP. He really has great minor league numbers. If he continues his great '10 and starts out well in 2011 at Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees will definitely have to consider calling him up to the majors. But, he has never been used as a reliever in the minors. Still, when you have an ERA under 2.80 every year in the minors, you definitely deserve a look by the major league club. I think Phelps has a good chance to make an impact as a starter in 2011 if someone gets hurt, or as a reliever.
4. Josh Schmidt: 27 year old RHP Josh Schmidt went 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA at Double-A Trenton, with 26 K's, and 14 walks in 19 relief appearances and 27 IP before being promoted to Triple-A. Schmidt is a similar kind of player as Norton. He is another right-handed reliever with a very good career strikeout rate. But, although Schmidt has done pretty well in '10, his strikeout rate is not as high as Norton. He also walks may more batters. Schmidt has made 2 relief appearances since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton and has not done well, going 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA, 3 K's, and 2 walks in 2 relief appearances and 5 IP. Schmidt will defintiely have improve a lot on that 7.20 ERA to be in the Yankees bullpen in 2011.
5. Brandon Laird: 22 year old Brandon Laird, brother of Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, is hitting .316 at Double-A Trenton with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 50 RBI, and a .362 OBP in 49 games. Laird is putting up these numbers the year after hitting just .266 with 13 homers and 75 RBI in a disappointing '09 at High-A Tampa. In '08, he hit .273 with 23 homers and 86 RBI at Low-A Charleston. Laird's 50 RBI in '10 in 49 games is an average of over 1 RBI per game- no major leaguer with enough at-bats to qualify has an average of 1 RBI per game or better in his career. To put that into perspective, Albert Pujols has averaged under .8 RBI per game for his career and has not had a single season where he has averaged 1 or more RBI per game. (In fact, since 2000, Manny Ramirez is the only player to have averaged 1 RBI per game in a season in which he played 25 or more games by driving in 122 runs in 118 games. The other 8 players who have done it since 2000 all played in less than 25 games.) The problem with Laird is fielding. Laird started out as a 3rd baseman, then was switched to 1st, and now is back at 3rd. He has a decent .991 career Fld% at first base, but he has just a .936 career Fld% at 3rd base. He will need to make strides defensively at 3rd base to be promoted to the majors. The Yankees have only let Laird play 3B so far in '10 (2 appearances at DH), but he has posted just a .935 Fld%. Still, I can see Laird having a Juan Miranda-type impact in 2011. But, one problem with that: Juan Miranda will probably still be on the team unless top prospect Jesus Montero has already taken away his roster spot, so it will be tough for Laird to make the team.
In case you're wondering, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte did not make this list because he's only in Tampa right now and has only posted a 3.08 ERA so far so he won't be called up to Double-A in the near future.
Just like for Russo, injury or complete failure by role players might be needed for one of these guys to get called up. But, it's bound to happen to someone, and I think that these 5 players have a shot to be called up to the majors and make an impact.
No, I'm not going to mention guys like Jesus Montero or Austin Romine who if you know anything about the players in the Yankee minor league system, you should already recognize. I mentioned many of those kind of players in my "The future of the Yankees" posts or other posts that talk about the future of the Yankees (you can go to the "all posts link on the right to read those posts). Instead I'm going to mention players who you may have seen in spring training or something, but who you probably don't recognize. I'm going to put the players in order of likelihood of making an impact in 2011, in my opinion.
1. Eduardo Nunez: 23 year old infielder Eduardo Nunez is hitting .311 at Triple-A Scranton with 10 doubles, 2 homers, 22 RBI, 12 SB (3 CS), and a .353 OBP in 49 games. He hit .322 with 26 doubles, 9 homers, 55 RBI, 19 SB (7 CS), and a .349 OBP at Double-A in '09, so he is really showing signs of improvement. He has posted a very good .980 Fld% at SS so far in '10. He also has some experience at 2B and 3B, but so far in '10 he has just a .800 Fld% at 3B and a .889 Fld% at 2B. He needs to work on those 2 positions. Maybe he could be a utility infielder in 2011. Keep in mind that Ramiro Pena is hitting just .190 right now.
2. Tim Norton: 27 year old RHP Tim Norton impressed so much at High-A Tampa in '10 that he bypassed Double-A Trenton and went straight to Triple-A Scranton. At High-A Tampa, Norton went 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 17 K's, just 4 walks, and 1 save in 8 relief appearances and 14.2 IP. Since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton, Norton has appeared in one game, and he threw a scoreless inning. In '09, Norton went 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 30 K's, and 9 walks in 23 relief appearances and 36 IP. Norton was really set back when he underwent rotator cuff surgery in '07 and missed most of that season and all of '08. If he hadn't gotten hurt, he maybe could have been in the Yankee bullpen right now. Norton has an impressive 9.7 career K/9 in the minors, so I have to think that he has a chance to be a member of the Yankee bullpen in 2011. His career BB/9 is just 2.1, so he also has great control. He also has allowed just 0.1 homers per 9 innings. Obviously we'll have to see how Norton does the rest of the season at Triple-A, but if he does well, he will have an opportunity to make an impact as a reliever in 2011.
(You would expect the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees to have more players on this list, but really don't have any other players who jump out from the stats besides Ivan Nova and Zack McAllister who I've talked about in my "future of the Yankees" posts, and Boone Logan, Mark Melancon, Jonathan Albaladejo, and Royce Ring who all have major league experience.)
3. David Phelps: Even I've never heard of 23 year old RHP David Phelps before I did this post, but he's really good. He has gone 3-0 at Double-A Trenton with a 2.40 ERA, 45 K's, and just 16 walks in 9 starts and 56.1 IP. In '09, he went 13-4 with a 2.38 ERA, 122 K's, and just 31 walks in 27 starts and 151 IP. He really has great minor league numbers. If he continues his great '10 and starts out well in 2011 at Triple-A Scranton, the Yankees will definitely have to consider calling him up to the majors. But, he has never been used as a reliever in the minors. Still, when you have an ERA under 2.80 every year in the minors, you definitely deserve a look by the major league club. I think Phelps has a good chance to make an impact as a starter in 2011 if someone gets hurt, or as a reliever.
4. Josh Schmidt: 27 year old RHP Josh Schmidt went 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA at Double-A Trenton, with 26 K's, and 14 walks in 19 relief appearances and 27 IP before being promoted to Triple-A. Schmidt is a similar kind of player as Norton. He is another right-handed reliever with a very good career strikeout rate. But, although Schmidt has done pretty well in '10, his strikeout rate is not as high as Norton. He also walks may more batters. Schmidt has made 2 relief appearances since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton and has not done well, going 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA, 3 K's, and 2 walks in 2 relief appearances and 5 IP. Schmidt will defintiely have improve a lot on that 7.20 ERA to be in the Yankees bullpen in 2011.
5. Brandon Laird: 22 year old Brandon Laird, brother of Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, is hitting .316 at Double-A Trenton with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 50 RBI, and a .362 OBP in 49 games. Laird is putting up these numbers the year after hitting just .266 with 13 homers and 75 RBI in a disappointing '09 at High-A Tampa. In '08, he hit .273 with 23 homers and 86 RBI at Low-A Charleston. Laird's 50 RBI in '10 in 49 games is an average of over 1 RBI per game- no major leaguer with enough at-bats to qualify has an average of 1 RBI per game or better in his career. To put that into perspective, Albert Pujols has averaged under .8 RBI per game for his career and has not had a single season where he has averaged 1 or more RBI per game. (In fact, since 2000, Manny Ramirez is the only player to have averaged 1 RBI per game in a season in which he played 25 or more games by driving in 122 runs in 118 games. The other 8 players who have done it since 2000 all played in less than 25 games.) The problem with Laird is fielding. Laird started out as a 3rd baseman, then was switched to 1st, and now is back at 3rd. He has a decent .991 career Fld% at first base, but he has just a .936 career Fld% at 3rd base. He will need to make strides defensively at 3rd base to be promoted to the majors. The Yankees have only let Laird play 3B so far in '10 (2 appearances at DH), but he has posted just a .935 Fld%. Still, I can see Laird having a Juan Miranda-type impact in 2011. But, one problem with that: Juan Miranda will probably still be on the team unless top prospect Jesus Montero has already taken away his roster spot, so it will be tough for Laird to make the team.
In case you're wondering, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte did not make this list because he's only in Tampa right now and has only posted a 3.08 ERA so far so he won't be called up to Double-A in the near future.
Just like for Russo, injury or complete failure by role players might be needed for one of these guys to get called up. But, it's bound to happen to someone, and I think that these 5 players have a shot to be called up to the majors and make an impact.
Is Marlins prospect Mike Stanton ready for the majors?
In this post I will answer 2 questions: Is Marlins outfield prospect Mike Stanton ready for the majors right now? and How great of a slugger has he been so far in his minor league career?
Stanton has really gotten off to a great start in Double-A Jacksonville. He has hit .301 with 11 doubles, 18 homers, 48 RBI, 34 runs, and a .431 OBP in 47 games. Stanton has led the minors in homers most of the year. Also, he's averaging over 1 RBI per game, which is amazing. In addition, he has posted a perfect 1.000 Fld% in the outfield. He has primarily played RF, but he has also played 2 games in LF.
The question with Stanton is his contact rate. As evidenced by Stanton's just 11 doubles compared to his 18 homers, Stanton really doesn't make a lot of contact, but when he does make contact, he very often hits homers. He is 52 hits so far in '10 and he has 18 homers. So, 35% of his hits are homers. Also, Stanton has homered at a rate of once every 9.6 at-bats, a very good rate. Stanton really has the potential to be a great power hitter in the majors, but will he make enough contact to maintain a good BA?
For his minor league career, 27% of Stanton's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 13.7 at-bats. Let's compare those numbers to the numbers of some major league sluggers. During his major league career, 29% of Ryan Howard's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 12.6 at-bats. For Prince Fielder, 23% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.4 at-bats. For Alex Rodriguez (not including his juiced years of '01 to '03), 22% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.3 at-bats. (Unrelated note: A-rod has 434 career homers without steroids, so in my opinion, he will need to reach 500 homers without steroids to be a legitimate Hall of Famer. He currently has 590 homers including steroids, so in my opinion, homer number 656 will be the homer that makes him a Hall of Famer.) For Albert Pujols, 21% of his hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 14.1 at-bats. For Ken Griffey Jr., 23% of his hits in his career have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.6 at-bats. Stanton seems to be most similar to Ryan Howard, but maybe a few homers worse. Howard has averaged 44 homers per full season, so maybe Stanton could average 42 homers per full season. Still, that's a lot of homers and if he's anywhere near as good as Howard, he'll be a great player.
We'll have to see what the Marlins do. Stanton has great numberts so far in Double-A, but the Marlins might want to move him up to Triple-A first. Whether he is called up within a couple of months from now this season or callled up next year, he will show great power in the majors and be a Rookie of the Year candidate. The only question with him is his contact rate.
Stanton has really gotten off to a great start in Double-A Jacksonville. He has hit .301 with 11 doubles, 18 homers, 48 RBI, 34 runs, and a .431 OBP in 47 games. Stanton has led the minors in homers most of the year. Also, he's averaging over 1 RBI per game, which is amazing. In addition, he has posted a perfect 1.000 Fld% in the outfield. He has primarily played RF, but he has also played 2 games in LF.
The question with Stanton is his contact rate. As evidenced by Stanton's just 11 doubles compared to his 18 homers, Stanton really doesn't make a lot of contact, but when he does make contact, he very often hits homers. He is 52 hits so far in '10 and he has 18 homers. So, 35% of his hits are homers. Also, Stanton has homered at a rate of once every 9.6 at-bats, a very good rate. Stanton really has the potential to be a great power hitter in the majors, but will he make enough contact to maintain a good BA?
For his minor league career, 27% of Stanton's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 13.7 at-bats. Let's compare those numbers to the numbers of some major league sluggers. During his major league career, 29% of Ryan Howard's hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 12.6 at-bats. For Prince Fielder, 23% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.4 at-bats. For Alex Rodriguez (not including his juiced years of '01 to '03), 22% of his hits have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.3 at-bats. (Unrelated note: A-rod has 434 career homers without steroids, so in my opinion, he will need to reach 500 homers without steroids to be a legitimate Hall of Famer. He currently has 590 homers including steroids, so in my opinion, homer number 656 will be the homer that makes him a Hall of Famer.) For Albert Pujols, 21% of his hits have been homers and he has homered at a rate of once every 14.1 at-bats. For Ken Griffey Jr., 23% of his hits in his career have been homers, and he has homered at a rate of once every 15.6 at-bats. Stanton seems to be most similar to Ryan Howard, but maybe a few homers worse. Howard has averaged 44 homers per full season, so maybe Stanton could average 42 homers per full season. Still, that's a lot of homers and if he's anywhere near as good as Howard, he'll be a great player.
We'll have to see what the Marlins do. Stanton has great numberts so far in Double-A, but the Marlins might want to move him up to Triple-A first. Whether he is called up within a couple of months from now this season or callled up next year, he will show great power in the majors and be a Rookie of the Year candidate. The only question with him is his contact rate.
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