My Take: Yankees Make Strong Move in Acquiring Eovaldi

15-35.

Let us get that out of the way first, as that is likely the first thing that the detractors will bring up when it comes to Nathan Eovaldi.   That is his career record with a less than sparkling 4.07 ERA (95 ERA+).

So, now that is out of the way, let us analyze this trade for the Yankees, which is likely their best move this entire winter (other than letting mediocre veteran pitchers sign elsewhere).

There is a lot to like about Eovaldi, who will only be 25 years old on Opening Day.  In 2014, he finally started to come into his own a bit, posting a 3.37 FIP (a full run below his actual ERA) while decreasing his walks considerably (from 3.4 in 2013 to 1.9 in 2014).  He did that while maintaining his strikeout rate (which, to be fair, has not been his strong suit.  But there could also be room for improvement there).

Eovaldi's overall season can be attributed to a lot of bad luck.  His BABIP (.323) was the 4th highest number in all of baseball, while his strand rate (65.5%) was the second lowest in all of baseball.  It doesn't take rocket science to figure out what happens when those two worlds collide. 

So, what does Eovaldi bring to the table stuff wise?  We must start with the fastball, which is one of the hardest thrown fastballs in all of baseball.  He averaged 95.5 MPH on it, which ranked him 4th in baseball.    He compliments his fastball with a 86 MPH slider, 86 MPH "change up" and a 76 MPH curve.    His two-seam fastball is his best pitch (according to fangraphs), while his other offerings are still not completely refined.  Essentially, the Yankees have acquired a pitcher who is still developing, but has enough major league experience to start passing some judgement on him.  If he continues to develop those secondary pitches (and he has a pitching coach who will help him in this regard), the K rate should begin to climb (a Rothschild specialty), which would instantly make Eovaldi one of the best young pitchers in the game.

As for Garrett Jones, the Yankees have acquired a needed right-handed bench power bat who can be used as insurance if there is an injury to Teixiera or Beltran.   But perhaps the biggest thing Jones can offer is that of a capable right-handed designated hitter once Alex Rodriguez proves to the world he simply cannot play anymore.   Jones will be a free agent after the 2015 season, so he is not a long-term piece to the puzzle.  In the short term, however, he does fill a void.

The Yankees also added power arm Domingo German in the deal.    The #6 prospect in the Marlins system, German throws a 97 MPH fastball.  He pitched in Low-A Greensboro (equivalent to Charleston in the Yankees organization) at the age of 21 last season, compiling a 2.48 ERA and 113/25 K/BB ratio over 123.1 innings.    The innings were a significant bump over his 2013 total, so that is something to watch.  But he instantly becomes one of the Yankees better pitching prospects - arguably only trailing Luis Severino in that spot.

The move also allows the Yankees to do something fans have been clamoring for:  Opening up a spot on the roster for a rookie second baseman, whether it be Robert Refsnyder or Jose Pirela.  The Yankees are highly likely to bring in a veteran to compete for the job, but as of now, the feeling seems to be that they want Refsnyder to come into spring training and win the job outright with Pirela as the backup option.   Refsnyder is the Yankees most advanced upper level prospect, and he should be ready for a big league job in 2015.  Whether that happens out of camp or not is still to be determined, but the fact that the Yankees are seemingly going to give him a legitimate chance is an exciting thing to think about.

As for what they gave up:  Martin Prado is a superb super-utility player, but not an irreplaceable player.  (Amazing how Brian Cashman works, isn't it?  One second, he is talked about as the third baseman for 2015 - the next, they sign Headley and ship Prado out the door).  The Yankees will miss the Prado that excelled in his brief stay after being acquired in 2014 - they won't miss the statistics he compiled PRIOR to that trade, however.   Overall, they lose veteran depth, which stings - but if it means playing time opportunities for someone younger, I am all for it.

David Phelps has done a good job as a "tweener" over the past several seasons for the franchise, mixing in solid work from both the rotation and the bullpen.  But if you get an opportunity to acquire a pitcher who is younger, has a lot more upside, AND is a no-doubt-about-it starter right now, you do it in a heartbeat.    Phelps did a lot to enhance his trade value through the years - there was a time when many doubted just how much of a major league pitcher he could be, despite strong minor league work.

Overall, the Yankees gave up a veteran utility player and a pitcher who has an injury history with his elbow for a young starter, a strong prospect, and a useful bench player who should provide them some power.    The Yankees have essentially swapped out Shane Greene in their rotation for Eovaldi, which is an upgrade, while acquiring their likely starting shortstop in 2015.   On top of that, they can hope that German can stay healthy and become the prospect Jose Campos was supposed to be prior to injury.  

My initial thought is to give this trade a big fat "A" - and nothing I have read over the past several minutes has changed my mind on that.  The Yankees became a more exciting team today - provided they don't go out and trade for a mediocre second baseman now.

My Take: Yankees Made Horrible Move in Signing Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller was fantastic in 2014.   Andrew Miller is in the conversation for best left-handed reliever in all of baseball in 2014.   Andrew Miller helps any team he is a part of.  

Andrew Miller is also one of the worst investments in all of baseball.  

You will not see me trying to dispute his greatness in 2014 - the numbers speak for themselves.  He is a pure power lefty who can get all hitters out, not just a token lefty.  His K/9 and K/BB ratios weren't simply great - they were insane.   In 2014, Miller was simply one of the biggest bargains in the game.

In 2015, he will be one of the most overpaid players in the game.

In some ways, Miller is like Dellin Betances.  A pitcher with a history of command/control problems who suddenly discovers it in 2014.   (Let us just say that if both regress back to the types of pitchers they were prior to 2014, we may as well buy out all of the Pepto Bismal in stock.  It won't be pretty - to be exact, it will be downright ugly, with Houdini (David Robertson) likely not around to bail them out.)

But just for the sake of argument, let us say that 2014 was the beginning of Miller's rebirth - and he will be able to pitch like that for the majority of this contract.

It is still a bad deal.

Let us look at a few reasons why:

1.  Unlike SS, the Yankees have internal options for the role Miller is going to be given.  No, Jacob Lindgren, Tyler Webb, and James Pazos are not household names, and may never be.    But Lindgren was a second-round pick in 2014 who many thought could make his big league debut as soon as last summer.  The Yankees (rightfully so) decided not to do that - but he should be ready sometime in 2015.   Webb and Pezos are not likely to ever pitch like Miller did in 2014, but they wouldn't need to - they are young relievers under team control for many years who have the potential to be good enough.    Relief pitching is so fickle by nature with a very small margin for error.   Even though we likely won't see Webb and Pezos put up a season like Miller just did, we also may not see Miller ever put up a season like he just did.  It isn't like he has a history of success.   Also, the Yankees are loaded with right-handed relief options as well.  The bottom line is that relief pitching is one area that the Yankees develop very well.  Spending money on Miller to reinforce something that doesn't need reinforcing is just not smart.

2.   If Robertson doesn't come back, the Yankees downgraded their biggest 2013 strength. As good as Miller was in 2014, he doesn't have the history of success that Robertson has, and even if he may have been a better reliever in 2014 (debatable), it wasn't by much.   Allowing Robertson to come back to close keeps Dellin Betances in a true "fireman's" role,  allowing the Yankees to use him pretty much at any time to get a big out.   As a "closer", he would be relegated to 9th inning duty only (no, that isn't a rule - but name the manager that is willing to use their closer as anything but the "9th inning guy").  As the bullpen stands right now, it is Betances-Miller-Warren-Wilson (acquired for Cervelli)-Kelley and some combination of two other guys (they have a lot of internal options to choose from and just resigned Esmil Rogers as well).  With Robertson, it would have been Robertson-Betances-Warren-Wilson-Kelley + 2 other guys.  The latter is certainly a better bullpen than the former in my opinion - for the simple reason that Robertson is, as we speak, the one more likely to repeat past performance.

3.   It means that the Yankees are trying to win in a way that teams simply cannot consistently win.

Building a team from bullpen - down doesn't work.   Why?  Because the bullpen is simply not the most important part of the team.  It is certainly more important now than it was even ten years ago, as more and more teams watch the workloads of their starters and try to shorten games with shutdown bullpens.  But as important as the bullpen is, it still is no substitute for a strong starting staff or a strong offense.  Let me ask the most basic of questions:  Would you rather have 5-0 leads with an average bullpen or 1-0 leads with a tremendous bullpen?  If you say the latter, I hope you are not a baseball executive.

4.  Which leads to........the Yankees simply have more pressing needs.

I will be honest - I hate giving out big contracts to relievers, though I would have accepted signing Robertson because he came from the Yankees' farm system and has been excellent for many years.   That said, if the Yankees had a great offensive team with a good enough starting staff and wanted to splurge on Andrew Miler to complement David Robertson, I would have cringed but wouldn't have gone crazy over it.  But none of that applies to the 2015 Yankees.  The offense may improve (hard for it to get worse), but it seems unlikely it will go from decisively below average to decisively above average with essentially the same cast of characters plus Didi, the skeleton of Alex Rodriguez,  and maybe Robert Refsnyder.  Is it possible that they will get the type of year from McCann in 2015 that they wanted in 2014?  Of course.  He did hit well late in the season.  Beltran?  Yes, it is possible that now that his surgery is taken care of that that he will bounce back into a productive player.   But this is where baseball fans can get into a lot of trouble:  They begin to assume all of the good will likely occur.   The reality is, given the age of the offense, that the bad is much more likely to occur than the good.    Having a shutdown bullpen is nice...when everything else is clicking.  Not everything else is clicking, and the Yankees are no more likely to make the playoffs now than they were before the day started.   As I stated in my other post, I have warmed up to the trade they made a bit.  But I won't warm up on this move because it was completely unnecessary.

All of that said, it is still a young offseason and the starting pitching on the market has still not moved, which will allow the Yankees to jump in and sign a few pitchers to fill in the voids on the starting staff.   But that offense - oh, that offense.  Nothing they are doing will currently save that, and they are so handcuffed with bad contracts on the offensive side of the ball that it makes upgrading that much more difficult.  How can they look into a useful bat like Brandon Moss, when they don't have a place to put him in the lineup?   They currently have a mediocre lineup that they are unable to upgrade because of contractual commitments.  Perhaps this is why they decided to spend on the bullpen.  It still isn't smart.

My Take: Yankees Trade for Didi Gregorious

There are many times when I see a Yankees' move that I go with my first reaction.  My first reaction to the Brian McCann signing was "Yay!"  My first reaction to the Jacoby Ellsbury signing was "What are they doing?"

Today, I am actually doing something different - as I am, for the first time in a long time, not going with my initial reaction in my analysis.

My first thought when I saw the Gregorious (can't wait to see what the Bleacher Creatures come up with) for Shane Greene trade was "This makes no sense!  Time to go to the Yankees offices and bash down Brian Cashman's door!"

However, I think I was wrong about that.

There aren't many deeper black holes in baseball than the 2015 SS position for the New York Yankees.  They just lost a Hall of Famer.  Their best prospects at the position are at least three years away, if they ever come at all.  The list of free agents is less than inspiring.   There simply was nothing obvious when it came to who was going to play the position in 2015.  Everyone was flawed - and not spending a multi-year deal on a flawed player like Jed Lowrie is perfectly acceptable.

So they decided to go the trade route, dealing last year's big surprise starting pitcher (Greene) for a shortstop with less than inspiring offensive skills but a solid defensive reputation (Gregorious).   

When you saw Greene pitch in 2014, it was hard to not be impressed.  He mixed in a hard sinking fastball with a solid breaking pitch to produce results that nobody in their right mind expected.  After the 2012 season, when Greene compiled a 5.22 ERA in High-A ball as a 23-year old, it appeared that his only ceiling would be that of a middle reliever.   However, something changed in 2013.  Greene suddenly started to walk less hitters (BB/9 went from 5.1 all the way down to 1.7), his strikeout rate remained strong, and he suddenly went from a nothing prospect to a fringe starting prospect, which is actually quite remarkable.   We all saw what happened in 2014 - after a slow start due to being jerked around between Triple-A and the major leagues without actually pitching, Greene came on like gangbusters - helping save the rotation after the injuries to Tanaka, Pineda, and Sabathia crippled the staff.

So why am I changing my mind slightly about this trade?  It is all about supply and demand.  Not long ago, Greene would have been treated like gold, because he was rare.  A relatively young pitcher who was cost-controlled with big league success on his resume.   But that is no longer the case.    Nowadays, pitching can be found - maybe not as cheaply as Greene would be, but it can be found.  The market is still littered with several capable starting pitchers, and the Yankees will likely sign one or two or three of them before all is said and done.

But shortstops?  Try finding a 24-year old shortstop with any kind of talent for a projected #4 or #5 starting pitcher.   It is almost impossible to do so.   The Yankees were not going to fix any problems with their offense through the SS position - that kind of player simply was not available, unless you think Stephen Drew was going to bounce back to 2013 levels (and stay healthy while doing so).   Drew was nothing more than a short-term, band-aid solution with no real upside to speak of - the Yankees evaluated him for a few months at the end of 2014 and came away unimpressed (which is not surprising)

Gregorious is not flawless.  He is a capable bat against right-handed pitching, but is atrocious vs. left-handed pitching, which could force the Yankees to look for a capable right-handed backup IF who can handle shortstop.   Given his defensive play, I would hesitate to bench him versus all left-handed pitching, but he shouldn't be out there against good southpaws.

So, yes - at first, I thought this deal was dumb.  I thought it was bad - I thought the Yankees had officially gone over the edge.   

But now?  I am at least more open to what they did - I don't necessarily love it, but I do actually understand it.    We should hesitate a bit before we overrate Shane Greene - while keeping it in the back of our minds that Gregorious is also no sure thing.  There is a chance that in a few years, everyone will say "What was that trade the Yankees, D'Backs, and Tigers made again?  What happened to those guys?"

Yankees Minor League Notes: The Protected

As you probably know by now, the Yankees set their 40-man roster today by protecting several prospects from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.  They could have protected one or two more, but decided to leave open slots, presumably for a Rule 5 selection of their own if they see someone out there who intrigues them.

For those who are wondering, players eligible for the Rule 5 draft are players who are not on a team's 40-man roster and have been in the minor leagues for four or five years, depending on the age when they were actually drafted/signed.  In other words, players drafted in 2014 do not have to be on a team's 40-man roster to be protected from the draft; they are not eligible.  

The Yankees had several players eligible, but the reality is that only a handful are important for the discussion:  OF Tyler Austin, OF Mason Williams, P Branden Pinder, P Danny Burawa, P Mark Montgomery, P Matt Tracy, SS Cito Culver, and P Zach Nuding.

The Yankees decided to protect Austin, Williams, Pinder, and Burawa, while not adding Montgomery, Tracy, Culver, or Nuding to their 40-man roster.

Austin was a no-brainer.  He is a right-handed power hitting outfielder who seemed to come along in the second half of 2014, and continued his hitting ways in Arizona this fall.   Although the Yankees are settled in the outfield right now with Gardner, Ellsbury, Beltran, and Young, don't count Austin out of the mix - a hot start to his season coupled with a Beltran injury or Young ineffectiveness could have Austin knocking on the door quickly in 2015.

Pinder and Burawa are relief pitchers in a system full of relief pitchers.  One thing about 40-man roster spots and relief pitchers:  Once you get on the 40-man roster, your debut is inevitable if you show any signs of life in the minors.   Pinder and Burawa can be shuffled up and down between New York and Scranton all year in 2015, so unless they are ineffective or injured, I can almost guarantee that both of them will be in pinstripes at some point.

Not long ago, the big debate was whether or not Gary Sanchez or Mason Williams was the top prospect in the entire system.  Neither is anymore, but it is Williams who has taken the biggest step back.  He simply hasn't hit a lick, but has defense and speed on his side.  The Yankees likely protected him because of his pure athleticism, and sometimes players like this can suddenly "click".   I tend to doubt it with Williams at this point, but it is not impossible.

As for those left off the list, Culver is a bust who might get selected because of his defensive ability, but I doubt it.    A couple of years ago, Montgomery looked to have some David Robertson in him - striking out minor league hitters at extreme rates by using a devastating breaking pitch.  But an injury to his shoulder and reduced velocity since coming off of that injury has made him a project, at best.  His devastating slider isn't nearly as effective when he can't throw even 90 MPH anymore.    Tracy is a left-handed pitcher with some talent, but his K/BB ratios have often been pedestrian.  The Yankees have been stockpiling left-handed pitchers this winter (signed one, acquired one), so that likely sealed Tracy's fate (along with Nik Turley).  Nuding may be the most intriguing of them all - a failed prospect as a starter with a big arm that could find some success in the bullpen.  I can see a team drafting him and instantly shifting him to the bullpen in spring training to see if he can stick.  This is not a major loss at this point, because Nuding hasn't even begun the transition to the bullpen yet.  He is still a work in progress.

Overall, no huge news here - the unprotected players, like most unprotected players, are not likely to make an impact (there are always exceptions to this in baseball history, though - Johan Santana was once a Rule 5, for example).  The players they did protect have talent, but only Austin seems to have any potential to be a significant major league player.

Yankees Off-Season Plan, Part 2: The Relievers

Over the past several years, the Yankees have been fantastic at constructing bullpens.  For many of those years, obviously, it was made a little easier by the fact that they didn't have to worry about who was going to come into the game in the 9th inning.  Last year, that changed with Mariano Rivera's retirement, but David Robertson handled the promotion to closer nicely. 

My plan:

The Yankees have no real need to try to be cute here.  If they offer Robertson market value, and he agrees to it, the bullpen will be largely set for 2015.  They can surround him with holdovers Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, and Shawn Kelley to give them the foundation for yet another strong bullpen in 2015.  While David Phelps and Bryan Mitchell may figure into a spring training competition in the rotation, neither will be considered a favorite (especially if everyone else is healthy and they bring in a free agent).   Barring a trade, Phelps would slide into a bullpen role, while Mitchell would likely go back to Triple-A for depth.   This would leave two openings in the bullpen, which could be filled in a few ways.  They could bring back David Huff, allowing them to use the last spot for one of their talented farmhands.   They could go with two farmhands.  They can scour the free agent market for a diamond in the rough for additional depth as well (they have already resigned Andrew Bailey, who essentially did nothing but rehab in 2014).   If left up to me, I would probably hope to bring back Huff cheaply (making him expendable if he implodes) while using a rookie such as Jacob Lindgren to round out the staff.  

This would leave the Yankees with the following:

RHP Robertson

RHP Betances

RHP Warren

RHP Kelley

RHP Phelps

LHP Huff

LHP Lindgren

One name that is certainly missing is Chase Whitley - unless the Yankees decide to trade Phelps or possibly not resign Huff, Whitley will be best served as minor league depth to enter 2015.

Of course, everything does change if Robertson decides to walk.  If that happens, expect the Yankees to at least inquire about free agents such as Andrew Miller and Sergio Romo.  Jason Grilli may also jump onto their radar in this scenario.  I don't consider any of these pitchers to be in Robertson's class, but I am also not naive enough to think that the Yankees are simply going to ignore the market if Robertson bolts.

The future:

The Yankees have built a bit of a minor-league pipeline with relief pitching, and it may finally start to bear some fruit from the left-hand side.    Lindgren, Tyler Webb, and James Pazos are all legitimate left-handed relief prospects.  From the right-hand side, the most ready pitchers include the erratic fireballer Danny Burawa, Nick Rumbelow, and the now-healthy Nick Goody, who may be the best overall relief prospect of them all.   Any of these pitchers can easily find themselves on the major league roster in 2015, with a chance to get to the big club as early as Opening Day.

The bottom line:

The Yankees simply have a knack for finding and developing relief talent.  They find it in Independent Leagues, the free agent scrap heap, through the draft, and small trades.   I don't expect it to be any different going forward; they have the depth and the talent to continue to shut down the opponents.  The big question will remain, however:  How many leads will the offense be able to hand over to them in the first place?   That is what the Yankees need to figure out, as perhaps their biggest strength is something that can't be utilized unless everyone else does their jobs.

Yankees Offseason Plan, Part 1: The Starters

13.

That is the number of starting pitchers the Yankees used in 2014.   Of the five pitchers who began the season in the rotation, only Hiroki Kuroda was able to give the Yankees a full season's worth of work, as CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pindea, and Masahiro Tanaka all went down for significant periods of time due to injury.    Of the 162 games the Yankees played this year, their Opening Day starting five only started 77 of them.

It would have been perfectly understandable if the rotation imploded during the course of the season, but a smart trade for Brandon McCarthy and the somewhat surprising development of Shane Greene helped keep the team in contention for most of the second half of the season.  The Yankees as a team ended up with a 3.75 ERA, placing them in the middle of the pack in the American League.

2015, as it currently stands:

As it stands right now, the rotation is in a state of flux.   Tanaka and Pineda were able to return at the end of 2014, giving the franchise a bit of hope that they will be good to go again in 2015.  Sabathia's knee injuries are now chronic in nature, and Nova will not be ready to go at the beginning of the season.     Their most stable starter (Kuroda) is likely leaning towards retirement, or going back to Japan to finish his career.  On top of that, McCarthy is a free agent.

If 2015 started right now, the Yankees rotation would consist of Tanaka, Pineda, Greene, Sabathia, and swingman David Phelps.    This is obviously not ideal, and it would be surprising if the Yankees actually went into spring training with this as their expected rotation.

My Plan:

If I were the Yankees, the first part of my plan would be to resign McCarthy.  It is hard to think of any pitcher who enhanced their value more than McCarthy did during the course of the season.  After a disastrous start in Arizona (3-10 with a 5.01 ERA), McCarthy came over to the Yankees and instantly became one of the better pitchers in the American League, posting a 2.89 ERA in 90.1 innings.   He also reached 200 innings (exactly) for the first time in his injury-filled career, which is the biggest red flag in a potential deal.   McCarthy's value pretty much went from a pitcher who would have to search around for a 1-year deal to a pitcher who can probably command three for significant money, and get it rather easily.  I stay away from four years - I may consider it  if it is a vesting option based on health.

After that, the Yankees will be staring at free agents Max Scherzer, Jon Lester, and James Shields.  Shields had a rough postseason and has basically scrapped his once dominant change-up in favor of a cutter.  His postseason performance in 2014 was eye-raising, but shouldn't really keep anyone from signing him - after all, to win the World Series, you first have to make it there - and Shields will help you in that regard.

Since I have a major love for pitchers who miss bats and/or keep walks at a minimum, you may think I would learn towards Scherzer, the type of pitcher who can shut down any offense on his pure stuff alone.  He will command a rich contract, and likely deserves it.  He will likely wait out the market to see which teams are desperate after Lester and Shields make their choices, and if there is one thing we know about the Yankees, we know how desperation and/or panic can lead them to overwhelm a free agent with a contract they cannot resist.

For me, however, I go after Lester.  He has experience in the division and should benefit from Yankee Stadium's kinder dimensions in left field.   Lester also spiked his strikeout rate in 2014 (9.0/9) while keeping his walks down (2.0/9).  He is a true superstar pitcher who has been durable, is left-handed, and knows all about pitching in a demanding market.   He fits the team perfectly - almost as perfectly as CC Sabathia did prior to the 2009 season, but without the pressure of having to lead the rotation like Sabathia did.

There are other alternatives on the market that may intrigue the Yankees.  Francisco Liriano is a second-tier free agent who could interest the team as a lower-cost alternative to the big three.   They supposedly had interest in promising (but oft-injured) Brett Anderson in 2014, and the Rockies released him today.   Other reclamation projects include Chad Billingsley, Josh Johnson, and Justin Masterson.  I can see the Yankees at least inquiring on these types of pitchers as low-cost/medium reward types.

The farm:

The Yankees system hasn't been producing upper-level talent in recent years, but they do have a little bit of depth in their rotation.   Bryan Mitchell has a few big league appearances under his belt now, and top prospect Luis Severino will be camped in Double-A.   If Severino can develop in the neighborhood of Royals' young stud Yordano Ventura, the Yankees would be ecstatic - Ventura's name gets thrown around because like Severino, he features good stuff in a relatively small package.    If Manny Banuelos can stay healthy, he should also make his way up to the big leagues in 2015.  He will be 24 years old in 2015, with only 446 innings under his belt in seven years (he made his debut at 17 in 2008).  He will forever remain a bit of a wild card, but a wild-card with legitimate talent.

My 2015 Rotation:

Tanaka

Lester

Pineda

McCarthy

Greene/Sabathia

The Yankees would have a good combination of talent and depth, which would be needed given the injury issues scattered throughout that projected rotation.  

As was the case in 2014, the rotation should hold together pretty good, even if there are inevitable injuries.  If they have one of those lucky seasons where hardly of these pitchers gets injured for a significant period of time, they could have one of the better rotations in the game.  But I think that does require spending the money needed to acquire one of the stars on this year's market.

 

Yankees Call Up Several Players; DFA Zoilo Almonte

Players called up are:

RHP Chase Whitley

RHP Chaz Roe

RHP Bryan Mitchell

RHP Preston Claiborne

RHP Phil Yoon

LHP Rich Hill

C John Ryan Murphy

OF Chris Young

OF Antoan Richardson (I thought this was a big possibility, given that he is a speed guy who can pinch-run)

The Yankees also announced they have released Matt Daley (who cares), and designated Zoilo Almonte for assignment, which really surprises me (Chris Young and Antoan Richardson over Almonte?  Doesn't make sense)

Tanaka and Slade Heathcott were moved to the 60-day disabled list.

Yankees Minor League Report 9/1/14: The End

Thank you to everyone who read all of these reports in 2014!  Not to knock any other site, but I am proud to say for the second straight season that not one day was missed this season - came close a few times, but was able to get the reports in.  

Staten Island is playing a late game tonight vs. Brooklyn (Seriously?  Closing out the season in the NYP league with a 7 pm game on Labor Day?), so I won't be covering that one in this report - if something significant happens (defined as a no-hitter, 4 home run game, or a player running through a wall), I will report on it later.

A post-season Top 20 prospects list will be typed up in the next few weeks or so. 

Overall, not a terrible season on the farm - Robert Refsnyder became a legitimate prospect for a team that needs one in the infield, while guys like Luis Severino and Aaron Judge emerged. On the other side of the coin, the big outfield prospects before the 2013 season in Trenton mostly have crashed and burned. Slade Heathcott is not likely going to make it given all of his injuries, Mason Williams is a slug, and Tyler Austin continued to struggle with his offense, though he did hit better as the season went along.  Ramon Flores was a young player in Triple-A, but couldn't stay on the field.   The #1 prospect entering the season (Gary Sanchez) had a strong, but hardly standout, campaign.   Eric Jagielo survived a mid-season injury and played well enough to make you think something may be there, while Ian Clarkin had a strong season before being shut down.

Manny Banuelos made it back from injury and could see some big league action in September.   Greg Bird started the year on the disabled list and seemed to get back to normal the moment he was promoted to Trenton, where he went on a power splurge.  

As for the 2014 draftees, Jacob Lindgren tired a tad towards the end (he had a heavy workload in college this year), but showed that he may just be worth that second round pick.  Guys like Mark Payton and Ty McFarland also played well in what was a very safe overall draft for the franchise  - going more for college polish over high school upside.

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Scranton (Won two games vs. Lehigh Valley, 2-1 and 4-1, to finish 68-76)

2B Robert Refsnyder:  1-for-4, 2B (19), RBI. K

Walk-off double in only Game 1 AB.   Finishes at .296/.386/.453 in 287 AB for Scranton and .317/.385/.495 in 515 AB overall with 38 doubles, six triples, 14 home runs, 63 runs batted in, 82 runs scored, 55 walks, 105 strikeouts, and a 9-for-18 SB rate.

C John Ryan Murphy:  2-for-3, 2B (9)

Started Game 1 on Sunday night, pulled from the game on Monday - likely due to promotion.  Finishes Triple-A season at .246/.292/.397 in 51 games

1B Kyle Roller:  4-for-7, 2B (24), HR (17), RBI, 2 RS, 3 K

Finishes year with 26 home runs, second in the organization to the departed Pete O'Brien.  Overall, he hit .300/.391/.550 in 456 AB between Trenton/Scranton with 30 doubles, three triples, 26 home runs, 74 runs batted in, 77 runs scored, and 146 strikeouts

UTIL Jose Pirela:  0-for-4, K

Didn't play in Game 2, which could lead some to think he may be on his way up for a September bench spot.  We shall see.    Finishes the year at .305/.351/.441 in 535 AB with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 10 home runs, 60 runs batted in, and 87 runs scored.   The only two positions (other than pitcher) that he did not play this year were catcher and third base.

OF Zoilo Almonte:  1-for-7, BB, 2 K

.261/.311/.437 in 421 AB.  Switch hitter is much more effective vs. RHP and should be under consideration for a 2015 bench spot.

C Austin Romine:  3-for-3, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 RS

.242/.300/.365 in 285 AB.  The Yankees could call him up for to be the 4th catcher I suppose, but it is not a given.

OF Ramon Flores:  1-for-7, K

.247/.339/.443 in 235 AB in an injury-plagued season.

OF Taylor Dugas:  1-for-5, RBI, K

Finishes at .299/.399/.390 in 351 AB between Trenton/Scranton with 47 walks and 59 strikeouts.

IF Scott Sizemore:  1-for-4, HR (7), RBI, RS, K

Just remember:  Before the season began, there was talk about a Sizemore/Johnson platoon at 3B for the Yankees this season.

OF Chris Young:  0-for-3, K

RHP Diego Moreno:  3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Finishes season with a 4.06 ERA over 57.2 IP with a 55/17 K/BB ratio.

RHP Danny Burawa:  2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

Burawa really came on strong down the stretch.  His final numbers aren't great (4.70 ERA in 59.1 IP with a 73/30 K/BB ratio), but his finish was strong - he supposedly will be promoted.

RHP Nick Rumbelow:  2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR

Finishes season with a 2.62 ERA over 58.1 IP with a 81/18 K/BB ratio.  He will be in the bullpen discussion next season.

LHP Ty Webb (W, 2-0):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Finishes season with a 3.80 ERA over 68.2 IP with a 94/22 K/BB ratio.  Will also figure into the 2015 bullpen competition.

LHP Nik Turley (W, 5-3):  5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

4.62 ERA; 60.1 IP, 55 H, 36 R, 31 ER, 8 HR, 43 BB, 44 K

Season got off to a tough start due to an arm injury (and also being released off of the 40-man roster before being resigned).  The Yankees pretty much have no real choice but to protect him this winter in my opinion.

LHP Matt Tracy (S, 1):  2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

3.75 ERA; 151 IP, 171 H, 73 R, 63 ER, 11 HR, 55 BB, 89 K

If he is still around in 2015 (I bet he is), he will be a depth starter in Triple-A, which turned out to be a nice position to be in with the 2014 Yankees club.

-------------------------------

Trenton (Lost to Reading, 7-3, to finish 67-75)

C Gary Sanchez did not play and finishes the season at .270/.338/.406 in 429 AB with 19 doubles, 13 home runs, 65 RBI, 48 runs scored, 43 walks and 91 strikeouts.

RF Tyler Austin did not play after 8/22 (temporary inactive list, which I guess became permanent for 2014).  He hit .275/.336/.419 in 396 AB with 20 doubles, five triples, nine home runs, and 47 runs batted in.

3B Dante Bichette didn't play after 8/26 and finished his season at .264/.345/.397 in 469 AB with 30 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 68 RBI, and 63 runs scored.  He struggled a bit after his promotion (15-for-67), which deflated his overall strong campaign in Tampa.

1B Greg Bird:  2-for-2, 2B (8), RS, 3 BB

Finishes at .271/.376/.472 in 369 AB between Tampa/Trenton with 30 doubles, one triple, 14 home runs, 43 runs batted in, 52 runs scored, 63 walks, and 97 strikeouts.  The best part is that the power surge came in his 27 games at Trenton, where he had 15 XBH.

CF Jake Cave:  0-for-5, 3 K

Finishes at .294/.351/.414 in 561 AB between Tampa/Trenton with 28 doubles, nine triples, seven home runs, 42 runs batted in, 74 runs scored, 46 walks, 124 strikeouts, and 12 steals in 18 attempts.   Jumped from two HR in 2013 to seven this year.  

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-5, RBI, RS

Finishes at .223/.290/.304 in 507 AB.   His strikeout rate was fine (68), but that is about it - Williams was horrible this year - there is nothing that can be said to even attempt to sugarcoat it.

3B Rob Segedin:  0-for-4, BB

Finishes at .256/.361/.386 in 402 AB between Trenton/Scranton.  Was a complete disaster in his exposure to Scranton, going 11-for-77, which is pretty much in line with how he hit in his first exposure to Trenton (31-for-165 in 2012)

OF Ben Gamel:  1-for-3, 2 BB

Finishes at a disappointing .261/.308/.340 in 544 AB.   With some doubles power, decent defense (can play CF in a pinch), and better than average speed, it looked like Gamel had a #4 OF upside - but that triple-slash will not cut it no matter what his role is.

C Francisco Arcia:  3-for-5, 2 RBI

Finishes at .276/.311/.347 in 225 AB between Trenton/Scranton.  Pretty much a roving backup in the upper minors.

LHP Jeremy Bleich (L, 5-6):  4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Bottom line for Bleich is that his shoulder injury turned out to be too much to overcome.

RHP Nick Goody:  1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Finishes with a 4.60 ERA in 31.1 IP with a 46/15 K/BB ratio between Tampa/Trenton.  Don't let the poor numbers cloud your judgement too much - he was coming off Tommy John surgery.  We'll see if the results return in 2015.

RHP Mark Montgomery:  0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Finishes with a 2.10 ERA over 51.1 IP with 34 hits allowed and a 51/26 K/BB ratio.  Statistically, a strong season - but the fastball supposedly still has not returned.  Amazing just how close he was to the major leagues in 2013.

----------------------------------

Tampa had their season come to an end on Sunday.

--------------------------------------

Charleston (Lost to Augusta, 2-0, to finish 71-69)

3B Miguel Andujar:  0-for-3

Finishes at .267/.318/.397 in 484 AB with 25 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 70 runs batted in, 75 runs scored, 35 walks, and 83 strikeouts.  Had a strong second half to the season (.319/.367/.456 in last 248 AB), and in the world of teenage prospects at this level, that is what you want to see - in the majors, you are what you are at the end of the year.  In the minors, it is all about showing improvement as a season goes along, especially when you are this young.

SS Tyler Wade:  0-for-4, 2 K

Finishes at .272/.350/.349 in 507 AB with 24 doubles, six triples, one home run, 51 runs batted in, 77 runs scored, 57 walks, 118 strikeouts, and 22 stolen bases in 35 attempts.  Forced into a lot of playing time at SS due to injuries to Abiatal Avelino, Wade performed very well.   He was a bit more steady than Andujar, but still showed some second half improvement (.683 OPS in first half; .714 in second half)

OF Michael O'Neill:  0-for-4

Finishes at .256/.333/.384 in 489 AB with an organizational-leading 42 stolen bases in 51 tries. His early season strikeouts were well-documented, but he did cut them down a bit to finish at 133.   (64 Ks in first 50 games; 69 in last 78 games).

CF Brandon Thomas:  0-for-3, 2 K

Finishes at .204/.318/.311 in 299 AB with 22 steals in 26 attempts.  Thomas started off horribly - hitting .147/.270/.243 in his first 41 games before putting up a more respectable .252/.358/.368 in his final 52 games.  Once a well-regarded prospect at Georgia Tech, he succumbed to illness, fell in the draft, and the Yankees took a bit of a flyer on him.

C/3B Kale Sumner:  0-for-3, 2 K

.233/.415/.364 in 46 games for the 23-year old.

UTIL Claudio Custodio: 2-for-4, K

Just to prove that SOMEONE got a hit today.  

RHP Gabriel Encinas (L, 0-4):    3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HR

Finished with a 5.81 ERA in 31 innings in what was essentially an 11 start rehab stint.  He will make or break his prospect status in 2015.

RHP Conor Mullee:  2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

Finishes with a 1.38 ERA in 39 IP between Staten Island/Charleston with a 37/13 K/BB ratio.  The problem?  He has been injured a lot and is already 26 years old.  You never know if a reliever will blossom late, but he would still be a very rare case given where he is right now.

Yankees Minor League Report 8/31/14: Jaron Long Finishes Off Strong Campaign; Caleb Smith Ends On Sour Note

Trenton (Lost to Reading, 4-2)

1B Greg Bird:  1-for-4, 2B (7), RS, K

C Gary Sanchez:  1-for-3, BB, K

CF Jake Cave:  1-for-4, BB, K, CS (3)
The 12-for-18 line stealing bases this season isn't ideal, but he has certainly put himself into the future OF conversation.

3B Rob Segedin:  1-for-4, 2B (21), RBI, K

CF Mason Williams:  3-for-3, 2B (18), RBI, BB

Hitting .223 in 502 AB. A kid with his speed should luck his way into more doubles than 18.

OF Ben Gamel:  1-for-5, 2 K

A very disappointing .261 from Gamel, who has shown off some doubles power (31), but very little else.

RHP Jaron Long:  6.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Finishes season 12-5 with a 2.18 ERA between Charleston/Tampa/Trenton with a 122/22 K/BB ratio over 144.1 IP.  The undrafted FA out of Ohio State has, at the very least, put his name on the map.

LHP James Pazos:  2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Nice way to finish his season.  Threw 67 innings this season, allowing 20 runs (18 earned) on 50 hits with 25 walks and 75 strikeouts.   One of three options (Lindgren, Webb) the Yankees will have for a left-handed relief slot in 2015 (they also still can control David Huff and Josh Outman if they desire, and veterans will be invited to camp, etc.)

---------------------

Tampa (Lost to Daytona, 6-3)

RF Aaron Judge:  2-for-3, BB

89th walk in 131 games

1B Mike Ford:  1-for-3, 2B (4), 2 RBI, BB
.292/.383/.458 in 373 AB between Charleston/Tampa

SS Cito Culver:  2-for-4, 2B (21), HR (5), RBI, 2 RS, K

CF Mark Payton:  1-for-4, 2B (11), RS

.320/.418/.497 in 175 AB between Charleston/Tampa.  11 doubles in 26 games since joining Tampa

LHP Caleb Smith (L, 5-2):  3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Thanks to this clunker, he finishes his season with a 4.81 ERA at this level over 39.1 IP.  Overall, he tossed 117.2 innings this season, allowing 99 hits with 46 walks and 116 strikeouts.

RHP Philip Walby:  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

4.21 ERA; 51.1 IP, 37 H, 30 R, 24 ER, 0 HR, 42 BB, 61 K.  It will all be about gaining some command of his stuff - having a blah BB/9 ratio is OK - but his will be impossible to get by with.

-------------------

Charleston (Defeated Augusta, 5-0)

3B Miguel Andujar:  2-for-4, RBI, RS, BB, K

.268/.320/.399 in 481 AB with 70 runs batted in.   His second half surge has been well-documented.

SS Tyler Wade:  0-for-4, BB, 2 K

.274/.353/.352 in 503 AB

OF Michael O'Neill: 2-for-4, RBI, RS, 2 K, SB (42)

,258/.335/.388 in 485 AB

2B Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-4, 2 K

.222/.345/.326 in 383 AB; 142 strikeouts

C/3B Kale Sumner: 1-for-4, 2 RBI,2 K

.238/.423/.373 in 126 AB

OF Yeicok Calderon: 0-for-4, RS, BB, K

LHP Justin Kamplain:  4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

Finishes campaign with a 1.65 ERA over 43.2 IP with a 46/13 K/BB ratio.  18th round pick out of Alabama

RHP Angel Rincon (W, 7-3):  5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K

3.01 ERA; 68.2 IP, 56 H, 25 R, 23 ER, 2 HR, 18 BB, 56 K

21-year old is not a major prospect, but he did his job here in 2014 and will get his way to Tampa for 2015.

-------------------------

Staten Island (Lost to Brooklyn, 11-3)

C Isaias Tejada: 2-for-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, RS

29 RBI in 50 games this season for the 22-year old

1B Connor Spencer:  1-for-4

11-game hitting streak

C/OF Collin Slaybaugh:  2-for-4, 2B (8), RBI

CF Devyn Bolasky:  0-for-3, 2 BB, 3 K

OF Nathan Mikolas:  0-for-3, BB, 2 K

LHP Andrew Chin (L, 1-1):  2.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, HR

RHP Jordan Cote:  4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

The 21-year old has a 6.49 ERA at this level over 51.1 IP with a 37/13 K/BB ratio.

Yankees Minor League Report 8/30/14: Dan Camarena Closes Season Well; Jacob Lindgren Loses Control; Brady Lail Throws Another Gem

Scranton (Lost to Lehigh Valley, 3-2)

OF Chris Young:  1-for-4, HR (1), RBI, RS, BB, 2 K

2B Robert Refsnyder:  1-for-5, 2 K

1B Kyle Roller:  0-for-4, BB, 3 K

OF Zoilo Almonte: 1-for-4, BB, K, CS (4)

OF Antoan Richardson:  1-for-4, 2B (7), BB, K

UTIL Adonis Garcia:  1-for-5, RS, 2 K

Hitting streak has reached 21 games.  I wonder if the Yankees have any thoughts of adding him on 9/1?  The acquisition of Young may have given us the answer (No), but Garcia has played well this year.

IF Scott Sizemore:  1-for-4, RBI, BB

C Austin Romine:  0-for-4, 2 K

RHP Zach Nuding:   6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

154 IP, 158 H, 70 R, 65 ER, 43 BB, 113 K as he completes a pretty good season.  Every year in camp, we try to figure out who may be a surprise candidate to make the team - if Nuding is still around, he may be on the list for a long relief role.

RHP Bryan Mitchell:  2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Will likely see him on Monday.

RHP/OF Taylor Dugas (L, 0-2):  0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Third appearance of the season for the OF (6.00 ERA in 3 IP).   Offensively, he is at .301/.402/.393 in 346 AB between Trenton/Scranton

------------------

Trenton (Continues to embarrass themselves this weekend with a 7-1 loss to Reading)

CF Jake Cave:  1-for-3, BB, K, SB (2)

.281/.351/.473 in 167 AB here; .297/.353/.418 in 552 AB overall.  12-for-17 overall stealing bases

C Gary Sanchez:  1-for-4, K

.270/.337/.408 in 422 AB

1B Greg Bird:  0-for-4, K

1-for-12 in last three games

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-3

3B Rob Segedin:  1-for-4, 2B (20), RS

OF Ben Gamel:  0-for-4, K

LHP Dan Camarena:  7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

It looked like he was completely overmatched at this level, then ended his season with two brilliant performances.  In 37.2 IP overall in August, he allowed 32 hits while walking nine and striking out 27.

LHP Jacob Lindgren:  0.1 IP, 1 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

Probably wishes the Yankees would have shut him down for the season before this nightmare.  We'll just toss it out as a bad day at the office.

-------------------

Tampa (Defeated Daytona, 3-1)

3B Eric Jagielo:  2-for-4, RS, K

Five game hitting streak, four of which feature multi-hit games.

CF Mark Payton: 1-for-4, 2B (10), BB

13 XBH in 25 games

1B Mike Ford:  1-for-5, RBI, 2 K

2B Angelo Gumbs:  1-for-1, BB

Left game early - what else is new?

SS Cito Culver:  1-for-5, 2B (20), RS, 4 K

RHP Brady Lail (W, 3-1);  6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K

Ends the season on quite the run.  Last four starts:  23 IP, 12 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 14 K.  Lail threw a total of 134.1 innings this season, so the 21-year old will be able to get up over the 150-155 threshold next year.

RHP Cesar Vargas (S, 11):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Has 14 saves in 16 attempts between Charleston/Tampa with a 76/14 K/BB ratio over 69.2 IP

------------------------

Charleston (Defeated Augusta, 4-2)

3B Miguel Andujar:  2-for-5

16-for-48 in last ten games

SS Tyler Wade:  1-for-4, BB

CF Brandon Thomas:  0-for-3, 2 RS, BB, K

OF Michael O'Neill:  0-for-4, RBI, BB, K

OF Yeicok Calderon:  0-for-4, RS, BB, 3 K

OF Daniel Lopez:  2-for-4, 2B (1)
First appearance in a full season league since 2011 (3 games for Charleston).  Was 13-for-63 for Staten Island this season.

RHP Giovanny Gallegos:  4 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K

4.57 ERA; 88.2 IP, 108 H, 56 R, 45 ER, 8 HR, 19 BB, 91 K

6th start of the season (29 games overall)

RHP Jonathan Padilla (W, 1-0):  4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

21-year old out of the DR was 2-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 14 games for the GCL squad this season

RHP Eric Ruth (S, 7):  1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

-----------------------------

Staten Island (Lost to Vermont, 5-3)

1B Connor Spencer:  2-for-5, K

10-game hitting streak.  Hitting .368 in 185 AB, but has not homered (14 doubles)

LF Chris Breen:  0-for-5, 3 K

2B/3B Ty McFarland:  1-for-5, RBI, K

C Luis Torrens:  1-for-5, K

RF Austin Aune:  1-for-5, K

.221/.281/,378 with 96 K

SS Vincent Conde:  1-for-3, RS, 2 BB

C/CF Collin Slaybaugh:  1-for-4, BB, K, CS (4)

Actually played both positions tonight

RHP David Palladino:   6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

3.72 ERA; 67.2 IP, 60 H, 35 R, 28 ER, 4 HR, 30 BB, 58 K

Overall, a successful season for the 6'8" pitcher from Emerson, NJ

RHP Matt Wotherspoon:  3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

1.97 ERA; 32 IP, 22 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 9 BB, 29 K

Can't expect much more from a 34th round pick, right?

Yankees Minor League Report 8/29/14: Last Starts for Manny Banuelos and Luis Severino; John Ryan Murphy Homers; Aaron Judge's Patience Continues to Impress

Scranton (Lost to Lehigh Valley, 6-5)

C John Ryan Murphy: 2-for-4, HR (6), 3 RBI, RS, K

2B Robert Refsnyder:  0-for-4, K

7-for-33 slump has dropped his average back under .300 for Scranton (.299)

UTIL Adonis Garcia:  2-for-4, 2 2B (20), RBI, RS

UTIL Jose Pirela:  0-for-2, K

Left game early

1B Kyle Rollier:  1-for-4, RS, K

IF Scott Sizemore:  1-for-4, HR (6), RBI, RS, K

OF Taylor Dugas:  1-for-2, 2 BB, CS (3)

OF Ramon Flores:  0-for-2, RS, BB

OF Chris Young:  1-for-4, K

LHP Manny Banuelos:   4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER,1 BB, 4 K

Ends his minor league season with 76.2 innings pitched.  Will probably get a few long-relief outings in the majors I am thinking in September just to get him some extra work.

LHP Ty Webb:  1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

The Yankees have tried all season long to resist the temptation of using a 40-man spot on one of their left-handed relief prospects, using deals for David Huff, Rich Hill, and now Josh Outman to fill the major league void.

RHP Preston Claiborne:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

--------------------------------------------

Trenton (Lost to Reading, 3-0)

1B Greg Bird:  1-for-4, K

3B Rob Segedin:  1-for-3, 2B (19), BB

Has already proven he can hit here - needs to do better in his second attempt at Triple-A

CF Jake Cave:  0-for-5, 2 K

6-game hitting streak (five of which were multi-hit games) snapped.

CF Mason Williams:  0-for-3, BB, K

OF Ben Gamel:  0-for-3, BB, K

C Francisco Arcia:  2-for-4, 2B (6)

UTIL Dan Fiorito:  2-for-4, 2B (18), K

When I have to search as far down as Dan Fiorito for a positive, that typically means it wasn't a good night.

RHP Luis Severino (L, 2-2):  4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

72 pitches tonight.    Now has a 127/27 K/BB ratio over 113.1 IP between Charleston/Tampa/Trenton, pitching very well at each step along the way.

RHP Mark Montgomery:  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Now has a 0.84 ERA since demotion with 17/8 K/BB ratio over 21.1 IP (not good for him)    No runs allowed since 8/7

-------------------------------------------

Tampa (Lost to Daytona, 8-4, putting an end to their late season surge for a playoff berth)

OF Aaron Judge:  0-for-2, RS, 2 BB

88 walks in 130 games

1B Mike Ford:  1-for-3, 2B (3), 2 RBI, RS, BB

3B Eric Jagielo:  1-for-4, RS

.256/.350/.459 in what has to be considered a successful campaign.

SS Cito Culver:  1-for-5, RS, K

CF Mark Payton:  0-for-4, BB, K

LHP Miguel Sulbaran (L, 4-5):  5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, HR

3.52 ERA; 116 IP, 107 H, 54 R, 45 ER, 6 HR, 30 BB, 86 K

-----------------------------------------

Charleston (Defeated Augusta, 6-1)

SS Tyler Wade: 1-for-4, RBI, RS, BB, 2 K

.277/.354/.356 in 494 AB

3B Miguel Andujar:  1-for-5

OF Michael O'Neill: 3-for-4, RBI, RS, K

CF Brandon Thomas: 2-for-5, 2B (11), RBI, RS

2B Gosuke Katoh:  0-for-4, BB, 4 K, SB (20)

140 Ks in 120 games

C Eduardo de Oleo: 3-for-5, RBI, RS

RHP Rookie Davis (W, 7-8):  6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K

4.93 ERA; 126 IP, 134 H, 73 R, 69 ER, 7 HR, 42 BB, 106 K

Uneven season closes with a strong performance

LHP Evan Rutckyj: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

----------------------------------------

Staten Island (Defeated Vermont, 8-7)

LF Chris Breen:  3-for-4, 2B (16), HR (8), 3 RBI, RS, BB, K

He will turn 21 just before the start of the 2015 season, and should be in Charleston

1B Connor Spencer:  2-for-5, RBI, RS

Hitting streak reaches 9

C Luis Torrens:  1-for-5, 2B (13), RBI, RS, K

OF Austin Aune:  0-for-5, 3 K

95 strikeouts as the season nears a close

OF Nathan Mikolas:  0-for-3, RS, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (6)

The 20-year old has some upside, but it hasn't shown up this season which is not typically a good sign when a player is at this level.

C/OF Collin Slaybaugh: 1-for-5, 2B (7), RBI, RS, BB, 2 K

LHP Jordan Montgomery:  2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Finishes his shortened first season with a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 IP here (threw 5.2 for GCL-2).  I guess they could conceivably demote him back for the GCL playoffs to give him some extra innings, but it seems doubtful - they really only uses 2014 to get his feet wet.

LHP Rony Bautista:  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K

Listen, kid:  I won't hard on your command issues if you continue to strike out the side two innings in a row.  Deal?

RHP Joe Harvey:  2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

LHP Ethan Carnes (W, 3-0):  1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

Yankees Minor League Report 8/28/14: Jake Cave Keeps Powering Along; Miguel Andujar Stays Hot; Austin Aune Homers

Scranton (Destroyed by Buffalo, 11-3)

UTIL Jose Pirela: 2-for-5, K

His offensive season is well-documented.  It has been quite good.  The more intriguing part at this point is his position from night to night.  Tonight, he got the start at SS

C John Ryan Murphy:  2-for-4, RBI, RS, K

Hitting just .233 in 172 AB, Murphy has not had a very good offensive season here.  Still, he should be considered a major contender to be the backup catcher in 2014.  As we are seeing with Cervelli right now, that position does come with plenty of playing time, even with the presence of McCann.

2B Robert Refsnyder:  0-for-4, 2 K

1B Kyle Roller:  1-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K

Still intrigued to see if the Yankees call him up as a bench bat in a few days.

OF Zoilo Almonte:  0-for-4, 2 K

UTIL Adonis Garcia:  1-for-4, RS

OF Taylor Dugas:  2-for-4, K

Hitting .305 since his promotion

OF Chris Young:  1-for-4, RBI, 2 K

A few tune up games before coming up to the big club.  I don't see him as much of a difference maker overall (he has been terrible for a few seasons straight), but he can play defense, still has power when he actually hits the ball, and good enough speed for pinch-running duties.

RHP Chris Leroux (L, 6-4):  2 IP, 9 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HR

I have always said - if someone is going to get destroyed, may as well be Chris Freakin Leroux.

Switch Pat Venditte:  3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Good night, which means everyone will crawl out from under the woodwork demanding his promotion.

RHP Chase Whitley:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Up to 97.1 IP between Scranton and the big club

RHP Preston Claiborne:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

-----------------------------------

Trenton (Also destroyed, 11-3.  Akron took the honors here)

CF Jake Cave:  1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS, BB

.289/.358/.491 in 159 AB since joining the level.  That .491 is an important number.   Home runs in three of last five games.

C Gary Sanchez:  1-for-3, 2 BB, K

1B Greg Bird:  0-for-4, BB, K

OF Ben Gamel:  1-for-4, 2B (31), RBI, BB

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-4, 2B (17), K

3B Rob Segedin:  0-for-2, BB, HBP, K

RHP Joel De La Cruz (L, 4-4):  3.1 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

As mentioned many times, he keeps the ball on the ground - but doesn't have a put away pitch, which leads to disasters like this.

LHP James Pazos:  1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K

Walk rates have been generally decent, but not great, in his minor league career.  Let us hope this is a one night thing.

RHP Nick Goody:  1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

------------------------------------

Tampa (Defeated Clearwater, 8-2)

3B Eric Jagielo:  2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 K

See you in Trenton in 2015, kid

CF Mark Payton: 2-for-4, 2B (9), RS, K

The Yankees took a lot of college-aged players without tremendous upside, but with the ability to make quick jumps in the system in the 2014 draft.  Payton is one of them - he could see himself in Trenton as early as next spring.

OF Aaron Judge:  1-for-5, RS, 3 K

131 Ks in 129 games.   Also has 86 walks

1B Mike Ford:  2-for-4, HR (2), RBI, 2 RS, BB, K

14-for-37 since promotion

SS Cito Culver:  0-for-2, RS, 3 BB

57 walks in 129 games, which is pretty good.  It is everything else that sucks

1B Reymond Nunez:  2-for-4, 2B (9), HR (5 - Grand Slam), 4 RBI, RS

RHP Taylor Garrison:  4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

LHP Conner Kendrick (W, 6-8):  5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

5.78 ERA; 76.1 IP, 95 H, 52 R, 49 ER, 5 HR, 34 BB, 62 K

-----------------------------------

Charleston (Defeated Greenville, 10-0)

3B Miguel Andujar:  3-for-5, 2B (25), 2 RBI, 2 RS

.266/.318/.400 in 467 AB.   Hitting .320/.369/.468 in 231 AB since the All-Star Break. He has just been a completely different hitter after a horrendous start.

SS Tyler Wade:  1-for-4, RBI, RS, BB, K

.277/.353/.357 in 487 AB.   I thought the 19-year old, playing in his first full season and logging a lot of innings at shortstop, would begin to wear down a bit down the stretch.  Nope.  .285/.362/.374 since ASB.

OF Michael O'Neill:  2-for-5, RS, K

.254/.330/.387 in 473 AB

2B Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K

.227/.350/.333 in 375 AB.  As I have said recently, drawing walks is a strength right now.

OF Yeicok Calderon:  4-for-5, RBI, 2 RS

26-for-73

OF Brandon Thomas:  1-for-4, RS, BB, K

.205/.319/.313 in 288 AB

C Jackson Valera:  3-for-5, 2B (10), 4 RBI

RHP Luis Niebla (W, 3-1):  7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K

2.63 ERA; 54.2 IP, 52 H, 20 R, 16 ER, 1 HR, 11 BB, 39 K between GCL/Staten Island/Charleston.   Has a 2.23 ERA in 36.1 IP for Charleston.

RHP Conor Mullee:  2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

UTIL Claudio Custodio:  1-for-4, 2 RS, 2 BB

-----------------------------------------

Staten Island (Defeated Vermont, 9-1)

RF Austin Aune:  1-for-2, HR (4), SF, 4 RBI, HBP, 0 (!!!) K

1B Connor Spencer:  3-for-5, 2B (14), 2 RS, K

Up to .367 in 180 AB

LF Chris Breen:  2-for-3, 2 RS

Was pinch-hit for late in the game - let us hope it is nothing serious.

OF Nathan Mikolas:  2-for-4, 2B (6), RS, K

C/OF Collin Slaybaugh:  2-for-4, RBI, RS

SS Vincent Conde:  2-for-4, 2B (3), 3 RBI, K

Much needed offensive game for the struggling Conde

OF Devyn Bolasky:  1-for-4, RBI, K

RHP Jonathan Holder:  4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

3.03 ERA; 32.2 IP, 35 H, 16 R, 11 ER, 10 BB, 30 K, 1 HR - The HR he allowed tonight was the first allowed in his brief career.

Yankees Minor League Report 8/27/14: Jake Cave & Eric Jagielo Homer; Cito Culver with Rare Big Night

The Yankees have released Alfredo Aceves and Corban Joseph. The Joseph move isn't surprising, but it wasn't long ago that people contemplating the potential loss of Cano were thinking that Joseph may be a decent enough replacement.     He had a nice year in Trenton in 2011 (.277/.353/.415) and followed it up with a nice year between Trenton/Scranton in 2012 (.276/.375/.465), but shoulder injuries hampered him, and he faded away quickly.  He did make a brief appearance with the Yankees in 2013.

Scranton (Split DH with Buffalo, losing 6-5 in the opener before winning 8-3)

2B Robert Refsnyder:  2-for-4, 2B (18), RS, K

.323/.394/.506 in 498 AB between Trenton/Scranton.   Has 37 doubles, six triples, 14 HR, and 82 runs scored.  

1B Kyle Roller:  4-for-6, 2B (23), HR (16), 3 RBI, 2 RS

25th HR of the season between Trenton/Scranton

C John Ryan Murphy:  0-for-2, SF, RBI

OF Ramon Flores:  0-for-7, BB,  2 K

UTIL Jose Pirela:  2-for-8, 2B (21), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K

CF in Game 1; 2B in Game 2.  Signs point to a possible September callup, though it is possible the Chris Young signing prevents that.  

OF Zoilo Almonte:  0-for-4, 2 RS, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K

UTIL Adonis Garcia:  2-for-3, RS

First game since 8/4.  .325/.359/.483 in 323 AB and is on an 18-game hitting streak

IF Scott Sizemore:  1-for-6, 2B (17), RBI, RS, BB

C Austin Romine:  0-for-3, RS, 2 K

OF Taylor Dugas:  1-for-3, RS, SB (3)

LHP Matt Tracy:  5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 1 K

3.81 ERA; 149 IP, 169 H, 73 R, 63 ER, 11 HR, 55 BB, 87 K, 1.58 GO/AO

Pretty and efficient, he is not.

LHP Ty Webb:  0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR

3.92 ERA; 66.2 IP, 58 H, 30 R, 29 ER, 5 HR, 22 BB, 91 K

Not a very good performance tonight.

LHP Nik Turley (W, 4-3):  5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

RHP Nick Rumbelow:  2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Nice rebound after horrible outing (4 R in 0.1 IP)

--------------------------

Trenton (Defeated Akron, 8-2)

CF Jake Cave:  2-for-5, HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 RS, 2 K

Fifth straight multi-hit game. With Mason Williams' career falling apart by the second, Cave has certainly emerged to take his place.

C Gary Sanchez:  2-for-4, RS, BB

1B Greg Bird:  1-for-2, SF, RBI, 2 BB

Hitting .260 in 22 games since promotion with 13 XBH and 14 walks

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-4, RS, BB, K

3B Rob Segedin:  1-for-4, RS, BB, K

OF Ben Gamel:  2-for-5, RS

LHP Jeremy Bleich:  4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

LHP Francisco Rondon:  3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K

RHP Danny Burawa:  2 IP, 1  H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

ERA is now 1.59 at this level (17 IP) after posting a 6.35 ERA in 39.2 IP for Scranton.

----------------------------

Tampa (Lost to Clearwater, 9-7)

3B Eric Jagielo:  2-for-6, 2B (14), HR (16), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K

RF Aaron Judge:  2-for-4, RS, 2 BB, 2 K

SS Cito Culver:  4-for-6, 2 2B (19), HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 RS

Giving the Yankees a few parting gifts?

CF Mark Payton:  1-for-5, RS, BB, K

1B Mike Ford:  1-for-6, K

RHP Brett Gerritse: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

RHP Cesar Vargas:  1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

RHP Philip Walby:  1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

-----------------------

Charleston (Defeated Greenville, 8-0)

SS Tyler Wade:  2-for-5, 2 2B (24), RS, K, SB (22)

Now hitting .277 in 487 AB.    He has been able to put in a full season's worth of work here, playing plenty of SS due to Avelino's long-term injury earlier this season.

3B Miguel Andujar:  2-for-4, 3B (4), 2 RBI, RS, K

2B Gosuke Katoh:  1-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K, SB (19)

Yes, he is drawing a lot of walks - but the strikeouts are scary bad.  Has played well enough to keep him firmly in place as a solid prospect - but the upper levels of the minors will not be kind to him if he doesn't start making more contact.

CF Brandon Thomas:  2-for-4, 2B (10), 3B (3), RBI, K

OF Michael O'Neill:  1-for-3, 2B (23), RBI, RS, K, SB (41)

UTIL Claudio Custodio:  2-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K, SB (1)

Hit .208/.253/.256 in 168 AB for Tampa, and that is all you need to know

RHP Gabriel Encincas:  4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K

Just like I don't get too down following a bad start, I won't get too excited following a solid one.  2015 is his year to sink or swim.

RHP Eric Ruth:  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

3.71 ERA over 87.1 IP with a 90/28 K/BB ratio across all four full-season levels.

------------------------------------

Staten Island (Lost to Brookyln, 3-2)

1B Connor Spencer:  1-for-2, RBI, RS, K

Up to .360.  I think he can use a few AB in Charleston to close out the season, but doubtful he is going to get them at this point.  

C Luis Torrens:  0-for-5, 3 K

LF Chris Breen:  0-for-5, 3 K

Who did they face, Pedro Martinez?

2B/3B Ty McFarland:  1-for-3, BB

Plugging along.  He will fit right into a role in Charleston next year with guys like Wade, Avelino, Andujar, and Katoh likely moving up to Tampa. 

RF Austin Aune:  0-for-4, K

92 K in 55 games

SS Vincent Conde:  0-for-4, 2 K

Unlike Aune, he may be able to stick at SS.  Like Aune, he is hitting like shit regardless.

OF Devyn Bolasky:  2-for-4, RS, BB

RHP Dillon McNamara:  2.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

That may be the best "hit scattering" in history

RHP Matt Borens:  5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

3.89 ERA: 37 IP, 26 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 3 HR, 10 BB, 29 K

RHP Matt Wotherspoon (L, 2-3): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

29 IP, 21 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 27 K

Yankees Minor League Report 8/26/14: Jaron Long Throws Another Gem; Caleb Smith Has Strong Night; Mark Payton's 3-Hit Night

Trenton (Defeated Akron, 5-0)

CF Jake Cave:  2-for-4, 2B (10), RBI

Four consecutive multi-hit games

CF Mason Williams: 2-for-4, 2B (16), 2 RS, K

It is well documented now that Williams just has a very "disinterested" approach to the game, which is too bad - because the kid has/had real talent.

C Gary Sanchez:  0-for-3, BB, K

3B Rob Segedin:  2-for-4, 2B (18), RS, 2 K

OF Ben Gamel:  0-for-4

RHP Jaron Long (W, 7-1):   6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K

Lowers ERA since promotion to 2.30 (62.2 IP, 53 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 44 K)   This is the kid who is the undrafted son of Yankees' hitting coach Kevin Long out of Ohio State.  I really don't know what to make of this - but he has been absolutely brilliant across three levels this season.  

LHP Jacob Lindgren:  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Now has 48 strikeouts in 24.2 IP with 11 hits allowed. (three runs, two earned)

RHP Mark Montgomery:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

The pure numbers are not terrible at all - but again, the reports indicate that the fastball has lost its pop.

-------------------------------

Tampa (Defeated Clearwater, 4-1.  Tampa has been surging, but is still two games behind Daytona for the second-half league title, which would get them into the playoffs.)

OF Mark Payton:  3-for-4, 2B (8), RBI, K

Up to .300 (21-for-70) since promotion.

3B Eric Jagielo:  2-for-4, 2B (13), K

RF Aaron Judge:  0-for-3, RS, BB

1B Mike Ford:  2-for-3, 2B (2), RS, BB

The non-drafted player out of Princeton is, at the very least, making his presence known.   Now 11-for-27 since promotion.

OF Ericson Leonora:  1-for-4, HR (2), RBI, RS, 2 K

SS Cito Culver:  1-for-4, CS (4)

LHP Caleb Smith (W, 5-1):  6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

10-8, 3.30 ERA; 114.2 IP, 92 H, 49 R, 42 ER, 6 HR, 44 BB, 115 K between Charleston/Tampa

LHP Ramon Benjamin:  1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

RHP Cesar Vargas (S, 10):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

---------------------------------------

Charleston (Lost to Greenville, 2-1)

SS Abiatal Avelino:  0-for-3, K

Left the game early; Tyler Wade came into the game and struck out in his only AB

2B Gosuke Katoh:  0-for-2, 2 BB

68 walks in 117 games

3B Miguel Andujar:  0-for-4

OF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-3, 2B (22), SB (40)

OF Brandon Thomas:  0-for-2, SF, RBI, K

LHP Justin Kamplain:  4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

3.38 ERA since joining level with 19/9 K/BB ratio over 18.2 IP

---------------------------------------

Staten Island (Lost to Brooklyn, 8-2)

1B Connor Spencer:  3-for-4, 2B (13), RS

Raised average back up to .358 in 173 AB

C Luis Torrens:  1-for-4, 2 K

2B/3B Ty McFarland:  1-for-4, 2B (17), RBI

OF Chris Breen:  1-for-3, RBI, BB, K

OF Nathan Mikolas:  0-for-3, 3 K

OF Devyn Bolasky:  0-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K

RHP Jordan Cote (L, 3-4):  3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

LHP Ethan Carnes:  2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

ERA sits at 2.08 over 30.1 IP with 34/7 K/BB ratio

Yankees Minor League Report 8/25/14: Greg Bird Hits Another; Gary Sanchez Homers; Mason Williams Has a Grand Night; Dan Camarena's Big Outing; Latest from Ty Hensley

Scranton (Lost to Rochester, 4-2)

2B Robert Refsnyder:  0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K

Up to 41 walks in 71 games since joining Scranton, including nine in his last ten games.  Also hitting .305.

OF Ramon Flores:  1-for-4, 3B (4), RBI, K

So, why not Flores?  He is hitting .264/.351/.477 in 216 AB at the age of 22 in Triple-A.   His defense may not be all that great, but that is an impressive statistical season.

1B Kyle Roller:  2-for-3, 2B (22), RBI, K

If he gets hot over the next week or so, the Yankees should see if they can catch a bit of lightning in a bottle - or at least call him up to be a pinch-hitter or whatever.

OF Zoilo Almonte: 0-for-4

C Austin Romine: 0-for-4

IF Corban Joseph:  1-for-4, K

RHP Bryan Mitchell:  5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Excellent bounce back after getting torched (8 runs in 4.2 IP) in his last start.

RHP Preston Claiborne:  2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

First appearance here since 6/24. Just completed a rehab stint and will probably be one of the 215, 444 pitchers called up next week.

-------------------

Trenton (Defeated Akron, 9-2)

C Gary Sanchez:  1-for-5, HR (13), 3 RBI, RS, K

I still think Sanchez is quite the prospect.

1B Greg Bird: 2-for-3, HR (7), RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB, K

His seven home runs (in 75 AB) come with only 10 runs batted in.  What in the name of Rob Deer is going on here?

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-3, HR (5 - Grand Slam), 4 RBI, RS, BB

OK, a bit cruel of me to not give him top billing at this level tonight.   If he wants to start hitting a bunch of grand slams, I will adjust accordingly.

CF Jake Cave:  3-for-5, 2B (9), RBI, RS, CS (2)

Has been a bit streaky since joining the level - now has three straight multi-hit games.

3B Rob Segedin:  2-for-3, RS, BB

3B Dante Bichette:  1-for-4, RS

OF Ben Gamel:  0-for-4, RS, BB, 3 K
If he were ice cream, he would be old-fashioned plain vanilla.

LHP Dan Camarena (W, 2-6):  8 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 12 K

Where the heck did this come from?  Lowers ERA to 5.63 since joining level with a 38/12 K/BB ratio over 48 IP.  He has been pitching a bit better as of late after a horrific start after his promotion.

RHP Nick Goody:  1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

His struggles coming off of Tommy John are documented, but not unexpected.  We'll see what he does next spring.

-------------------------

Staten Island (Defeated Brooklyn, 2-1)

LF Chris Breen: 2-for-4, 2B (15), HR (7), RBI, RS, BB, K

Walk-off HR in bottom of the 10th

C Luis Torrens:  2-for-4

2B/3B Ty McFarland:  1-for-3, BB, 2 K

1B Connor Spencer:  1-for-5, K

RF Austin Aune:  0-for-2, BB, 2 K, CS (5)

Renzo Martini PH for him late in the game...and promptly struck out.

SS Vincent Conde:  0-for-4, 2 K

CF Devyn Bolasky:  0-for-5, K

RHP Ty Hensley:  3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

30.2 IP, 27 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 40 K between GCL/Staten Island.  I don't really need to state the obvious, but I will:  This is a rehab year.   He really needs to come out firing in 2015.

LHP Andrew Chin:  3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

15th rounder out of Boston College has pitched pretty well.  (11.1 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K)

LHP Rony Bautista:  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Yankees Minor League Report 8/24/14: Ramon Flores Homers Twice; Jake Cave Homers; Latest Short Start from Luis Severino

Scranton (Lost to Rochester, 5-4)

OF Ramon Flores:  3-for-5, 2 HR (7), 3 RBI, 2 RS

.264/.352/.472 in 212 AB.   Flores is already on the 40-man roster, and they could promote him to the majors in September.  His job security on the 40-man is not high if room is needed this winter.

2B Robert Refsnyder:  2-for-4, 2B (17), RS, BB, K, SB (4)

8-for-17 stealing bases between Trenton/Scranton.  As others have said, despite his stolen base success in the lower minors, speed is not really a big part of his game.    Now has 56 XBH in 130 games this year.

UTIL Jose Pirela:  2-for-5, RS

.308/.355/.448 in 516 AB.   After a slump put him on the brink of dropping under .500, he is now on a 15-for-40 surge

C John Ryan Murphy:  0-for-3, BB, K

.229/.282/.367 in 166 AB

OF Zoilo Almonte:  0-for-4, 3 K

1B Kyle Roller:  2-for-3, 2B (21), RBI, BB, K

54 XBH in 117 games between Trenton/Scranton

OF Taylor Dugas:  0-for-3, BB

RHP Zach Nuding:  5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR

3.89 ERA: 148 IP, 155 H, 69 R, 64 ER, 15 HR, 42 BB, 109 K between Trenton/Scranton

RHP Chase Whitley:  2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

He will provide some bullpen depth in September

RHP Nick Rumbelow:  0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Well, an outing like this was bound to happen at some point, right?  Let us see how he bounces back.

---------------------------------------

Trenton (Defeated Harrisburg, 7-3)

CF Jake Cave:  2-for-4, 2B (8), HR (2), 2 RBI, RS, BB, K

After hitting two home runs in his first full season last year, he has five this year between Tampa/Trenton.  That isn't a lot, but monitoring his power is important - because he is a kid that some think has home run pop in his bat.

3B Rob Segedin:  1-for-2, HR (8), 2 RBI, RS, 3 BB

He will get another crack at Scranton next year to prove he is more than just a 2 1/2A player.

1B Greg Bird: 0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB

.236/.345/.569 in 20 games

3B Dante Bichette:  1-for-4, RS, K

OF Ben Gamel:  0-for-4, BB, K

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-4, RS

RHP Luis Severino:  2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

108.2 IP, 88 H, 35 R, 30 ER, 3 HR, 26 BB, 123 K    As stated previously, he is being eased up down the stretch.

LHP Cesar Cabral:  3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

LHP James Pazos:  2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

1.42 ERA: 38 IP, 26 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 HR, 15 BB, 40 K since joining level

--------------------------------------

Tampa (Defeated Dunedin, 5-1)

OF Aaron Judge: 2-for-4, 2 RBI

13-for-39 in last ten games

3B Eric Jagielo: 0-for-3, RS, BB, K

.248/.349/.448

The key for him is not so much the batting average - it is whether or not he can translate his patience/power from here until he gets to the big leagues.

CF Mark Payton:  0-for-2, SF. RBI, RS, HBP, K

1B Mike Ford:  2-for-4, RBI

Low minors destroyer, or a legit prospect picked up off of the undrafted FA scrap heap?

SS Cito Culver:  1-for-3, RBI, RS. BB, K

RHP Brady Lail (W, 2-1):  6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

10-5, 3.79 ERA; 128.1 IP, 134 H, 60 R, 54 ER, 8 HR, 25 BB, 109 K between Charleston/Tampa

RHP Philip Walby: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K

RHP Caleb Cotham:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

--------------------------------------

Charleston (Lost to Rome, 5-4, in 12 innings)

IF Tyler Wade:  1-for-5, 3B (6), RS, BB, K, SB (21)

Played 2B today, moving to 3B later in the game.   .277/.353/.351 in 476 AB

SS Abital Avelino:  1-for-5, BB, 2 K

3B Miguel Andujar:  1-for-6, K

2B Gosuke Katoh: 0-for-1, RS, K

OF Brandon Thomas:  0-for-4, BB, K

OF Yeicok Calderon:  2-for-6, 2B (3), RBI, RS

RHP Rookie Davis: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

5.10 ERA; 120 IP, 129 H, 72 R. 68 ER, 40 BB, 97 K

RHP Giovanny Gallegos: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

LHP Evan Rutckyj (L, 4-3):  2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

4.15 ERA; 47.2 IP, 43 H, 26 R, 22 ER, 2 HR, 36 BB, 58 K

Every now and again, you will take a flyer on a pitcher like this and look like a genius; most times, however, it just never really comes together.

-------------------------------------

Staten Island (Defeated Vermont, 3-1)

LF Chris Breen:   2-for-4, 2B (14), RBI, RS, K

C Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, 2B (12), RBI

2B/3B Ty McFarland:  0-for-3, BB, K

1B Connor Spencer:  1-for-4, 2B (12), RS, K

Hitting .354 in 164 AB

RF Austin Aune:  0-for-3, BB, 3 K

89 Ks in 53 games.  Has five consecutive multi-strikeout games

RHP David Palladino (W, 6-5):  5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K

3.79 ERA; 61.2 IP, 55 H, 32 R, 26 ER, 4 HR, 29 BB, 53 K

It is all about harnessing the talent, which of course is true of many pitching prospects

RHP Joe Harvey:  3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

2.20 ERA; 16.1 IP, 14 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 13 K    Another middle-of-the-draft pick who becomes something?  Too soon to tell, but would it really surprise anyone?

Yankees Minor League Report 8/23/14: Latest from Manny Banuelos; Greg Bird Homers; Miguel Sulbaran Tosses a Gem

Scranton (Split DH vs. Rochester, losing 3-2 before winning 2-1)

2B Robert Refsnyder:  1-for-4, RS, 3 BB, K

UTIL Jose Pirela:  2-for-7, 2 SB (15), 3 K

Played SS in Game 1, and started in CF in Game 2 before shifting to first base

OF Zoilo Almonte:  2-for-5, 2B (18), HR (18), RBI, RS, BB

C John Ryan Murphy:  0-for-3

OF Ramon Flores:  0-for-3, BB, 2 K

1B Kyle Roller:  0-for-6, 4 K

5-for-39 slide with 14 strikeouts during that timeframe

OF Taylor Dugas:  1-for-5, BB, 2 K

IF Scott Sizemore:  1-for-5, HR (5), 2 RBI, RS, BB, 3 K

LHP Manny Banuelos:  3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR

72 pitches, 39 strikes

Switch Pat Venditte (L, 2-5):  3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

RHP Chris Leroux (W, 6-3):  6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

LHP Ty Webb (S, 1):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

---------------------------

Trenton (Defeated Harrisburg, 8-4)

1B Greg Bird:  1-for-4, HR (6), RBI, RS, K

Six HR in 69 AB here; Seven HR in 274 AB in Tampa

CF Jake Cave:  2-for-5, 2B (7), 3 RBI, RS, 2 K, SB (1)

Struggling lately (1-for-21), so nice to see him have a nice night

C Gary Sanchez:   1-for-5, 4 K, CS (1)

In terms of strikeouts, Sanchez is not terrible by today's standards.   Now has 86 in 104 games.

3B Dante Bichette:  1-for-3, 2B (3), RS, BB, K

13-for-55 since joining level with six walks and eight strikeouts

OF Ben Gamel:  1-for-5, RBI, K

3B Rob Segedin:  0-for-4, 2 K

CF Mason Williams:  0-for-4, K

RHP Joel De La Cruz (W, 4-3):  5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR

RHP Danny Burawa (S, 1):  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Lowered ERA to 1.80 since demotion with 15/4 K/BB ratio over 15 innings.

---------------------------

Tampa (Defeated Dunedin, 2-0)

1B Mike Ford:  1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, RS, K

Continues his impressive hitting since promotion

RF Aaron Judge:  0-for-3, 3 K

A lot of positives for Judge this year, but he has also struck out 126 times in 125 games

3B Eric Jagielo:  0-for-4

CF Mark Payton: 1-for-4, K

SS Cito Culver:  1-for-4, RBI, K

OF Ericson Leonora:  3-for-3, RS

LHP Miguel Sulbaran (W, 4-4):  7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

3.29 ERA; 109.1 IP, 99 H, 48 R, 40 ER, 5 HR, 29 BB, 81 K

Had a big hot stretch earlier in the season, followed by a bad downturn.  Tonight, he turned that around - at least for one start.

RHP Alex Smith (S, 7):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

2.40 ERA; 63.2 IP, 52 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 4 HR, 19 BB, 58 K

--------------------

Charleston (Defeated Rome, 3-2, in 11 innings)

3B Miguel Andujar:  2-for-5, 3B (3), RBI, K

SS Tyler Wade:  1-for-3, SAC, BB, K

SS Abiatal Avelino:  0-for-4, RS, BB

2B Gosuke Katoh:  0-for-4, 2 K

Hitting .230 with 132 Ks in 115 games

OF Michael O'Neill:  0-for-3, RS, 2 BB, CS (9)

OF Brandon Thomas:  0-for-3, RS, BB, K

RHP Luis Niebla:  5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

2.76 ERA; 29.1 IP, 30 H, 13 R, 9 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 9 K

RHP Conor Mullee:  2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

0.73 ERA since joining level with 7/4 K/BB ratio over 12.1 IP

RHP Eric Ruth:  2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Has now pitched 85.1 innings as a starter and reliever across all four full-season leagues.   Has a 90/27 K/BB ratio.

----------------------

Staten Island (Defeated Vermont, 5-0)

2B/3B Ty McFarland: 1-for-4, HR (5), RBI, RS

.284/.347/.447 in 215 AB

OF Austin Aune:  2-for-4, 2B (19), 2 RS, 2 K

Played CF tonight.    .234/.290/.393 in 201 AB with 86 strikeouts

C Luis Torrens:  0-for-5, 2 K

1B Connor Spencer:  1-for-4, 2 K

OF Nathan Mikolas:  1-for-4, 2 RBI, 3 K

.225/.355/.319 in 139 AB

LF Chris Breen: 1-for-3, RS, BB

.276/.377/.490 in 192 AB

RHP Jordan Foley:   4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

4.02 ERA; 31.1 IP, 28 H, 15 R, 14 ER, 1 HR, 14 BB, 35 K

Yep...12 up, 12 down.

LHP Jordan Montgomery (W, 1-0):  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

First professional win.  I have mentioned it a few times:  He is a legitimate starting pitcher prospect (well, as legit as a Staten Island pitcher can be, I suppose).  The Yankees are simply giving him some innings right now.   4th round pick out of South Carolina.

RHP Tim Giel (S, 3):  3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Obviously, a nice day for the pitching staff.  

Yankees Minor League Report 8/22/14: Jose Pirela's Triple-Double; John Ryan Murphy Homers; Dante Bichette Hits First Double-A Blast

Scranton (Lost to Buffalo, 11-7)

UTIL Jose Pirela:  3-for-5, 2B (20), 3B (11), HR (10), 2 RBI, 2 RS

A triple-double this season for Pirela, who was a mere single away from a cycle.

2B Robert Refsnyder:  2-for-5, 2 RBI

C John Ryan Murphy:  1-for-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, RS

OF Ramon Flores:  1-for-5, K

Hey, where have you been?   First game for Scranton since 6/1.    Went 6-for-17 in his rehab stint in the GCL

C Austin Romine:  0-for-4, RBI

OF Zoilo Almonte:  1-for-5, RS, 2 K

OF Taylor Dugas:  1-for-4, K

LHP Matt Tracy:  6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

5.07 ERA; 55 IP, 70 H, 37 R, 31 ER, 8 HR, 17 BB, 36 K since joining Scranton

-----------------------

Trenton (Defeated Harrisburg, 7-0.  Beat up old friend Zach Kroenke, a former 5th round pick of the Yankees, who was lost in a rarely-used circumstance where a player who is drafted in the Rule 5 two years in a row can elect free agency instead of going back to his original team.   I believe that is how the Yankees were able to keep the immortal Cesar Cabral)

3B Dante Bichette:  2-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS, K

.231 (12-for-52) since joining Trenton.  Now has 10 HR and 68 RBI between Tampa/Trenton

C Gary Sanchez:  1-for-4, RBI, BB

RF Tyler Austin:  1-for-4, 2B (20), RBI, 2 RS, BB, K

1B Greg Bird:  1-for-5, RS, K

CF Jake Cave:  0-for-5, RS, BB, 2 K

Down to .258 in 133 AB since joining level.  7-for-41 slide

3B Rob Segedin:  2-for-3, RBI, RS, 2 BB, K

CF Mason Williams:  1-for-1, SB (21)

Left game early

LHP Jeremy Bleich (W, 5-5):  5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

LHP Jacob Lindgren:  2 IP,1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

22.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 9 BB, 44 K overall since signing on the dotted line

RHP Nick Goody:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

RHP Mark Montgomery:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

----------------------------

Tampa (Defeated Dunedin, 5-2)

RF Aaron Judge:  1-for-4, 2B (9), RS, 2 K

3B Eric Jagielo:  0-for-2, RS, BB, HBP, 2 K

CF Mark Payton:  1-for-3, 2B (7), RBI, BB

Payton has been impressive.   You may see him in Trenton to begin 2015 at this rate.

1B Mike Ford:  3-for-4, 2 2B (2), RBI, RS

7-for-17 since promotion after hitting .283/.381/.443 in Charleston

SS Cito Culver:  0-for-4, 2 K

UTIL Jose Rosario:  2-for-4, 2 RBI, RS, SB (1), K

RHP Taylor Garrison:  5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HR

LHP Conner Kendrick (W, 5-8):  3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

6.06 ERA; 71.1 IP, 93 H, 51 R, 48 ER, 5 HR, 32 BB, 58 K

RHP Cesar Vargas (S, 9):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

2.68 ERA: 37 IP, 25 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 42 K

----------------------------

Charleston (Lost to Rome, 9-2)

SS Abiatal Avelino: 1-for-4, 2B (12), BB

.240/.301/.337 in 208 AB

SS Tyler Wade:  1-for-5

2B Gosuke Katoh:  1-for-4, 2B (19), RS, K

3B Miguel Andujar:  1-for-5, 2 K

OF Michael O'Neill:  1-for-5, K

C/3B Kale Sumner:  1-for-2, RS, 2 BB

RHP Gabriel Encinas (L, 0-3):  2.1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 K

Continues his "rehab" year.  We'll see if he can regain prospect status in 2015.

LHP Chaz Hebert:  4.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

-------------------------------------

Staten Island (Lost to Vermont, 3-1)

1B Connor Spencer:  2-for-4, 2B (11), RS

C Luis Torrens:  1-for-3, K

OF Devyn Bolasky:  1-for-4, 2 K

LF Chris Breen:  0-for-3, BB, 2 K

SS Vincent Conde:  0-for-3, K

RF Austin Aune:  0-for-3, 2 K

IF Billy Fleming:  0-for-4, K

21-year old hit .375/.466/.486 in 22 games in the GCL.    Undrafted FA out of West Virginia.

RHP Jonathan Holder (L, 1-2):  2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

3.14 ERA; 28.2 IP, 33 H, 15 R, 10 ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 25 K

LHP Ethan Carnes:  2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

2.22 ERA; 28.1 IP, 25 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 32 K

21st round pick in 2013 out of Oklahoma

RHP Matt Wotherspoon: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K

1.88 ERA; 28.2 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 27 K for the 34th round pick out of Pitt.

Yankees Minor League Report 8/21/14: Jaron Long Continues to Impress; Aaron Judge Stays Hot; Tyler Wade Does Something He Has Never Done Before

Scranton (Lost to Buffalo, 5-1)

UTIL Jose Pirela:  0-for-3, BB, SB (13)

2B Robert Refsnyder:  0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 K

Has walked 35 times (struck out 57 times) in 66 games since joining Scranton

C John Ryan Murphy:  1-for-3, BB, K

C Austin Romine:  1-for-4, 2B (17), K

OF Zoilo Almonte:  0-for-4, 2 K

SS Carmen Angelini:  1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS, K

The interesting thing about Angelini is that some of us dreamed that he would probably be waiting in Scranton the day that Derek Jeter retired.    The part about being in Scranton at least came true.

LHP Nik Turley (L, 3-3):  4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

4.83 ERA; 50.1 IP, 44 H, 32 R, 27 ER. 8 HR, 38 BB, 39 K

A little debate over what the Yankees may do with Turley this winter.  I am in the camp that they should protect him on the 40-man, as he is a talented (despite the numbers this year) left-handed pitcher not far from the big leagues.  

RHP Nick Rumbelow:  2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

RHP Edgmer Escalona: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

------------------------------

Trenton (Shutout New Hampshire, 3-0)

1B Greg Bird:  2-for-4, 2 2B (6)

11 of his 15 hits (15-for-59) since joining the level have gone for extra bases.  

CF Mason Williams:  2-for-4, CS (8)

Back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time since 2011.  OK, at least it FEELS that way.

RF Tyler Austin:  0-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K

3B Rob Segedin:  3-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, RS, K

Celebrates his demotion in style

3B Dante Bichette:  2-for-4, RBI, RS

C Gary Sanchez:  0-for-3, BB

CF Jake Cave:  0-for-4, K

RHP Jaron Long (W, 6-1):  8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K

11-4; 2.25 ERA; 132 IP, 112 H, 41 R, 33 ER, 4 HR, 21 BB, 110 K between Charleston/Tampa/Trenton

Sometimes, you have to stop looking at the facts (non-drafted FA) and just look at the performance.  Long has been incredible this season.

LHP James Pazos (S, 6):  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Now has a 1.00 ERA since joining Trenton (36 IP; 38/14 K/BB ratio)

------------------

Tampa (Defeated Brevard County, 10-6)

1B Reymond Nunez:  3-for-4, 2B (7), 2 HR (4), 4 RBI, 3 RS, K

His prospect status may be close to zero, but this type of performance deserves top billing.

RF Aaron Judge:  2-for-3, 2 RS, 2 BB, K

From a deep slump to a 10-for-31 surge

CF Mark Payton:  2-for-5, RBI, K

3B Eric Jagielo:  0-for-3, RS, 2 BB, 2 K

1B Mike Ford:  2-for-5, RBI, 2 K

OF Ericson Leonora:  1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 K

SS Cito Culver:  1-for-4, RS, BB, K

RHP Brett Gerritse (W, 5-7):  5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

RHP Caleb Cotham:  1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

This kid is still around?  

LHP Ramon Benjamin:  2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Yankees essentially took a flyer on this oft-injured kid.   He hasn't pitched poorly, but with Lindgren-Pazos-Webb all knocking on the big league door, they likely don't really need him for more than minor league depth at this point.

----------------------

Charleston (Destroyed Greenville, 12-0)

SS Tyler Wade:  3-for-5, 2B (22), HR (1), RBI, 3 RS, BB, CS (13)

First professional HR comes in his 169th game.   Needs to work a bit on his basestealing, but the 19-year old has been extremely solid all season long.

SS Abiatal Avelino:  1-for-6, HR (2), RBI, RS, 3 K

Third career HR in 165 games.    The Yankees would be ecstatic if Wade and/or Avelino developed into their next SS prospect.

3B Miguel Andujar:  1-for-4, RBI, 2 RS, BB

Just a completely different hitter since the ASB.   Had a .601 OPS at the break and has a .842 (entering tonight) OPS after the break.

2B Gosuke Katoh:  0-for-2, RS, 3 BB, SB (18)

Make no mistake - there are times he supposedly looks completely overmatched.  Right now, he is compensating with a strong walk rate and a better contact rate now than he had during a terrible start to his campaign.  You worry about some of that heading into the higher areas of the minors, but for now, he remains a solid second base prospect.

OF Brandon Thomas:  1-for-3, RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 SB (22)

OF Michael O'Neill:  1-for-3, RBI, 3 RS, 2 BB, 2 SB (39)

So, which of the two has an actual chance to make it?  The correct answer is probably neither, but gun to my head, I say Thomas, because he switch-hits and can play center field.   That said, if O'Neill can develop his stroke against LHP, he can always have value as a platoon right-handed bat somewhere down the road.    

OF Yeicok Calderon:  2-for-4, RBI, CS (1)

C/3B Kale Sumner:  2-for-4, RBI, BB, K

I have outlined the strong walk rate many times (36 in 42 games).  At 23, not young for this level and probably is destined for life as an organizational catcher who can play some other areas on the field.

1B Bubba Jones:  2-for-5, 2 2B (2), 2 RBI, K

Earned his promotion here with a 7-for-53 start in Staten Island.   Nah.  More likely was moved here because they promoted Ford (deserved) and needed a body for first.

LHP Justin Kamplain: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 3 K

I don't care what level you are at - not pitching long enough to get a win in a 12-0 game hurts.

RHP Angel Rincon (W, 6-3):  3.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

--------------------------------------

Staten Island (Lost to Brooklyn (and Dice-K!), 2-0)

CF Devyn Bolasky:  2-for-4, 2B (6)

C Luis Torrens:  0-for-3, BB, K

1B Connor Spencer:  1-for-4, K

15 hits in last 37 AB; hitting .355 in 152 AB overall

LF Chris Breen:  1-for-4, 2 K

.280/.377/.500 in 186 AB

2B/3B Ty McFarland:  0-for-3, BB, K

RF Austin Aune:  0-for-3, 2 K

82 Ks in 50 games

C/OF Collin Slaybaugh:  0-for-3, 2 K

RHP Matt Borens:  4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

4.55 ERA; 31.2 IP, 22 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 3 HR, 10 BB, 25 K

RHP Dillon McNamara (L, 1-2):  3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

3.12 ERA; 40.1 IP, 44 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 23 K

LHP Rony Bautista:  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K