YEEP 8/8/11: Jesus, Poised to Join the Dark Side, Forgets to Bring his Light Saber today.

Evil Em VP: Slim pickens, but I have to go with Cito Culver and his 3/4, SB performance.

AAA SWB: L 1-3 to Gwinnett. L: Smith
Russo (Russeau): 0/4, BB, 2 K (.284)
Jesus Montero: 0/5, K (.285). The whispers are getting louder, it's only a matter of time before he's rockin the pinstripes. Maybe he's getting nervous.
JoVa: 1/4, K (.251). No homer today, Shelley Duncan wannabe!
Laird: 0/3, BB, K (.272)
No prospects pitched today, only organizational filler.

High A Tampa: L 3-4 to Dunedin: L: Marquez
Honest Abe Almonte: 1/4, K, CS (10), (.248). Everday I'm hovering (at .248).
Walt Ibarra: 1/4, R (.299)
K-Roll Roller: 1/3, HR, 2 RBI, K (.257). That's HR number 5 at this level. 6 for his last 11.
DAdams: 0/2, BB (.308)
Alcantara: 1/1, R (.143).
Luke Murton: 0/3, BB, K (.285)
Castrol GTX Castro: 0/3, K (.310)
Mikey O'Brien: 4 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 6 K, 0 ER (2.09 ERA). I didn't realize he's still just 21. Look forward to seeing him in AA.
K-Flan Flannery: 1 IP, Zeros. He'll get his shot in AA next season.

Low A Charleston: W 5-1 vs Savannah. The only win for our system tonight.  W: Dott
Ray-Flo Flores: 0/2, BB, K (.264)
Higgy Higashioka: 0/4 (.241)
Sanchize: 0/4, K (.253). No biggie.
Tommy Kahnle: 3 IP, H, R, 0 ER, BB, 6 K. Just when I'm ready to give up on the kid, he throws together 7 earned run-less innings in a row with 12 K to bring the old ERA to 4.3
Dott: 3 IP, H, 3 K (1.59 ERA). I have such a great nickname for this guy. Alas, I cannot use it. Gotta be PC.

Short Season Staten Island: L 5-7. L: Cotham
Mad Mase Williams: 0/4, K (.361)
Cheeto Culver: 3/4, 2 R, K, SB (3) (.276), E (12). Atta boy, now get some more of those hits.
Gamel the Camel: 1/4, R, 2B, RBI (.296)
Cody Grice: 2/4, RBI, CS (2) (.296)
Reymond Nunez: 1/4, RBI, 3 K (.296)
Casey Stevenson: 1/4, RBI (.276)
Matt Tracy: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 3 K (3.18 ERA). Got the start for some reason.
Cotham City: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB, K (1.5 ERA). I love the fact that Cotham City is his twitter account name, and I had no clue about that when I chose his nickname.
Arneson: 2 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 2 K (3.00 ERA)

YEEP 8/3/11: One Sanchize fits all.

Evil Em VP: Gary Sanchez (2 HR). Image thanks to  www.puristbleedspinstripes.com
AA Trenton: L 2-3. L: Romanski
CoJo: 1/4, K (.274)
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 1/4, SB (2) (.284). He's faring pretty well here so far. I'd like to see the power come around though.
R-Ly Lyerly: 0/4, 2 K (.259). He's just 7 for his last 41 (.171), and 0 for his last 14. Got to get it together R-Ly.
Melkman Mesa: 2/4, R, 2B, 2 K (.233)
Dee Mack: 1/3 (.248).
Graham Cracker Stoneburner: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K (1.86). Nice outing, keep it going brah.
Josh Bromance Romanski: 1.2 IP, H, ER, 2 K, HR. Got the loss, but he's been so good at this level so far (1.65 ERA).
Pope: .1 IP, Zeros.

Low A Charleston: L 3-7 to Asheville. L: Evarts
Higgy Higashioka: 0/3 (.257)
Ray-Flo Flores: 1/4, R
Sanchize: 3/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, K (.251). That's numbers 13 and 14 on the season. I think he's found his stroke because he is on an absolute tear. That's 4 HR in his last 3 games, 5 in his last 7. He's 10 for his last 28 (.357), with 13 RBI and 2 BB during that 7 game stretch. He's still striking out too much, but hopefully that will dissipate with time. I'm close to saying he's back.
Recchia: 1.1 IP, H, K (2.66 ERA).

Short Season Staten Island: L 5-13. L: Martinez.
Mad Mase Williams: 1/2, RBI, 2 BB, CS (9) (.355). That's an awful lot of caught stealings, but I think I can accept that right now. I like that he is so aggressive because that's how you get better.
Cheeto Culver: 0/3, BB (.284). Seems like he either gets a multi-hit game or no hits at all. He also had another error today. That's 11 in 44 games.
Gamel the Camel: 2/4, HR, BB (.289). That's the 1st homerun of his minor league career. Congrats!
Cody Grice: 2/4, HR, BB (.291). Ditto for Grice. Congrats!
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 1/4, R, 2B, BB, K (.279).
Reymond Nunez: 1/5, RBI (.300)
Stevenson: 2/4, R, 2B, HR, RBI, K (.287). That's 3 HR for him.
Matt Richardson: 1 IP, R, ER, 2BB, K (2.35 ERA). Not much today in the minors in terms of pitching.

GCL Yankees: W 8-5 vs GCL Pirates. W: Cruz. S: Maines. They're now 27-12. They're in first by 5 games. Records don't matter in the least at GCL, but when this kind of record is coupled with the talent we currently have at this level, it is extremely encouraging. I digress.
Janitor Custodio: 1/5, R, BB, 2 K, SB (17) (.295). His average has come down considerably, but that was bound to happen.
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 4/4, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB (.276). His average needed a day like this, and just like that it's within respectable range.
Junior Bichette: 1/4, RBI (.322)
Matt Duran Duran: 2/4, 3 R, BB, K (.250). That's more like it.
Bubba Jones: 1/2, R, BB (.250) I'm excited to watch this kid play. Yet another dangerous bat in this lineup.
Henry Pena: 0/2, R, RBI, 3 BB, K (.280)
Daniel Lopez: 1/5, K, SB (15) (.284)
Corey Maines: 1 IP, H, BB (2.25 ERA)

YEEP 7/29/11

 Evil Em VP of the day: Graham Stoneburner. Image thanks to NJ.com

AAA SWB: L 5-8 vs Buffalo. L: Wordekemper
Russo: 1/5, R, H, K (.290)
Krum: 0/4
Montero: 1/4, R, K. Not showing why we shouldn't trade him except for a couple of random homers recently.
JoVa: 2/4, R, HR (25), 2 RBI, K. He's pretty on fire right now, although it's really only the homeruns. He doesn't do much else well.
Laird: 2/3, R, 2B, RBI. He must be the type who got a taste of the pros and now he wants it real bad. He's done really well since the demotion.
Brack Attack: 3.1 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 9 WALKS, 2 K. NINE WALKS. Wow.
Wordekemper: .2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, K.
JC Romero: .2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB
Schmidt: 3.1 IP, 3 H, BB, K, 0 ER. He's the only one who could figure out the Bisons tonight. Too bad it was too little too late.

AA Trenton: L 2-3 to Richmond, L: Chase Whitley
Kruml: 2/4, 2 R, SB (33) (.297). Back at it after his little hit streak came to a close yesterday.
CoJo: 2/4, 2B, RBI, K (.273). That's the type of game he needs, he's been slackin.
Austin BRomine: 3/4, 2B, RBI, K (.290). Dude can hit.
R-Ly Lyerly: 0/4, 3 K. He's been a little hit or miss so far, tonight was miss (.277)
Melkman Mesa: 0/2, 2 BB, K, SB (15).
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 0/3, BB, 3 K, SB (1st of his AA season).
Graham Cracker Stoneburner: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 5 K. Great debut.
Whitley: 2 IP, 4 H, ER, HR
Josh Bromance Romanski: 1 IP, H, 0 ER.

Tampa: W 6-5 vs Charlotte. W: Landoni
DAdams: 0/5, 3 K
Mustelier Musketeer: 2/6, 2B, 2 RBI
Roller: 0/2, 2 K
Murton: 2/4
Seggy Segedin: 1/2, K
Landoni: 2/3, and he even got the win in this game. 2.0 IP, H, K. That's the definition of utility.
Castrol GTX Castro: 3/5, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K, SB (5) (.325)
Casanova: 2.1 IP, H, ER, BB, K (3.86 ERA) Promoted from one of the short season teams.
Preston Claiborne: 3 IP, 0 ER, 5 K. He's really started to come around since the beginning of the season.
Gipson: 3 IP, H, 3 BB, K, 0 ER (3.38 ERA)

Charleston: L 1-4 vs Greenville. L: Evarts
Eddy Sosa: 0/4, 2 K (.265). Going the opposite direction of Flores
Sanchize: 0/4, 2 K.
Ray-Flo Flores: 1/4, SB (10).
Kahnle: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. (4.8 ERA). Excuse my french, but his season has really went into the shitter.

Short Season Staten Island: W 10-7 vs Batavia. W: Pinder. S: Paullus
Mad Mase Williams: 2/5, K (.344)
Cheeto Culver: 1/5, 2 R, RBI
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 1/5, R, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 K. Also had his 6th error of the season.
Cody Grice: 3/5, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 K (.302). Avg over .300 now, looking like a good pick.
Gamel the Camel: 2/4, 2 RBI (.260)
Stevenson: 2/5, 2 R, 2 K.
Pinder: 2 IP, 2 K, W (2-0). He's been great at this level, and apparently scouts have high praise for him.
Paullus: 1 IP, BB, K. (2.45).

GCL Yankees: W 15-4. W: Checo.
Janitor Custodio: 1/3, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB (16). This is a great game if you ask me. On base 4/6 times, steal some bases, and score some runs. Perfect leadoff guy.
Brewski Brewer: 1/2, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K. Rehab, still have him playing half games I guess.
Justin James: 2/2, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB. He was supposed to be a project and very raw but as it turns out we have signed a hit machine (.433 in 30 at bats)
Junior Bichette: 2/6, R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 K. That's 2 HR. Looks like we may have made a decent draft choice. That's two years in a row our choice was questioned and 2 years in a row it appears in the early stages that we've made a good decision.
Yeicok Calderon: 1/4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K (.264)
Matt Duran Duran: 1/5, R, 2 K.
Alcantara: 0/1
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 0/5, 2 K. Nope
Jackson Valera: 2/3, 2B, R, BB. He's a catcher out of Venenzuela. Don't know much about him but he's batting .290.
Henry Pena: 0/0, BB, R (.273)
Gabriel Encinas: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. The starters have been disappointing so far at this level with the exception of Taylor Morton and more recently Reynaldo Polanco, who apparently throws mid 90's and has a solid curveball at 18.
Checo: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Maines: 1.2 IP, 2 K

YEEP 7/28/11: Hungry like the wolves (Matt Duran Duran)

Evil Em VP of the day: Matt Duran (3/4, HR). Image thanks to newrochelletalk.com.

7th rounders Bubba Jones and 18th rounder Hayden Sharp have been signed. This is what I had to say about Sharp when we drafted him.

"18th round: Hayden Sharp, 6-6, 200, RHP HS, He is signed to play at Central Oklahoma. Nothing on his other pitches though, or his command. As a senior he was used mostly as a reliever and had 82 strikeouts. Keith Law on Twitter: Pop-up guy for the draft this year - Hayden Sharp from Morris, OK. Hit 98 on Thursday, lot of 93-96, quarterback committed to Ctrl Oklahoma" He has gotten quite a few comps to Brett Marshall.

Yardbarker on Bubba Jones:  "6-1, 210-pounds, left handed hitting 18-year-old with power out of Edmonds-Woodway high school in Washington. He played catcher, first, and some outfield in high school, but was drafted as a first baseman by the Yankees. He has no agent representing him and a commitment to the University of Arizona."  From what I understand, he is a power bat who will start out at GCL.

AAA SWB: W 6-3 vs Buffalo: W: Carlyle. S: Flores
Russo: 0/4, RBI, K
Montero: 0/4, BB
JoVa: 1/5, R, HR, RBI, 2 K. That's his 24th HR, at least the power is coming back. He's also got 68 RBI. That's some good production.
Laird (Bash Brother): 2/5, 2 R, 2B. The bash brother nickname is in reference to the fight he and his brother got in at the bar, and also in reference to the Mighty Ducks.
A bunch of acquired pitchers pitched tonight, the most significant IMO is Randy Flores: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 ER. Still think he could contribute a lot in the LOOGY role.

AA Trenton: L 3-8 to Richmond. L: Betnaces
Kruml: 0/4, BB, 3 K. This breaks a long hit streak for him. Most of them were 1/4 types though.
CoJo: 0/3, 2 R, 2 BB, K.
Austin BRomine: 1/5, RBI
R-Ly Lyerly: 1/5, 2 K.
Melkman Mesa: 2/4, R, RBI, K. :)
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 0/3, BB
Betances: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, BB, 3 K. This outing is not nearly as bad as it looks. He pitched 5 shutout innings and then let up 5 runs on 6 batters in the top of the 6th. He's not really used to pitching deep into games. Hopefully they're unleashing him a bit now.
Sideshow Venditte: 2 IP, H, 0 ER, 3 K. (ERA down to 2.86). He just keeps doing it at every level.
K-Flan Flannery: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K. He was the closer at Tampa. Mostly pitched 1 inning at a time. His first inning was much better than the second, I'll give him a free pass.
Pope: .1 IP, Zeros. (0.00 at Trenton, still).

High A Tampa: W 12-2
DAdams: 3/5, 2 R, 2B, BB (.348)
Musketeer Mustelier: 1/6, 2B (.305)
K-Roll Roller: 2/5, 2 R, HR, RBI. 4th HR at Tampa, 13th of the season total.
Seggy Segedin: 1/5, R, RBI, 2 K
Luke Murton: 2/4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI. #8 for him.
Castrol GTX Castro: 3/5, R, 3 RBI, K, SB (4). Back on track after a bried slow spell.
Nothing of terrible importance with the pitching.

Low A Charleston: L 8-13 to Greenville. L: Rondon
Eddy Sosa: 1/3, R, 2 BB, 2 K
Sanchize: 2/5, 2 R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 K. I like it, except for the K's.
Ray-Flo Flores: 1/3, R, RBI, BB, K. The strong work continues.
Recchia: 1 IP, H, R, BB, 0 ER. 2.66 ERA on the season.

Short Season Staten Island: L 4-3 to Batavia. L: Tracy
Mad Mase Williams: 1/4, 2 R, SB (13), BB, (.342)
Cheeto Culver: 1/3, RBI, BB (.296)
Cody Grice: 2/4, RBI, K, CS (1), (.276)
Gamel the Camel: 0/3, 2 K, SB (3)
Evan DeLuca: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K. ERA is 2.56 on the season, it's just a performance fart.
Vidal Nuno: 1.1 IP, 3 K, ZEROS. (.72 ERA).
Matt Tracy: 3 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K. Pitched pretty well actually, but we didn't score enough to win.

GCL Yankees: W 8-3 v GCL Blue Jays. What else is new with these guys? W: Cruz
Jose Rosario: 0/4 (.318)
Brewer (Brewski): 1/2, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB (2). Rehab. He'll be back in AAA soon I suppose.
Isaias Tejeda: 0/3, R, BB, K (.351 - watch out for small sample sizes).
Matt Duran: 3/4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI. Just his 2nd game, pretty decent start I guess.
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 1/4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K. Thats HR number 8 on the season. I just worry that this guy has Kelvin De Leon written all over him, especially when he strikes out 3 times like that. (.250)
Daniel Lopez: 0/4 (.300)
Alcantara: 0/4, 2 K (.278)
Justin James: 2/2, R, 2B (.393). Me likey.
Marquez: 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 ER. IDK why I'm writing about him, I don't think much of him.
Kanekoa Texeira: 1 IP, K, 0 ER. He's back again.
Mad Cowsert Disease: 1 IP, 2 K.

YEEP 7/25/11. Tejeda the hata.

Evil Em VP of the day: Isaias Tejeda of the GCL Yanks. Read on and you'll see why.  Image courtesy of BeGreen90 on Flickr.

Side note: We signed our 4th round pick Matt Duran. Congrats Duran, I think it's a great signing.

AAA SWB: W 15-1 v Syracuse. W: Soriano
Kevin Russo: 4/6, 2 R, 2 RBI. He's been on fire since returning, but he's done this before. He is probably going to be a solid backup who intermittently spends time in the minor leagues for the rest of his career.
Montero: 2/4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, 2 K. That's his 9th HR of the season. Now is when he usually turns his season around. If he doesn't get traded at the deadline I would actually expect a call-up soon after. It will no longer matter if he loses his value at the major league level.
JoVa: 2/4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB. What, no strikeouts? Wow.
Adam Warren: 4 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 2 K. Not sure why he only went 4, but I do know he could pitch Saturday if Nova isn't ready, so it might have something to do with that.
Rafael Soriano: 1 IP, K, 0 ER
Kontos: 1 IP, 2 H, K.
JC Romero: 1 IP, 1 K. I'd like to take this opportunity to say that he is definitely better than Boone Logan. I do believe it's only a matter of time.

AA Trenton: W: 9-8. W: Venditte. S: Pope
Kruml: 1/5, R, RBI, SB (32).
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 0/2, R, 3 BB. Gotta like those walks.
R-Ly Lyerly: 1/5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K.
Melky Mesa: 1/4, R, BB, 2 K.
Sideshow Venditte: 3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 4 K (2.94 ERA on the season). Just keep wondering what level he they will start to catch up with him at.
K-Flan Flannery: .2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K. Has had trouble adjusting, have to give him time though.
Pope: 1.1 IP, H, 2 K, S (2). Great job quite literally saving this game for the Thunder. Still no earned runs since returning to AA.

High A Tampa: W 6-1 v Fort Myers. W: Quintana
Honest Abe Almonte: 0/5, R, RBI, 2 K. He's ice cold again. I can't follow someone who's never had sustained success.
DAdams: 1/5, 2B, 2 RBI (.308) Good to see him in High A.
Mustelier Musketeer: 0/4, BB, K. First bad game in a while (.302)
K-Roll Roller: 2/4, HR (3) (.250)
Luke Murton: 3/5, R, K. Stopped following him for a while, but he was really hot to start off the year and now he seems to be picking it up again. He's 12 for his last 36 with 4 BB, 1 HR and 2 doubles in his last 10 games. He's now batting .273.
Kelvin Castrol GTX Castro: 2/3, 2B, RBI, BB, K (.308). Still kickin on this solid season.
Jose Quintanadana: 5.2 IP, 7 IP, ER, BB, 4 K. He hasn't had a single bad start yet. I think we might have found ourselves another solid prospect. Small sample sizes obviously but he could fill the void that Jose Ramirez has left with his horrible season.

Low A Charleston: L 0-1 to West Virginia. L: Ramirez
Eddy Sosa: 0/3, K. He's come back down to Earth after a hot start (.270 now).
Ray-Flo Flores: 3/4, SB (9). (.272).
Jose Ramirez: 6 IP, 5 H, 5 BB, ER, 3 K. Wayyyyyy too many walks. He's been better lately but I have to believe it's luck.

Short Season SI Yankees: W 2-1 v Tri City. W: Paullus. S: Pinder (9)
Mad Mase Williams: 1/4, CS (6), K. .343 this season, but all the CS are getting a bit concerning.
Cheeto Culver: 1/4, RBI, K (.290)
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 0/4, 2 K (.280)
Cody Grice: 1/3, R, SB (7). Last time I wrote about how I might have been wrong about him, and since then he has proven that I was right from the beginning, he was a good signing (.280 after a very slow start).
Gamel: 0/3, 2 K.
Gerritse: 1 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, K, BS. His first bad outing at this level. (.61 ERA on the season). Also his first BS.
Ben Paullus: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 ER.
Pinder: 1 IP, H, 2 K, 0 ER (.69 ERA). Their relief corps at this level is extremely impressive, hopefully the success translates to the higher levels.

GCL Yankees: W 7-1 v GCL Braves. W: Morton
Janitor Custodio: 1/5, RBI, K (.321).
Jose Rosario: 0/5, K, (.293)
Isaias "the hata" Tejeda: 3/5, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI. Batting .386 on the season, and he has 5 HR. Coming from a catcher, these are phenominal. I'm curious as to why he hasn't been talked about more because he's only 19 and the 5 HR are over just 19 games.
Junior Bichette: 1/3, R, BB. (.306)This kid has really started to come around. For an 18 year old in the GCL, it is now safe to say that he is raking. he's 20 for his last 40, with 5 doubles, 2 triples, and a HR. He also has 6 BB over that time. Seems like he's a really mature hitter. Had a good teacher.
Yeicok Calderon: 2/5, R, 2B, K. (.266)He's 11 for his last 20, with a HR, a triple, and 5 doubles.
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 3/5, 3 R, 3B, RBI, SB (4), CS (1). 7 for his last 17 (.411). This is a hot team right now.
Daniel Lopez: 1/4, RBI, SB (12). (.325). He definitely has the speed, and he rounds out what is likely the best OF in the GCL, and it's not all that close. (Calderon, J James, Ravel Santana, Lopez)
Marquez: 2 IP, H, 3 K. Rehab.
Taylor Morton: 4 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 3 K. Love love love this kid.
Agramonte: 1.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K, 0 ER. 20 year old out of the DR. Performed really well in the DSL, and now he's here.

.

2011 Draft, rounds 10-50, Who Should We Sign?

Image: Daniel Camarena, courtesy of  perfectgame.org

I did some research and these are the guys I found intriguing. One, Cody Grice, has already signed, so that's a good start. Anyway, here goes.

48th round- Wes Benjamin LHP- FB: 91, runs in high 80's. throws a 4-seamer, a 2-seamer, a curveball, and a changeup. That velocity from a lefty out of high school is a commodity. committed to Kansas, so might cost us some money to sign, but if we don't we could end up regretting it if he continues the success he had in HS at Kansas (10-1, 1.31 ERA, 64 innings, 84 strikeouts, 14 walks).

47th round- Ethan Springston CF - .533 with 11 HRs, 54 RBIs, and 45 runs. Unable to find a college commitment. 6-2 170 Lbs. Bats: Left/ Throws: Right. 60 Yard: 6.9 Sec. Outfield Arm Strength 87 MPH. Born May 24, 1993. 6'2 175, so has some room to fill out.

44th Round- Adam Ravenelle RHP- 6'3 185. High school player committed to Vanderbilt. 93 MPH with a sweeping 76 mph curveball. His senior year he went 6-0 with an ERA just under 1.00. Committed to Vanderbilt, but I'm sure the Yankees can coax him out of that with some big money if they think he's worth it. He was projected to go as high as the 10th round, so he was certainly a bargain at this point in the draft. "Ravenelle might have the highest ceiling of any Massachusetts pitcher not named Beede or Connaughton. Ravenelle has a 6-foot-4, 185-pound build and throws in the low 90s, but he has struggled with consistency. He throws from a three-quarters slot and has funkiness with his arm action, and he needs to repeat his delivery better by staying closed longer and more in line with the plate. Ravenelle has shown a fringe-average breaking ball and decent changeup in the past. A Vanderbilt recruit, Ravenelle likely will end up at school, though someone should take a flier on him as a summer follow."

43rd Round- Tyler Farrell RHP- HS, Righthander Tyler Farrell has the best FB/CB in Illinois. The 6-foot-2, 180 lb throws 88-91 mph and touches 93, and he throws his CB with good depth. Not much deception in delivery.committed to Western Illinois.stat line 7-1 with a 0.94 ERA and 93 K in 52 IP. Sounds like another guy who could be a solid signing and we'd probably have to pay him like a 10th-20th rounder to get him. I like him though.

39th Round: Taylor Guilbeau LHP, HS. Projectable 6-3/175 lefty, upper 80s FB now with extended ¾ release; 78 mph SL is best pitch, big/deep CH. Committed to Alabama. Perfect game has him at 88 mph on the FB. Lots of movement on his pitches. Intriguing kid.

37th round: Ryan Harris RHP, HS- 6'2, 195 lbs. Clocked at 93 mph by Perfect game. Committed to U of Florida. Another high velocity righty. There are others I like better but I wouldn't hate the signing.

36th round: Ryan Thompson RHP UCONN- 6'3, 190. A scouting report from the Unionleader.com: his FB sits consistently at 88 to 92 mph and SL are already major league average pitches. Excellent control and ability to throw strikes. holds velocity deep into games, has a chance to start at the next level, but he profiles better as a sinker/slider reliever. Thompson could get taken in the top eight rounds, but he's more likely to go somewhere between rounds 10 and 15. Another 90's throwing righty, good organizational filler with potential to be a solid reliever or something more.

35th round: Chris Mccue RHP- 6' 170. Chris McCue has the ability to throw his FB in the mid 90s - clocked as high as 94 MPH, with an effective CB and CU at any point in and throws them for strikes in any count. Scouts raved about his sinking action on his FB, has potential to dial up the speed as he physically develops in addition to refining his mechanics on off speed pitches. Another 90s throwing righty, sounds feisty, and is an honor student. Size is a concern, probably a reliever.

34th round: Skylar Janisse RHP- 6'4 200 lbs, HS. Skylar Janisse is a 6-foot-5, 206-pound righthander who played in the Under Armour All-American game last summer. His fastball is in the mid- to high 80s right now, but his arm works well and he's a great competitor on the mound. Janisse shows good feel for a CU and his CB is inconsistent. committed to Oakland. Perfect game = 89 mph. Lots of upside here.

32nd round: Garrett Nuss RHP- 6'2 185, HS. 93 mph FB. committed to University of Central Florida. His senior season he went 11-1 with a 0.96 ERA 93 K in 56 ip. father is his team’s pitching coach, has put in work to improve as a pitcher and he has gotten great results. Has 3 pitches, increasing velocity now sits from 90-94. Has CU that is a potential plus pitch and a 12/6 curve. Nuss- “Away from baseball? What do you mean? There is no away from baseball. It’s my life.”

29th round: Scott Hoffman RHP 6'4 205 lbs, HS. 92 mph FB. Committed to Arizona St. University. Ranked 54th best prospect nationally by MaxPrep. His stats for the season were a 13-0 record with a 2.01 ERA. He also had 76 strikeouts in 66 innings. 2nd team all state as DH. Can't find anything on what else he's got, but a high school kid throwing 92 with that body is scary.

28th round: Josean Lazaro RHP 6' 170 HS. Committed to Villanova. Senior year: 7-0 2.52 ERA 101 K 58.1 IP. He was clocked at 93 mph. He was selected as preseason All-American High Honorable Mention by Perfect Game USA. Lazaro has an athletic build, uses a 3/4 arm slot short arm action, good arm speed, very little effort, some arm side run, 11-5 curve ball with good bite, good pick off to first, fastball has good downward plane, solid command, easy motion. Good student.

26th round: Jordan Foley 6'4 205, HS. committed to Central Michigan Junior year 70 K in 68 IP and posting a 0.84 ERA. Another 90+ RHP (according to perfect game) with a solid build and good track record. If we sign some of these guys we might put together a surprising draft class.

20th round: Daniel Camarena, LHP, HS, CA. 6 walks in 49 innings this spring while striking out 76, illustrating his superb feel for pitching and ability to carve up the strike zone. worked hard to add strength and his velocity jumped a tick this spring, ranging from 87-91. his 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame lacks projection. He makes up for it with his polish and command. CU- scouts rate as an average pitch. already flashes a big league CB sometimes. Most scouts see Camarena's future on the mound, but he could be a standout two-way player in college. Strong mature build. Top level 2-way prospect. Has been primary LHP but may have higher ceiling as a hitter. varies FB velocity/movement/location, tops at 91 sinks it at 83-84 as well, big CB, nice CU. San Diego committed. Selected for the Aflac All-American team.
I think we gotta get this guy. He looks like he's gonna be a hoss.

18th round: Hayden Sharp, 6-6, 200, RHP HS, He is signed to play at Central Oklahoma. Nothing on his other pitches though, or his command. As a senior he was used mostly as a reliever and had 82 strikeouts. Keith Law on Twitter: Pop-up guy for the draft this year - Hayden Sharp from Morris, OK. Hit 98 on Thursday, lot of 93-96, quarterback committed to Ctrl Oklahoma

17th round: Matthew Troupe, RHP, Chaminade Prep (Calif.) High School. 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, lacks projection but has good feel for a solid three-pitch mix: an 87-91 mph FB, a tight cb and CU. has effort and head violence in his delivery, struggles to command to his arm side. Another 90+ throwing right hander out of HS. On the mound he went 4-2 with an amazing 1.14 ERA. In 49 innings he struck out 74 batters.

15th round: Tyler Molinaro RF 6'1 192. Finally a good hitting prospect. JUCO. had his coming out party in 2011. He lead the team in average, HR, RBI, and runs scored. His line looked like .396 average, 15 HR, 53 RBIs, and 60 runs in 49 games played. recruited to play at University of North Carolina Wilmington. Bats L, throws R. Molinaro has a tall, thin frame and offers power from the left side. Projectable bat, young enough, good pick.

14th Round - William Davis RHP 6'3" 235 HS. Comitted to ECU. He has a nickname of "rookie." Yankees drafted him as a pitcher and this season he went 9-0 with a 1.02 ERA. He also struck out 136 in only 61.1 innings. Over his four seasons in high school Davis was 25-4 with a 1.67 ERA and 415 strikeouts in 209.1 innings. 89-92 mph FB can sit 90-91. His CB has some shape cen be avg pitch at times.

13th round: Justin James, OF, Sacramento City College. The son of Dion James, Sacramento CC outfielder Justin James is making a name for himself on the diamond. Skipped senior year, and is clearly raw but shows five-tool potential. James is 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds and is an above-average runner. hits lefty, and he shows raw power in batting practice, even to the opposite field. Because of his frame, speed and raw power potential, James could go as high as the third round. During the 2011 season Justin hit .309 with 20 RBIs, 46 runs, and 19 stolen bases. Projectable with power, but hasn't shown it yet.

12th Round - Cody Grice CF 6' 220 Righty. Grice is out of his junior year at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. He had a great freshman year at Grand Valley. In 55 games he hit .411 with 5 HRs, 34 RBIs, and 45 runs. During his sophomore year he continued his dominance. He hit .455 with 6 HRs, 49 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases. 2011- He hit .381 with 4 HR, 59 RBIs, and 59 runs. He was second in RBIs and first in runs on his team. He also had 23 stolen bases.


Information was taken from http://roadtoyankeestadium.blogspot.com/, NYpost.com, and perfectgame.com, as well as some random articles I found.

Update: These are the guys we've signed so far.
24th round- Matt Tracy LHP- Mississippi- has made some relief appearances.
23rd round- Corey Maines RHP- Illinois state- also a reliever
21st round- Zach Wilson 1B- Arizona State- started with GCL I believe
19th round- Ben Paullus RHP- Tenn.- Reliever
16th round- Brandon Pinder RHP- Long Beach St.- Reliever
12th round- Cody Grice OF- Grand Valley st.- starts in SI
11th round- Mark Montgomery RHP- longwood- another reliever
9th round- Zach Arneson RHP- Lewis-Clark st- another reliever
8th round- Phil Wetherell RHP- Western Kentucky- ANOTHER reliever
1st round- Dante Bichette Jr. 3B- Orangewood Christian HS- starting 3B for GCL

That's 7 relief pitchers out of 10 signings, 6 of which are right handed. I guess the goal was to get some filler for the GCL/SI roster signed quickly. Relievers have a slow course through the minors so it's not a bad idea to get them started early. We already have most of our SP slots filled, and they can start their career next season if need be. All of the SP candidates will likely be Summer follows. Can't say I'm excited about too many of these guys, but I do like Cody Grice and Dante Bichette, and Zach Wilson has been good so far. Here's to hoping more of the guys from my previous post get signed at some point!!

Lower Level Outfielders

There isn't much in AAA or AA in the Yankees system as far as OF go. Most are either organizational filler, 4th OF ceilings, or just don't have much of a future. Some may sniff the major leagues as a 4th OF or fill in for an injured player, like Golson, Brewer, but are unlikely to stick on any team. We have about 12 kids I'm excited about in the lower levels (High A to GCL). I'm going to list them in order and say why I'm excited and why I have each of them in this position.

1. Slade Heathcott- He's 20. obvious choice as our 1st round draft pick, but this season he has really performed well when not injured. He has shown some improvement with SB and power, but has struggled to stay healthy. He is definitely an outstanding defender, but the key is going to be keeping that shoulder healthy so he will still have a cannon if/when he reaches the major leagues. The Yankees drafted him as a project, someone who they knew would require a year or so of learning and practice before starting to pay dividends. We are starting to see a return on him, and hopefully he continues to improve.

2. Mason Williams-19 yo only in short season A with SI this year, but he's already making a splash with his speed and power. He was a signability guy in the 5th round last season, so we got him later than we should have, and we got a young player whom we can groove in whatever way we'd like. The speed and power are promising, as is his fielding. He is better sooner than Heathcott was, but Heathcott started his second season in Charleston, so it's a little different.

3. Ravel Santana- 19 yo I don't know much about him, but I know he's an international signing who lead the DSL in HR (10) and SB (22) last season. Apparently scouts say he has 80 power and 80 speed. That's one hell of a prospect if he can put it all together. That's a big if though and we've seen how guys like this can fail with Kelvin De Leon and Melky Mesa. He's in the GCL this season.

4. Ramon Flores- Another 19 yo. In Low A, he has shown an advanced approach at the plate. He has cooled down with his average and power, but continues to draw walks. This advanced approach could get him far, but he's going to need to keep improving his power numbers, and hit for a better average than he has so far this season... .254/.373/.399/.772

5. Zoilo Almonte- 22 yo. He's in high A, probably close to a AA promotion if his current hot streak continues. He had a similar hot streak at the same time last season, but it came to a halt when he was promoted to high A. This season, however, he has almost as many HR in less than 1/2 the games of last season. He also has stolen bases at a higher rate, and has similar OBP and avg tendencies, but is striking out at a lower rate for sure. He's OPSing at .869. 22 yo in High A is a red flag though.

6. Yeicok Calderon- 19 yo.He has solid power (8 HR in DSL last season), and hits for a solid avg, but it remains to be seen if these skills will transfer stateside. So far, so good .278/.350/.666/1.07 in very limited sample size, 2 HR and 2 SB as well.

7. Eduardo Sosa- Venezuela- 20 yo in low A with a lot of speed and an advanced approach at the plate. Strikes out too much but also draws a lot of walks and knows how to get on base. 10 SB in 11 attempts. Not much power.

8. Jorge Alcantara- 19 yo in GCL- showed an advanced approach in the DSL. Has showed some power and a good approach in the GCL so far. He'll likely see a lot of time in the OF since Bichette is the 3B there. Definitely a guy to watch. .433 OBP in the DSL last season.

9. Ben Gamel- 19 yo. have read a lot about his potential, it's not as high as some of the others but some project him as a solid OF. Enough to dream on a bit I suppose. Jury's still out.

10. Angelo Gumbs- still 18. Hasn't had much success so far, and has mostly played SS, but projects as a 2B/OF. We will see what this kid has to offer, he's a 2nd round pick so he could be good. Has shown a good amount of speed so far, hopefully getting some experience under his belt will help.

11. Shane Brown- 23 yo in SI. Realistically he shouldn't be on this list but he has started off really hot this season (1 HR, .375/.464/.542/1.006), so I put him on here as an outside chance, eg. a Neil Medchill/D'eangelo Mack type who are unlikely to pan out.

12. Henry Pena- 20 yo, GCL- almost didn't put him on the list, but I'll wait till he comes back to pass judgment. I've heard good things but haven't seen any come to fruition.

Long shots/honorable mention- Cody Grice (I liked this pick), Abe Almonte (has been hot lately, maybe his found it, doubt it), and Melky Mesa (severe regression this year)