15 Prospects Invited to Big League Camp

Gary Sanchez and JR Murphy: Image thanks to milb.com

In no particular order...

1. Manny Banuelos LHP
2. Austin Romine C
3. Gary Sanchez C
4. Doug Bernier INF
5. Dan Burawa RH RP
6. Colin Curtis OF
7. Jose Gil C
8. Kyle Higashioka C
9. Brett Marshall RHP
10. Ryan Pope RH RP
11. Graham Stoneburner RHP
12. Jorge Vazquez 1B
13. Adam Warren RHP
14. Kevin Whelan RH RP
15. Chase Whitley RH RP

Others will be invited as well, but won't be in the official press release. For example, I think it is safe to say that Dellin Betances, David Phelps, DJ Mitchell, Brandon Laird, George Kontos, and some other solid specs will be in attendance. Nothing exciting here, but I'm sure it's very exciting for some of the prospects. JR Murphy and Gary Sanchez will be excited for their first trip, although they were both probably more invited for their ability to hold a catcher's mitt and catch 95 mph heat while in the crouched position.

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 July 14, 2011: The return of Stoneburner

Evil Em VP of the day: Casey Stevenson. 3/4 with a HR. Image from www.allthingsbubba.com

AAA Scranton: L 2-4 to Toledo. L: Nova
Russo: 1/4, RBI, 2 K
JoVa Vazquez: 1/4, 2 K. Typical line for him. If AAA pitchers figured him out in 1/2 a season, I'd imagine it would take about a month for major league pitchers to figure him out. But hell, I'd take that in a second if they were to bring him up now. A-Rod's return is conveniently close to a month away.
Laird: 1/4, R. 12 for his last 37 (.324), 3 HR, 3 2B, 12 RBI over 10 games. Has a hit in all but one of his last 10 games. No walks though.
Nova: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K, HR. Aside from the 1st inning homerun he pitched well. With the way Colon has pitched his last two starts, he could be back in that 5th starter role pretty soon.
JC Romero: 1 IP, H, R, ER, 2 K. He's not a prospect, but it's news.

AA Trenton: W 9-5 against Reading. W: Hall
Kruml: 3/4, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, K, SB (30). He figured something out about 2 months ago and he hasn't looked back ever since. It's almost time to see how many bases he can steal in AAA.
CoJo: 1/5, R, 3B, RBI (.282).
Austin BRomine: 0/4, BB, K. He's excused because he played so well in the futures and all-star games.
Melky Mesa: 1/3, R, K, SB (11).
R-Ly Lyerly: 0/4, K. Really quieting down now.
Shaeffer Hall: 5 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HR. Pitched well enough to get the win...
Josh Bromance Romanski: 1 IP, H. My Bromance is havin a year.
Whitley: 2 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K, HR. Still adjusting to the level, not playing horribly considering that fact.
Pope: 1 IP, 2 H, K. Almost time to give him another shot in AAA. Is there such a thing as a AA 1/2 player?

High A Tampa: L 5-3 to Palm Beach. L: Gipson
Honest Abe Almonte: 0/4, BB
Walt Ibarra: 3/5, R. He's hitting so well, but he has to start stealing more bases if he wants to have a real shot at the bigs.
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 1/3, 2 BB, R, K, SB (14). No homeruns in a while (> 10 g). Zoilo had been spoiling me. Spoiling Zoilo?
Roller: 0/4, 4 K. Golden Sombrero. Been waiting to use that one.
JR Murph: 1/4, RBI, 2 K. 12 for his last 37, .324 AVG. His OBP is lower than his average in that span though (.316, 0 BB). Still OPSing at .856 in that time frame though.
Seggy Segedin: 2/3, RBI, BB, SB. Finally a good night for him!
Kelvin Castro:  0/4, 3 K.
Graham Cracker Stoneburner: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K, HR. Nice outing in his return to High A. At this rate he'll be in AA in no time.
Gipson: .2 IP 4 H, 3 ER, BB. Tough outing. Hasn't had a great appearance since returning. It's only his 3rd though.

Low A Charleston: W 3-2. W: Ramirez. S: Montgomery (5)
Eddy Sosa: 0/5, K
Ray-Flo Flores: 0/3, BB, K.
Sanchize: 0/4, R. Man, he just can't string together a few good games in a row.
Higgy Higashioka: 0/4, K.
The run support in this game was provided by Mahoney (2 R) and Mojica (2 RBI)
Jose Ramirez: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Yay.
Dott: 3 IP, 3 H, 4 K.
Monte Python Montgomery: 1 IP, ER, BB, K. 5/5 saves.

Short Season Staten Island. W 6-4 vs. State College. W: Recchia, S: Pinder (7)
Mad Mase Williams: 1/2, R, K, SB (7). Just keeps doin it. Seems like he might be above this level. 20 for his last 45 (.444), 4 SB over 10 games.
Cheetoh Culver: 0/4, K. He's been good lately, but overall he's been rather inconsistent. (.279)
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 1/4, R, 2 K, 2 SB (6). (.263)
Shane Brown: 2/4, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, K (.466). He has to be getting promoted soon. At his age he is wasting space/time at this level.
Casey Stevenson: 3/4, R, HR, 4 RBI, SB. That's 2 consecutive games with a HR. He's old for the level though, but earns a mention from me because of his 2 game homerun streak.
Cody Grice: 1/2, BB, K, SB (2). Has been pretty solid in limited action so far.
Bryan Mitchell: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K. Everyone raves about this guy but I just haven't been that impressed with him so far. I guess with what scouts say about him and how good his stuff really is, all he needs to do is gain some control and he will be right where he needs to be.
Recchia: 2.2 IP, H, BB, 2 K, 0 ER. (.75 ERA at this level). He was in Charleston earlier in the year, but was disappointing. He's 22 so meh.
Phil Wetherell: 1 IP, 2 K Zeros. Getting the job done. Fast mover I tell ya.
Pinder: 1 IP, 1 K, Zeros. 7 saves. Looks like we might have gotten some good young relievers in this draft class.No runs in his last 8 appearances.

GCL Yankees: W 6-5 vs GCL Braves. W: Cowsert, S: Hinojosa.
Ronnier Mustelier: 5/5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, CS. This Cuban earns a mention with this performance, but this is his first season at the ripe old age of 27. I doubt if there's anything there.
DAdams: 1/3, 2B, RBI. Still being subbed out after 2/3 of a game.
Alcantera: 0/1, K in a pinch hit at bat.
Jose Rosario: 1/4, 2 R, BB, K.
Ty Austin: 1/4, 2B, K.
Junior Bichette: 1/4, 2 K. Two days in a row with a hit. Gotta look at the positives.
Tejeda: 0/4, K.
Yeicok Calderon: 1/4, HR, K.
Rutckyj: 3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. His first rough outing of the year. As I have said before, he's a work in progress.
Joel De La Cruz: 3 IP, R, ER, BB, 3 K (2.51 ERA on the season)
Corey Maines: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 ER.
Cowsert: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 ER. Yay for good stories.
Hinojosa: 1 IP, H, R, BB, 0 ER, K. 3/3 in save opportunities.

YEEP 6/29/11 - Welcome back Slade!

 Evil Em Vee P: Slade Heathcott. 3/5, HR. Image courtesy of BronxBaseballDaily.com

AAA SWB Walk-off Loss to Norfolk, 2-1. Josh Schmidt got the loss.
Lazus Montero 1/4
Laird 0/4 1 K
Pendleton 4 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Kontos: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 ER. Still going strong. One injury away from a call-up.

AA Trenton 3-2 W over New Hampshire W: Hughes, S: Hall
Kruml: 3/4 1 R, 1 3B, batting .285 this season, 3 HR, 23 SB 8 CS, not bad at all. 25 years old.
CoJo: 0/3 1 BB
BRomine: 2/4 1 K
R-Ly: 2/4 1 HR, 2 RBI. .297 avg so far. The guy is a superb contact hitter. Still waiting on some consistent power though.
DeeMack: 0/3, K
Phil Hughes: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Sources had him hitting 92-94 consistently, and getting up to 95.
Shaeffer Hall: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 K, 1 HR. I guess they're manufacturing LOOGYs at this level, unless Hall is going back to the rotation. Hall, Romanski, and debatably Venditte.

High A Tampa- W 10-3, over Daytona, these guys have been hitting the crap out of the ball.
Slade Heathcott: 3/5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K... Helluva return. Guess he was probably "bored" in Charleston.
Walt Ibarra: 2/5, 2 R, 3B, 2 K
Boilin Zoilo: 3/4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB. He's at it again, average up to .279
K-Roll: 1/4, 1 BB, 2K meh
JR Murphy (Murph from now on): 1/4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB. Progress
Seggy: 1/5, 1 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI
Kelvin Castro: 1/5
Brett Marshall: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K. Another great outing. 1.97 ERA over his last 10 starts. Down to 3.78 on the season.
Cozmo Kramer Sneed: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K. Very shaky first outing. Quite honestly I didn't understand this promotion. I guess he's lefty, has a pulse, and strikes guys out. Hope he figures high A out!

Low A River Dogs 2 Games
Game 1: Loss to Augusta, 2-1. L: Nuding
Eduardo Sosa: 0/3
Ray-Flo: 0/3
Sanchize: 1/3, 1 HR, 1 RBI 1 K. Starting to pick it up!
Higgy: 0/2 1 K
Nuding: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Not a bad outing, but he got the loss. He seems to have a long way to go, but he is only 21.
Dott: 1 H, 2 K, former TB Devil Rays pick, now he's ours. Don't know anything about him, or even how we got him, but go DOTT!

Game 2: W 9-2 W: Barreda
Ray-Flo: 2/5, 1 R, 2B, 1 RBI, 3 K
Sanchize: 1/4 1 R 1 BB, 2 K
Higgy: 2/3, 2 R, 2B, 1 RBI
Kahnle: 2 IP, H, 2 K
Barreda: 1 IP 2 K

Short Season A, Staten Island: W 9-1. W: Oliver, S: Wetherell
Mad Mase: 0/4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K. Yikes
Cheeto Culver: 0/4, 1 RBI
Bubba Gumbs Shrimp: 3/5, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 K. Maybe I should claim I won't follow this whole team, because they seem to start hitting the day after I say that.
Shane Brown: 1/2, 3B, 1 RBI, 2 BB. If he keeps playing this way, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in Charleston soon.
Matt Tracy: 2 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Phil Wetherell: 1.1 IP, 2 H, BB, K

GCL Yankees: 8-7 W over GCL Pirates. W: Rutckyj S: Cowsert
The Janitor (Claudio Custodio): 1/3, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB (4). Still looking good.
DAd: 1/2 2B, 2 RBI 1 K. Left earlier today (6th inning), than he has been lately. Flight to catch?
Ty Austin: 1/3, 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K. More and more impressed with this kid each day.
Yeicok: 2/4, 2B, 1 RBI, 2 RBI. Batting an even .300 on the season
Junior: 0/4. Did hit 2 line drives though. He doesn't strike out a lot, and his BABIP has to be exceedingly low right now. I'd be willing to bet his average goes up soon.
Jorge Alcantara: 0/3, 1 K, 2  BB
Isaias Tejeda: 1/2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB. Not bad.
Graham "Cracker" Stoneburner: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. Increased to 3 IP, I guess his next outing will be 4 IP. So far so good though.
Rutckyj: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Pretty good job here. 1.00 ERA in 9 IP so far.
Cory Cowsert: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K. Nice story with this kid. He went undrafted, and instead played for an independent league team. Throws right handed and is 23 years old. He's a really hard worker who throws hard from what I've read. Not much of a prospect, but hey, good luck kid.