YEEP 7/19/11: Soriano and Chavez rehab starts, Morton impresses

Evil Em VP of the day: Taylor Morton: 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 6 K. Image thanks to ebay.com, thanks ebay.

Hey guys, sorry for the absence. I took my boards yesterday, slept a lot last night, and so I'm back in action today.  It was a 9 hour exam so I was completely beat afterwards, although I did go out and party last night to celebrate. Hope you didn't miss me too much.Yankees lost a tough one today, and it wasn't the best day on the farm.
AAA SWB: L 1-6 vs. Columbus. L: Nova.
Kevin Russo: 1/4, BB.
Austin Krum. 1/3, R. He's been much much better lately, but I see his ceiling as a Colin Curtis type player.
Jorge Vazquez (JoVa): 1/4, 3 K.
Nova: 1.1 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K, HR. Left the game in the second inning. He hurt himself trying to field a ball. Apparently it was a leg injury but he walked off on his own power. That sucks.
Kontos: 2.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K. Nice relief work.
Kevin Whelan: 2 IP, H, ER, BB, 3 K, HR. Hasn't been the same since he got back from that injury. C'mon Kev-Bo.

AA Trenton: W 9-2 v Erie. W: Hall.
Kruml: 1/5, R. Still batting .300
CoJo: 2/4, 2 R, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, K. Nice game from him. Looks like he's finding his feel for hitting again.
Austin BRomine: 1/4, R, K.
R-Ly Lyerly: 3/5, 2 2B, 2 R, RBI. He's a hitter, and his average is only gonna continue going up at this level. He had 4 errors the other day though, so the fielding has got to improve.
Melky Mesa: 3/5, R, RBI. 11 for his last 37 (.297). Let's hope he continues this little streak he's on. I'm thirsty, and the only way to quench that thirst is with a new melkman.
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 3/5, R, 2B, 2 RBI. He was mentioned in an interview with Ashmore and Cashman recently. Just like that he has a respectable average in AA. Hopefully this helps him with the nerves at this level.
Shaeffer Hall: 8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. A Much needed good start for him.
Sideshow Venditte: 1 IP, 2 K. Nice.


High A Tampa: L 0-11 to Jupiter. L: Soriano.
Abe Almonte: 1/4, 3B, 3 K.
Eric Chavez: 0/3, BB, K. 1st game back, he'll be back with the major league team soon.
Mustelier: 0/4. First bad game in a while, he's been awesome since he was signed.
Rob Seggy Segedin: 0/3.
K-Roll Roller: 1/3.
JR Murph: 1/3.
Kelvin Castrol GTX Castro: 0/3, K.
Rafael Soriano: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, K, HR. Just a rehab start.
Graham Cracker Stoneburner: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, BB, 5 K, 2 HR. At least he struck some guys out. Not very good though.
I don't have much to say about this game because they got WALLOPED.

Short Season Staten Island.  Double Header. Game 1: W 3-2. W: Nuno.
Mad Mase Williams: 0/3, 2 K.
Cheeto Culver: 1/2, BB. His performance so far kind of reminds me of Heathcott's when he was at this level. Holding his head over water. Hopefully in a year or so he breaks out like Slade did.
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 0/3, 2 K.
Ty Austin: 2/3, R, 2B. Nice job Ty. He'll be all over the pitching in this league. I give it a few more games before he really catches fire.
Shane Brown: 0/2, R, BB. Finally has a not so good game. Even here there are positives.
Ben Gamel: 2/3, 2 RBI. There's a good game which I've been waiting for for quite a while.
Bryan Mitchell: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. That's better, but he's still not there. I'm thinking more and more short season was a good destination for this kid this season.
Vidal Nuno: 2.1 IP, H, 5 K. He's 5-0, that's hard to believe. He's been really good, but he's mighty old for his level (24 in like 7 days).

Game 2: W 8-6 vs. Hudson Valley. W: Lewis
Cody Grice: 0/4, 3 R, K. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe we shouldn't have signed him. It's too early to say though.
Cheeto Culver: 2/3, 2B, 3B, R, 2 BB. 2/4 on the day, not bad, avg up to .277.
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 1/5, 2 RBI, 2 K.
Ty Austin: 0/4, 2 K
Shane Brown: 2/4. I guess he can have a bad game, but not a bad day.
Ben Gamel: 0/0, PH RBI
Matt Tracy: 2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 K, HR. Yikes.
Gerritse: 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K. Nice relief work, still 0 earned runs in 13.2 IP at this level. He has 14 K. Time for a promotion?
Phil Wetherell: 1 IP, H, R, 0 ER, BB.

GCL Yankees: W 8-5 vs. GCL Phillies. W: Maines. S: Hinojosa
Janitor Custodio: 2/4, 2 R, 2B, BB, SB. He needed a game like this, as he's been slumping a bit. That 0/8 game killed his average but he's back up to .327. That's 12 SB on the season.
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 1/5, R, RBI, K, SB (3). I'm seeing more and more Kelvin De Leon similarities, hopefully I'm wrong.
DAdams: 2/4, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB. Played the full game. A promotion is looming. Can't wait.
Junior Bichette: 2/5, 2B, 2 RBI, E. He's really picking it up now. 12 for his last 34 with a HR, 3 BB and a 7 game hit sreak going. (.353 AVG). So this is why we picked him.
Yeicok Calderon: 2/5, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI. Ata boy Yeicok. Now over .200 for the season. Needs to take some lessons from Bichette.
Taylor Morton (T-Mo): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 6 K. I've said it before but I really like this kid. He's got a 1.82 ERA so far, with 19 K in 24.2 IP as a 19 year old.
Cowsert: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 everything else. Got the Hold as well (3.09 ERA).
Hinojosa: 1 IP, 0 everything else. Got the save. (0.00 ERA so far, 4/4 in saves).

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.

Movers and Shakers: Promotions/demotions in the Yankees minors

 Sorry Ivan Nova, you've got a right to be a big annoyed with your demotion, but it'll be good for you in the long run dude... image thanks to espn.com

AAA

Shaeffer Hall was called up to AAA for 1 start. He did a nice job. Given that it was a spot start, I don't think it matters whether he deserved the temporary promotion or not, but he has in fact done a good job for AA this season.

Buddy Carlyle was outrighted to AAA SWB. This is really not news. Sorry.

Ivan Nova was optioned to AAA SWB due to the return of Phil Hughes. He did a great job in the big leagues. If I had it my way, Freddy Garcia would have gone to the bullpen, but Nova will have the chance to become more than a 2 pitch guy if he can work on his change-up while in SWB.

Kevin Whelan also optioned to AAA. He's injured anyway, but has done a great job in SWB this season. He deserved the promotion to the majors, but belongs in the minors when he returns from the injury.

Chris Dickerson also demoted to AAA.

AA

F Hernandez (NOT Felix) was released. Not surprising since he is garbage.

Ryan Pope was sent to AA Trenton from SWB. He was struggling a bit there, maybe he can reinvigorate himself at the level where he originally found himself as a relief pitcher.

Chase Whitley was promoted to AA. He's done a decent job so far. Had a rough first outing, but has done well since then (4.26 ERA, 6 K in 6.1 IP).

Josh Romanski to AA. The bromance as I call him, he has no runs and 3 K in 3.1 IP. Considering we got him for literally nothing, he is turning into a really solid relief prospect.

Rob Lyerly (R-Ly) was also promoted to AA. He really deserved it. I have been preaching all year long about this guy's ability to make contact. If he starts gaining some power, he will be a dangerous hitter. He has proven that he deserved the promotion so far. .305/.359/.783, 1 HR, 9 RBI in 15 g.

High A Tampa

Daniel Burawa was promoted to High A. In limited action he has performed poorly. 2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Honestly didn't feel he was ready for High A. In Low A Charleston, he had a 3.64 ERA and 35 K in 44.2 IP. That's good but in my opinion that's end of the season promotion good, not midseason promotion good. We'll see how he adjusts the rest of the season, it's a small sample size in High A so far.

Mike Gipson was also promoted to High A. He's been injured all season, but was listed on Low A Charleston at the beginning of the year, so this is a promotion. Don't have much to say about this except that he was good in Staten Island last season and I've been excited to see how he does all season.

Mikey O'brien also came from Charleston. He pitched great there, 68 K in 72.1 IP and a 3.2 ERA. He had a shaky first start, but since then has been great after the promotion. Definitely deserved this.

Nik Turley is another former River Dog, and this promotion has been a long time coming. He's been beastly in Low A, easily their best pitcher. He had a rough first start, but that's to be expected with a promotion.

Kramer Sneed, left handed relief pitcher. This promotion is one that I didn't understand, and so far I've been proven right. Sneed had a 4.18 ERA in Low A. He is left handed though, and stikes out more than 1/IP, so I guess the old addage, "he's left handed and he has a pulse," is accurate in this scenario.

JR Murphy, the catcher. I can't say enough about how much this kid deserved to be promoted. He was raking in Charleston, and outplaying Gary Sanchez at that level. He's young and he's got a sweet left handed swing. Yet another catcher to look out for in our system. With Gary Sanchez's fall from grace this season, he has eased that blow a little bit. He's struggled out of the gait, but seems to be easing into his role and improving every day, which is what you like to see.

Kyle Roller also deserved the promotion. They picked him for his bat, and he's done nothing but hit since he arrived here. He's got power, and should continue to move quickly through the organization at least until he starts seeing some real quality pitchers in AA. From there, anything can happen. He's played serviceably since arriving in Tampa (.250), but he'll have to continue to improve at this level.

Rob Segedin is another power hitting corner IF who deserved a promotion. I've had him and Roller paired together as similar players since the beginning of the season, and they have played very similarly. Segedin deserved his promotion, but has started off slow (.196) since his promotion. He's got some work to do.

Finally, Slade Heathcott earned a promotion to High A as well. Unfortunately, he has only played in 1 g since arriving due to injuries, however that game was an epic one for him. He was 3/5 with a HR and 2 R. There was speculation that he was bored in Charleston, but I have my doubts. I'm looking forward to his return.

Low A Charleston

Mark Montgomery made the quick move from Staten Island. So far he's shown why. So far he has made all but 2 of his outs by strikeout. He has 3 IP, and 9 K. Actually had 5 K in his first inning. I'd say he deserved a promotion, because he must be absolutely blowing batters away.

Kyle Higashioka moved in the wrong direction, going from High A to Charleston. The funny thing is, people have been talking about how good this kid is for about 3 years now, and I've never been impressed since he has proven over and over that he can't hit. Each year, however, he is promoted. Here's the funny part, he recently had really started to swing the bat well at High A Tampa, hitting a couple of HR in the week before the demotion, and hitting so well to the point that I actually feel he didn't deserve the demotion. Either way, he's in Charleston now, and has continued to hit better than he ever has before in his career (.279, 1 HR, 5 RBI). I actually feel bad for this kid, but the bottom line is that if he continues to hit, he will change minds. Just look at JR Murphy.

Now for the snubs. Who should have been promoted that wasn't? Or at least should be promoted soon. First of all, Dellin Betances should be promoted soon. He's very close. His main issue is control, but with the way that he has dominated AA batters, it hasn't mattered. There's no reason he can't work on that control in AAA. As for Austin Romine, I'm not saying he should be promoted, but he would be in AAA in any other system right now. I'm okay with it because Montero is a stud, but this kid has got to be getting bored there even though his playing quite well still. I still maintain that Raymond Kruml should have been promoted instead of Austin Krum to AAA. He's got better speed, and he's a better hitter. He has 29 SB already. If nothing else, he'd probably be great to have in the majors as a pinch runner in September. 

You might say that Zoilo Almonte should have been promoted to AA. I think we should give him time. He struggled a bit when he was promoted to High A in the middle of last season, decreasing his prospect stock. I say let him improve his stock in High A, this way he could be used as trade fodder this off-season or if nothing else build up some confidence. Increased prospect stock is never a bad thing. Jairo Heredia has been phenomenal, but only recently. He's another I'm glad they kept down because he has traditionally struggled with promotions. Let him get a true grasp on High A before giving him a new challenge. Ryan Flannery is the one snub at this level I disagree with. The guy has slowly moved up one level a year, each year dominating the level he's at. He's not getting any younger and yet there doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency in promoting him. Based on his picture he looks a bit obese, but hell, if you drafted him, then you thought he had something at some point. All he's done is prove that he can get guys out since he came here, I say give him a mid-season promotion for once in his career. Finally, I am not seeing any obvious snubs in Charleston, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Overall, I think the Yankees did a good job evaluating who deserved a promotion and who didn't. I think there were a couple of mistakes as far as guys who didn't deserve a promotion, and a few where they probably should be promoted soon or should have already received that recognition. In the end, they will get their chance eventually.

YEEP 7/7/11: Return of the Vacationer

Evil Em Vee P of the Day: Dellin Betances. 9 K tonight in 6 IP (finally got past 5 IP). Photo courtesy of nypost.com

Hey all, sorry about my 5 day hiatus. I was on vacation for 4th of July weekend, and boy what a good time I had. Anyway, let's get started with this week's YEEP updates. Later on I'll go through the movers and shakers through the Yankees system recently since there's been a lot. I'll mention some promotions and those that I feel have been snubbed for a promotion. Now for the updates.

AAA SWB: W 6-2 v. Buffalo W: Nova S: Kensing
JoVa (Jorge Vazquez): 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR. This is my first post since his return. Hopefully something about his DL stint taught him how to hit a curveball or change-up. Not even both, just one of them.
Brandon Laird: 1/4, R, RBI, K, 2B.
Ivan Nova: 7.2 IP 6 H, 2 ER, 10 K, 1 HR. Besides the HR, he was brilliant. He was good last season in AAA, but not this good. Granted, it's just one game, but it seems like he's learned quite a bit in the majors.

AA Trenton, Double header today.
Game 1: L 2-3 to Richmond. L: Venditte
Kruml: 1/3, 1 SB. I'll say it again, he should have been promoted instead of Krum. Batting .287 with 29 SB.
CoJo (Corban Joseph): 0/3, 2 K
Austin BRomine: 0/3, 1 K (.294)
R-Ly (Rob Lyerly): 0/3, 2 K.
Dellin Betances: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K. Great outing, but I could still do without the 2 BB. Control has been the issue all season, and that's gonna have to improve next year if he wants a shot at the title (the bigs).
Pat "Sideshow" Venditte: .1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, BS. He's been good lately, just a hiccup.

Game 2: L 2-1. L: Craig Heyer
Kruml: 1/3, 1 K.
CoJo: 0/3, 2 K. Bad day for him and Lyerly, both 0/3 with 2 K in gm 2
Heyer: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 K. Typical outing from him, and it's really not half bad. 3.19 ERA on the season, but he's no more than a Lance Pendleton as far as I'm concerned, although no one would have even gave him that credit last season.
Ryan Pope: .2 IP, 2 K. Two batters faced, two strikeouts. Maybe this demotion was a good idea.

High A Tampa: Game Postponed

Low A Charleston: W 9-7 against Delmarva. W: Allen
Eddy Sosa: 1/5, 1 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K.
Gary "Sanchize" Sanchez: 1/3, HR, BB. Nice
Ramon "Ray-Flo" Flores: 3/4, 2 R. In his past 8 games, he's 11/31 (.355), although he's not walking like he was (just one). Maybe this means he wasn't being aggressive enough before that. Hopefully he has figured something out because his season is still in need of a turnaround.
Dott: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K. The only pitcher that went tonight whom I'm interested in, and even him, I honestly don't know much about. He's got a 2.57 ERA this season.

Short Season Staten Island: W 4-3 against Connecticut. W: Wetherell
Cito "Cheetoh" Culver: 2/4, 2B, R, BB, K, SB. Just his 2nd SB, but he's really gotten it going with the bat. 16/42 in last 10 games (.381)
Mason "Mad Mase" Williams: 0/5. Meh, still .325 on the season.
Angelo "Bubba Gumbs Shrimp" Gumbs: 2/5, R, 2 B, 2 K. (.271). He's getting there.
Matt Tracy: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, K. Still without an earned run this young season.
Recchia: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 K. Pitching well here.
Wetherell: 1 IP, W. Has somehow picked up 3 wins this season already as a relief pitcher. I can think of at least one that was due to a BS though.

GCL Yankees: L 9-6 to GCL Phillies. L: Johnson
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 0/5, 2 K. He's allowed an off day every so often.
Tyler Austin: 2/4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 1 K. .362 on the season so far. Guy can hit, and he also has 7 SB already on the season. Speed from a corner IF, interesting combo.
Yeicok Calderon: 2/4, 1 R, 1 SB. Good game for him, he's been struggling a bit lately (.216 on the season), so maybe this will help him turn it around.
Jorge Alcantara: 2/4, 1 R, 1 K. Keeps showing he can hit, and can play all corner positions. (.375 so far).
Taylor Morton: 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 K. Not a good outing, but he's been great overall so far (2.4 ERA)