Some good prospect links

The Yankee Analysts synthesized Keith Law (ESPN), John Sickels (Minor League Ball), Jonathon Mayo (MLB.com), John Manuel (Baseball America), Mike Axisa (River Ave Blues), EJ Fegan (TYA), and Brad Vietrogoski's (An A-Blog for A-Rod) lists to come up with one master top 10 prospects. Hint: Manny Banuelos was #1 by a long shot. http://www.yankeeanalysts.com/2012/02/standardizing-the-top-yankee-prospects-38735

River Ave Blues talks about Burt Reynolds, but not that Burt Reynolds. He's Robinson Cano's cousin and the Yanks just signed him to a minor league deal. http://riveraveblues.com/2012/02/yankees-sign-robinson-canos-cousin-burt-reynolds-64431/

Manny Banuelos, D.J. Mitchell, and Cesar Cabral threw live batting practice yesterday. They faced Ray Kruml, Kyle Roller, Ronnie Mustelier, and Shane Brown, also Yankees farmhands.  Reported by LoHud here... http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2012/02/22/wednesday-morning-notes-live-batting-practice-comes-early/

Andrew Marchand talked with Manny Banuelos over at the ESPN New York Blog http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/27460/banuelos-i-need-to-improve-fastball

Chad Jennings at LoHud Yankees Blog talked about the one remaining spot in the bullpen, and who will occupy it here... http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2012/02/22/the-one-spot-thats-left/ , a couple of our minor leaguers are mentioned in the article as possible candidates.

George Kontos has an oblique strain, but it looks like he'll start throwing again soon.
David Phelps, Adam Warren, Brett Marshall, Dan Burawa, and Chase Whitley all faced live hitters today. LoHud's Chad Jennings was on the case... http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2012/02/23/thursday-morning-notes-officially-im-nothing/

Greedy Pinstripes did a piece on Zoilo Almonte here...  http://www.thegreedypinstripes.blogspot.com/2012/02/meet-prospect-zoilo-almonte.html.

A while back, they also did one on Tyler Austin. http://www.thegreedypinstripes.blogspot.com/2012/02/meet-prospect-tyler-austin.html
Enjoy!

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 8/7/11: Manny and Dellin pitch well, Gipson gets work done in Tampa

Evil Em VP: Mike Gipson. He is the main reason Tampa won this game. He kept them in the game throwing 4 scoreless innings and recording 4 strikeouts. Image thanks to gothamcitybaseball.com

AAA SWB, double header
Game 1: L 4-5 to Lousville. L: Whelan
Russo: 0/4, K (.290)
Montero: 1/4, R, K (.289)
JoVa: 1/4, 2B, RBI, 2 K (.249)
Laird: 1/4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K (.276). That's number 12 on the season. Continues his hot play.
ManBan: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 K (2.45 ERA so far at AAA). ZERO WALKS.  The 5 K are nice too. Good to see him performing well.
Kensing: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K, HR
Whelan: 1 IP, H, ER, BB, K (2.23 ERA). That's his only run in his last 7.2 IP, so he seems to have come back from that injury quite well.

Game 2: W 4-3. W: Romero
Russo: 0/3 (.287)
JoVa: 1/2 (.251)
Laird: 0/3, 2 K (.274)
Brewski Brewer: 1/3, R, 2B, RBI, K (.269)
Lance Pendleton: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, HR (3.13 ERA)
Brack Attack: 2.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 4 K,  (7.12 ERA). Actually one of his better outings of the year... sad.
JC Romero: .2 IP, K (2.33 ERA)

AA Trenton: L 2-3 to Altoona. L: Venditte
Krum: 0/4, K (.251)
CoJo: 1/4, 2B, K (.270)
R-Ly Lyerly: 1/4, R, H, 2B, RBI, K, (.254)
Melkman Mesa: 0/4, K (.233)
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 0/4, 2 K, (.281). Had a SB (3).
Dellin Betances: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K (3.57 ERA). Pretty good outing. I like the fact that he only had one walk. I'm very pleased with the control he and Banuelos displayed today.

High A Tampa: W 8-7 vs Dunedin: W: Casanova
Honest Abe Almonte: 2/5, 2 R, 3B (.248). 15 for his last 45 (.333).
Walt Ibarra: 1/5, R, RBI, 2 K (.299)
K-Roll Roller: 3/4, 2 R, RBI, K (.255). I think he likes batting 3rd. This is his 2nd multi hit game in a row, and he's got 12 hits in his last 39 at bats for a .308 average in that span.
Luke Murton: 3/5, R, 2 RBI, 2 K (.287). Still raging. 15 for his last 36 (.417), 9 game hit streak.
Dee Mack: 4/5, R, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI (.333). Tearing apart pitching at this level.
Castrol GTX Castro: 0/3, 2 K (.314)
Sean Black: 2 IP 7 H, 7 R, 6 ER, BB, 2 K. Officially a disappointment this year. I'm making this observation now but it's probably been "official" for a couple of starts now.
Gipson: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 K, 0 ER. Great appearance. His ERA is just 2.6 so far in Tampa and 2.63 at all levels this season over 27.1 IP, with 21 K. Not bad.
Kramer Sneed: 2 IP, H, 4 K (3.86 ERA at this level). Yankees must have seen something I didn't, he's been great after an initial adjustment period at High A.
Reinier Casanova: 1 IP, K, 0 ER. They must just be sending this guy back and forth between GCL and Tampa. He was in Tampa, then GCL, then Tampa again this week.

Low A Charleston: L 3-7 to Savannah: L: Forer
Shane Brown: 1/4, RBI, BB (.280)
Higgy Higashioka: 1/4 (.253)
Ray-Flo Flores: 0/4, 2 K (.265)
Sanchize: 2/4, K (.256). He's rapidly increasing this average, and I love it.
Recchia: 3.2 IP, 2 ER, BB, HR (2.96 ERA)

Short Season Staten Island: L 2-10. L: DeLuca
Mad Mase Williams: 1/3, R, BB (.369) Stayin hot.
Cheeto Culver: 0/3, RBI BB, K (.266) He's in another one of his cold spells.
Cody Grice: 1/3, RBI, BB (.287)
Reymond Nunez: 1/4, K (.297)
Casey Stevenson: 1/4 (.277)
Ben Gamel: 2/4, R, 2 K, SB (4) (.298)
DeLuca: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB (3.4 ERA) That's three bad starts in a row, 4 bad starts out of his last 5. I hope there isn't something wrong with him.
Matt Richardson: 1 IP, 3 BB, ER, 0 H (3.12 ERA)

YEEP 8/6/11: Wins all around.

Evil Em VP: Mason Williams

AA Trenton: W 5-3 vs Altoona. W: Whitley, S: Pope. *Claggett got the loss for Altoona.
Krum: 1/5, R, K (.257)
CoJo: 1/4, R, BB, K (.270)
R-Ly Lyerly: 2/4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, BB (.254). Finally broke his 0 for a long time spell.
Melkman Mesa: 3/5, HR, 2 RBI (.236). That's number 6 on the season, his power is slowly returning. 2 games in a row with a homerun.
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 1/3, BB (.294)
Craig Heyer: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, HR (3.92 ERA)
Chase Whitley: 3 IP, H, BB, 2 K, 0 ER (3.33 ERA). All the way from Staten Island to Trenton less than 2 seasons with success at every level. Really impressive.
Pope: 1 IP, 0 ER, K (1.54)

High A Tampa: W 8-4 vs Dunedin: W: Marshall
Honest Abe Almonte: 1/5, R, 3B, 2 K (.246)
Walt Ibarra: 2/4, R, 2B, RBI (.301). Pretty solid return.
K-Roll Roller: 2/4, 2 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI (.241). Good job, he needs more games like this.
DAdams: 2/3, 2 R, BB, K (.320). They can't keep him here much longer, but I'd like to see the power come around at some point.
Castrol GTX Castro: 1/4, RBI, K (.318)
Dee Mack: 3/4, R, 2B, RBI (.315). He'll be great at this level.
Brett Fire Marshall: 5 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 K, HR (4.04 ERA). I like the lack of walks, I don't like the 9 hits.
Dan Burawa: 2 IP, R, ER, 3 BB, K (4.09 ERA)

Low A Charleston: W 6-5 vs Savannah. W: Nuno. S: Montgomery
Shane Brown: 1/3, R, RBI, BB (.283)
Sanchize: 2/3, R, HR, RBI, BB (.253). 9 for his last 18. 6 HR in his last 10 games. 15 HR on the season. I'd say he's starting to come around.
Higgy Higashioka: 1/4, R, HR, 2 RBI (.253)
Vidal Sassoon Nuno: 6 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 K, HR (2.7 ERA). Lots of hits, but no walks and you've got to like his K/BB rate of 40/3 in 35 innings this year.
Dott: 1.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K (1.83 ERA)
Monte Python Montgomery: 1.1 IP, H, R, ER, 3 BB, 2 K (2.35 ERA). Not his best performance.

Short Season Staten Island Yankees: W 6-4 vs Brooklyn. W: Oliver. S: Pinder
Mad Mase Williams:3/4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (18) (.370). Leads the league in average and it's not close.
Casey Stevenson: 2/4, R, RBI, BB (.278)
Ben Gamel the Camel: 2/3, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB (.290)
Cody Grice: 2/5, R, 3B, 4 RBI (.286)
Reymond Nunez: 1/5, 2B, RBI, K (.298)
Gerritse: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K, HR (1.33 ERA)
Pinder: 1 IP, H, 2 K, 0 ER. 10 saves on the season (.50 ERA). Pretty dominant.I like his makeup and so do some scouts. He could be a Chase Whitley type by next year.

GCL Yankees: W 14-6 vs GCL Braves
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 1/4, 2 R, BB, SB (6) (.268)
Janitor Custodio: 3/5, 2 R, RBI, K, SB (19) (.291) He needed a game like this badly. Strong work.
Isaias The Hata Tejada: 3/5, 2 R, (.350), CS, PO. A few baserunning misakes, but great game.
Junior Bichette: 2/4, R, 2 RBI, BB, K (.336)
Matt Duran Duran: 2/5, 2 R, 2B, RBI (.242)
Daniel Lopez: 4/5, 3B, RBI, SB (16) (.324) Great game from him.
Justin James: 1/5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K (.341)
Rutzkrieg Rutckyj: 4 IP, 5 H, R, 0 ER, BB, 5 K. Two great starts in a row. Hopefully he found his control.
Corey Mad Cowsert disease: 1 IP, H, K (2.16)
Hinojosa: 1 IP, 2 H, K (2.31 ERA) Back down to GCL where here currently belongs.
Now this is just the GCL, but when you look at the amont of guys on this team batting .300 right now, it's absurd, not to mention some of the guys who have already been promoted. You have Justin James, Isaias Tejeda, Dante Bichette, Jose Rosario, Daniel Lopez and then a few guys who don't have enough at bats to make it significant.

YEEP 8/2/11. Screw Shark Week, it's Montero Week

Evil Em VP: Jesus Montero. This may be his last Evil Em VP, and I hope it is, because this will mean he was hopefully promoted. Image thanks to NJ.com

AAA SWB: W 3-2 vs Lehigh Valley. W: Schmidt. S: Whelan (21)
Russo: 0/4, RBI, K, E. Tough game.
Jesus Montero: 3/4, HR (.288). That's number 11. 14 for his last 39 (.359), 3 HR, 10 RBI in his last 10 games.
JoVa: 0/4, 3 K.
B Laird: 2/4, 2 R, HR, RBI, 2 K (.274), HR #11 as well. 12 for his last 36 (.333)
Krum: 1/2, 2B, BB, SB (9).
ManBan: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, HR. Pretty similar to his AA outings this season. At least we know he can do it against better competition too.
Whelan: 1 IP, K, 21st save of the season.

AA Trenton: L 2-3 to Akron. L: Betances
Kruml: 1/4, RBI, 2 K (.290)
Austin BRomine: 1/4, RBI, K (.283).
R-Ly Lyerly: 0/3, BB, 3 K (.266). Cooling down a bit.
Melkman Mesa: 0/4, 2 K (.229).
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 1/4, 2 K (.286)
CoJo: 0/1 in a pinch hit appearance.
Betances: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4BB, 5 K. Not good. That's 4 straight bad starts. I think he's starting to tire out because he's already far above his innings pitched for last season.
Sideshow Venditte: 1 IP ZeRoS (2.82 ERA). He's been one of the most durable and successful relievers in the system this season.
Chase Whitley: 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K (3.75 ERA), looks like he's starting to get the hang of this level.

High A Tampa: L 3-10 to Clearwater. L: Black
Honest Abe Almonte: 1/3, R, BB, SB (21) (.241).
Castrol GTX Castro: 0/3, R, BB, 2 K, SB (7). I love how he's been flashing the speed lately (4 in his last 6 games)
Brewski Brewer: 1/4, K (.333)
K-Roll Roller: 2/4, RBI, K (.242)
Luke Murton: 1/4, RBI
Burawa: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, K (4.05 ERA at this level)
K-Flan Flannery: 1 IP, 2 H, K. Demoted back to High A Tampa. He's more at home here I guess :(

Low A Charleston: L 5-10 to Asheville. L: Allen
Shane Brown: 0/3, R, BB (.289)
Sanchize: 1/3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K (.244). That's number 12 of the season. By NBA Jam rules, he's heating up, with 2 consecutive solid games with a HR. I would like to hear myself say "He's on fire" tomorrow, probably wishful thinking.
Ray-Flo Flores: 1/3, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K. That's number 11 on the season for him.
Nothing I'd prefer to talk about from the pitchers.

Short Season Staten Island: W 7-4 vs Mahoning Valley. W: Lewis. S: Wetherell (2)
Mad Mase Williams: 3/5, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, SB (16), CS (8), (.353). Had at least one of everything today. That's his 3rd homerun. It is going to be fun to watch him make his way through our system.
Cheeto Culver: 2/4, 2 R, 3B (.289). Nice game.
Ben Gamel the Camel: 0/2, RBI, BB, K (.279)
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 1/3, 2 R, 3B, RBI, BB, 2 SB (11). The SB are very encouraging. He's batting .280.
Reymond Nunez: 2/4, 2B, RBI, K. Has been hitting SO well lately. 15 for his last 35 (.429)
DeLuca: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2 K (3.02 ERA on the season).
Gerritse: 3 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, 2 K (.49 ERA). He's been great at this level. I'd love to see a scouting report on him right now.
Wetherell: 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K (1.10 ERA). He should be moving up soon.


GCL Yankees: L 3-6 to GCL Tigers. L: Hinojosa. WHAT?!?!? How dare you guys lose a game.
Jose Rosario: 1/4, R
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 2/2, 2B, RBI (.254). More two hit games please.
Isaias the Hata Tejeda: 1/3. (.364). He's not slowing down at all. He's 14 for his last 37 (.378) with 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB.
Junior Bichette: 0/4, 2 K (.344). He's such a bust.
Yeicok Calderon: 0/4, K (.254)
Matt Duran Duran: 0/4 (.200).
Bubba Jones: 0/2, 2 K. Welcome to pro ball.
Justin James: 0/4, K, CS (.382)
Texeira: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, K. Rehab
Reynaldo Polanco: 4 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Let the buzz begin.
Cowsert: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 ER
Hinojosa: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, got the loss after the demotion. That was a very quick demotion, I guess they really didn't like what they saw up there.

YEEP 7/31/11. Please, pleeaase don't sweep me.

Evil Em VP of the day. It was slim pickens today, but it goes to Rey Nunez and his 3 doubles at Staten Island.

In other news, Banuelos has been called up to AAA. Exciting, although I'm not sure he's ready. I guess it doesn't matter now because we aren't worried about trading him.Also, according to Josh Norris on twitter, Vidal Nuno has been promoted and will start tomorrow for Charleston.


AAA SWB: L 3-6 vs Rochester. L: DJ Mitchell
Russo: 2/4, R, 2B (.289)
JoVa: 1/4, 2 RBI, 2 K (.248)
Laird: 1/4, 2 K (.274). An uncharacteristic 6 game minor league hit streak dating back to before the call-up. I hope this motivation doesn't wear off.
Krum: 0/3, BB.
DJ Mitchell: 5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 HR. It's just one bad outing.
JC Romero: 1 IP, Zeros across the board.
Wordekemper: 1 IP, H, 0 ER.

AA Trenton: L 0-5 to Richmond. L: Mr. Garrison (back to his old tricks, I guess he left Mr. Hat in the bronx after his demotion.
Kruml: 0/4, K (.291)
CoJo: 0/4 (.275)
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 1/4 (.288)
R-Ly Lyerly: 0/3, 3 K. No good.
Melkman Mesa: 0/3, K.
Dee Mack: 1/3, 2 K (.246)
Craig Heyer: 5 IP in relief, 5 H, ER, BB, 2 K (3.94 ERA)
Pope: 1 IP, H, ER, BB (.96 ERA at this level)

High A Tampa: L 0-7 to Charlotte. L: Marshall
Honest Abe Almonte: 2/4, 2 2B. I know I'll regret this tomorrow when I jinx his solid performance and he throws another 0/4 at us, but he's been damn good lately.
Castrol GTX Castro: 0/4, K.
K-Roll Roller: 1/3, 2B, BB (.242)
Luke Murton: 1/3 (.281)
Alcantara: 0/3, 2 K. Give it time, there's a huge difference between GCL and Tampa.
Marshall: 5.2 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Managed to keep his ERA just under 4 after a horrific outing, but he's been much better than that lately, hiccup.

Low A Charleston: L 3-5 to Greenville. L: Ramirez
Eddy Sosa: 1/5, 2 K (.264)
Ray-Flo Flores: 0/4 (.269).  His season has been pretty good for a 19 year old.
Shane Brown: 2/3, R, K (.300).
Sanchize: 04, R, K (.236)
J-Ram Ramirez: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (4.24 ERA). Had an error also.

Short Season Staten Island: W 11-5. W: Rodriguez. Way to save the system from the sweep.
Mad Mase Williams: 1/4, R, RBI, BB, SB (14), (.335). Seems like he's always doing something productive.
Cheeto Culver: 2/5, RBI (.291)
Ben Gamel the Camel: 1/4, R, 2B, BB, K (.275). Nice to see him at a point where a 1/4 day decreases his average.
Grice: 1/4, R, 3B, RBI, BB (.282). same.
Angelo Bubba Gumbs: 2/4, 2 R, RBI (.273)
Rey Nunez: 4/5, 2 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI (.293). Nice to see this Dominican kid starting to thrive.
Wilton Rodriguez: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 5 K (3.93 ERA on the season). Who am I to judge, if you're young (20), and putting up good stats, I should be following you.
Caleb Cotham: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, 3 K (1.26 ERA)
Paullus: 2 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 4 K (2.7 ERA)

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.

.

YEEP 7/11/11: Bombs Away

 Evil Em Vee P of the day: Raymond Kruml. This was a tough one, because so many people had great games today, but based on recent performance, I gave it to Kruml. Image Courtesy of Bare Bones (johnalbone.wordpress.com).

AA Trenton: L 6-7. L: Venditte:
Kruml: 3/5, 2 R, HR, RBI. Average up to .301, 2 HR in 2 G, 5th HR of the season. He's fast too.
CoJo: 0/5, 2 K. Ice cold these past few games.
Melky Mesa: 1/4, R, K, CS
R-Ly (Lyerly): 1/5, R, 2 K.
Heyer: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, 4 K. Not his best outing.
Josh Bromance Romanski: 3 IP, H, BB, 2 K. 0 ER since the call-up.
Sideshow Venditte: .1 IP, H, R, ER, HR. 2 bad games in a row.

High A Tampa: W 10-1 vs St. Lucie. W: Mikey O'Brien
Honest Abe Almonte: 2/4, R, BB, K. He's not cooling down, hopefully any time soon.
Walt Ibarra: 1/3, RBI
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 3/5, R, 2 RBI, K. Also stayin hot.
K-Roll Roller: 2/5, R, RBI, K
JR Murph: 3/4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K.
Rob Seggy Segedin: 1/4, R, K
Kelvin Castrol GTX Castro: 3/5, 3 R, 2 RBI. I like what you're doin GTX.
Mikey O'Brien: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 BB, 3 K, HR. I don't like the walks, but other than that, great outing. He'll be in AA by next season IMO.
Daniel Burawa: 2 IP, H, 3 K. He's got half of a season to bring his ERA back from that horrific appearance a week or so ago. I think he will because he had great stuff.
K-Flan Flannery: 2 IP, H, K. Doin what he does.

Short Season Staten Island: W 9-1 vs Vermont. W: DeLuca
Mad Mase Williams: 4/6, 2B, 3B, RBI, K, CS. Two words. Real. Deal.
Cheetoh Culver: 2/5, 2 RBI
Bubba Gumbs: 0/4, BB, K, CS.
Shane Brown: 1/2, 2 R, 3 BB. Will somebody get this guy out please? .552 OBP, 1.25 OPS. Such a shame that he's 23.
Evan DeLuca: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K. He's killin it. We could use a guy like him at Charleston, wink wink hint hint!
Matt Tracy: 2 IP, BB, K. 0 ER still.
Phil Wetherell: 1 IP, BB, 2 K. I strongly feel he will be a fast mover through this system.

GCL Yankees: W 8-7 vs GCL Pirates. W: Rodriguez, S: Hinojosa
Janitor Custodio: 1/5, 2 R, 2B, K, SB. 10 SB on the season already.
Ravenous Ravel Santana: 0/5, K. He's slowed down significantly since his hot start. Hope he's not just another De Leon
Tyler Austin: 1/3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SB. He has NOT slowed down. .377 average, 3 HR, 9 SB on the season so far. Excellent production even from a 1B.
Junior Bichette: 0/4, R, BB, K. Looking forward to the 30 day rule to take effect with this kid. Time for him to make some adjustments.
Tejeda: 2/4, SB, CS. Playing very well so far.
Jose Rosario: 2/4, R, HR, 3 RBI. .325 with 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 4 SB in his last 10 games.
D Cruz: 2.1 IP, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Baaaaaaaad.
Edwin Rodriguez: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K. 20 year old kid from the DSL. Good outing.
Jo De La Cruz: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K.
Hinojosa: 1 IP, H, K. 2/2 in save ops.

YEEP 7/10/11: Putting on a Higa-Show

Evil Em Vee P of the day: Kyle Higashioka. Photo courtesy of realgm.com

Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees AAA: L 1-3 to Rochester. L: Pendleton
JoVa (Jorge Vazquez): 1/4, 2 K. The JoVa we have grown accustomed to.
Laird: 0/4, K. A rare bad game as of recent.
Lance Pendleton: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 K, 2 HR. I am a huge Pendleton fan, although not because I think he's good or has potential to be good for that matter. He's just a guy who's fun to root for since he was such an unlikely candidate to do as well as he has. I really hope he carves out a niche for our major league team at some point and becomes good at whatever that niche is.
Kontos: 2 IP, H, 2 K, 0 ER. He was so close to being called up as a reliever. My guess is that he will be sooner or later.
Brack-Attack (Andrew Brackman): 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER. Very encouraging. The walk is still there, and he didn't strike anyone out, but still reason for cautious optimism. Now it's just a matter of becoming consistent.

AA Trenton. L 5-8 vs Reading. L: Garrison
Kruml: 3/5, 2 R, HR, RBI, CS. That's his 4th HR of the year to go along with all of those steals. It really is unfortunate that he's 25. You can't teach speed though, and he most certainly has it. He might legitimately be able to help the major league team at some point.
CoJo: 1/4, R, 2B, BB, 3 K. Seems like he's striking out a lot lately. In fact he has 14 in his last 10 games. Slumping a bit after a pretty long hot streak.
Melky Mesa: 2/4, R, 2 RBI. He was moved to 4th in the lineup. Maybe the coaches noticed a reason for his recent hot bat.
R-Ly (Lyerly): 0/3, BB, 2 K. Not so hot.
Sideshow Venditte: 2 IP, H, ER, BB, K, HR.
Pope: 1 IP, 1 K.

High A Tampa: L 5-6 to St. Lucie Mets. L: Sneed
Honest Abe Almonte: 1/4, 3B, 2 RBI, BB, K. What, no steal?
Kelvin "Castrol GTX" Castro: 1/5, R, 2B, K.
Boilin Zoilo Almonte: 1/4, RBI, BB
Murton: 1/3, HR, 2 RBI,1 BB, 2 K. (.269 on the year, his 6th HR).
JR Murphy: 0/1 in a pinch hit appearance.
K-Roll Roller: 3/5, 2B, 2K. Everything he made contact with fell for a hit.
Seggy Segedin: 0/3, R, 2 K.
Jose Quintana: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Not bad spot start. He's been doing well all year and he's only 22 so I guess I'll start talking about him.
James "Gipper" Gipson: 2 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K. <3 the 4 K in 2 IP

Low A Charleston: Game 1: W 2-0 vs Delmarva. W: Nuding. S: Montgomery
Eddy Sosa:1/2, R.
Sanchize: 0/3, K. Boo! Include him in a trade for Ubaldo Jimenez! Just kidding. Not really.
Ramon Ray-Flo Flores: 0/3, K
Higashioka: 1/2, BB.
Nuding: 5 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K. Excellent outing. He needs to put together a string of these to finish the season respectably though.
Mark Monte Montgomery: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 K. Ma boy is a strikeout machine!

Game 2: W 5-4 vs Delmarva. W: Evarts. S: Dott.
Sosa: 0/4, K
Higashioka: 2/3, HR. I'm proud of this kid because he finally seems to be finding his stroke. It's a shame he got demoted right when that happened.
Ray-Flo: 1/2, R.
Dott: 2 IP, BB, 2 K.

Short Season Staten Island: L 2-8. L: Rodriguez
Mad Mase Williams: 2/5. Keep hitting Mason.
Cheetoh Culver: 0/2, 2 BB, K.
Bubba Gumbs: 0/4, BB, K
Shane Brown: 2/3, 2 R, 2B. Back at it again.
No pitching prospects to speak of today.

GCL scheduled day off.

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 Nightly Summary

Image: Nik Turley, tonights Evil EM Vee P. Picture thanks to gothambaseball.com
AAA SWB
Jesus Montero: 1/4 with 1 k. Montero's whole season has been a big 1/4 with 1 k so far. Doing just enough to get by but nothing to impress.
Brandon Laird: 1/4 with 1k. It feels like he's cooled off, but he's still 11 for his last 37 with 2 HR, good for a .297 average.
DJ Mitchell: 6 IP 2 ER 4 k, 1 BB. Another quality start, I hope he gets a September call-up. He deserves it for what he's done this year. All he has to do now is finish strong like he did last season.
George Kontos: 1 IP, 2 k, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB. Making a strong bid for that open relief spot.
R Flores: 1.2 IP 1 BB 1 k, 0 H, 0 ER. Making a strong bid for that LOOGY spot.

AA Trenton
CoJo: 0/3 2 BB 1 k. Could be worse
BRomine (because he's my bro): 2/5  2b, 1 RBI, 1 k. Really putting his hitting together this season. I love it when my predictions actually come true (rare as that may be). 14 for last 41 with 3 2B and 4 BB (.366/.422/.439/.861)
RLy (Rob Lyerly): 1/4 with 1 r. He's adjusted really nicely and quickly to AA pitching, much like DeeMack did. It's just a 1/4 night, but he's put together some good games already.
DeeMack: 2/4 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 r. Another guy who's made the necessary adjustments. After initial adjustment period, he's 7/13 with 2 HR, nice work Mack Daddy.
Craig Heyer: 7 IP 2 ER, 5 H, 2 k. Let up 2 in the first inning. All of a sudden you blink and Heyer has put together yet another good start. I've said this before, but... this year's Lance Pendleton?
Chase Whitley: 2 ER in 2 IP 2 k, 2 bb, 3 H. Jitters?

High A Tampa
Honest Abe (Almonte): 2/4 3 r. 6 for his last 17. Has Abe finally found his stroke?
Walt Ibarra: 1/5 2 r, 3B, RBI, k, SB. Nice season so far, good to see the SB, he needs more of those if he wants to advance.
Boilin Zoilo (Almonte): 1/4 2 RBI, 2 K. Cooling off a bit. One more hot streak and he might be officially on the prospect map.
K-Roll (Kyle Roller): 2/5 1 HR, 1 k. Nice day for Kyle, he's showing why I think he's a better hitter than Seggy.
Seggy (Rob Segedin): 0/4 2 k. Just .185 since the promotion, but free pass for adjustment purposes.
KeFla (or K-Flann, which is better? Kevin Flannery)- 1 IP, 1 k, zeros, 1.57 ERA. He's the only one I care to follow who pitched today. He deserves a promotion. I like this dude because all he's ever done is produce results. AA will be his big test.

Low A Charleston
Eduardo Sosa: 1/5 3B, 2 k 2 RBI. .306 average in limited action, but this is what he does. The triple reflects his speed, which seems to be his major plus attribute.
Ray-Flo (Ramon Flores): 0/3 1 k. He's ice cold. .143 in last 10 g spanning 35 at bats. 143 means I love you, maybe that means it's time for him to break out of that slump.
Sanchize (Gary Sanchez): 0/3, 1 r, 1 BB. Still .294 with 2 HR in last 10 g.
Higgy (Kyle Higashioka): 2/3, 2B, 1 r, 1 BB, 1k. Continues to hit well despite being demoted. He didn't deserve it this season, but it's tough to justify having him in high A over JR Murphy, because Murphy earned his way there as far as his bat goes, while Higgy earned his way there with defense. Unfortunately, defense can only get you a backup catching job in the majors, so Higgy needs to keep hitting to restore his prospect status. I sure hope he does.
Nik "the slick" Turley: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 k. What a performance! Has been even more dominant his last 10 starts (1.77 ERA, .213 BA against than his first 5. Unfortunately, he's already 10 IP over last years total, so a promotion may not be very likely at this point. It's okay, he's still just 21.
DaBraw (Daniel Burawa): 3.0 IP, 1 k, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 ER. He needed an outing like this. The last 10 outings have been rough on him.

SS low a Staten Island
Mad Mase (or Mad Willy, Mason Williams)- 2/3 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 CS. Spectacular start to his career. Keep it up Mase. I'm not following Culver until he does something deserving of being followed, same goes for Bubba Gumbs Shrimp.
Wetherell: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 k. Not bad.
Monte Python (Montgomery): 1 IP, 3 k. BEAST.