Sunday, February 1, 2015

Weekend Open Thread


It's the weekend and I have been asked to post an open thread to comment in all weekend long. You ask and you shall receive. Go crazy, talk about anything and have fun. Enjoy your weekend, I am personally taking the boys to Legoland tomorrow. I don't know who is more excited, me or them. Enjoy and have at it.

Two Yankees Make MLB.com Top 100 Prospects


Another day and another set of Top Prospects lists to bring you here on the blog. Today we showcase MLB.com's Top 100 prospect list which has generally been pretty Yankees friendly, more so than most lists anyway, in the past and showcases two of New York's prospects. Luis Severino and Aaron Judge were the only two Yankees to make the list leaving Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez surprisingly absent.

Judge was listed at #68 on the list after one professional season while Severino came in at the #23 slot. Here is the write ups for Judge from MLB.com:



One of the most physically imposing prospects in baseball, Judge looks more like a tight end (he had college football scholarship offers to play the position) or a power forward (he bears a close physical resemblance to NBA star Blake Griffin, albeit three inches shorter). But Judge is definitely playing the right sport, as evidenced by the fact that he signed for $1.8 million as a first-round pick and hit .308/.419/.486 at two Class A stops in his pro debut.

Few players can match the strength and leverage Judge creates with his 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame. He has huge raw power, though he’s content for now to use a shorter stroke and the entire field, working counts and producing line drives. A more advanced hitter than expected, he currently projects to bat .275 with 20-25 homers per season but could produce more power (and hit for less average) if he becomes more aggressive and turns on more pitches.

A good athlete for his size, Judge has average speed and defensive ability in right field. His strong arm gives him a third above-average tool. He followed up his strong debut by playing well in the Arizona Fall League, so he may not need more than another year in the Minors.

Not seeing Jeter at spring training will be strange, Girardi says


Derek Jeter's career might have ended last September, but it seems the idea he's gone for good is just now getting through to the Yankees. 

Spring training for the Pinstripes will indeed feel much different this month in the wake of Jeter's absence, club Manager Joe Girardi told reporters this weekend. Jeter -- who is expected to be succeeded by youngster Didi Gregorius this year -- was the last member of the Yankees' "Core Four" prior to his recent retirement, which marked the finish of a period considered to have begun in 1995. 

"You know, we've been through it the last couple years, where Yankees that have meant a lot to the organization all of a sudden aren't there," Girardi said, via Newsday's Colin Stephenson. "It started with [Jorge] Posada, and then with [Mariano] Rivera and [Andy] Pettitte, and now it's Jeet."

Posada was the first of the Yankees' veterans to hang up his cleats after 2011, and Pettitte and Rivera did the same after 2013.

Of the group, Jeter played the most seasons with 20 -- also the most anyone has ever spent with the Yankees. His 3,465 hits top New York's all-time list, as do his 2,747 games and 544 doubles.

It's assumed by many Jeter will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, and Girardi says his being away won't come to him until camp starts February 26.

"It doesn't really hit you until spring training starts and you expect them there on that day," he said. "So the first day of position players, I would expect [Jeter] hitting in the first group, doing his ground balls."

The Yankees selected Jeter sixth overall in the 1992 MLB Draft, signing him for $800,000. In his two decades with the team, he nicely batted .310, making it into 14 All-Star games while winning five Gold Gloves.

The awkwardness of the situation will be fully realized, Girardi says, when Jeter doesn't show up for the first squad workout. 

"That's when it really sinks in, because you don't really see him in the offseason anyway," Girardi said. "And it'll be strange."

My Favorite Prospects/Youngsters

Well, it's Prospects Month here at The Greedy Pinstripes, a time when I'm usually pretty quiet as I have little to nothing to contribute to the topic. However, seeing as how I've already been pretty quiet around here, why not really mix things up by actually posting something on prospects/youngsters?

"What has happened to the guy that didn't care about prospects? Also, why am I still using a CRT computer monitor?"

For those of you new to TGP, while I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a prospect hater, I'm certainly not somebody that loves to gush over minor leaguers (or, as I call them... prospect humpers). When the Yankees traded top prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle for Michael Pineda, one of my big arguments in favor of the deal was the fact that while Montero had very little MLB-experience (69 plate appearances), Pineda had been an All Star and finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Frankly, I was more interested in what was going on with the Yankees at that moment, and not so much with what the future may hold. But that was then, and this is now. You see, "then" the Yankees were legit contenders year in and year out, whereas "now" many around baseball see a Wild Card berth as a reach for the 2015 Yanks. Furthermore, the retirement of Derek Jeter... the last of the Core Four (or Five)... has driven home the point that we're about to embark on a new Yankees franchise.

That means the future means more now than it has nearly twenty years, meaning it's time for me to take notice. So here are five young current Yankees, and five future Yankees, that I'm the most excited about seeing in 2015.


5. Dellin Betances

While Dellin isn't that young (he'll turn 27 in March), he'll be under team control for the next five years. That's a great thing for two reasons... 1) he'll be relatively cheap during what is normally a player's most productive years, and 2) when he starts to decline the Yankees can just let him sail into free agency and another team's arms. Although, I could easily see him being a Yankee for life, a la Mariano Rivera. Then again, I thought the same thing about David Robertson, and he'll be wearing a different set of pinstripes next season.

Now, I didn't mean to imply that he'll be as good as Mo was, but you can't deny the fact that Dellin could very well be the league's next great closer. He's been able to mix a great fastball with a killer breaking ball, leading to a swinging strike percentage that ranked 3rd in the American League last season (by the way, Masahiro Tanaka topped that list). Add a good ground ball rate to that combo of pitches, and Betances could make teams have to win the game in 8 innings instead of 9.


4. Didi Gregorius

Didi isn't a top prospect by any means, but you have to remember that he's only 24 (25 in a couple of weeks), and probably has yet to reach his full potential. He hit .287/.350/.452 in 112 games in AAA, which includes a batting line of .310/.389/.447 in 57 games for the Diamondbacks AAA affiliate last year. So there's reason to believe he's better hitter than the guy that hit .226/.290/.363 in 80 games for Arizona in 2014.

As for his defense, Gregorius is probably not going to win any Gold Gloves, but he's not "bad" either. And in comparison to the defense the Yankees got out of Jeter for the past decade, we could be in for a real treat.

This may just be another case of "shiny new toy" syndrome, but it's nice knowing that the Yankees could be set at the shortstop position for the next five years (or more thanks to Jorge Mateo).


3. Nathan Eovladi

Like Didi Gregorius, Eovaldi will turn 25 in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, he got the ball rolling in MLB a year earlier than Didi, meaning he can be a free agent in 2018 instead of 2019. Some Yankees fans couldn't care less about Nathan's service time, as they can't help but dwell on the fact that he led the National League in hits against last season. Not to mention having a high hit rate in 2012 too. But there are a couple of reasons why neither they nor you should dismiss him.

Did you know that while he gave up the most hits in the NL last season, Eovaldi also had the highest batting average on balls in play (BABIP) in the league too? Even in 2012, his BABIP was the 6th highest in the NL. While in 2013, when that BABIP was closer to league average, Nathan was a very effective starter (3.39 ERA).

Another that went against Eovaldi last season was the Marlins defense, which was ranked 21st in Major League Baseball. For the record, the Yankees were ranked 9th. With Gregorius taking over for Jeter, and having a full year of Chase Headley over 800+ innings of Yangervis Solarte and Kelly Johnson (two poor fielders), there's a pretty good chance the Yankees got themselves a very effective weapon for the rotation.


2. Michael Pineda

This entry onto my list is a bit different than the others, as I can't say I'm excited in a good way to see what Pineda can do next season. Instead, my interest revolves around concern for how far he could fall.

You see, while people have huge smiles on their faces thanks to his ERA of 1.89 in 13 starts last year, I worry about the combination of a mediocre 7.0 K/9, along with an incredibly low BABIP of .235. And that doesn't even factor in the health of his shoulder. Frankly, I'm just hoping his ERA doesn't balloon to 5-something, and he ends up being put back on the 60-day Disabled List.

Thankfully he's not under a large contract like CC Sabathia, so the team could really dodge a bullet here. But I will end this entry by saying that if Pineda does stay healthy, then his few seasons with the team could be awesome. Especially if he can keep his walk rate down, and keep his swinging strike percentage up.


1. Masahiro Tanaka

In researching this article I was hit again by Tanaka's opt-out clause, which means he could become a free agent after the 2017 season. I understand why a player would love such a clause, but it makes zero sense to me from a team standpoint. If he's great he can opt-out, meaning the Yankees will have to shell out a huge contract to keep him (Sabathia). If he stinks, then the Yankees will pay him a boatload of money for little to nothing in return (Rodriguez). But I may as well stop whining, because what's done is done.

As for 2015, my only concern is for his elbow. If Masahiro is able to avoid Tommy John Surgery, then I see no reason why he can't be the team's ace once again. I've already covered his league leading swinging strike percentage, but I'd like to add that he had the third lowest contact rate in the league too. And like Pineda, he rarely walks hitters, as evidenced by his #10 ranking among pitchers with the lowest walk percentages last season.

Just imagine if he'd been able to start at least 30 games instead of 20 last year. That could have easily given the team another five wins, meaning they would have been in the playoffs.

"We probably would have lost, anyway."

Here are the five players in the minor leagues that really interest me. By the way, I'm not going to go into much detail as to why they've caught my eye. I may not look down upon prospects like I used to, but that doesn't mean I'm going to fawn all over them either.


5. Ian Clarkin

I don't believe he has as high a ceiling as other pitching prospects, but being a left-hander could make him a great asset to have in the middle of the rotation. He also has some nice raw material to work with, like good velocity, a great curveball, and a nice change-up.


4. Greg Bird

Greg Bird made Keith Law's Top 100 Prospects list, due in part to a great hitting approach. Law points out that that approach could lead to a high-OBP/low-BA type of hitter. His defense needs work though, which could very well be the only thing keeping him from being the heir to Mark Teixeira.


3. Rob Refsnyder

Refsnyder had a great 2014, hitting .318 between AA and AAA. He also had an OBP of .387, and has the ability to hit quite a few doubles. His defense is still a little rough at second base, but that has a lot to do with getting more reps at the position, as opposed to him simply not having what it takes to succeed there.


2. Luis Severino

Luis may be the next young, cost-controlled, pitcher that anchors the Yankees' starting rotation. He has a fastball that can get into the high 90s, has developed a really good changeup, and his slider could also be a very effective weapon.


1. Aaron Judge 

The 2014 Yankees only had 34 home runs from their regular outfielders (Gardner - 17, Ellsbury - 18, and Suzuki - 1), which is really sad for any team... let alone one nicknamed the Bronx Bombers. However, Judge could help turn that around soon. It's currently said that he has 20-25 HR power, but has yet to actually tap into his power potential.

"Just bring me my whoopin' stick."
"You're what?"
"My bat... just give me my bat."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I have a strange, but great, feeling going into the 2015 Yankees' season. The season could be awesome thanks to guys like Gregorius and Eovaldi really stepping up, or it could be a disaster due to Tanaka's elbow and Pineda's shoulder failing them.  All that uncertainty has taken the pressure off of them having to make the postseason, and we can just enjoy Yankee baseball again.

MLB Network's Top 50 Prospects


While some were out partying, sleeping or doing something a lot more fun then working on their second job as a professional writer I was at home on my computer using MLB Network as background noise. What I didn't know was on Friday night MLB Network went over their Top 50 Prospects in Major League Baseball with as much detail as they could. With Prospects Month in full swing on the blog what better time than now to go over their list and see what members of the New York Yankees made the cut.

Luis Severino was ranked #23 on the list.












This space was left intentionally blank because that was it for New York. No Aaron Judge, no Greg Bird and no Gary Sanchez. By the way, in case you were wondering, the Top 5 included Addison Russell (CHC), Francisco Lindor (CLE), Carlos Correa (HOU), Kris Bryant (CHC) and Byron Buxton (MIN) in descending order.

Greedy Pinstripes Top 28 Prospects List: #28


Prospects Month is here ladies and gentleman and what would a Prospects Month be without a top prospects list? Some people do a Top 10, Top 25, Top 50 or even a Top 100 but there are 28 days in the month of February so we do our Top 28. One of these years we will have to do a Top 29, I hope I am up to the challenge. Anyway without further delay let's get to the list.

Whenever applicable I will leave an excerpt about the player from Kylie McDaniel's evaluation of the Yankees farm system along with the ranking SEEN HERE. The Greedy Pinstripes 28th best prospect is Johnny Barbato!

Johnny Barbato, RHP Video: Barbato was recently acquired from the Padres for Shawn Kelley. He came up as a starter, but has recently been shifted to relief as his demeanor, delivery and command all fit better in short stints. Barbato will sit 93-95, hitting 97 mph in short stints and his plus curveball plays even better with the added velocity.  He’ll mix in an inconsistent and firm, but at times average changeup and should be able to command his stuff enough to profile in the 8th inning. Now that he’s a bullpen only pitcher, Barbato has a chance to be in the big leagues in the second half of 2015, but some clubs are a little worried about his elbow, after he missed about half of last season with a strained UCL that didn’t require surgery.

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Meet a Prospect: Scott Baker


Scott Baker signed a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training with the New York Yankees on Friday and could earn up to $1.5 million if he makes the big league roster. He's more than likely destined to be Triple-A insurance and depth with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders but just in case we will introduce you to the newest member of the Yankees family just in case. Remember where you heard this first!

Timothy Scott Baker was born on September 19, 1981 and will be entering his age 33 season, although he will turn 34 by season's end, after spending his major league career with the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago Cubs, the Seattle Mariners briefly and most recently the Texas Rangers. Baker is a right handed pitcher that used to throw six pitches before injuries affected his repertoire. Baker's velocity has dropped to the high 80's since the 2013 season and has affected, and essentially eliminated, his curveball although Baker still does throw a four seam fastball, two seam fastball, cut fastball, slider and a changeup.

Baker spent his college years at Oklahoma State University which led to the Twins drafting the right hander in the second round of the 2003 amateur draft. By 2005 Baker was in the major leagues and by 2006 he was in the Twins starting rotation out of Spring Training. Baker's Twins career had a few notable moments including narrowly missing a perfect game on August 31, 2007 and starting the AL tiebreaker game against the Detroit Tigers in 2009, a game the Twins won. That victory was the high point of his career as the Yankees took down Minnesota in the playoffs and the injury bug became a common thing in Baker's career and in his life.

In 2010 injuries kept Baker off the Twins postseason roster and things did not get much better in 2011. The 2012 was a complete loss for Baker after undergoing Tommy John surgery which also led him to miss most of the 2013 season. Baker spent the 2014 season splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen in 2014 in Texas posting a 3-4 record with a 5.47 ERA, 55 K's, and 14 walks in 80.2 IP and 25 games, eight of them starts. Now Baker will fight with Chase Whitley and maybe even Bryan Mitchell in the RailRiders rotation in hopes of joining the big league club in the Bronx.

Welcome to the family Scott, we wish you well.

Looking at the 2015 Draft: 28th Best Prospect


We're going to do things a little bit differently this year for Prospects Month as I said in my previous post so instead of asking what a player's favorite restaurant is I want to focus on the draft this year. New York has three picks in the first two rounds, including the supplemental round, so much like I will be counting down the Yankees Top 28 Prospects I will also be counting down the Top 28 Prospects expected to enter the 2016 Draft with the help of MLB.com's LIST SEEN HERE.

#28 is Florida State outfielder D.J. Stewart. Here is the write up from MLB.com

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 45 | Arm: 40 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
Stewart hit everywhere he'd ever played before a surprising summer slump with the U.S. collegiate national team. Scouts believe that's an aberration, however, and that Stewart still has one of the best bats in the 2015 college class. He was named the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore, after leading the league in all three slash stats at .351/.472/.557.
With his quick left-handed stroke, strength and patience, Stewart should continue to hit for average. He has plus raw power but he doesn't fully tap into it because he bats from an extreme crouch and has a flat swing. He might hit 20 homers per season if he stands more upright and adds some loft.
Though he's listed at 6 feet and 230 pounds, he's a better athlete than his build might indicate. An all-state running back at The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Fla.), an athletic powerhouse that produced Chipper Jones and several other pro and Olympic athletes, Stewart has close to average speed. He has good instincts as a runner and defender, though a below-average arm limits him to left field.

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Welcome to Prospects Month 2015


Welcome to Prospects Month 2015. This year’s Prospect Month will be a little different here on the blog simply because I like being a little different. Last year we went very interview heavy and nailed down an interview for every day of the month. While we thoroughly enjoyed that, and I think you guys did too, it was very time consuming and we’re going to go in a different direction this season. That doesn’t mean there won’t be interviews or looks back at those interviews on a Throwback Thursday or something but this year we wanted to focus on the draft.


The Yankees have three draft picks on day one of the draft so this year TGP will be focusing on the Top 28 prospects that are expected to enter the draft as well as focusing on our own Top 28 prospect list. It’s going to be a fun month so let’s get to it, thanks for being here with us as we share in Prospects Month 2015. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 2/1: New York Welcomes Jim Leyritz Back


On this day in 2001 Yankees postseason hero Jim Leyritz signed a one year minor league deal with the New York Mets worth $500,000. The former Yankee has hit one home run every 7.6 postseason at bat making him the third best postseason home run hitting player with five or more home runs.

Also on this day in 1999 the New York Yankees traded highly touted third base prospect Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins for pitchers Eddie Yarnall, Todd Noel, and Mark Johnson. Lowell went on to win multiple World Series, one with the Red Sox and one with the Marlins beating the Yankees, while none of the three prospects they received in returned turned out to do anything. Scott Brosious' 1998 campaign made Lowell expendable.