Friday, February 5, 2016

Yankees Invite Judge, 24 Others to Spring Training Camp


The New York Yankees have finally released their list of non-roster invitees to this year’s spring training camp and the list is quite impressive. At the top of the list of players joining every member of the 40 man roster down at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida this year for spring camp is arguably the team’s top prospect Aaron Judge which should be fun to watch this spring. As a reminder pitchers and catchers report date is just around the corner and so are Grapefruit League games so get ready… it’s almost baseball time. Here is the complete list from the Yankees:

Starting Pitchers:
James Kaprielian, Brady Lail, Domingo German, Chad Green, Richard Bleier, Tyler Cloyd and Anthony Swarzak.

Relief Pitchers:
Tyler Webb, Diego Moreno and Vinnie Pestano

Catchers:
Carlos Corporan, Francisco Diaz, Sebastian Valle, Kyle Higashioka, Eddy Rodriguez and Santiago Nessy.

Infielders:
Jorge Mateo, Tyler Wade, Jonathan Diaz, Pete Kozma, Donovan Solano and Deibinson Romero.

Outfielders:

Aaron Judge, Dustin Fowler and Cesar Puello.

Yankees Prospects Night Open Thread featuring Jose Mesa Jr.


Are you old enough to remember former MLB closer Jose Mesa? Well if you do you should know that his son that bears the same name, Jose Mesa Jr., is a member of the New York Yankees. Here is a short showcase of his 2016 season with the Staten Island Yankees and the Charleston Riverdogs. 

Notable QB’s Drafted in the MLB Draft


With the Super Bowl looming Sunday between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers I thought this would be a good time to go over the notable quarterbacks that have been drafted by, and turned down, Major League Baseball teams. The most notable on the list is recent Super Bowl winner and two-time Super Bowl leading QB Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks who was drafted by the Texas Rangers. Let’s take a look at what could have been for MLB and in one case for the New York Yankees.


Russell Wilson – Texas Rangers (Seattle Seahawks)
Johnny Manziel – San Diego Padres (Cleveland Browns)
Colin Kaepernick – Chicago Cubs (San Francisco 49ers)
Jake Locker – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Tennessee Titans)
Matt Moore – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Miami Dolphins)
Dennis Dixon – 2003 Cincinnati Reds, 2007 Atlanta Braves (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Brandon Weeden – New York Yankees (Cleveland Browns)
Michael Vick – Colorado Rockies (Atlanta Falcons)

Fantasy Baseball: Who are the Oakland Athletics?


Just because it’s Prospects Month here on the blog doesn’t mean we’re going to abandon Fantasy Baseball and the goal of winning your fantasy league altogether. Instead we’ll simply just refocus our efforts and give it a prospect or young player twist much like we did with our New York Yankees post. The goal is to still help you win your league and dominate the later rounds of your fantasy draft so rest assured, we’re still here. 

With that in mind we will not be talking about Sonny Gray or Sean Doolittle in this post and we likely won’t talk too much about new arrivals Jed Lowrie, Yonder Alonso and Rich Hill. Instead we will focus on the younger guys that may not be household names yet outside of many Oakland based homes. That player list includes outfielder Billy Burns, Mark Canha and Henderson Alvarez. 

Burns is an outfielder that will likely get the everyday starting job for the Oakland A’s. The Athletics need an everyday center fielder to replace Coco Crisp and Burns seems to be that guy after a strong 2015 campaign. Burns hit .294 with 25 stolen bases and 70 runs scored in 125 games last season and can add a high runs scored total, batting average and stolen base total to your team very late in the draft. If you reach the 20th round or so and he’s still there it may be in your best interest to grab him. 

Another name you may not know from the Oakland A’s is Mark Canha. Canha is not likely to have a starting job when the team breaks camp this season but he should still get plenty of opportunities throughout the year. Canha is listed as a first baseman and the backup to Yonder Alonso and is also listed as an outfielder. This is especially important as the A’s search for a suitable backup to injury-prone left fielder Coco Crisp. Canha will be the first out of the trenches and into the field if and when Crisp goes down. Keep him in your queue just in case.

Finally we have Henderson Alvarez was acquired this offseason after the Miami Marlins cut ties with their former farm hand. Alvarez is a big question mark heading into the season after tearing a muscle in his shoulder and undergoing a serious surgery on it. Alvarez will not be ready on Opening Day and may not be ready at all in 2016, although he is expected to be, but he is still a name that should be on your watch list. Alvarez was an All-Star for Miami in the last season he pitched in 2014 and the talent is there as long as his shoulder allows it to be.

So there you have it, three Oakland Athletics prospects and/or young players that can help you win your Fantasy Baseball league’s this spring. Hope the information helps and if it did feel free to share this and any of my fantasy posts to help out others as well. Thanks!


TGP Prospects Month Top 29 Prospects Lit - #25 Jordan Montgomery


The New York Yankees made left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery their fourth round pick in the 2014 MLB First Year Players Draft after drafting him out of the University of South Carolina. Montgomery is the typical large-framed pitcher the Yankees have seemingly fallen in love with as the southpaw stands at 6'5" and weighs in at 225 lbs.

Montgomery is one of those starting pitchers that may take a couple seasons to get to the Major Leagues but he's taken great strides in Tampa and Charleston. Montgomery is 22-years old now and has thrown 134 innings at the A-Ball level with a sub-three ERA. Montgomery was a polished college pitcher after being drafted as a Junior and could be a quick mover through the Yankees system.

It is not inconceivable that Montgomery could start the season in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder next season and could be in Triple-A by the end of the season giving him a 2017 ETA, or sooner.

25. Jordan Montgomery
26. Trey Amburgey
27. Ben Gamel
28. Austin DeCarr
29. Thairo Estrada
30. James Pazos

Year Age Lev W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9
2014 21 A--Rk 1 1 3.79 10 7 19.0 16 10 8 0 6 20 1.158 7.6 0.0 2.8 9.5
2014 21 Rk 0 1 4.76 3 3 5.2 5 4 3 0 2 5 1.235 7.9 0.0 3.2 7.9
2014 21 A- 1 0 3.38 7 4 13.1 11 6 5 0 4 15 1.125 7.4 0.0 2.7 10.1
2015 22 A+-A 10 8 2.95 25 24 134.1 118 51 44 5 36 132 1.146 7.9 0.3 2.4 8.8
2015 22 A 4 3 2.68 9 9 43.2 36 15 13 1 12 55 1.099 7.4 0.2 2.5 11.3
2015 22 A+ 6 5 3.08 16 15 90.2 82 36 31 4 24 77 1.169 8.1 0.4 2.4 7.6
All Levels (2 Seasons) 11 9 3.05 35 31 153.1 134 61 52 5 42 152 1.148 7.9 0.3 2.5 8.9

Meet a Prospect: Chad Green


Chad Green was the second prospect that the Detroit Tigers sent to the New York Yankees in the Justin Wilson Trade. The other prospect, Luis Cessa, we will introduce you to again later this month. This is Meet a Prospect: The Chad Green Edition.


Chad Green is 23 years old, will be 24 years old on May 24, and has a great right-handed pitcher’s frame standing at 6’3” and 210 lbs. Green entered the 2015 season ranked as the Detroit Tigers 12th best prospect, although Baseball Prospectus gave him a C+ grade on their rankings. Green was an 11th round pick in the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft out of Louisville.


Green has long arms, long legs and has the build to be a durable power pitcher for quite some time. He throws from a ¾ arm slot across his body and has above-average arm speed. Green can touch 94 MPH with his fastball but sits comfortably at 92-93 MPH. BP gave Green a 55 rating out of 80 with a future of 60 on his fastball, also known as nothing to write home about.


Green sports a low 90’s fastball but his biggest downfall may be the effectiveness of his secondary pitches. Some of this may be because it is easy to detect and pick up the ball out of his hand due to a long arm extension and straight up and down delivery. Green is said to have below average command on his fastball and secondary pitches and projects to be an organizational prospect in my opinion.


Green projects to be an innings eater and maybe the last man on a 40-man roster. Green lacks movement, velocity and deception on his fastball, changeup and slider. A move to the bullpen may be Green’s only hope of making it to the Major Leagues. I hate to sound like the bearer of bad news here but I am not impressed with Green. Not at all.

Quick Hit: MLB Player’s Salaries to Hit $4 Billion in 2016


Major League Baseball is ready to set a mark that the NFL, NBA and NHL have never hit and will likely never hit, MLB’s salary is about to hit the $4 billion mark. The American League will make up nearly a quarter of a billion dollars more than the National League according to post-season 2015 numbers according to Yahoo Sports.

These numbers will change before Opening Day as many free agents still find themselves without a job as we near Valentine’s Day and more importantly pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training camps. Names like Tyler Clippard and Yovani Gallardo will simply continue to push these numbers higher and higher leaving many to wonder why so many young people are still choosing the NFL and NBA over Major League Baseball.

The #1 salary in Major League Baseball as it stands today is the Los Angeles Dodgers at $235 million if my numbers are correct while the New York Yankees come it at #2 with a $229 million team payroll. These salary figures come from Cots Baseball Contracts and Baseball Prospectus. What’s funny is neither of these two teams have dipped significantly into the free agent waters and in the case of the Yankees, not at all. Los Angeles’s biggest acquisitions were the Howie Kendrick re-sign and the additions of Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda.


Major League Baseball is now over a $10 billion and growing machine and it shows no signs of slowing down or letting up. There is an absolute influx of money in the game right now and with the Chicago Cubs television network on deck and the recent $1 billion TV deal with the St. Louis Cardinals the sky seems to be the limit on this thing. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 2/5: A Rod’s 500 Home Run Ball


On this day in 2010 the ball that Alex Rodriguez hit for his 500th home run was sold at auction for $103,579 to an anonymous bidder. The home run was hit at Yankee Stadium on August 4, 2007 and was recovered by a Rutgers University student.


On this day in 2002 Luis Arroyo was inducted into the Latin American Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. The Puerto Rican born relief pitcher had an eight year career and a 40-32 record with 36 saves and a 3.93 ERA in his career. Arroyo was best known for his 1961 season with the New York Yankees when he went 15-5 with 29 saves.


On this day in 1942 the Yankees traded Tommy Holmes to the Braves for Gene Moore and Buddy Hassett. Holmes played ten seasons and hit over .300 for the Boston Braves and would establish the National League record for consecutive games hit in with 37 until Pete Rose broke the record in 1978. You haven't heard of Moore or Hasset have you? Exactly.


Finally On this day in 1930 the New York Yankees lost shortstop Leo Durocher after a fallout in the Yankees clubhouse after a salary dispute with Yankees general manager Ed Barrow. Durocher was 24 years old at the time and coming off a .246 average without a home run and 32 RBI's the previous season.