Monday, July 11, 2016

2016 Home Run Derby Open Thread


Ladies and gentleman I believe, in my personal opinion anyway, it is time for the best part of the entire All-Star break. The Home Run Derby. The derby is revamped once again for the 2016 season with a new bracket style competition that I predicted earlier in the day and it should be another awesome night of back, back, back, back, back, back gone's!

Who ya got? Put it down below in the comments section and live tweet it with us @GreedyStripes.

ICYMI: My Thoughts on the Jorge Mateo Suspension


As we learned yesterday and again this morning with our weekly prospects check in the New York Yankees have decided to suspend their top prospect Jorge Mateo for two weeks due to a violation of the team policy. Mateo had the honor of representing his team in the XM Futures Game stripped from him as well due to the suspension and word is flying all over the Yankees blogosphere as to why. I’m less about the why, because do you think the Yankees are really going to give us a detailed transcript of what really happened? I don’t, and more about the repercussion and such that will come from this. Here are my thoughts on the matter for better or worse.


George King reported this season that Mateo had voiced frustrations over not getting promoted to Double-A and my immediate thoughts went to Rob Refsnyder. I have said it many, many times on this blog so one more time won’t hurt. You can go backwards in your development, especially if you’re not being challenged where you are. You outgrow an affiliate and Mateo has done that in Tampa yet he remains there because the Yankees are slow to pull the trigger. It’s not just Mateo, it is Refsnyder and a slew of other prospects. Aaron Judge. Kyle Roller. Even Chad Jennings shared a story over on Lohud of a prospect earning a promotion, not getting it and admittedly falling off the face of the Earth with discouragement.


This is not a new thing with the Yankees, this is a trend. A disturbing trend but it does not excuse Mateo for whatever he did, said or whatever went down to warrant the suspension. Sometimes you can be your own worst enemy and sometimes your maturity isn’t on the actual level that you think it is. That’s not a knock on Mateo or anyone going through it but it just goes to show you that not everyone is Derek Jeter and everyone is human. All parties involved have to strive to do better, especially the Yankees organization. This disappoints me to no end to be honest because I know what a discouraged heart can do to you and how it can affect your everyday life. I’m discouraged at work and I’m growing to hate my job and most everything else in life. It’s poison.


Fix your crap Yankees and everything else falls in line. Attitude reflects leadership.

Most Popular Article of the Week: Twitter Poll: My Take on Buying or Selling


The Twitter Poll went live this morning and in it I asked Yankees fans and readers of The Greedy Pinstripes if they thought the team should buy or sell and I asked why. You guys had your say and now I feel like it’s my turn to have mine and respond a bit. I touched on this a bit in the actual article as I put little responses under some of the comments but I wanted to put all my thoughts down on paper here in one nice and tidy place. Should the Yankees buy or sell at the August 1st trade deadline? Why? Here is my take on the matter for whatever it is worth.


To be completely honest before conducting that Twitter Poll I was one of the fans jumping up and down for a fire sale. I wanted a laundry list of players moved including, but not limited to, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Chase Headley. Out with the old and in with the new but after conducting the poll I may be teetering towards another edge. An edge more towards the middle if that makes any sense. I want the Yankees to not only sell but I want them to buy as well. Confused? Good, keep reading.


This is a terrible comparison and analogy but it is the first one that came to mind. The Texas Rangers bought Cole Hamels at the trading deadline last season not with the hopes of making a run at the World Series in 2015, although they did make the postseason, but with the dreams of pairing him with Yu Darvish in 2017 as well. The Yankees can buy in a similar fashion but not with their eyes on 2016 or even 2017 but with their goals set towards building for 2018 and beyond.


So the Yankees sell some or all of the list above, and FYI I did not include Alex Rodriguez on it because even after his comeback tour in 2015 his contract is still unmovable, and stock up for the future but they could also buy. Again I bring you a bad comparison but this gives you an idea of what I am talking about. In no way, shape or form can I see the Rays trading a player like Matt Moore to the Yankees but he is the kind of the player the Yankees could target in any trade. A cheap, young player they can buy low on due to injuries or whatever that has a real shot at bouncing back. It also doesn’t hurt that Moore is signed pretty cheap through the 2019 season which fits the mold and goes with the plan.



So conceivably, and yes it is easier said than done, the Yankees could both buy and sell at this year’s trading deadline. It won’t be easy and it will have to be all hands on deck to make it worth but it could happen. But will it? Stay tuned.

My Predictions for the Home Run Derby 2016


The 2016 Home Run Derby field has been set for Monday inside the spacious, yet beautiful, Petco Park. In the first round Todd Frazier (23 home runs) will take on Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. Meanwhile Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles (26 home runs) will take on Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The other bracket will include Adam Duvall of the Cincinnati Reds facing off head-to-head with Wil Myers of the hometown San Diego Padres while Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners will face off with Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins. Who will take it home? Here are my predictions for what they are worth.



Trumbo
Seager
                           Trumbo
                           Stanton
Cano
Stanton

                                                      Stanton
                                                      Duvall

Frazier
Gonzalez
                        Frazier
                        Duvall

Myers
Duvall




Trumbo will move on to face Stanton while Frazier will face off with Duvall. In the semifinals I have Trumbo being upset by Giancarlo while Frazier is upset by Duvall, sorry Jersey boy. In the finals I can’t see anyone beating Giancarlo Stanton though, especially with the timeouts you’re allowed to call in the first two rounds and the pair of timeouts you’re allowed in the finals. He won’t gas out this time. Stanton wins. 

How Things Are Going For Four Rehabbing Yankees

I was looking through the recent comments here, and I came across a poster that was concerned about some of the injuries to certain young players and prospects. I started to respond with some updates, but decided to simply write a post about it, seeing as how others might want to know and don't go digging through our comments (although you should!).

I can't say there won't be any questions about these players upon their returns, but beyond gut feelings there's no reason to be overly concerned.


Greg Bird

Not long ago the Yankees released information on the recovering Bird, including video of him exercising the shoulder. However, he has yet to start throwing, so Yankees fans shouldn't get their hopes up. The fact is... he's not returning this year.

But Greg looks to be doing well in rehab, and is on track to possibly take over first base next season.


James Kaprielian

You have to keep in mind that Kaprielian has a flexor tendon strain, not an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament. Injury to the UCL is what often leads to Tommy John Surgery, and an unwanted vacation from baseball for 12-18 months.

That doesn't mean James' injury is insignificant, but the fact that he remained in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospect (check my article regarding this list here) list makes me think he'll come out of this okay, and still battle for a rotation spot some time next season.

Sadly, I can't find any recent updates to his condition and rehabilitation. Kaprielian was scheduled to visit another doctor last week, but there has been no news about the visit.


Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge was diagnosed with a mild strain of his Posterior Cruciate Ligament. and is going to miss 3-4 weeks. I don't believe this is the end of the World, or his development and ETA in the Majors (late-season callup, and probable starting spot next season).

Baseball Prospectus has a great article on PCL injury in regards to the PCL strain suffered by current Blue Jays player Darwin Barney in 2011. They go pretty in-depth regarding the injury, but the bottom line is we shouldn't need to worry much.


Bryan Mitchell

While he's not a top prospect, Bryan Mitchell could play a nice role for the Yankees out of the bullpen. And seeing as how he started all 20 games he appeared in between AAA and the Puerto Rico Winter League in 2015, I wouldn't rule him out as a starter down the road, either. Anyway, no injury is a good one, but the broken toe suffered by Mitchell is only concerning to me because of his time lost, not his ability to come back after said injury.

That's not to say a broken toe could not lead to other issues. Coming back from any foot injury could have an adverse effect on a pitcher's balance, which could throw everything off. But I have yet to hear anybody predict doom for Mitchell, either. And in this day and age when predicting doom is apparently the "cool thing to do", that leaves me feeling optimistic.


2016 MLB Home Run Derby Rules

This post is from 2015 but it works. Rules are the same, bracket is the same. Just the player names are different. Enjoy.

Weekly Prospects Check In: Ben Gamel


Good morning Yankees family and happy Monday to everyone. Normally we would need a pick me up here this early on a Monday morning and normally we would go to the energetic and contagiously happy Nick Swisher but the Yankees first baseman and former 2009 hero has decided to step back for the remainder of the 2016 season leaving us scrambling looking for a new Monday morning check in. What about the guy with possibly the best hair in the Yankees farm system?

Ben Gamel. Have you seen this guy's hair? If you haven't check it out and also be sure to check out the stats as well. This is why you are here anyway. Have a great day everyone.

YearAgeLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
201624AAA76353519615436133259.304.368.421.789
201624MLB5911000011.125.222.125.347

This Day in New York Yankees History 7/11: Robbie Cano Wins the Derby


The New York Yankees have not been well represented over the years at the Home Run Derby but in 2011 they had Robinson Cano donning the pinstripes. Cano chose his father to throw his pitches to him in what turned out to be a great decision. Cano would hit 12 home runs in the final round of the derby to beat Adrian Gonzalez to become the fourth straight left handed swinging player to win the derby. What a moment for all families and baseball fans alike as Cano and his father shared an amazing moment.

Also on this day in 2010 the legendary Bob Sheppard died at age 99 as the "Voice of God" returned to God. Sheppard earned the nickname from former Yankee Reggie Jackson and announced over 4,500 games during his 56 years behind the microphone in Yankee Stadium.

Finally on this day in 1999 Major League Baseball held its first Future's Game and the Yankees Alfonso Soriano made the best of it going 2 for 3 hitting two home runs. The World would beat the USA 7-0 at Fenway Park and Soriano would be named the game's MVP.