Quick Hit: The Venezuelan Summer League Has Officially Shut Down

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I am just that this week, especially if you are a fan of prospects and summer league baseball, specifically the Venezuelan Summer League. While much of the focus is on the Dominican Summer League there have been successes in the VSL until it began to die down over recent years. The VSL will no longer open its doors in 2016 after the league fell to just four teams in 2015.

The four teams that were left in the VSL when the announcement was made were the Cubs, Phillies, Rays and Tigers. The Cubs announced their decision to pull out of the Venezuelan Summer League leading the league to completely shut down. Whether the ultimate decision to close down the VSL came down to the safety of their players and the league or if it came down to political reasons (like the potential of a Cuban Summer League for example) we will probably never know but while the country is stocked full of MLB caliber talent it is also a country that is currently in turmoil.

The VSL was the beginning of the road for more than a few Major League players including Avisail Garcia, Eugenio Suarez, Dixon Machado, Bruce Rondon, Jose Ortega and Jose Altuve most notably. At this point ten seasons ago a whopping 11 organizations had a team in the VSL so it's not out of the realm of possibilities of MLB returning to the country but presumably a lot will have to change both politically and socially in the country before it does.

Yankees International Spending Coming Into Focus

The international spending spree for the New York Yankees begins on July, 2 this year as the new international signing period begins. The Yankees have said that they plan to blow the international spending limit cap out of the water and spend somewhere in the $15-$20 million range this signing period and deal with the spending limitations and penalties for the next two seasons in hope for an International Draft to be implemented. The players and cash allotment are starting to come into focus according to Ben Badler who has the Yankees signing at least four players for $2 million or more this signing period.

The Yankees are said to have verbal deals with outfielder Juan De Leon, shortstop Dermis Garcia, third basemen Nelson Gomez, and shortstop Christopher Torres. All four players are 16 years old and coming out of the Dominican Republic. De Leon seems to be the Yankees top priority as he has the potential for plus power in the future and has great bat speed as a right handed hitter. Garcia has "some of the best raw power in the 2014 class," Nelson has shown good hands and a good glove along with some pop, and Torres is a switch hitting shortstop that screams Cito Culver to me.

Assuming all these deals get done that is only somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 million so if you believe the rumors the Yankees have plenty of money left for pitching. The Rays, Red Sox, and Brewers are following suit and are expected to spend heavily internationally this season, although not as much as New York. It's going to be an interesting couple of months in Yankee land and I personally cannot wait for July 2nd.

One Yankee Listed In Baseball America Top 20 Summer League Prospects List

One member of the New York Yankees was listed in a subscriber only article written by Ben Badler from Baseball America showcasing the Top 20 Summer League prospects. The summer leagues that are showcased are the big ones, the Dominican and Venezuelan Leagues, and the Yankee that made the list was Jorge Mateo. This is not as much of a ranking as much as it is just a list of names to watch this summer in short season baseball.

Mateo is an 18 year old shortstop coming off a season in which he hit .287/.378/.450 and a 145 wRC+. The right hander is expected to come stateside this summer to play with the Gulf Coast Yankees after signing in January of 2012 for the low, low price of $250 K. Here is a quote from Badler about Mateo who was ranked as an 80 in the running department on a scale of 20-80:

“He’s a premium athlete who should be able to stay at shortstop, where he shows very good range, quick feet and a plus arm … He should have good power for a shortstop, with 15-20 home runs a very realistic possibility. Mateo uses the whole field and did a solid job of managing the strike-zone in his debut, though he will have to make adjustments as he moves up the ladder and starts to see better breaking pitches.”

Quick Yankees Winter League Wrap Up

The winter leagues are wrapping up or wrapped up with the end of the year looming and I wanted to take this time to give a quick wrap up on the winter leagues. Here are a few quick blurbs from the bigger named and closer to the majors Yankees prospects that participated in various winter leagues this offseason:

Zoilo Almonte: .316/.343/.454 w/ 4 HR and 20 RBI in 43 Dominican League games

Gary Sanchez: .267/.330/.367 w/ 1 2B and 2 RBI in 12 Domincan League games

Ronnier Mustelier: .270/.386/.360 w/ 2 HR, 27 RBI, and 28 BB in 53 Mexican Pacific League games

Adonis Garcia: .325/.347/.502 w/ 15 2B, 8 HR, and 39 RBI in 53 Venezuelan League games

Jose Pirela: .335/.419/.510 w/ 25 XBH, 41 RBI, and 33 BB in 61 Venezuelan League games

Great winter numbers for Zoilo who could be the Yankees 5th outfielder if New York can move Ichiro Suzuki to the San Francisco Giants. Garcia and Pirela are considered to be fringe prospects at this point but after this Venezuelan League showing the Yankees may be looking at adding them to the 40 man roster as soon as next offseason if this is a sign of what's to come. Mustelier had a disappointing showing overall in my opinion, especially in the power department, as well as Sanchez but at the end of the day you cannot put too much stock into these numbers, for better or worse.

MLB &Players Reach Winter League Deals

A deal has been reached between the MLB and the players association that will allow major leaguers to head down to winter league ball and play this season. With the Venezuelan Winter League and the Mexican Pacific League ready to start up this week, the Dominican Winter League starting on Friday, and the Puerto Rican League opening November 1st this news comes right on time.

This does not necessarily mean that the Yankees can let a, for example, Robinson Cano to go down and play in the winter leagues but it does relax the rules just a tad. If pitchers who spent the majority of their time in AA and threw 140 innings or more they will not be eligible which is down from 155 innings pitched from last year. The max for AA relievers has been reduced as well from 55 appearances last year to a max of 45 appearances this year.

With major league positional players with up to 552 plate appearances which is up from 502 plate appearances last season. Also the "physical incapacity" rule will be more strict and followed through instead of the club just filing paperwork. Other minor changes include better equipment, facilities, bathrooms, clubhouses, and fields.

Obviously teams are worried about their players being overworked and all that but teams still control whether their players can play or not so I see no problems with these new welcomed additions.

Leonardo Molina International Signing Update

I did not originally know this somehow and learned it recently and wanted to bring this new found information to you guys. Until late last night I did not know that Leonardo Molina could not sign with the Yankees, or anyone for that matter, until his 16th birthday on August 1st. I was expecting to come home from work yesterday seeing the signing and was confused when I did not and now I know why. It's going to be a long month as all these guys come off of the board and we wait and hope we sign Molina. The Yankees must know something that we do not or I do not think we would be waiting.

Yankees Will Likely Sign Yonauris Rodriguez Tomorrow

Yonaruris Rodriguez is a Dominican short stop that the Yankees will likely sign tomorrow when International spending starts at midnight. The contract is expected to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000 which will eat up a nice chunk of the Yankees $1,880,000 they have to spend for the entire year in the international pool. Y Rod, yeah I am starting that before anyone else gets the idea, is a right handed batter and is considered to be a defensive wizard with quick feet and soft hands. Ben Badler did not rank him in his top 30 International Prospects list before this years international spending spree started but the Yankees have seen enough of him in the Dominican Prospect League and at their minor league complex to know they want him in Yankees pinstripes. The Yankees will almost certainly max out their international spending cap with the expected signings of Y Rod and Leonardo Molina tomorrow.

Gary Sanchez Has Been Traded For Pedro Ciriaco

We learned today that Yankees #1 prospect  Gary Sanchez has been traded for Pedro Ciriaco. Both players are under contract in the Dominican Winter League and that is where the trade went down, not between the Yankees and the San Diego Padres. I didn't scare you guys, did I? Gary is still a New York Yankees player and we did not trade him for a guy that was recently designated for assignment and picked up by the Padres from the Boston Red Sox.

Two Prospects In Dominican League Top Prospects List

Two New York Yankees prospects have been included in Ben Badler of Baseball America's top prospects list from the Dominican Summer League. Rafael DePaula, who seems like he has been in the Yankees system forever because he should have been in the system a long time ago, made the list to the surprise of nobody after making a strong professional debut as a starting pitcher last season. He is expected to move through the Yankees system rather quickly and will definitely be stateside in 2013. Yankees SS Abiatal Avelino is also on the list after signing for $300K back in 2011. Avelino is also expected to come state side in 2013 with the Charleston Riverdogs so watch out for both of these guys.

Yankees Announce 2013 DSL 1 Roster

The Yankees have announced their 2013 Dominican Summer League 1 roster and in honor of "Prospects Month" here on The Greedy Pinstripes we wanted to bring it to you first. For the official Yankees DSL 1 website and news please go HERE. Here is the Yankees DSL 1 roster:

Pitchers:

Jose Pena
Roberto de la Rosa
Rafael De Paula
Luis Cedeno
Joaquin Acuna
Edwin Rodriguez
Daury Aquino
Freddery Arias
Gean Batista
Havid Burgos
Erick Canela
Samuel Garcia
Fernando Jose
Reynaldo Polanco
Francis Joseph
Dallas Martinez
Luis Severino
Braudy Perez

Catchers:

Roybell Herrera
Jose Lopez
Daniel Vavrusa
Rainiero Coa

Infielders:

Melvin Aquino
Abiatal Avelino
Abraham Ramos
Jose Javier
Renzo Martini
Allison Reyes
Christopher Tamarez

Outfielders:

Jose Polanco
Jose Figueroa
Julio Pina
Miguel Mojica
Wilmer Romero
Sandy Brito
Edwin Fulgencio

Yankees Announce DSL 2 Roster For 2013

The Yankees have announced their 2013 Dominican Summer League 2 roster and in honor of "Prospects Month" here on The Greedy Pinstripes we wanted to bring it to you first. For the official Yankees DSL 2 website and news please go HERE. Here is the Yankees DSL 2 roster:

Pitchers:

Carlos Diaz
Hector Bello
Josias Sanchez
Juan Jimenez
Jose Pujols
Christopher Cabrera
Francisco Duran
Raudy Guzman
Hershelon Juliana
Hector Martinez
Eduardo Rivera
Jose Pichardo
Aderlis Reyes
David Rodriguez
Kelvin Magallanes
Elvin Perez
Maikel De La Rosa
Rafael Ordaz
Brayan Alcantara
Moises Cedeno

Catchers:

Ozzie Liranzo
Alvaro Noriega
Jesus Aparicio

Infielders:

Jhoan Gomez
Yohanny Castillo
Angel Aguilar
Daniel Barrios
Bryan Cuevas
Victor Rey
Allen Valerio
Jorge Mateo

Outfielders:

Freite Marte
Junior Valera
Barfil Munoz
Abraham Pierret
Wascar Rodriguez

Yankees Will Not Allow Cano To Play In Winter Ball

The Yankees have declined Robinson Cano's request to play in this years Dominican Winter League playoffs. Cano will be entering his age 30 season and will be the integral part of the Yankees offensive attack so this move makes a lot of sense especially when you consider that he has played in the third most number of games in the last six seasons with at least 159 games in each. He really has nothing to gain and everything to lose from this so this makes sense from the Yankees point of view.