Meet the 2019 Yankees: Stephen Tarpley

Stephen Tarpley came up last season for the New York Yankees to help solidify the bullpen as a left-handed option for manager Aaron Boone. Tarpley is not a name you heard a lot about in 2018, but he did a lot to impress me as a fan and I am extremely excited to see what he can bring to the table here in 2019. Honestly, I think he wins a spot out of spring training, but that is nothing more than that, speculation. He will have to stay healthy and earn the spot this spring, but his arm and his stuff is ready for the big stage and the MLB level. For those who know him, you know that, but for those who don’t, let’s meet him. Stephen Tarpley, everyone.

Stephen Tarpley, 26-years old, is a left-handed relief pitcher for the New York Yankees and a right-handed bat that is under team control through the 2024 season. Tarpley is 6’1” and weighs 235 lbs. and is still considered to have his rookie status through the 2019 season. Tarpley brings a 92 MPH sinker, a 93 MPH four-seam fastball, a 79 MPH curve ball and a rarely thrown 86 MPH changeup with him in his bag of tricks every time he walks up to Yankee Stadium. Tarpley is flyball prone, which is odd given that he is primarily a sinker pitcher, but he neutralizes left-handed hitters well enough to earn a spot on most teams in their bullpen.

Stephen Tarpley was born on February 17, 1993 in Los Angeles, California. Tarpley attended Gilbert High School in Gilbert, Arizona where the Cleveland Indians drafted him in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB First Year Players Draft. Tarpley did not sign and instead attended the University of South Carolina to play baseball for the Trojans. After one year at USC, Tarpley transferred to Scottsdale Community College where the Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the third round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Baltimore gave Tarpley a $525,000 signing bonus and assigned him to the Gulf Coast Orioles to begin his professional career.

On January 27, 2015 the Orioles traded Tarpley to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with a player-to-be-named-later, for Travis Snider. Tarpley pitched well for Pittsburgh, catching the eye of Yankees GM Brian Cashman who swung a trade for him along with Tito Polo for Ivan Nova. Tarpley pitched well for New York in 2017, posting a 7-0 record with an 0.88 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 18 relief appearances between Tampa and Double-A Trenton.

Tarpley began the 2018 season in Double-A, but quickly earned the promotion to Triple-A before being called up as a September call-up on September 1. Tarpley pitched in 10 regular season games for the Yankees and even earned a spot on their postseason roster, pitching one inning in Game Two of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox.

Tarpley will look to earn a spot out of spring in 2019 at the Major League level, and honestly, I think that he will. Good luck to you, Stephen!

Checking in w/ the Traded Yankees Prospects in 2017

The New York Yankees made quite a few traded this past July 31^st trading deadline that included some highly touted prospects inside their farm system. Let’s check back in with those prospects one last time and maybe gauge how these trades are going to work out for both teams going forward. Obviously it is way too early to tell on these trades involving prospects but this look can give us all hopefully a detailed first impression of the deals.

The Yankees acquire David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Todd Frazier.

The White Sox acquire Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo and Tyler Clippard.

In the weeks leading up to the deal there were many scouts that had their doubts about Rutherford’s ability to hit for hard contact and power. Many wondered if the Yankees would be patient with Rutherford or trade him while his value was still high and we all obviously got the answer to that question with this deal. Rutherford has hit .228/.302/.272 with a 72 wRC+ since the trade as of the time of this writing and has still yet to hit for power or hard contact. He’s still young and was technically drafted out of High School, although he was a 19-year old player drafted out of High School, so the sky is still the limit on this kid but it seems as though the Yankees may have gotten the better end of that deal as of right now. Three years from now we could be talking about the worst trade in the Brian Cashman era. You can’t predict baseball.

Clarkin made two whole starts for his new team before a strained oblique landed the lefty in a familiar place, on the disabled list. Clarkin pitched a whole eight innings for the White Sox and pitched to a 6.04 FIP in an extremely small sample size. Different name, same story for Polo who has only managed 79 plate appearances for the White Sox before landing on the disabled list. Polo will represent the White Sox in the Arizona Fall League though because when he was healthy he did produce a .278/.342/.389 and 113 wRC+ batting line.

Finally the curious case of Tyler Clippard. Clippard was terrible in the Bronx, he rebuilt some of his stock with the White Sox and was ultimately flipped to the Houston Astros in a second trade this season. Since joining Houston, again at the time of this writing, Clippard has been back to his old ways posting a 7.71 ERA and 4.85 FIP with Houston but he may ultimately get a World Series ring out of it regardless so I doubt he’s too bothered by it. Clippard looks a lot like the pitcher we saw in New York and a lot less like the guy who had a 1.80 ERA with the Chicago White Sox.

The New York Yankees acquire Jaime Garcia and cash considerations.

The Minnesota Twins acquire Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns.

The Yankees basically got Garcia for free in terms of dollars and cents but not in terms of prospects as the team had to part with a pair of minor league pitchers in the deal. Neither pitcher really fit in with the Yankees long term plans to be completely honest although Enns could have been a bullpen piece for the team going forward. Enns did make his MLB debut this season pitching 2.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits. Shortly after the rough outing in which he labored heavily through his two-plus innings Enns was placed on the disabled list with a should injury. Enns is currently pitching in minor league rehab games and could be a September call up for Minnesota.

Littell has pitched well for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts pitching to a 2.81 ERA and 3.51 FIP in seven starts. Littell does not fit the mold that the Yankees have seemingly fallen in love with since he is a soft-tossing left-hander but Littell has pitched well in every stop he has made throughout his minor league career so this one may be a hard loss to look back on in three-to-four years.

The New York Yankees acquire Sonny Gray.

The Oakland Athletics acquire Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler and James Kaprielian.

The big one, the trade that made the Yankees the Yankees again. The trade that sent three big prospects to the Athletics for right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray. Mateo was obviously the centerpiece of the deal and has hit .283/.328/.480 with two home runs for the Midland Rockhounds. Mateo is striking out at nearly a 23% clip but has played nice defense and has been a nice pickup for Oakland overall.

Both Fowler, knee, and Kaprielian, Tommy John surgery, have suffered season-ending injuries and will not play for Oakland this season. The A’s had their eyes on the future though when they made this deal while New York had their eyes on the present, 2018 and 2019. This deal could be one of those deals that ultimately work out equally as well for both teams given time. 

Meet a Prospect Again: David Robertson

The New York Yankees got ahead of the curve this week acquiring three players from the Chicago White Sox including third baseman Todd Frazier and relievers Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson. We’ve already met Frazier today here on the blog and we have already been re-introduced to former Yankees prospect Kahnle let’s get reacquainted with another former Yankee. This is Meet a Prospect, Again: The David Robertson Special Edition.

David Alan Robertson was born on April 9, 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama where he spent his first three years at Central Tuscaloosa High School. While at the school Robertson played shortstop for the Falcons and was a pitcher as well leading his team to back-to-back area titles and back-to-back 6A State Playoffs as well. After Robertson’s junior season his school was split into three smaller high schools dropping Robertson to 5A ball with Paul W. Bryant High School. In his first season there and the first season of the school’s baseball team’s existence Robertson led the Stampede to an area title and to the Class 5A State Playoffs. Robertson’s winning attitude caught the attention of the University of Alabama who gave him a scholarship to play baseball for the Crimson Tide.

As a freshman Robertson was named Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American by Baseball America while also leading the SEC in batting average against as he held opposing hitters to just a .183 average. As a sophomore Robertson was even better leading the Crimson Tide to their 25^th SEC Championship while appearing in 29 games and compiling a 4-4 record with a 3.02 ERA and a SEC-leading 10 saves. Robertson was 21-years old at the time of the draft leaving the right-hander eligible for the Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft a year earlier than most and the New York Yankees came calling in the 17^th round.

Robertson was drafted by the Yankees and ultimately signed with the organization in 2006 beginning his professional career. Robertson was absolutely dominant for the Yankees in their minor league system including three different stops in 2007 and two more stops in 2008 before reaching the Major Leagues on June 28, 2008. Robertson’s MLB career did not start off as well as his minor league career leaving the right-hander optioned back to Triple-A after starting his career off with a 6.31 ERA but he was back in September as a part of September call ups where Robertson settled down and gained some much needed confidence at the MLB level.

Robertson started the 2009 season in the minor leagues but was called up multiple times for injuries and the right-hander made the most of his time here. Robertson pitched so well that the Yankees couldn’t send him down and the right-hander was a huge part of the Yankees success in 2009 and into the playoffs and their eventual World Series win. Robertson earned the title “Houdini” in those 2009 playoffs after entering two high-pressure situations with multiple runners on base in the ALDS and ALCS escaping both instances without earning a run. Robertson had a World Series ring and was officially a staple in the Yankees bullpen.

Robertson pitched well in 2010 and despite the Yankees best efforts to load down the bullpen in 2011 Robertson was one of the few arms left standing after injuries decimated Joba Chamberlain, Pedro Feliciano and Rafael Soriano. Robertson was thrusted into the setup role for Mariano Rivers and ended up earning a spot on the 2011 American League All-Star roster replacing David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays. Robertson finished the season with 100 strikeouts becoming the first Yankee since Mariano Rivera in 1996 to finish the season with 100 or more strikeouts. Robertson finished his breakout 2011 season with a league leading 1.08 ERA and 34 holds earning him one point in the AL Cy Young Award and AL Most Valuable Player Award voting.

The Yankees gave Robertson a one-year deal worth $1.6 million for the 2012 season and Robertson was worth every penny of it for New York. Mariano Rivera went down with season-ending surgery in May of 2012 and Robertson was told he would share closing duties with Rafael Soriano. As we all know Soriano untucked his way to the closers role while Robertson settled in once again as the Yankees setup man having another successful season finishing with a 2.67 ERA. Robertson had one more season as the Yankees setup man in 2013 before Mariano Rivera retired at seasons end making Robertson the Yankees closer in 2014. Robertson saved 39 of 44 save attempts in 2014 with one of those blown saves coming on Derek Jeter’s final game inside Yankee Stadium giving the Yankees Captain an opportunity to finish his Yankees tenure the only way he knew how, dramatically, before hitting free agency after the season for the first time in his career.

New York offered Robertson a qualifying offer worth $15.3 million on a one-year deal but Robertson declined and ultimately signed a four-year deal with the Chicago White Sox worth $46 million. As a member of the White Sox the former Yankees closer saved 34 games in his first season for Chicago followed by 37 saves in 2016. The problem for Robertson and the White Sox is that much of the team struggled and it seemed like a rebuild was in order which leads us to the 2017 campaign. Robertson was almost traded to the Washington Nationals before the 2017 season but the deal fell through due to disagreements regarding finances leading him to start the season as the White Sox closer. The White Sox fell further and further out of contention leading the team to trade Robertson along with Frazier and Kahnle back to the Yankees for Tyler Clippard and a prospect package.

At the time of the trade Robertson was sporting a 4-2 record with a 2.70 ERA and 13 saves in 33.1 innings pitched. If you don’t remember Robertson’s pitching style the right-hander has an overhand delivery that allows his four-seam fastball to reach 92-93 MPH comfortably and 95-96 MPH when he really reaches back for some heat. Robertson also sports a curveball which he throws as a secondary pitch and an occasional circle changeup that he throws mainly to left-handed hitters.

Robertson and his wife, Erin, started the charitable foundation called “High Socks for Hope” back when he was with the Yankees with the hopes of helping the victim’s in Tuscaloosa, Alabama deal with the tornado strikes in 2011. Robertson agreed to donate $100 for every strikeout he recorded during that season and for his work was named the 2011 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. Now Robertson, his beautiful wife Erin and their two children Luke Joseph and Violet Grace are back in the Bronx and back in Yankees pinstripes and we couldn’t be any happier.

Welcome back to the team David and more importantly welcome back to the family!!!! We missed you. 

Meet a Prospect: Tommy Kahnle

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox pulled off a blockbuster of a trade on Tuesday night that brought three players from Chicago to New York and left four players turning in their Yankees pinstripes for White Sox uniforms. That much we know but how much does the average fan know about the former Yankees farmhand that was lost to the Colorado Rockies via the Rule 5 Draft that the team acquired in Tommy Kahnle? Now much? Well you’re in luck because this is Meet a Prospect: The Tommy Kahnle Special Edition!

Thomas Robert Kahnle was born on August 7, 1989 and has spent time in the Major Leagues with both the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox. First things first though and the first thing is High School baseball. Kahnle spent his high school years attending and playing baseball at Shaker High School in Latham, New York before heading to Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. It was in Boca Raton that Kahnle caught the attention of the New York Yankees who drafted the right-hander in the fifth round of the 2010 MLB First Year Players Draft.

Kahnle was assigned immediately to the Staten Island Yankees in the New York/Penn League where he made 11 appearances pitching to a 0.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. That was enough to earn Kahnle a call up to the Charleston Riverdogs in Low-A Ball for the 2011 before progressing to the High-A Tampa Yankees and the Trenton Thunder in 2012. Kahnle was developing fast, pitching fast and progressing through the Yankees system faster than many probably imagined.

Kahnle was invited to Yankees spring training camp in 2013 but ultimately did not make the team out of spring training camp. Instead Kahnle earned an Eastern League All-Star bid finishing the season with a 2.85 ERA with 74 strikeouts in just 60 innings. The Yankees left Kahnle available and unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft that season and the Colorado Rockies chose him in the draft. Kahnle was placed in the Rockies bullpen for the 2014 season and the right-hander made his MLB debut on April 3. Kahnle spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons in Colorado before being designated for assignment following the 2015 season and before ultimately being traded to the Chicago White Sox for Yency Almonte.

Kahnle was then traded to the Yankees this week where his professional career all began. Some are left scratching their heads as to why the Yankees would want Kahnle back but others see his amazing strikeout numbers and number of years of team control and see a guy to build a bullpen around. I am definitely the latter and not the former so let me be the first to welcome you back not only to the organization but back to the family as well. Welcome back Tommy! Stay a while this time. 

Meet a Prospect: Todd Frazier

The New York Yankees pulled off a bit of a blockbuster trade late Tuesday night as the Chicago White Sox agreed to trade third baseman Todd Frazier and right-handed relief pitchers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to New York for right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard and prospects Blake Rutherford, Ian Clarkin and Tito Polo. As Yankees fans we should all be relatively familiar with David Robertson and if you paid attention to the farm system whatsoever you should know the former Rule 5 Draft loss Tommy Kahnle but many of us may not know Frazier, the Jersey-born kid with a picture on the field at Yankee Stadium with Derek Jeter. Let’s fix that and let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Todd Frazier Special Edition!

Todd Brian Frazier was born on February 12, 1986 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey as the youngest of three boys. Frazier grew up in Toms River, New Jersey and was a member of the 1996 Pee-Wee National Champions. At age 12 Frazier was on the Toms River East American Little League All-Star team that advances all the way to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Frazier and Toms River went undefeated in the tournament including the championship game against the Kashima Little League Team where Frazier broke out in a big way. Frazier went 4-for-4 in the game including a leadoff home run and the right-hander also pitched and earned the victory in the 12-9 victory for Toms River. This marked the first time an American Little League team won the world championship since 1993. To celebrate the championship the team was invited to Yankee Stadium before a game with the Oakland Athletics where each member of the team was publicly announced to the crowd and got to stand next to a Yankees player at their position. Frazier was Toms River’s shortstop so he stood next to Derek Jeter before attending and playing baseball at Toms River High School South. Talk about a talking point with the High School ladies.

Frazier attended college at the University of Rutgers and played baseball for the school’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights. In 2007 Frazier played in all 63 of the team’s games posting a .377 batting average and .502 on-base percentage en route to earning Big East Player of the Year honors. Frazier caught the eye of the Cincinnati Reds with his 42 career collegiate home runs leading the organization to draft him 34^th overall in the 2007 MLB First Year Players Draft. Frazier toiled around in the Red system playing multiple positions until the 2011 season when Frazier was called up to the Major Leagues along with Matt Maloney while Edinson Volquez and Jordan Smith were optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Frazier quietly had solid season after solid season for Cincinnati until the 2014 season when the Reds third baseman was named a National League All-Star for the first time in his career. Frazier also elected to participate in the Home Run Derby in 2014 and Frazier won the National League bracket before falling to defending champion Yoenis Cespedes.

The Red extended Frazier after that 2014 campaign to a new two-year deal worth $12 million and once again Frazier was solid for Cincinnati. Frazier looked to avenge his loss in the Home Run Derby in 2014 by participating once again in 2015 and this time the right-hander won the derby in front of the home crowd in Cincinnati. Frazier beat out Prince Fielder, Josh Donaldson and Joc Pederson en route to the championship becoming the first hometown participant to win the Home Run Derby since Ryne Sandberg did it as a Chicago Cubs player in 1990. All that earned Frazier was a direct ticket out of town after the 2015 season though as the Reds, who were rebuilding, traded Frazier to the Chicago White Sox in a three-team trade that included the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Frazier represented the White Sox in the Home Run Derby in 2016 but once again Frazier came up short falling to Giancarlo Stanton who hit 20 in the final round to win the derby. Stanton’s 61 home runs during that derby and Frazier’s 42 home run were the two top totals of all-time in the event at the time. Frazier once again fell on hard times though as the White Sox struggled. Frazier once again found himself on a team rebuilding and once again found himself as the center of trade rumors. This time the New York Yankees came calling acquiring David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle in the deal.

If Frazier wanted to always relive that moment standing at the shortstop position inside Yankee Stadium he now has that opportunity because he is now officially a member of the New York Yankees. Welcome to the family Todd!

The Yankees and the World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic is right around the corner now that the calendar has turned to March so here is a quick recap of the New York Yankees players that will be representing their native countries in the event.

Tommy Layne – Team Italy

Tyler Clippard – Team USA

Dellin Betances – Team Dominican Republic

Didi Gregorius – Team Netherlands

Giovanny Gallegos – Team Columbia

Tito Polo - Team Columbia

Kellin Deglan – Tam Canada

Luis Severino – Team Dominican Republic (alternate)

Michael Pineda – Team Dominican Republic (alternate)

Meet a Prospect: Tito Polo & Stephen Tarpley

The New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates made a trade before the August 1^st trading deadline that sent RHP Ivan Nova to Pittsburgh to help bolster their rotation for another playoff push while the Yankees received two players to be named later. Those players have been named and their names are Tito Polo and Stephen Tarpley. Let’s meet them. This is Meet a Prospect: the Tito Polo and Stephen Tarpley Editions.

Let’s start with the pitching side of things and Stephen Tarpley. Tarpley is now 23-years old and was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round of the 2013 MLB First year Players Draft. Tarpley was involved in the deal with the Pirates last year that sent Travis Snider to the Orioles as an A-Ball pitcher. Tarpley is raw as you would imagine even at 23 but his impressive strikeout numbers, 20.9% K/9 ratio, is enough to take a waiver on him. Tarpley has a 94-95 MPH fastball that has sinking action to it that creates a lot of ground balls as well as a curve ball and a slider. Tarpley has also thrown a changeup that he seems to command well which could make him a legitimate four-pitch pitcher or at least a solid three-pitch pitcher that can pound the strike zone.

Polo was originally signed out of Columbia in 2012 by the Pirates and has seen both Low-A and High-A Ball this season for Pittsburgh. Polo is hitting a combined .289/.360/.451 with 16 home runs and 37 steals in 109 combined games for Pittsburgh while playing outfield for the organization. That’s all the Yankees need is another outfielder, right? Especially one that projects to possibly be a fourth outfielder at the MLB level but he does hit for power, he should hit for a decent average and he runs very well which helps him on the bases and in the outfield defensively. Hey, you never know. He could blossom into something special. I don’t remember many knocking down the doors to acquire Bernie Williams, recent Player of the Year Ben Gamel or many other’s doors when they were in A-Ball either.

Both Tarpley and Polo are Rule 5 Draft eligible after this season so either could be taken from the organization or protected. I can’t see Polo being protected under any circumstances but Tarpley could be protected and hidden in a bullpen for a season, at least through spring training anyway, so this will be interesting to watch. Either way Cashman turned a struggling free agent to be that couldn’t get MLB hitters out into two seemingly usable prospects, that’s a win every day of the week.