Blake Rutherford was the Yankees first round pick and 18th
overall pick in the 2016 MLB First Year Players Draft. This much we know but
what a lot of us don’t know is what the kid did while at Chaminade High School
in California. High School stats are surprisingly hard to find, even for top
draft picks and prospects like Rutherford, so this is what we could find.
It’s easy to see why the Yankees were so high on this kid
despite being a tough sign and despite being a high school prospect. Rutherford
can flat out hit and he has the tools to stick in center field in the long term
making him a talent too special to pass up.
On this day in 1998 the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 4-2 to tie a major league record by winning or splitting their 24th consecutive series this season. The Yankees equaled the record shared by the 1912 Red Sox and the 1970 Reds.
Also on this day in 1969 the Yankees traded Tom Tresh to the Detroit Tigers for the 1962 Rookie of the Year Ron Woods. The outfielder, who grew up in Detroit, would retire at the end of the 1969 season.
Finally on this day in 1933 both the Yankees manager Joe McCarthy and their first basemen Lou Gehrig were thrown out of a game. McCarthy was suspended for three games while Gehrig was not keeping his consecutive games streak at 1,249 straight games.
The New York Yankees are off tonight after playing 40 games in 41 days and the rest tonight is much deserved and definitely much needed. It's too bad that the team is likely spending the off day traveling out west to Colorado to take on the Colorado Rockies inside Coors Field. So while the Yankees either travel or get settled into their hotel rooms to have nightmares of facing Nolan Arenado for three games I leave you with this open thread for the night.
Talk about whatever you like, just keep it respectful please. Thank you and have a great night.
The New York Yankees have signed five of their draft picks from this year's draft just days after the draft wrapped up. No one too notable, not Blake Rutherford or anything, but New York has an ability of getting a lot out of these later picks so it's worth staying tuned to.
4th round pick Nick Nelson signed rather than heading to the University of Florida.
6th round pick Brooks Kriske signed as a college senior and a closer. Easy sign, probably for $100K.
9th round Tim Lynch signed. Another college senior and another no-brainer.
According to George A. King of the New York Post and Baseball America the Chicago Cubs were in town over the weekend to scout the Yankees three-headed monster in their bullpen. The Yankees sport "No Runs DMC" but this trio is more commonly referred to as Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances but regardless of their name the team with the best record in Major League Baseball this season has taken notice. The Cubs reportedly want at least one of the three-headed monster and may be willing to trade outfielder Jorge Soler to do it.
Kyle Schwarber would not be included in any potential deal nor would Javier Baez according to the Chicago Sun Times, and why would they since Hector Rondon is 11-for-11 in save opportunities this season, but the name Jorge Soler continues to pop up in trade rumors and talks.
The Yankees would be buying low on Soler who is in the third year of a nine-year deal worth $30 million that pays him no more than $5 million in any season but for a rental like Chapman that may be the perfect match for both clubs. Soler is currently on the disabled list right now but if any trade went down he would bring an immediate 20 home run power threat and right-handed bat to the Yankees outfield. Can you say bye-bye Aaron Hicks?
Nothing is imminent, these are all rumors and speculations at this point, but this is something we will and we all should keep a very close eye on.
The 2016 MLB Draft is all but finished and the Yankees have restocked their farm system once again with a plethora of talent. Obviously this is all dependent on their top picks signing with the team and one of those top picks was a college bat and a second baseman named Nick Solack. Solack was the second baseman for the Louisville Cardinal this season Information on these guys is hard to find but here is what I have been able to find thus far on potentially the latest member of the Yankees organization. This is Meet a Prospect: Nick Solak.
Solak is a line-drive hitting second baseman with speed and a good batters eye. Solak put up a .380/.474/.576 triple slash with the Cardinal this season that included five home runs, nine stolen bases, 27 walks and just 19 strikeouts all season long. Solak is a contact hitter but he doesn’t figure to have much power in his professional career. Solak is considered to be a gritty player much like Brett Gardner and suspect defense may land him in the outfield, notably center field, like Gardner eventually.
Solak has quick hands and sure hands to go with above-average range but his mechanics and footwork are still leaving much to be desired despite the polish of being a college defender. For this reason alone Baseball America had Solak ranked 86th in the draft while MLB.com had him ranked 147th. Keith Law did not have Solak in his Top 100 draft prospects list whatsoever.
Solak is 21-years old and may be a pick that the Yankees use to save some money on their slots to sign first round pick Blake Rutherford. Solak is slotted to earn $1.04 million after being the 62nd overall pick in the draft but history would tell you that college seniors generally sign for less than players who have other options if they choose not to sign. Rutherford definitely has options, he’s already committed to UCLA to continue his amateur career, so saving a nickel and dime here and there to sign Rutherford may be important and an organizational game changer.
Welcome to the organization Nick and welcome to the family (again, unofficially).
With the 18th pick in the 2016 MLB Draft the New York Yankees selected Blake Rutherford, an outfielder from Chaminade College Preparatory School in Chatsworth, California. Boy Damon Oppenheimer loves his Southern California players doesn’t he? The Yankees may have gotten one of the best bats in the draft with this pick and one of the very best prospects in the entire draft class so it’s all the more important to get Rutherford to sign. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Blake Rutherford Edition.
Rutherford is a left-handed hitting power hitting outfield who can do just about anything in the field and at the plate. Rutherford is projected to have above-average contact and above-average power when he reaches his full potential and his speed will allow him to wreak havoc on the basepaths while keeping him in center field as a professional. Rutherford may outgrow the center field position and some question whether he may be a right fielder when he reaches the Major Leagues but with his bat you let him play any outfield position he wants, his offense is potentially a game-changer.
Rutherford, a potential game-changer at just 19-years old. Rutherford is committed to UCLA and will likely have to sign an over-slot deal to forego that commitment and begin his professional career. The slot recommendation for Rutherford is $2.44 million but the Yankees have a knack for signing cheaper college seniors in rounds two through ten, see Nick Solak as an example of this, to save cap money. Expect to see that happen this season as well as it may take $3 million or more to lure Rutherford away from SoCal.
Rutherford was considered by many to be the best pure hitter in the 2016 Draft and some even thought he would go first overall before the Philadelphia Phillies took Mickey Moniak. Keith Law had Rutherford listed as his 6th best prospect overall while MLB.com had him 8th and Baseball America had him 9th. Welcome to the organization, unofficially, and welcome to the family Blake! I know a ton of people that are excited to potentially have you.
The New York Yankees are off tonight, I haven't been able to say that much in the last forty-something days unfortunately, so like the Yankees are undoubtedly resting up tonight I plan on doing the same. How do you relax? Me personally I like to be in the house with my wife and family either watching TV or listening to music. Speaking of music here is a music recommendation from the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium to chill to tonight inside your home.
So here is the music that plays every time Mark Teixeira steps up to the plate inside Yankee Stadium( because it may never happen again unless he's a visiting player). The name of the song is It's Tricky by Run DMC. Enjoy.
The 2016 MLB Draft is in the books after the New York Yankees selected 40 potential prospects to add to the farm system. We've already met the first two in Blake Rutherford and Nick Solak so this morning we meet the Yankees 3rd round pick, a High School right-handed pitcher named Nolan Martinez.
Martinez was drafted in the third round by the Yankees out of Culver City High School in California, yeah another California pick for Damon Oppenheimer and the Yanks. Martinez was drafted as a pitcher but in High School he could hold his own with the bat as well standings at 6'3" and 165 lbs. Martinez brings a fastball that sits between 87-93 MPH but it can tough 95 MPH with plenty of room to grow into his frame and into his body adding movement and velocity. Martinez also throws a power slider, seemingly the Yankees favorite pitch for a player to throw in their system, that can hit around 78 MPH and that he can command for strikes. Martinez also owns a changeup but it is considered to be raw at this point which is not uncommon for High School pitching. Especially pitching that fell to the third round.
On the scout's scale of 20-80 Martinez has a 55 ranked fastball while his curveball and control are both ranked at 50. His changeup was graded at a 45 and his overall game and repertoire was also ranked as a 45 which made him the 10th best pitcher in the state of California. Again you must remember the Yankees have drafted a High School pitcher and not a college pitcher that is polished and MLB ready. Martinez is a project and he has projectability, that's why New York drafted him in the third round.
So Martinez comes with two above-average pitches and a repeatable delivery that should lead to some durability in the big show. Baseball America ranked Martinez 67th on their rankings while MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus had him 99th and 108th overall respectively. Either way Martinez was said to be excited about joining the organization and that's the type of players we need here. Players that want to be here. Congratulations Nolan and, unofficially of course, welcome to the family!
I know, I know. I said I was going to get away from Nick Swisher but I feel like we should go back to him now that Chris Parmelee has been placed on the 15 day DL. Also this may be the final time we get a chance to check in with Swisher as his minor league opt-out date comes on Wednesday. The Yankees haven't seemingly wanted to call up Swisher for reasons we can all speculate at which could potentially leave the Yankees even more short-handed at the position.
Will Swisher opt out or will he ever get the call back to the Bronx? Stay tuned.
