Yankees Sign Kyle Davies To Minor League Deal

Yankees signed RHP Kyle Davies to minor league deal. Former KCR hasn't pitched in majors since 2011, gave up ARod's 500th HR in 2007
— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) February 9, 2015

The New York Yankees have signed RHP Kyle Davies to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. Obviously Davies is a long shot to make the roster and will instead serve as Triple-A depth most likely. You may remember Davies from his times in Atlanta and Kansas City before numerous arm and shoulder injuries completely derailed his career in 2011.

We're rooting for you Kyle!

Whitley a Teacher First, MLB Player Second

From Yankees.com

NEW YORK -- As Chase Whitley walked to the mound in his Yankees uniform for the first time last May, a group of Alabama ballplayers excitedly huddled around a large-screen TV. The world may have seen a nervous rookie making his big league debut, but for these kids, this was just another lesson from a trusted teacher.

For the past six years, Whitley has spent part of his offseason training and teaching at the Excel Baseball Academy in Oxford, Ala., providing one-on-one pitching and hitting instruction to young athletes. The classes started as a way for a mid-level Draft pick to make ends meet on a Minor League salary, but as his career has blossomed, it has grown into much more.

"What's funny is, these kids -- especially the ones that I've seen grow up over the years -- they could care less that I was on national TV," Whitley said, with a laugh. "They still treat me the same. A kid may come in and say, 'Oh my gosh, he played for the Yankees,' and they get wide-eyed for a little. Before you know it, they're messing around, and they don't care who I am."

This winter, Whitley frequently made the 30-minute drive from his tiny hometown of Ranburne, Ala. -- population 409, according to the 2010 Census -- to Excel's 15,000 square foot campus. Starting his days at 3 p.m., the 25-year-old right-hander spent about 5 1/2 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings offering half-hour sessions to players ranging in age from 5-19.

"Seeing him interact with the kids, he's kind of like a rock star," said Matthew Maniscalco, a co-owner at Excel. "Even before he made it to the big leagues, he was a rock star where he was from. You can tell that he's had a lot of interactions with young people, and he has a good personality with the parents. Chase did a great job from day one."

Maniscalco helped found the academy in 2003 while playing professionally, making it to Triple-A with the Rays in '07. When Whitley's name started appearing frequently in local newspapers following his 15th-round selection by the Yankees, a mutual friend sent along an invitation for an instructor position.

At the time, Whitley was attempting to make ends meet on a Minor League salary, even posting advertisements on Facebook and telling people at his church about his availability for lessons. He jumped at the opportunity and said that he might pocket about $100 for a full night's work during the offseason, which provided supplemental income while his wife, Brooklyn, worked as a registered nurse.

"In the four months we'd be home, we'd make more money than we made during the season," Whitley said. "Now, I wanted to keep doing it because these guys gave me an opportunity when I was in the Minor Leagues. I enjoy the relationships that I've made with the parents and the kids."

That was evident on the evening of May 15, 2014, when Whitley walked to the mound at Citi Field to make his big league debut. On that Subway Series stage, he worked 4 2/3 innings of scoreless, two-hit ball, and perhaps he gained some confidence from a collection of about 30 video messages that were shipped to New York from his students in Alabama.

"In the days leading up to his start, we would video the kids sending him messages," Maniscalco said. "It was pretty funny; not all of them were, 'Hey, good luck, Chase.' A lot of them were like, 'David Wright is going to hit a bomb off your changeup,' talking trash. We just tried to keep it light because we knew he was going to be nervous."

Even with his big league duty under his belt, Whitley's second job as a baseball instructor will continue. He said that he recently converted a barn on his family's property into a baseball facility, moving out the cows and agricultural equipment in favor of cages and pitching lanes. In all, Whitley estimated that he was able to see about 40 players each week this past offseason.

"It's crazy, because the kids will come, and they'll hit or pitch, and they're in a barn," Whitley said. "I'm telling you, man, it's as redneck as you can get -- but it's awesome."

Whitley made 24 appearances (12 starts) last season in New York, going 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA, and is throwing side sessions in Tampa, Fla., as he prepares to compete for a spot on Joe Girardi's staff. One of the main themes Whitley preaches to his students back home in Alabama is consistency, something he will now try to show by example.

"I think you look at my first few starts, I proved that I can pitch there and do a lot of things," Whitley said. "I also proved that I had some success and battled through adversity as well as I could. My goal would be to know whenever Joe comes to get me -- whether it be as a starter or a reliever -- he knows what he's going to get. That's something that I'm always going to strive for."

Most Popular Article of the Week: Will Jacob Lindgren reach the Major Leagues in 2015?

By Eddie Sapienza

The Yankees have a superb bullpen, without Minor League Star Jacob Lindgren. Lindgren was just drafted in the 2014 MLB Draft. He flew threw the Yankees Minor Leauge system in 2014. Now fans are wondering will he reach the Majors in 2015 at some point?

I absolutley think he will reach the Yankees Major League team at some point this season. Will he brought up in September or will he prove himself in Spring Training. It matters if he proves himself during Spring Training which I think he is capable of doing. When he plays in Spring he will be facing most of the guys who he usually faces in a typical MiLB game.

So he should be able to prove himself in Spring Training and start the season in the Yankees bullpen. With Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller going to be the setup man and closer Lindgren would fit perfectly as a 7th inning guy.

He has nasty pitches just like Betances and Miller and all three would make the best combination in baseball and the best bullpen in baseball with the arms they already have. If he's worthy of pitching well with the Yankees system he should be their. We saw how fast he flew through the Minor League system and if he can do that he can do good in the Major Leagues.

Three reasons why Lindgren should be in the Major Leagues:
• The way he flew through the Minor Leagues makes me confident that he is MLB worthy.
• Adding him to in my opinion the best bullpen in baseball is a huge reason why he should be in the Bronx in 2015
• Just the way he pitches in general is huge. He fits in perfectly with the rest of the Yankee bullpen. The guys in the bullpen strike guys out lots. That's the way he is and can fit perfectly. The ERA was low which shows he hardly gives up runs.

This guy is the real deal and I can't wait to see him this year if he can prove himself.

Greedy Pinstripes Top 28 Prospects List: #20

Prospects Month is in full swing and we're already up to our 20th best prospect in the farm system, Domingo German.

Here is the write up from Kyle McDaniel on German:

Domingo German, RHP Video: German was recently acquired in the Martin Prado deal from the Marlins this offseason. He has a plus fastball and shows the ability to stick as a starter. He works 92-94 and his curveball will flash 55 at times, but is mostly average while his changeup flashes average. German’s command comes and goes and he’ll work backwards too often, so some scouts see a reliever, but the upside is a 4th starter.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20. Domingo German
21. Slade Heathcott
22. Nick Rumbelow
23. Jose Ramirez
24. Ramon Flores
25. Gosuke Katoh
26. Chasen Shreve
27. Taylor Dugas

28. Johnny Barbato

James Shields Signs With Padres

Until last night, with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp next week, one of the top free agent starting pitchers was still on the board.

Shields and the San Diego Padres finally agreed to a deal, after nearly a week of going back and forth. The contract will be worth $75 million over four years, and will include a club option for a fifth year (no word on the value of the option).

James is from the San Diego area, and wanted to return to the west coast. The Miami Marlins had actually offered a three year deal, with a vesting option for a fourth, for around $20 million a year. However, the allure of the west coast and more overall money, snagged Shields' services.

While some Yankees fans may be sad that their team didn't add another starter, as there are questions all over the rotation (Pineda's shoulder, Tanaka's elbow, Sabathia's elbow, Capuano and Eovaldi's effectiveness), I'm not one of them. For starters, James just turned 33 years old, and most players at that age are about to decline. And seeing his strikeout rate fall in each of the last two seasons is a concern too.

That's not to say Shields isn't good. The average velocity of his fastball has actually gone up in each of the last three years. And his FIP has been below 3.60 for the past four seasons. I just don't think it would have been wise for the Yankees to spend nearly $20 million a season, for the next 4+ years, to get him.

Sure, there are all those health questions surrounding the current rotation. And depth is always important, as injuries are bound to come up. But I really don't think a team should shell out big money for depth. That big money should go to players that a team needs, instead of players that a team might need. Adam Warren (pre-arbitration), Esmil Rogers ($1.48 million), Chase Whitley (pre-arbitration)... those guys are "depth". And don't forget that Ivan Nova is doing well in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, and should be available around the mid-way point of the season.

Besides, it's not like Shields is in Boston, or even the American League.

Meet a Prospect: Chasen Shreve

While most of the planet was watching the College Football Playoff, including myself, the New York Yankees were trading Manny Banuelos to the Atlanta Braves for RHP David Carpenter and LHP Chasen Shreve. This trade honestly had me scratching my head at first and while I wasn't happy to see one of my favorite pitching prospects traded away for someone I called "another Shawn Kelley(Carpenter)" the more I read the more I began to understand the trade. Let's find out why as we meet a prospect, Chasen Shreve.

Chasen Dean Shreve stands 6'3" and throws with his left arm hanging from his 190 lb. frame at 24 years old, 25 years old by July 2015. Shreve was drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB First Year Player's Draft by the Atlanta Braves out of College in Southern Nevada. Shreve was a former teammate of Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper but the immediate success that Harper had did not follow Shreve at the beginning of his professional career.

Shreve struggled for much of his minor league career until his 2014 season where he found around 3-4 MPH in velocity on his fastball and did more blowing people away and less spotting the ball. Shreve's success led him to the MLB Braves in 2014 where he finished with a 0.73 ERA in 12.1 IP and 15 K's with just three walks.

Shreve is likely just behind Justin Wilson on the Yankees LHP depth chart and for now may be ahead of Jacob Lindgren and Tyler Webb. Welcome to the family Chasen!

Looking at the 2015 Draft: 20th Best Prospect

Continuing our look at the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft we take a look at the #20 ranked prospect expected to enter the draft. As always we will include the mini scouting report from MLB.com as we introduce the #20 prospect, Cody Ponce. Ponce is a RHP from Cal Poly Pomona and is a Junior there. 

Here is the write up from MLB.com:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Cutter: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50Cal Poly Pomona has produced eight big leaguers, but never a first-round pick. That could change in June, as Ponce is a good bet to surpass Mark Wiley (second round, 1970) as the highest-drafted player in the program's history.
Ponce stands out primarily for his size and fastball. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder sits at 91-94 mph and touches 96, though his heater gets hit more than it should because it tends to straighten out.
Ponce's secondary pitches are still a work in progress. His improving cutter is his No. 2 option, he's not afraid to throw his changeup and he also has a curveball that often devolves into a slurve. He does a nice job of using his height to drive his pitches down in the strike zone, not allowing a single home run during his first two college seasons.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20. Cody Ponce
21. Riley Ferrell 
22. Chris Betts
23. James Kaprielian
24. Jake Lemoine
25. Beau Burrows
26. Richie Martin
27. Kyle Tucker
28. D.J. Stewart

ICYMI: Sanchez & Refsnyder Rank In Top Eastern League Prospects

Baseball America has been releasing their Top 20 prospects in every league in the minor leagues and this time it's time for the Eastern League to shine. In case you were wondering the Eastern League is Double-A where the Trenton Thunder play. Two Yankees made this list including Robert Refsnyder and Gary Sanchez. Luis Severino did not throw enough innings to qualify for this list unfortunately.

The Nationals outfielder Michael Taylor topped the list followed by the Red Sox Mookie Betts and the Indians Francisco Lindor for the top three spots. Yankees prospects Tyler Austin, Bryan Mitchell, Manny Banuelos, and others presumably just missed the list. This was one of the more deeper lists that BA has released this offseason. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 2/9: Alex Rodriguez Apologizes

On this day in 2009, two days after the story broke on SI.com, Alex Rodriguez admitted to and then apologized for using steroids when he was a Texas Rangers shortstop from 2001 to 2003. A Rod conducted the interview on ESPN and told us that he was hoping to live up to his mega contract that he got with the Rangers for 10 years and $252 million.

Also on this sad day in 2007 Bernie Williams shared with reporters that he planned to decline the Yankees invitation to Spring Training on a minor league contract. Williams mentioned that he had been working out but has not ruled out retirement.

Also on this day in 2001, after 13 months of negotiations, Derek Jeter and the Yankees finalized a 10 year deal worth $189 million. Jeter would become the highest paid player in the game behind only Alex Rodriguez who was making $252 million over 10 seasons.

Finally on this day in 1980 the late Yankees catcher Thurman Munson is inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Kent State University. Munson was a college outfielder at Kent and was taught to play catcher by Hal Schoonover, a coach of the Ken Golden Flashes baseball team.