Thursday, July 9, 2015

Two Yankees Make Baseball America's Top 50 Prospects List


This morning we went over the Top 50 Prospects List that was released earlier this week by Baseball Prospectus, which was a subscription only piece, but BP wasn't the only group to release a list as Baseball America also did. I trust Baseball America's rankings a lot more than I do Baseball Prospectus personally because Keith Law does not work for BA but both are just opinion and it's really to each their own. One similarity between the two lists is the two names of Yankees farm hands that made the list, Aaron Judge and Luis Severino.

Much like BP's list the Yankees outfielder, and the best outfielder in the game according to both lists,Judge was ranked 13th overall but the similarities stop when it comes to Severino. While BP and Law think Severino is destined for the Yankees bullpen before it's all said and done BA thinks more highly of the New York RHP and has him ranked 17th overall on their list. Before the season BA had Severino ranked 35th and Judge ranked 53rd showing that both players have made significant climbs on the list this season.

Much like BP's list the Dodgers Cory Seager is the top overall prospect in Major League Baseball followed by the Nationals Lucas Giolito and the Rangers Joey Gallo.

Recap: Yankees 6, A's 2

Masahiro Tanaka tossed 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball and the Yankees cruised past the A's, 6-2, in a Thursday matinee at Yankee Stadium.

Just Like the Old Days: Tanaka logged arguably his best outing of the season in this one, holding Oakland to just one earned run and two hits while walking one and striking out six. He ran into some trouble in the second -- the A's scored twice on RBI doubles by Billy Butler and Mark Canha -- but it ultimately proved to be nothing as the veteran recorded the win.

His Knee Must Be Healed: Batting with two men in scoring position and one out in the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury delivered probably the biggest hit of the game -- a clutch two-run single off Jesse Chavez to break a 2-2 tie. Ellsbury, activated off the DL on Wednesday, was able to lace one just fair down the right-field line to give the Yankees the lead -- the ball barely clipping the corner of first base as it flew by in mid-air. 

An All-Star Selection and a Home Run: If his first-inning home run and two subsequent singles didn't already make him happy, Brett Gardner can at least take solace knowing he's now on the 2015 AL All-Star team -- an announcement made on the stadium jumbotron between the fourth and fifth. Gardner will fill the spot previously occupied by the Royals' Alex Gordon, who will miss the event due to a recent injury.

Staying Hot: Mark Teixeira continued his great week with an RBI single in the third, a liner on a 2-2 sinker that plated the aforementioned Ellsbury. It was Teixeira's eighth ribbie of the homestand and third of the series, bringing his total on the year to 62.

A Good First Impression: Making his major league debut following a few months with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Cole Figueroa went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles -- the latter of which likely would've driven in a run had it not bounced into the stands. Figueroa is expected to be one of the Yankees' backup infielders for the time being, joining Gregorio Petit as a defender capable of playing second, short and third.

Next Up: The Yankees will look to keep their momentum going on Friday when they visit the Red Sox for a weekend at Fenway -- beginning at 7:10 p.m. ET and airing live on MLB Network. Michael Pineda (8-5, 3.79 ERA) will get the nod for the Yankees hoping for a third straight quality start, facing surging Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz (7-6, 3.27 ERA).

Brett Gardner Names 2015 American League All-Star

The Truth Behind CC’s Skipped Start


The New York Yankees recently skipped CC Sabathia’s last start before his victory on Wednesday night in order to give him some more time to work on things he and Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild were said to be working on. Nowhere in the articles or the quotes did anyone, especially Yankees manager Joe Girardi, state that Sabathia had to have his surgically repaired right knee drained before the start on Wednesday.


Sabathia’s right knee had a bit of excess fluid built up in it and had it drained since he had a few days off. I can remember reading that the fluid buildup would be an ongoing issue after the Yankees found out that he had degenerative knee damage last season so there might be some truth to the whole “working on things in the bullpen” statement, but I don’t buy it. 

Remembering Yankees of the Past: Scott Brosius


Scott Brosius was an integral part of the Yankees dynasty years in the early 90’s after being traded to New York for Kenny Rogers. Brosius hit .304 and belted 22 home runs in 1996 for the Oakland Athletics but struggled mightily in 1997 and finished last in the batting title race with the lowest batting average, on base percentage, and slugging out of all the players eligible for the batting title that season. Rogers was also struggling with the Yankees and a change of scenery was in order for both men and the rest, as you will read below, is history.

Brosius hit .300 and knocked in 19 home runs and 98 RBI’s in his first year in the Bronx as an integral part of possibly the greatest team of all time, the 1998 Yankees. Brosius would make his only All Star Game appearance this season and hit .471 with two home runs and six RBI’s in the 1998 World Series to capture his first ring. Brosius was named Most Valuable Player of the series after hitting two home runs in Game 3 of the World Series including one off the San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to give the Yankees a 3-0 series lead.

Brosius never matched his career year in 1998 statistically but was still always a fan favorite of the 1999-2001 teams. Brosius worked hard, played the game right, and was always on the field no matter what if humanly possible. Brosius was a part of three World Series championship teams and one more that lost the World Series in 2001 to the Arizona Diamondbacks, his final professional season. Brosius went out big time though as he hit a two out, two run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5 of that World Series against Arizona to send the game to extra innings in an eventual Yankees victory, possibly his finest moment.



 Brosius has a Gold Glove Award from 1999 sitting in his trophy case in his home and also has a great story to tell about playing in the field in 1999. Brosius was at third base when the Montreal Expos Orlando Cabrera hit a foul popup that Brosius caught and sealed a perfect game for David Cone. Brosius will forever be known to many Yankees fans, and ESPN’s Chris Berman specifically, as Scott Supercalifragilisticexpiali-Brosius or Bosius the Ferocious, as John Sterling called him, but for me personally Brosius will forever be remembered as a Yankee. 

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 7/9


Happy Tanaka Day Yankees fans and welcome to another afternoon game in the Bronx as Yankee Stadium plays host to the finale between the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka, hence the Tanaka Day, to the mound this afternoon to face off with the A’s starter Jesse Chavez as both pitchers look to rebound from a bad month’s worth of starts. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees head to Fenway Park for a three game series against the Boston Red Sox this weekend. The last time the Yankees were in Fenway early on in the season New York swept the Red Sox and quieted the color commentary crew on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Hopefully that kind of play continues this weekend in Fenway but first thing is first, a victory this afternoon in the Bronx. Jump on twitter and follow @GreedyStripes to interact with us during each and every Yankees game and hopefully root for New York with us during another sweep of Fenway.


Tanaka is ready to take the mound and take back the “ace’ moniker that so many placed on him last season and I’m ready to watch. Go Tanaka and Go Yankees!

All Yankees Team From The 2010's So Far...


This is going to be tough, and maybe even a bit watered down, because we have only watched four and a half seasons in the 2010's so far but we will take a stab at doing it anyway. Just another excuse to include the likes of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and the rest of the crew. Agree? Disagree? Smell a snub? Leave a comment in the comments section. 


C- Brian McCann
1B- Mark Teixeira
2B- Robinson Cano
SS- Derek Jeter
3B- Alex Rodriguez
LF- Brett Gardner
CF- Jacoby Ellsbury
RF- Curtis Granderson
DH- Alfonso Soriano

BN- Carlos Beltran
BN- Russell Martin
BN- Chase Headley
BN- Nick Swisher

SP- CC Sabathia
SP- Andy Pettitte
SP- Hiroki Kuroda
SP- Masahiro Tanaka
SP- Michael Pineda

RP- AJ Burnett
RP- Rafael Soriano 
RP- Dellin Betances
RP- Adam Warren
RP- David Robertson
CP- Mariano Rivera

A. Soriano is on the list for his short, but huge, impact in pinstripes this century while players like Swisher and Martin were added for their impact on multiple winning teams. Also it's worth mentioning that it probably did not hurt the likes of Beltran and Headley that there were no glaring and obvious choices to fill the void. AJ Burnett is there because the pitching has been shaky outside of the top four guys so I figured he could be a long man. It didn't hurt him being my favorite pitcher either, sue me. The rest of the list I feel is pretty self explanatory so that's my list, whats yours? 

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 7/9


The New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics will play in the finale of their three game set this afternoon inside Yankee Stadium. For some reason the A’s have been terrible against most teams but have seemingly brought their “A” game, no pun intended, against the Yankees this season. New York will look to reverse that trend this afternoon with Masahiro Tanaka on the mound as he faces off with Jesse Chavez for Oakland. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV.

  • Tanaka heads into this afternoon’s start on a bit of a rough streak after giving up 14 earned runs in his last three starts. Tanaka has not made it past the sixth inning in any of those three starts and has just one quality start in that same timeline. Tanaka looked great in his first two starts off the disabled list and has regressed dramatically ever since, hopefully that turns around this afternoon in the Bronx.


  • Chavez is also heading into this afternoon’s start on a bit of a rough streak after he gave up 12 earned runs on his own in his last three starts. Chavez has been prone to the home run ball in that streak and has allowed at least six hits in all three starts, both of which are great signs for the Yankees offense this afternoon inside hitting friendly Yankee Stadium.



New York heads to Fenway for a weekend series with the Boston Red Sox while the Athletics go anywhere but here after this afternoon’s contest. Boston is red hot and are climbing back into this American League East Division race slowly and quietly and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried. All New York has to do it win and all those worries go away, at least temporarily, so just win. Go Yankees!

Two Yankees Make Baseball Prospectus Top 50 List


Baseball Prospectus released their Top 50 Mid-Season Prospects List this week, subs required unfortunately, and a pair of New York Yankees made the list. While the two Yankees farm hands who made the list, Luis Severino and Aaron Judge, seem obvious but who was ranked higher? What positions were they ranked in? Keep reading.

Baseball Prospectus likes Judge a lot more than they do Severino which is evident by Judge's #13 ranking and Severino's #28 ranking. Judge was praised for his ability to use all fields and his plus defense despite being a bigger guy in stature while Severino's frame and size once again came into question. BP wonders if Severino is a Major League starting pitcher or a pitcher better suited for the back end of the bullpen while the group's questions surrounding Judge have been limited.

Judge was ranked 49th overall on BP's pre-season list while Severino was ranked 51st so both have made significant strides this season not only because of promotions but because of their on the field play. You have to remember one thing though, Keith Law is probably the biggest Severino "hater" for lack of a better word and is on the BP payroll which probably explains the low ranking.

For your information the Los Angeles Dodgers have the top prospect in all of baseball now with shortstop Cory Seager while Washington Nationals RHP Lucas Giolito and Texas Rangers first baseman Joey Gallo round out the Top 3. With all the promotions of the likes of Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins the list has been shaken up quite a bit lately.

Weekly Check In: Austin Romine


Thursday’s Weekly Prospect Check Ins have been a bit of a revolving door this season and I kind of like leaving that door open a bit. This means that once a week we can check in with a various Yankees farm hand that we normally wouldn’t have but at the same time we’re not tied down to them if they are injured or not playing so well. Last week we used the opportunity to check in with first baseman Kyle Roller who was announced as an All-Star for the Triple-A Game representing the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders so this week I figured we’d check in on his teammate that will be joining him, Austin Romine.

Romine is a member of the RailRiders after losing a not so fierce battle with John Ryan Murphy in spring training over the backup catcher position but Romine has made the most of it. Romine has hit for a little power this season, which surprised me a bit to be honest, and while he’ll likely never be a .300 average hitter he hasn’t let the demotion sap his confidence and let it affect him on the field. Romine is still the next in line if the Yankees were to need another catcher and Austin knows this which may be keeping his spirits a bit high.


Here is the stat line that made Austin Romine an All-Star in 2015:

YearLevGPARH2BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015AAA612533463166331934.275.336.424.760

This Day in New York Yankees History 7/9: DJ3K


The New York Yankees have not had their fair share of 3,000 hit members, actually they only have one in Derek Jeter, but they got their first in the franchise's storied history on this day in 2011. Jeter would step up to the plate in the third inning at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays and their ace David Price and would belt a home run to the left field stands. Jeter would become the 28th player to ever collect 3,000 hits. Jeter had a 5-5 day including a game winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning.


The New York Yankees have also had their fair share of cycles in their history and on this day in 1937 Joe DiMaggio would hit for the first of his two career cycles as he hit two home runs, the triple, double, and single helping the Yankees beat the Washington Senators 16-2. Joe D would accomplish the feat again in 1948 for the Yankees.