Extra Innings, Free Baseball and Changes Coming to the Game?

If you thought instant replay was bad you may want to dust off your pitchforks and get ready to protest like the end of the world is coming, because you know… change, because change may be coming to Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball is at least discussing and considering two possibilities that will forever change the game as we know it. First the league is considering implementing a clock to the game in order to help with the ever-growing pace of play issue while another idea will affect free baseball and extra innings. Commissioner Rob Manfred has confirmed that the notion of starting an inning with a runner on second base, you know… just because, is also being discussed and could be tested in the very near future.

Tug at my heart why don’t you. The World Baseball Classic will employ the whole “start the inning with a runner on second base” rule starting in the 11^th inning this year while two rookie-level summer leagues will also begin every extra inning of baseball this season with a runner on second.

I mean, I get it. You don’t want pitchers taxing their arms any more than you have to and it saves the subsequent roster shuffling for the next week or so that the fans absolutely cannot be a fan of but this is imply going too far if you ask me. If MLB is trying to go for that whole “sudden death” feel much like the College Football overtime system is made I think they can do much better than this, no? I don’t know why but this just doesn’t feel right to me. It feels like something you would do in Little League or in the park with your friends, not at the Major League level…. Maybe it’s just me.

Just an FYI for you all. MLB’s television ratings actually go up when games go into extra innings. Also their advertising dollars and such are made on a nine-inning game. Would they not be making extra money if the game goes into extras? Would the teams not be making extra concessions money if the game goes into extras? I get the whole saving the pitchers arms things but why can’t you change another rule? Like a case-by-case basis where a player doesn’t have to stay down for 10 days after being called up and sent down in the case of an 11+ inning game the night before? Don’t put a damn runner at second base and turn this into Rock’em Sock’em Baseball.

Please?

Rest in Peace Alexander Figueredo

This is not exactly the way we wanted to start out our day but I am just reading about the 20-year old left-handed Yankees pitching prospect that was killed on November 27^th. His name was Alexander Figueredo and he was in his native Venezuela when he was shot and killed.

Figueredo is not a name that likely many of us know unfortunately as he never made it above the Dominican Summer League and missed the entire 2016 season due to injury. Figueredo was on the suspended/restricted list at the time of his death according to Yankees sources but no details were given that I have found yet.

At 18-years old Figueredo went 5-0 in the DSL with a 1.89 ERA in 12 games, 11 of them starts. Figueredo was 20-years old. Rest in peace. 

Yankees Release 10 Minor Leaguers

According to Robert Pimpsner and Pinstriped Prospects the New York Yankees have released 10 minor league players from their contracts already this offseason. The Yankees have released now 11 minor league players according to Pimpsner including the release of RHP Jeris Casanova earlier in the month. All but two of these players played in the Dominican Summer League while two were from the GCL Yankees.

The list includes RHP Luis Rosario and  RHP Juan Escorcia, both from the GCL Yankees, and RHP Juan Rodriguez, RHP Arcadio Campusano, LHP Orby Tavares, LHP Eduardo Peluso, LHP Carlos Diaz, LHP Edintson Naranjo, 3B Kleiber Maneiro and SS Holman Miranda.

Check out THIS link from Pinstriped Prospects as Mr. Pimpsner has some information and write ups regarding the prospects that were released. Enjoy.

http://pinstripedprospects.com/yankees-release-ten-minor-leaguers-18221

Meet a Prospect: Juan DePaula & Jio Orozco

New York Yankees have a lot of hard decisions ahead of them and truth be told they are decisions they have to make because they have good problems to have. New York’s farm system is one of the best farm systems in all of Major League Baseball right now and the team is absolutely overflowing with talent at certain positions, outfield and middle infield especially. While New York is probably still a couple years away from having to make the tough decisions regarding all their middle infield prospects the time has come to start clearing the logjam in the outfield and that began with the trade of Ben Gamel to the Seattle Mariners on August 31^st. The trade brought back a pair of teenage pitching arms with a ton of upside for the Yankees to develop so let’s meet them both this morning, This is Meet a Prospect: The Juan DePaula and Jio Orozco Editions.

Jio Orozco is 19-years old and is probably considered to be the “better” of the two prospects in the deal. Orozco was originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14^th round of the 2015 MLB Draft but was bought by Seattle and was last ranked as the team’s 19th best prospect in their system. At the time of the trade Orozco had posted a 4.07 ERA and 3.51 FIP with an astonishing 29.3 strikeout rate in Rookie ball. Yes I know it’s rookie ball but striking out three batters for every ten you face is impressive no matter where you go. Orozco has a 91-94 MPH fastball with a clean and fluid delivery that should lead to durability as he grows into his body and frame. Orozco’s arm angle allows for some sink to his fastball and his command allows him to work both sides of the plate effectively. Orozco also commands a 12-to-6 type curve ball with a developing changeup. Orozco is advanced for 19-years old but one must remember that he’s still 19. He has a long way to go.

DePaula has even longer to go at just 18-years old after spending the bulk of the 2016 season at the Dominican Summer League with Seattle. DePaula was not ranked in the Mariners Top 30 prospects list according to MLB.com although baseball America did rank him 29^th in their preseason handbook. At the time of the trade DePaula was posting a 3.07 ERA and 2.98 FIP with a staggering 30.6 strikeout percentage in 41 innings pitched. DePaula absolutely pounds the strike zone with his 93 MPH fastball and occasionally mixes in a curveball and a changeup as well. DePaula is still growing into his frame and has added velocity this season after throwing around 85 MPH when originally signed by Seattle.

We won’t likely hear either name being talked about much for a few years but both have the potential to be solid pitchers if they keep developing like they have thus far. The sky is the limit and that’s a good feeling to have. Welcome to the organization guys and welcome to the family as well. 

Yankees Minor League Pitcher Suspended & the Game is Still Not Clean

Ladies and gentleman this game that we all know and love called Major League Baseball is not clean and it likely never will be. No matter what penalty you associate with a failed test for drugs, alcohol, steroids or behavior human beings are going to continue being human beings and I think that fact needs to be remembered when the new collective bargaining agreement is talked about and presumably agreed upon this winter. This game is not clean and I don’t believe doubling or even tripling the suspensions again will make it clean. Keep reading.

Four more minor league players have been suspended this week for failed drug tests including one member of the Yankees farm system. Jean Peralta is a pitcher in the Yankees organization and he, Angelo Almonte (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Jose Pinales (Chicago White Sox) all received 72 game suspensions while Wally Vrolijk of the Baltimore Orioles received a 50 game suspension.

Almonte, Peralta and Pinales all tested positive for metabolites of Stanozolol while Vrolijk tested positive for the stimulant Methylhexanamine. With these four suspensions, which all come from the Dominican Summer League just as an FYI, the grand total of minor league suspensions climbs to 61 while under the Major League program there have been 13 suspensions in 2016.

And those numbers will continue to climb. Why? Because 61 have gotten caught in the minor leagues and only 13 in the Major Leagues and you can possibly double, triple or quadruple that and get the amount of players who haven’t been caught and may never get caught. The risk is worth the reward, look at Alex Rodriguez’s annual salary and lifetime earnings if you disagree with that.

This game is not clean ladies and gentleman and it never will be. 

Five Yankees Minor Leaguers Suspended for Drugs

While the Major League season is in full swing and most of the minor league seasons are well underway the short-season and Dominican Summer League’s just opened this week and they opened with a bit of controversy. The game is not clean and it likely won’t ever be clean and the latest evidence of that came in the way of seven minor league suspensions from the DSL including five members of the New York Yankees DSL teams.

All seven players were suspended for 25 games each except for the San Francisco Giants right-hander Alvaro Diaz who was suspended for 56 games following a positive test for stanozolol. The Yankees lost catcher Oliver Cedeno from their DSL Yankees team while the DSL Yankees 2 lost LHP Jean Carlos De Jesus and RHP’s Arikson Ramirez, Leyfer Ramirez and Jhostin Vargas.

Under the minor league program a 25-game suspension is warranted for a first violation of use or possession of a syringe at a team facility, in team-provided housing or while traveling with the club. No word on what was said to be in the syringes or anything like that but one can use his imagination and a little common sense to see what was going on here.

The DSL Athletics also lost RHP Oscar Tovar for 25 games due to drugs. Tovar, Diaz and the five Yankees players now make 55 minor league drug suspensions this year alone under the minor league drug program. If they are doing it down there you think they will just magically stop when they reach the Major Leagues? I don’t.

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 Sign IFA Daniel Marten

We reported this on Twitter a few days back but we wanted to also bring it to you here as well without the 140 characters restriction. The New York Yankees have signed an international free agent this week and his name is Daniel Marten.

Marten is an 18-year old right-handed starting pitcher that was taken out of the Dominican Republic by the Yankees. Marten is listed at 6'0" and 164 lbs. but obviously has a lot of growing up to do both mentally and physically.

Marten will likely begin at one of the Dominican Summer League Yankees squads before coming to the states to make his professional debut.

Yankees Player Suspended 72 Games for Steroid Use

A member of the New York Yankees has been suspended for 72 games this season after testing positive for steroid use. No smart guy it was not Alex Rodriguez before you sarcastically ask, it was Brayan Alcantara and the steroid was Stanozolol. Stanozolol is a synthetic and anabolic steroid according to reports.

Alcantara is 21 years old and currently on the Yankees Dominican Summer League roster and has spent the last three seasons inside the Yankees minor league system.