ARTICLE REVISIT: Meet a Prospect - Clint Frazier

Clint Frazier is up with the Yankees at least for a few more days, if not forever, so let's take a look at the scouting report and Meet a Prospect post we had for him here on the blog back in 2016. Enjoy.

The New York Yankees are going through top prospects in their system like most people go through underwear, they have a new one every day or every other day it seems. I joke about people changing their underwear every other day, at least I hope that I am, but not about the Yankees top prospects in their system. For the entire season it was Jorge Mateo who occupied the top spot until Aroldis Chapman was sent to the Chicago Cubs and Gleyber Torres was brought in to dethrone the Yankees shortstop. Now like many transitions and power struggles there is a new king already after the Andrew Miller trade and his name is Clint Frazier. Don’t let the red hair fool you, Frazier is the real deal. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Clint Frazier Edition.


Clint Frazier was born on September 6, 1994 in the Atlanta, Georgia area where he attended high school at Loganville High School in Loganville, George. Frazier was a top prospect entering the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft and caught the attention of the Cleveland Indians who took the outfielder with the fifth pick overall that season. Frazier had committed to the University of Georgia but the Indians offer was too good to pass up thus beginning his professional career.


Frazier is a former third baseman and pitcher which shows you that he has a strong throwing arm but it is center field where he is making his mark at these days and he played at that position for most of his Cleveland Indians tenure. While in the Indians system Frazier cemented himself as a powerful prospect that has 30 home run potential in his future while stealing an absolute ton of bases as a

potential five-tool player. Frazier is an aggressive hitter but he has worked on that in recent years and has seen his strikeout numbers go down while his contact and walk numbers go up which is always encouraging for a prospect. It shows maturity at the plate which Frazier definitely has.



ETA for Frazier to the Major Leagues: 2017



Frazier was seen most recently in the 2016 XM All-Star Futures Game where he went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a stolen base for Team USA while also earning a promotion to Triple-A with the Columbus Clippers. Now Frazier is in Scranton/Wilkes Barre with the RailRiders with the Yankees organization and I think I speak for Yankees fans everywhere when I say we sure are happy to have you. Many of us, myself included, did not want to see Andrew Miller traded but it’s hard to argue against the absolute haul that Brian Cashman got for his lefty closer. So Clint, welcome to the organization .

Who Needs Hot Stove Talk When It's Officially Prospect Season?

Okay, so admittedly I am being extremely sarcastic here with the blog post title. Of course we all need and want that big hot stove story to break, even if it is JD Martinez heading to the Boston Red Sox for an exuberant amount of money for probably far too long, but there are still a lot of us that are more inclined to read about the prospects as the calendar inches closer to February. I know we used to run Prospects Month here on the blog during the month of February, something I worked on off-and-on for like two months prior to February and all month long during February, so you know I am excited about a couple key sources of prospects information releasing their respective Top Prospects lists for the 2018 season. Baseball America released all 100 of their top prospects today while Keith Law released half his list and we will take a look at both lists here in this blog post. For the complete lists head over to Baseball America and Keith Law respectively.

Let's start with Baseball America since they released all 100 of their prospects all at once this morning. The Yankees had a total of six prospects in the Top 100 this season including Gleyber Torres (6th overall), Estevan Florial (38th overall), Justus Sheffield (41st overall), Miguel Andujar (59th overall), Albert Abreu (77th overall) and Chance Adams (81st overall).

I hate that Shohei Otani is considered a rookie and a prospect on this list, and by the way he is ranked 2nd overall, but I get it I guess. Meanwhile the Atlanta Braves outfield prospect Ronald Acuna is the top prospect in all of baseball according to BA while there are a few familiar and notable names to mention on the list including Vlad Guerrero Jr. (3rd ranked overall with the Toronto Blue Jays), Bo Bichette (8th overall and son of former MLB star Dante Bichette with the Toronto Blue Jays), Fernando Tatis Jr. (9th overall with the San Diego Padres), Jorge Mateo (64th overall and former Yankees farm hand traded for Sonny Gray to the Oakland Athletics), Jorge Guzman (87th overall and former Yankees farm hand traded to the Miami Marlins for Giancarlo Stanton), and Dustin Fowler (88th overall and former Yankees farm hand traded to the Oakland Athletics for Sonny Gray).

Meanwhile Keith Law released his 51-100 top prospects for the 2018 season and the Yankees that made the list were Miguel Andujar (54th overall), Freicer Perez (73rd) and Albert Abreu (99th overall). Law expects to release the rest of his Top 100 list tomorrow so check back for that! Even after trading away all the prospects the Yankees did in the Giancarlo Stanton and Sonny Gray deals the team is still stacked, and that is scary for the rest of the league in my opinion.

MLB.com Top 100 Prospects List Has a Few Familiar Yankees Faces on It

MLB.com released their new and updated Top 100 prospects list for the 2017 season and there are more than a few familiar Yankees faces on it. There are eight to be exact, six that are still within the Yankees system and two that were traded away at or before the July 31^st trade deadline. For the complete list head over to MLB.com to check it out while I focus on the Yankees-related material here on the blog for you.

Here are the Yankees and their positions on the rankings:

Gleyber Torres - #1

Clint Frazier - #23

Chance Adams - #55

Estevan Florial - #81

Justus Sheffield - #83

Miguel Andujar - #95

And here are two prospects the Yankees traded away at the trade deadline that made the list:

Blake Rutherford - #41

Dustin Fowler - #69

Anyone else surprised to not see Jorge Mateo on this list? I was, I checked it three times to make sure that Mateo wasn’t on the list. I wonder what that’s about. Anyway here is the MLB.com scouting report on Gleyber Torres who took the top spot on the list at just 20-years old. Enjoy.

“Torres has exceptionally quick hands that allow him to excel at the dish and in the field. He's very advanced at the plate, recognizing pitches well, displaying patience and using the entire field. His power projections seem to increase each year as he adds strength and experience, and he now looks like he'll deliver 20-plus homers on an annual basis in his prime.”

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. 

Looking Ahead to 2018: Rule 5 Draft Eligible Players

We have been sneaking ahead and looking ahead at the 2018 season a little bit here on the blog and I wanted to take the opportunity to do so again here this weekend. This time around I wanted to take a look at the Yankees Rule 5 Draft eligible players and take a stab at who I think will ultimately be added to the 40-man roster and protected, who will be left out there for any and all teams to choose in the draft and who I think could be on the trading block this winter because of the Yankees 40-man roster crunch. These are all opinion-based as I have no inside information to the team so take these predictions and opinions as such and enjoy.

Rule 5 Eligible Prospects

1. OF Jake Cave

2. OF Billy McKinney

3. SP Daniel Camarena

4. SP/RP Stephen Tarpley

5. SP Brady Lail

6. 1B Mike Ford

7. OF Rashad Crawford

8. SP Austin DeCarr

9. SP Domingo Acevedo

10. OF Mark Payton

11. SS Abiatal Avelino

12. OF Devyn Bolasky

13. INF Thairo Estrada

14. RP J.P. Feyereisen

15. SP/RP Nestor Cortes

16. SP Albert Abreu

17. RP Cale Coshow

18. 2B Gosuke Katoh

The complete list of eligible Rule 5 Draft players is here including who could be taken in the Minor League portion of the Draft but I wanted to solely focus on the Major League portion on this blog post. Big shout out to Pinstriped Prospects for their hard work and the information.

http://pinstripedprospects.com/updated-list-of-yankees-2017-rule-5-eligible-players-and-minor-league-free-agents-21546

The Yankees hardest decision of the winter will likely come down to which one of their two high-upside outfielders to protect in the Rule 5 Draft, Jake Cave or Billy McKinney. Cave has been left unprotected for two consecutive seasons and was taken once by the Cincinnati Reds before ultimately being returned before the beginning of the season. McKinney will be faced with this for the first time in his MLB career after coming over to the Yankees in the Aroldis Chapman deal. Both have been hitting well at Triple-A and both face an outfield roster crunch in front of them in the Bronx so it’s conceivable that both could be left unprotected, although very highly unlikely, although at the end of the day I think the team will decide to protect McKinney. If unprotected I think Cave will be selected and will be able to stick with an MLB team like the New York Mets for the entirety of 2018. Just a hunch.

Daniel Camarena will likely be protected as he is a 24-year old left-handed starting pitching option for the Yankees going forward. While he doesn’t come with the same upside as a Chance Adams he is likely a better long-term option than Caleb Smith in my opinion. I’d say Camarena is as close to a no-brainer as it gets as far as protecting prospects this winter. Stephen Tarpley was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Ivan Nova deal and hasn’t pitched above High-A Ball so I find it highly unlikely he would be picked up, even if he is 24-years old.

Brady Lail has been pitching in Triple-A for what feels like forever but has yet to really dominate the league which leads me to believe the Yankees will likely leave him unprotected, and he will likely be picked up too. Nothing wrong with giving a guy like Lail who has upside but has yet to put it together a spring training camp to prove himself. With the Yankees lack of first base depth I have to think that Mike Ford could be protected this offseason but it really depends on what the Yankees think of Garrett Cooper. If they think Cooper can be the man in the Bronx and a suitable backup and insurance for Greg Bird than Ford may be left unprotected but I think at the end of the day Ford will be protected. If unprotected I can definitely see the power hitter being selected and hidden on a MLB roster for the entirety of the 2018 season.

Rashad Crawford came back in the Aroldis Chapman trade last year with the Chicago Cubs and has struggled to handle Double-A pitching meaning he will likely be left unprotected. Austin DeCarr has also not pitched above A-ball after missing the entire 2015 season with Tommy John surgery and will also be left unprotected if I were a betting man. Domingo Acevedo seems like the biggest no-brainer on the list to protect. Acevedo may not be ready to start at the Major League level but I am sure there is more than one team that would be willing to give Acevedo a shot in the bullpen as a 25^th man on a roster if it meant holding into that 103 MPH flame-throwing arm for more than a season.

Mark Payton will likely be left unprotected and will likely be taken in the draft due to the Yankees logjam in the outfield. Payton, 25-years old, was hitting .269 at Triple-A at last check and can play all three outfield positions making him super useful for a National League team that could use his speed and versatility off the bench. Abi Avelino has been in the Yankees system for what feels like forever now but is somehow still just at Double-A at the time of this writing. Avelino has played in 20 games at the Triple-A level but never seemingly caught on as he hit just .213 there which will likely leave him unprotected and not chosen in this year’s draft. The same can be said for outfielder Devyn Bolasky who is hanging around the Mendoza Line at Double-A this season. He will be left unprotected and will not be chosen this offseason.

Thairo Estrada may be one of the better and top rated shortstops in the Yankees system not that Gleyber Torres has moved on to third base and Jorge Mateo has been traded to the Oakland Athletics. Estrada is 21-years old and currently tearing up Double-A pitching which leads me to believe that the Yankees could protect him this winter. Sure, he is in Double-A right now but by the end of the season he could be at Triple-A if he keeps up his torrid pace. Meanwhile J.P. Feyereisen, the relief pitcher who was acquired in the Cleveland Indians trade for Andrew Miller last season, has split time between Double-A and Triple-A this season posting a 2.73 ERA with four saves in 29 appearances and is considered by many to be Major League ready. If the team wants to keep him, and I think that they will, they need to protect him because another team will snatch him up and put him on their roster in a heartbeat. I can guarantee that.

Nestor Cortes is a left-handed bullpen arm that is considered to be MLB ready at this point which leads me to believe that he may be protected this winter by the Yankees. Cortes is 22-years old and has pitched well at Double-A and Triple-A this season so if the Yankees did not protect him, and trust me… they will, he would definitely be taken and stashed in someone else’s bullpen for the 2018 season. Cortes also ranks higher in my opinion than Caleb Smith and others in the Yankees farm system so holding onto him should be a priority.

Albert Abreu was acquired from the Houston Astros this offseason in the Brian McCann trade and was immediately placed on most publications Top 10 Yankees Prospects list. Abreu hasn’t pitched above A-Ball in his minor league career but is too much of a talent with too much upside to not be protected. Not protecting Abreu is like playing with fire, and kids that’s never good. If you think I’m crazy for saying so see how that worked out for the Yankees with Luis Torrens, one of their top catching prospects, in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft. Torrens never played above A-Ball either but a team like the San Diego Padres can afford to take him and stash him with no playoffs or contention in sight. The Yankees don’t want and can’t afford for lightning to strike twice here. Protect him.

Coshow has been closing games for the Trenton Thunder in Double-A and at the time of this writing has compiled 14 saves in 17 opportunities with 62 strikeouts in 48.1 innings pitched. Coshow gives up too many hits though and makes David Robertson look like a lockdown and dominant closer, and all this before Coshow has even reached Triple-A. I can’t see Coshow getting protected and honestly I don’t think he should be either. Finally we have Gosuke Katoh who was the Yankees second round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. Katoh has not played above High-A ball and may not even get to Double-A this season. At last check Katoh was hitting .282 but there is little to no chance he gets protected or taken in the Rule 5 Draft next year.

So kudos to anyone and everyone who read that book of a post but if you didn’t here is the long and the skinny of the situation. The Yankees have a lot of guys they need to protect and the team may lose 3-5 prospects this winter in the draft if they don’t. The work is never done.

The State of the Yankees Farm System After the Trade Deadline

The New York Yankees acquired Sonny Gray, Jaime Garcia, David Robertson, Todd Frazier and Tommy Kahnle before the July 31^st trading deadline and the team did so by giving up just two of the team’s Top 10 prospects. The Yankees likely feel like they won the trade deadline this season and the organization has to feel good about the farm system still being loaded and deep but what does Baseball American think? Well we don’t have to wait long to find out as the publication has released their team farm system rankings for the second half of 2017.

Before the July 31^st trading deadline the Yankees had the top farm system in all of Major League Baseball according to Baseball America but after trading away the likes of James Kaprielian, Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler and Zack Littell the Yankees system has fallen to 7^th best overall. Trading away Blake Rutherford likely didn’t help the Yankees cause either but the team is still primed for a youth movement beyond 2017 while also potentially competing for a postseason spot this season. You can’t argue against that logic in my opinion.

New York still has several prospects in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list including shortstop Gleyber Torres (3^rd overall), outfielder Clint Frazier (49^th overall), right-handed starter Chance Adams (56^th overall), center fielder Estevan Florial (71^st overall) and left-handed starting pitcher Justus Sheffield (73^rd overall). But hey, fire Cashman right?

So it Seems Gray Skies Are Upon Us Today

Good morning everyone. No, we are not starting off this beautiful day with a doom and gloom post so no worries. Gray skies are upon us today because newly acquired Sonny Gray makes his Yankees debut today against the Cleveland Indians. I think I speak for the entire Yankees fan base when I say “heck yeah!” Well most Yankees fans would use another word but we try to keep things PG here as much as possible. I personally cannot wait to see Gray don the pinstripes and take the Yankee Stadium mound. Color me excited!!

There’s no time for gray skies, down time or sadness. These are the best and most exciting times of our lives, whether we realize it or not. Take advantage and make every second count because the next second isn’t guaranteed. No one can predict the future so live in the now and live happy knowing that you are. No more tears, no more doubt, no more sadness and no more loneliness. Negative people and people who only want to be in your life when it is convenient or when it benefits them get pushed to the side. No time and no place for you. Be gone. In its place, perfection.

HEY YOU. I love you. Have a great day. 

Meet a Prospect Special Edition: OMG IT’S SONNY GRAY

Ladies and gentleman for the foreseeable future it is always going to be Sonny here in the Bronx after the New York Yankees acquired the Oakland Athletics right-hander before the July 31^st trading deadline. As we all know by now the Yankees sent center fielder Dustin Fowler, shortstop/center fielder Jorge Mateo and right-handed starting pitcher James Kaprielian back in the deal for Gray and cash considerations but do we as a fan base really know what we are getting back in Gray? The problem with players who play on the West Coast like Gray has with the Oakland Athletics is I don’t believe they get truly appreciated since a lot of the country is asleep when they are doing their best work. Thank goodness for the internet, for MLB Network and Sportscenter and for Meet a Prospect Special Editions here on The Greedy Pinstripes. This is Meet a Prospect: The Sonny Gray Special Edition.

Sonny Douglas Gray was born on November 7, 1989 in Nashville, Tennessee to Cindy and Jesse Gray and lived in Nashville until his family moved to Smyrna, Tennessee before Sonny’s eight grade year. Sonny attended Smyrna High School while in Smyrna, Tennessee but his high school career started out with a tragedy. Sonny lost his father in a car accident during his freshman year of high school. Gray did not let that deter him on the field and may have even used baseball as a coping mechanism as the right-hander was named Freshman of the Year in District 9AAA as a left fielder and pitcher. Gray battled injuries during his sophomore season, a sign of what was to come unfortunately, but came back strong to close out his high school career posting an 11-2 record and a 0.95 ERA as a junior followed up by a 4-0 record and 0.79 ERA as a senior before once again succumbing to injury. Some of the injuries may have come while Gray was also the high school’s starting quarterback in football as he guided the team to back-to-back 5A State titles in 2006 and 2007.

Gray was drafted out of High School by the Chicago Cubs in the 27^th round of the 2008 MLB Draft but opted to go through with his commitment to Vanderbilt University where he began his collegiate career. Gray started out at Vanderbilt as a relief pitcher where the righty collected four saves before the team moved him to their starting rotation. Gray excelled as the team’s ace going 10-5 with a 3.48 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 2010 followed by a dominating 12-4 record and 2.43 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 2011. In 2011, Gray’s junior season, the right-hander led Vanderbilt to their first-ever College World Series berth reaching the semifinals before losing to national runner-up Florida. Gray did enough during that junior season and in the College World Series to catch the attention and the eyes of scouts in the Oakland Athletics organization who drafted him 18^th overall in the 2011 MLB Draft. Gray decided to forego his senior season and signed with Oakland for a $1.54 million signing bonus.

Gray dominated the Athletics minor league system from 2011 – 2013 before ultimately getting called up to the Major Leagues on July 10, 2013 to replace Dan Straily. Gray made his MLB the same day out of the Oakland bullpen pitching two innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates giving up just one hit while not allowing a run or a walk. Gray had three strikeouts in the performance which would net him a second appearance with the team before being sent back down to the minors. Gray would return on August 10 to make his first MLB start against the Toronto Blue Jays and Mark Buehrle and the right-hander did enough to never get sent back down. Gray helped lead Oakland to the postseason in 2013 and even started Game 2 of the American League Division Series against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers. In that playoff start Gray pitched eight shutout innings before the Athletics walked off in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. With that start the Athletics had the confidence to start Gray in Game 5 of that series once again facing off with Verlander for Detroit. Gray was not as sharp this time allowing three runs in 5+ innings resulting in a 3-0 loss for Oakland and an elimination from the American League playoffs.  

Gray started on Opening Day for the Athletics in 2014 against the Cleveland Indians and after a couple AL Pitcher of the Month Awards the Oakland right-hander led the Athletics right back to the playoffs in 2014. The A’s would once again see their season end earlier than they wanted as the team lost the AL Wild Card Game to the Kansas City Royals in extra innings. Gray was back on the mound in 2015 for Opening Day and continued to pitch well enough that the righty made his first All-Star Game appearance for the American League. Gray finished the season with a 14-7 record and a 2.73 ERA which placed him third in the AL Cy Young Award voting behind Dallas Keuchel and David Price. Gray came into the 2016 looking to build on that successful 2015 season but injuries hampered the right-hander and landed him on the disabled list twice that season. Gray finished with an underwhelming 5-11 record and a 5.69 ERA which may have led to him falling out of grace with the A’s.

Gray pitched well in 2017 for Oakland and more importantly he stayed healthy until the July 31^st trading deadline when the New York Yankees and their GM Brian Cashman came calling. Gray will now don Yankees pinstripes for the next three seasons or longer and will look to be the future and the ace of the staff here in the Bronx. Gray brings along with him a four-seam fastball that sits around the 92-93 MPH but can also touch as high as 95 MPH, a high-80’s MPH slider, a curveball that sits in the low 80’s MPH, a cutter that sits around 92 MPH and a changeup that usually sits around 88 MPH.

Welcome to the family Sonny! It’s always going to be Sonny in the Bronx from now on thanks to you. 

There's No Doubt About This Trade

The majority of Yankees fans and members of the media like the trade for Sonny Gray for the Yankees. That's not to say they don't like the deal for Oakland, but who cares about them? Am I right? You're here for the New York freakin' Yankees.

As I was saying, most people not only like that Gray is a Yankee, but they like the way he became a Yankee. If you've been locked in a cellar for the past 20 hours, let me catch you up to speed...

The Yankees and Athletics agreed to a trade yesterday that sent Sonny Gray to New York, while sending prospects Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, and James Kaprielian to Oakland.

First thing's first, acquiring Sonny Gray is a good thing for the Yankees. Since his MLB debut in 2013 (he's still just 27 years old, by the way), Sonny has started 112 games, putting up an ERA of 3.42 and WHIP of 1.200. He's averaged just under three walks every nine innings, while striking out a little under eight batters per nine. By the way, those numbers include his injury riddled 2016, in which he had career worsts in all four of those statistics.

That injury history refers to Sonny going on the disabled list last May due to a strained right trapezius muscle, and then again in August due to a strained right forearm. Sadly that wasn't it as Gray missed all of April this season due to a strained right shoulder (he was not put on the disabled list, but instead assigned to the minors for rehabilitation).

So acquiring Gray does not come without some risk, especially since all of those injuries involve his throwing arm. Thankfully, he's proven that as long as he's healthy he's a starter that you can run out there every five days and feel good about your chances of winning. Which is something this year's team needs in order to win the American League East, and do a little more damage in the postseason.

Another good thing is that Sonny is just an arbitration eligible player, and will not be a free agent until after the 2019 season. Fangraphs values Gray at $17.7 million so far this season, but he will make just $3.575 million. That's a gigantic return on investment. And while Sonny will surely get a raise next year, it will go a long way into the team finally reaching it's goal of getting under the Luxury Tax threshold.

There's no doubt that it's a good to great thing bringing Mr. Gray on board. However, when valuing his acquisition, you must also look at what it cost to get him.

"This total could hurt."

I touched on this Friday, where I pointed out that the outfield for the future is set, and then some. Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge have the corner spots locked down for at least another five years. Center field is a bit of a question, but not in a bad way. I'd like to see Brian Cashman find a way to move him, but Jacoby Ellsbury can play CF, and is signed through 2020. Brett Gardner's contract runs through next season. And Aaron Hicks, who is not too far from returning from the disabled list, won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season. And that doesn't include the fact that I really want the Yankees to sign Bryce Harper when he becomes a free agent after next season (unfortunately, Bryce hasn't played CF since 2015, but we'll figure that out once he's signed).

Oh, and the Yankees still have Estevan Florial, who is probably two or three years away from being MLB-ready. Not to mention Billy McKinney, who has been hitting really well since getting promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

So the losses of Mateo and Fowler should not lead to any trouble at all.

Now for the starting rotation of the future, which has at least one question, making the loss of possible future starter James Kaprielian hurt a bit.

Gray won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season, while Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery won't be a free agent until after the 2022 season. After that the team may have Masahiro Tanaka through 2020 if he doesn't opt out of his contract after the season (I could see the Yanks re-signing him even if he does opt out). That leaves one more spot for 2018, which could be filled by CC Sabathia (he's been mentioned as a candidate for a one year deal for 2018). If not CC, then there's Chance Adams, who's been killing it at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Or even Domingo Acevedo, who was a beast for Trenton, and will join Scranton/Wilkes-Barre here soon. Then there's Justus Sheffield, who is not far from the Majors as he's spent all of 2017 at AA Trenton. A little further down the line is highly regarded pitching prospect Albert Abreu. That's still a ton of depth.

So the Yankees improved their chances of winning this year, helped solidify the rotation for the next two years, still have a great shot at getting under the Luxury Tax threshold next season, and are left with a number of options to fill their roster from within for years to come.

Yes, losing any good prospect hurts, especially when it's three at once. I wasn't sold on Mateo continuing to dominate, but I liked the guy and thought he could be an option for the team in a few years. Even though he's constantly hurt, Kaprielian still has a high ceiling, so he could hurt us as early as next season. And then there's Fowler, who despite having suffered a serious knee injury leading to surgery, could be a solid piece for the Oakland A's next year and beyond. So I don't want you to think I'm disregarding those three... not at all.

But when you look at the whole of the deal, there's no doubt in my mind that the Yankees did the right thing here. So while you're entitled to your opinions...

BREAKING NEWS: Yankees Acquire Sonny Gray for Three Prospects

The New York Yankees wanted Sonny Gray and the Yankees got their man acquiring the right-hander for three prospects. The three prospects heading back to the Oakland Athletics are RHP James Kaprielian (currently out for the remainder of the season with Tommy John surgery), CF/SS Jorge Mateo and CF Dustin Fowler (out for the season with a torn ligament in his knee). More to come later.

Too Much & Just Right

I've been all over Twitter for any bit of news about the trade deadline, specifically the Yankees pursuit of Sonny Gray. While I'd like the Yankees to acquire any good starter to shore up their rotation for a postseason run, Gray would be a top 2 or 3 starter not only this season, but for a couple more years as well.

However, my longing for them to deal for Gray came when the package being discussed for him included Jorge Mateo, Estevan Florial, and Domingo Acevedo.

As I wrote in a comment to a post from Daniel, I'm okay with this deal as I don't see those three players as being a big part of the team's future. Mateo and Florial, along with another top prospect in Dustin Fowler (he should be ready to play by Spring Training), are battling for one outfield spot thanks to Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge being locks out there already. And that's assuming the Yankees somehow rid themselves of Jacoby Ellsbury (I don't really buy that he'll be a $21 million bench player), don't sign Bryce Harper next off-season (I really want Harper, and why wouldn't anyone else?), and all they also wait for Brett Gardner's contract to expire or for him to be traded.

To be fair, Acevedo could be a part of the Yankees rotation soon. He's only had two starts in AAA, so I expect him to begin next season in Scranton before getting called up sometime during 2018. And with the rotation having two or three openings heading into next season, Acevedo may get a shot sooner rather than later.

But Sonny Gray could hold a rotation spot among the top two or three for the next two seasons behind this one. And having already had a ton of success in MLB, I'd put him above any minor leaguer on the planet, not just Domingo.

You may say that Ace could be a rotation part for six years, as opposed to Gray's two, and you'd be absolutely right. But keep in mind the Yankees would still have a great farm system even if they dealt away those three above, meaning they could trade for another top starter in the next couple of years. And the after the Yankees get under the Luxury Tax threshold next season (they'd have to spend big this offseason not to, and I don't see that happening or even necessary anyway), they could sign possible free agents like Clayton Kershaw or Dallas Keuchel. Or what about other pitching prospects like Justus Sheffield, Albert Abreu, and Chance Adams?

Now, there was something that came out last night that gave me big pause on trading for Sonny Gray. And that's Oakland's apparent desire for either Clint Frazier or Gleyber Torres to headline the package.

No. No, no, no.

Those two players have obvious spots for the future, and there's plenty of reason to believe they will be key members of the Yankees for a long time. Those type of players should not be traded away, which is why Brian Cashman has said those two are off limits.

If the Athletics will do Mateo, Florial, and Acevedo then deal should be made. Otherwise, do what Daniel mentioned and look at another pitcher such as Dan Straily.

The Athletics Reportedly Want Too Damn Much for Sonny Gray

Ladies and gentleman, good morning. The July 31^st trading deadline goes down, including today, in a mere five days with the deadline coming at 4:00 pm ET on July 31^st. The New York Yankees seem ready to strike and be prime buyers in the market and teams like the Oakland Athletics, New York Mets and Miami Marlins to name a few are simply salivating at the chance to get their hands on some of the Yankees top prospects. This thought process and these fantasies about having some of the Yankees farm hands inside their own organization has obviously made some teams go absolutely crazy, reportedly anyway, including the Oakland Athletics. Excuse my mouth, my use of slang terminology and my intentional typographical error here but the asking price for Sonny Gray and Yonder Alonso is just tew damn much!! Keep reading.

Now like most of these reports, opinions and stories during this time of the year this report is pure speculation on my part and has been rumored across the internet from other credible news sources. This did not come out of the mouth of either the Yankees GM or the Athletics GM as far as I have heard so keep that in mind before directing the hate mail to the comments section, to Twitter (shameless plus @GreedyStripes… follow us) or to our email. Thanks.

The Athletics have been scouting various levels of the Yankees minor league system over the past week or so and three names have been mentioned more so than any in a potential deal for Sonny Gray and/or Yonder Alonso. Reportedly the Athletics have their eyes on center fielder and former shortstop Jorge Mateo, right-handed pitcher Domingo Acevedo and center fielder Estevan Florial. Now while I understand you have to give a little to get a little and subsequently you generally have to give a lot to get a lot but still. That’s a lot for a first baseman rental and an injury-prone, albeit young and controllable, right-handed starting pitcher if you ask me.

Scouts have had nothing but great things to say about Mateo since being moved to center field and not just because of his speed. Scouts have mentioned that Mateo picked up the position much faster than anyone intended and has also shown an instinct for the position that most don’t this early in the development stage. Meanwhile Florial’s stock is flying after making the XM All-Star Futures Game in 2017 while Acevedo and his 103 MPH fastball have been turning heads around the league for years now. There has also been talks of the Yankees having to include a fourth prospect in the deal to make it work and to provide a comparable package to the one the Chicago White Sox got for Jose Quintana and the names of Freicer Perez (Low-A Ball pitcher) and Albert Abreu have been the names most mentioned in the potential deal.

Again, I think this is quite the price to pay for Gray. If the Yankees pay the price then I truly do understand their thought process behind it and I wouldn’t necessarily be upset. None of these prospects are close to the Major Leagues and literally none of them could conceivably make the Major Leagues at any point in their careers. A lot can happen between then and now. Meanwhile Gray is controlled through the 2019 season and could fill in for a team that could potentially lose Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka after the 2017 campaign. Pineda is done with Tommy John surgery and Sabathia is a free agent at season’s end while Tanaka has an opt-out clause written into his contract that looks less and less likely that he will take with every start he takes. Gray could give the Yankees the stability they need not only this season but for seasons to come, all for the price of some Low-A and High-A Ball players and Double-A Trenton players.

It makes sense from a baseball standpoint but it’s just tough as a fan to watch these players grow and then get traded but that’s all I am, a fan. A fan with a blog. I never claimed to be an expert nor am I an insider. Nor do I want to be for the record. I like things the way they are now. That’s just where the disconnect comes in I guess so if the Yankees do make this trade, I get it. I personally just think it’s too much for Gray and Alonso but maybe it’s just me. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below or tweet them to us @GreedyStripes. Thanks again. 

So it Seems We’re One Day Closer

So it seems we are one day closer. One day closer to another good morning to all the Yankees fans and family. One day closer to the July 31^st trading deadline. One day closer to Sonny Gray potentially wearing Yankees gray’s and pinstripes. One day closer to a slew of top Yankees prospects wearing various Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates jerseys. One day closer to you.

So good morning everyone, Happy Thursday. I hope everyone has the best day and in the end I hope everyone remembers and realizes what is important in their life. Once you find that I hope you all jump in head first and go for your goals. The only person who can change your life is you. The only person who can affect your life in any sort of way is you so make it happen.

Especially you. Hey you. I love you. Dan and Kari is happening so very soon. Remember that. 

These Prospects Are Likely Available Before the Trade Deadline

The New York Yankees are open for business and despite already acquiring David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Todd Frazier already the heavy lifting may not be done in the Bronx. Depending on who you read or what news sources you trust depends on who the Yankees are scouted, being scouted by and reportedly linked to before this year’s July 31^st trade deadline including the rumored mega-deal between them and the Oakland Athletics that is being worked on presumably as we speak. If the Yankees are going to acquire first baseman Yonder Alonso and right-handed starter Sonny Gray the team is going to have to be willing to give up big-time prospects so I have taken the liberty of compiling a list of these prospects that could be or that are likely to be at least available (not necessarily traded) at this season’s trade deadline.

Any list like this has to begin and end with Jorge Mateo because, as much as it pains me to say this, it just makes sense for the Yankees to move him now. Let me stipulate that it only makes sense to move Mateo if the team plans on making a deep run into the postseason in 2017 but I feel comfortable making the assumption that they are after seeing the trade with the Chicago White Sox so thus I feel comfortable including Mateo on this list. Mateo is a shortstop by trade, that position is blocked there by a young Didi Gregorius, who learned second base, which is blocked by Starlin Castro and possibly Gleyber Torres as well, and center field, take your pick on who potentially blocks this position but you have to include Dustin Fowler, Clint Frazier who has shifted to left field for Fowler and Estevan Florial. Trading Mateo just makes sense for the Yankees and for Mateo and the young shortstop probably fetches more than most back in a trade as well.

Speaking of Estevan Florial the Yankees could conceivably trade him as well this summer before the deadline. According to reports the Oakland Athletics have already been scouting the Charleston Riverdogs where Florial plays and even after moving Blake Rutherford in the Chicago White Sox deal the Yankees still have an absolute ton of outfield depth to trade from this summer. Florial could be moved, and in my opinion he shouldn’t be unless the deal is just too good to be true, and the Yankees could still field an outfield of Clint Frazier, Aaron Judge, Dustin Fowler, Tyler Wade and Aaron Hicks among others. Florial does project as the best Yankees outfielder in the entire system but it’s hard for even me to hold onto a player that hasn’t played above Low-A Ball when a potential ace that is young and controllable like Sonny Gray could potentially be coming back in return.

Another player the Yankees could conceivably trade this summer is a player that I have personally never been big on. Tyler Wade has made two separate trips to the Major League level this season and has shown at least flashes of brilliance in both. The Yankees seem to want to platoon Wade which I don’t think is the best use of his talents nor is it the best way to showcase him in a potential trade but what do I know? I’m just a guy with a blog.

Dustin Fowler could be traded as could Gleyber Torres as a player to be named later in any deal despite their injuries. Keep that in mind.

Finally the Yankees have a trio of starting pitchers not named Chance Adams that could conceivably be moved in the right deal this winter. Domingo Acevedo, Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman all look like useful pieces inside the Yankees organization and for that reason could all be attractive to other teams in a trade. Acevedo is currently in Double-A and has reached as high as Triple-A for two starts and can touch 103 MPH on the radar gun. Acevedo’s stock comes from him being a starting pitcher but some scouts and coaches within the Yankees organization think of him as a full-time relief pitcher at the MLB level due to his inability to develop a third pitch as of the time of this writing. Acevedo has to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft after this season anyway so if the Yankees don’t see a way to protect him then they may decide to move him now for something rather than lose him later for nothing.

Guzman is in Staten Island with the Staten Island Yankees rookie ball team while Albert Abreu is struggling thus far at the High-A level in six starts. Guzman is probably three seasons or so away from the Major Leagues and has many within the organization wondering if his future is that of a starting pitcher or as a lockdown closer. Guzman has a filthy fastball and is striking out a ton of batters while Abreu on the other hand hasn’t used his fastball since early June. Abreu has been dealing with a shoulder injury that the Yankees are saying isn’t serious, of course they are, but his stats with the Tampa Yankees (0-3 record and 5.09 ERA in six starts) suggest otherwise.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential prospects that the Yankees could deal before next week’s July 31^st trading deadline. The Yankees have one of, if not the deepest systems in all of Major League Baseball and are primed to strike if they see the need and opportunity. The scary part is that the Yankees could trade every one of the prospects listed above and still have a Top 10 farm system in the league. That’s actually more than scary. It’s terrifying for anyone not in the league wearing a Yankees uniform right now. 

So it Seems Failure is Not an Option

Failure is not an option. It’s not. We may get down and we may get discouraged and we may get knocked on our butts and we may take a few steps back along the way but failure is not an option. Get down, get back up. Get discouraged and get over it. Get knocked on our butts, dust yourself off and keep going. Take a few steps back, adjust your weight and plow forward farther than you were before. That’s life. Life is hell and that’s the only way you’re going to get what you want and get ahead. It is the only conceivable way to win at life because life is a bitch, and then you die. Excuse my language but that’s the only way to describe life.

In baseball every day is a new day. Every game is a new game. Every series is a new series. That’s life. If you lose yesterday, try harder today to win. You have to have a short memory and you have to keep trucking along. I have adapted the memory of a closer, a short memory but a great memory. It’s the only way we’ll make it out alive and achieve our goals.

By the way, t-minus six days until the trading deadline including today. The hot stove is heating up. Have a great day everyone. Especially you. Hey you. Kari Ann Burch I love you. 

Padres Ask for Gleyber Torres, Give Them Jorge Mateo Instead

The San Diego Padres are looking for their shortstop of the future and in their journey the team has found themselves knocking on the door of the New York Yankees. The San Diego Padres have made it clear that they want New York’s top prospect Gleyber Torres but as of the time of this writing Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been reluctant to give up any of his top prospects in any deal, period, especially Torres. If the Padres want to make a deal and need a shortstop of the future could the Yankees give them Jorge Mateo instead of Torres, who is injured and technically cannot be traded although the “player to be named later” route is always possible, and land a guy like Brad Hand?

The Padres are high on Hand and they have absolutely no reason they “have” to trade him but for a rebuilding team like San Diego they may see it as a way to accelerate the rebuild. Trading Hand for Mateo and maybe another prospect or two works for both sides as San Diego gets their shortstop and the Yankees get some much needed bullpen help not only for 2017 but for years to come.

At the time of his injury Torres was hitting .309 with two home runs and 16 RBI in 23 games at Triple-A Scranton after playing 32 games in Double-A as well in 2017. Hand is great and has pitched extremely well in 2017 but in no way, shape or form is he worth Torres. Torres looks to be a perennial All-Star and absolute beast in the making, you don’t trade that for a relief pitcher. Period. Mateo’s spot on the team in the future is not as clear as Torres’ spot so moving him for something useful makes much more sense for the Yankees and for Mateo who is seemingly blocked at second base and shortstop.

The Padres have reportedly asked for Torres but I wonder if Cashman thought to counter with Mateo. If he didn’t then maybe he should because the Yankees could use a guy like Hand going forward. Hand is a serviceable reliever and is under team control on a team-friendly deal for a few years making him fit into the plan to get under the luxury tax threshold after the 2017 season.

Get it done Cash.

Justin Verlander Will Likely Be Traded This Month…

Okay so maybe this is a bit of a reach here but I like to personally leave no stone unturned when it comes to the July 31^st trading deadline so excuse me if I didn’t at least pay attention when I heard that the Detroit Tigers would all but trade Justin Verlander at this year’s deadline. The Yankees need pitching help, both in the rotation and in the bullpen, and while Verlander is not the Verlander that he once was you always wonder if a change of scenery is good for a veteran pitcher. That and I’d love to have Kate Upton back in the Bronx with a Yankees hat on, sue me. ---

Al Avila, the Detroit Tigers GM, has all but confirmed to the media and to Verlander that the team is going to trade him so let’s not focus on the “if,” let’s focus on what it would presumably cost for the rebuilding Tigers to part with Verlander and trade him to the Yankees. Also would Verlander be willing to waive his no-trade clause to pitch anywhere besides Detroit? 

When interviewed this week about the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause Verlander simply responded with a “wait and see.” That’s political correctness for “Yes, I would waive my NTC but the deal would have to make sense for me.” We have seen it too many times before, we know that “wait and see” means. Wait and see means he wants the team to approach him and look like the “bad guy” rather than saying “sure I’d waive it, get me the hell out of here and to a contender.” So in a nutshell, yes I think Verlander would waive his NTC to come to the Bronx. 

Like any trade it is going to come down to what the Tigers want in return from the Yankees. The Yankees and Tigers were frequent trade partners when Dave Dombrowski was their general manager so I’m sure there are scouts and personnel who are still friendly and familiar with Brian Cashman and company but I honestly and truly don’t know what the Tigers need and lack in their system. Would I give up Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier or any top-tiered prospects for Verlander? No. Would I give them Jorge Mateo and a few prospects that are far away from the Major Leagues but have upside? Sure, I would. That’s about as high as I would like to go though, personally. 

Verlander is 5-5 this season and is scheduled to start tomorrow against the Cleveland Indians. Verlander himself credits the lack of a changeup for his struggles in 2016 and 2017 as he lost a feel for the pitch while working extensively on his slider last season. Verlander is said to be back working extensively on his changeup this season and feels as though this season would have gone much differently had he had that changeup in his back pocket in certain situations. Verlander is owed $56 million for the next two seasons and has a vesting option worth $22 million for the 2020 season if he finishes in the top five in Cy Young award voting though which may make him too expensive for the Yankees with their austerity budget that is coming. 

Would I make the trade? Yes, assuming the prospect price is low or reasonable. Would the Yankees make the trade though? With that kind of money on the books and Bryce Harper and Manny Machado on the horizon, probably not. Stay tuned to find out though. 

Jorge Mateo Named Eastern League Player of the Week

Don’t look now but Jorge Mateo may be back after earning Eastern League Player of the Week. Here is the press release from the Trenton Thunder: 

Jorge Mateo Named Eastern League Player of the Week

The Eastern League announced Monday and INF Jorge Mateo was named the League's Player of the Week for the week of June 26th - July 2nd.

In his first six games  in Double-A, Mateo has matched his career-high with four walks in a game and set a new career-high with five RBI's in the Thunder's 14-2 defeat of New Hampshire in game one of Sunday's doubleheader.

Overall, the Yankees #3 rated prospect according to Baseball America, batted .522/.621/.913 with three doubles, one home run and two stolen bases in his first week with the Thunder. The 22-year-old infielder had five games this week in which he had at least two hits. Combined between Tampa and Trenton, Mateo is batting .262/.318/.440 with five home runs, 16 doubles, 11 triples and 30 stolen bases in 36 attempts.

Mateo's honor provides a new franchise record for the Thunder by becoming the seventh weekly award winner this season. In 2006, three different Thunder players (Shelley Duncan, Tyler Clippard, and Randy Ruiz) were honored a combined six times.

The Thunder have also set a new record for the most players named to the league's weekly award with five different players Chance Adams (April 6-16), Yefry Ramirez (May 15-21),, Justus Sheffield (May 22-28 and June 12-18), Billy McKinney (June 12-18) and Mateo earning it in 2017.

The Thunder return to ARM & HAMMER Park on Tuesday July 4th for a series with the Reading Fightin Phils. Tuesday's game features post-game firewroks presented by the U.S. Army. For tickets and the latest information on Thunder baseball visit www.TrentonThunder.com.

--THUNDER--

A Forgettable Day in Hot, Humid H-Town…

Astros 8, Yankees 1…

It was nothing more than a good ol’ fashioned butt kickin’.  Unfortunately, the Yankees were on the receiving end as they lost the game and the series to the Houston Astros.

It was a dismal performance by starter Luis Severino (5-4).  He was tagged for 9 hits and 6 runs in 5 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out seven.  The outing inflated his season ERA to 3.52.  He left trailing 5-0 in the sixth, with one out, after George Springer laced a double to center.  He was charged for the run when Springer scored on Carlos Correa’s single against Yankees reliever Tyler Webb.

Credit:  Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

If Friday’s win was a complete team victory, this would have to be classified as a complete team loss.  You know things are bad when the only RBI producer is first baseman Chris Carter.  He had a run-scoring single in the 9th to prevent the shutout.  Aaron Judge continues to hit (2-for-4) but he also had two strikeouts.  Gary Sanchez, following Judge in the batting order, was 2-for-3.  Unfortunately, those guys had no help and the result was an easy win for the Astros.

The Astros got home runs from Marwin Gonzalez (2nd inning, off Severino) and Yuli Gurriel (7th inning, off Domingo German).  Carlos Correa was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI’s.  He doubled twice and all of his RBI’s came with two outs.  

Credit:  Bob Levey-Getty Images

The Yankees (43-37) fell further behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East standings with the loss.  They are now 3 games behind the Red Sox, who annihilated the Toronto Blue Jays, 15-1, powered by 8 RBI’s from Mookie Betts.  The Tampa Bay Rays finally lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1, so they remain two games away from the Yankees.  

This was not a fun game and not one that I really care to revisit so let’s move on.  Today is a new day...

2017 All-Star Game Selections…

Aaron Judge was the highest vote getter for the American League All-Star Team with 4,488,702 votes.  He’ll start in the outfield.  He’ll be joined by Starlin Castro and Gary Sanchez, both of whom were selected as reserves.  Luis Severino, freshly off Sunday’s beating, was added to the pitching staff, along with Dellin Betances.  Betances will be making his fourth straight ASG appearance.  Congrats to Aaron, Starlin, Gary, Luis and Dellin!

Credit:  Bob Levey-Getty Images

Didi Gregorius is on the final fan vote ballot so he has a chance although the time lost on the disabled list will probably work against him.  Nonetheless, he got my vote.  The AL Final Vote ballot is open until Thursday at 4 pm ET.  

The ASG will be played next Tuesday, July 11th, in Miami, FL.  

Next Up:  Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York…

Continuing the 4th of July Weekend, the Yankees are home to face the AL East cellar dwellers.  Although the Blue Jays are better than their 37-44 record, they were swept in Boston over the weekend.  They’ll come to the Bronx looking for blood...

Here are the scheduled pitching match-ups:

TODAY

Blue Jays:  Marcus Stroman (8-4, 3.41 ERA)

Yankees:  Masahiro Tanaka (6-7, 5.56 ERA)

TUESDAY, 4TH OF JULY

Blue Jays:  J.A. Happ (2-5, 3.71 ERA)

Yankees:  CC Sabathia (7-2, 3.46 ERA)

WEDNESDAY

Blue Jays:  Marco Estrada (4-6, 4.86 ERA)

Yankees:  Michael Pineda (8-4, 4.05 ERA)

Odds & Ends…

The Yankees seem to be on a mission to rebuild the Baltimore Orioles bullpen.  After trading Richard Bleier to the O’s in Spring Training, they’ve shipped 25-year-old RHP Matt Wotherspoon to Baltimore for undisclosed international signing bonus pool money.  In 21 games with Double A Trenton and Triple A Scranton, Wotherspoon was 3-1 with 1.85 ERA.  He has struck out 45 batters in 39 innings.  After the trade, the Mountain Top, PA native was assigned to the Triple A Norfolk Tides.

The Yankees have reached agreements with the following international prospects.  The number indicates their ranking on Baseball America’s Top 50 international prospects:

04.  Everson Pereira, OF, Venezuela

11.  Ronny Rojas, SS, Dominican Republic (expected to sign in August when he turns 16)

20.  Roberto Chirinos, SS, Venezuela

28.  Anthony Garcia, OF, Dominican Republic

Anthony Garcia / Credit:  Pinstriped Prospects

Jorge Mateo is tearing up Double A.  In 6 games since his promotion from Class A, Mateo is batting .522/.621/.913 (12-for-23) with 3 triples, a homer, and 10 RBI’s for the Trenton Thunder.  He’s stolen two bags although he has been caught three times.  Sounds like the Yanks former top prospect wants to join the MLB Debut Party in the Bronx.  

The Yankees expect to activate both Adam Warren and CC Sabathia prior to Tuesday's game.  In all likelihood, Starlin Castro will be activated before the All-Star break.  It will be good to get these guys back in action.  

Happy Monday!  Now that the Bombers are back in the Bronx, let’s get back to winning!  Go Yankees!