Staten Island Yankees to Remain “Yankees” For Now

STATEN ISLAND TO REMAIN “YANKEES” FOR IMMEDIATE FUTURE

STATEN ISLAND- In June, we announced plans to change our team name for the first time since arriving on Staten Island in 1999. Change is never easy, especially when your name is associated with one of the most iconic brands in sports, the New York Yankees. It is a privilege to be the starting point for many young men trying to work their way to the Bronx, but operating as a minor league team in the same marketplace under the same moniker presents inevitable challenges, so we began seeking an identity of our own.

Since the announcement, our organization enthusiastically devoted its full effort into the research and planning related to this endeavor, but over time it became clear that the approval and acceptance of the new name and artwork would take longer than initially anticipated. With that taken into consideration, we decided to table the rebranding process for the upcoming season and remain the Staten Island Yankees in 2017.

“We had a favored name, logo and branding plan. We were prepared to move forward, but encountered obstacles that unfortunately delayed the process beyond industry deadlines. These delays also would have compromised the quality of the product we aim to bring our fans,” said Staten Island Yankees President Will Smith. “I always said that until there is a new name, we are the Yankees. That remains true today.”

“Nevertheless, the passion and enthusiasm for our community’s team that surfaced during this process has not gone unnoticed. Most important is what comes first in our name – Staten Island – and all monikers aside, our goal remains the same: To provide family-friendly entertainment in a safe, clean environment at an affordable price. We are taking many steps to make the experience at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George the best it has ever been in 2017, and can’t wait to share those steps with you in the coming months.”

The Staten Island Yankees are the Single A-Short Season Affiliate of the New York Yankees and play at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George. The Staten Island Yankees are six-time New York-Penn League Champions (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011). For more information, visit siyanks.com.

Staten Island Yankees release 2017 season schedule

STATEN ISLAND YANKEES RELEASE 2017 SEASON SCHEDULE

Opening Day scheduled for Monday, June 19, against Brooklyn

STATEN ISLAND- The Staten Island Yankees are excited to announce the team's 2017 season schedule. The Baby Bombers kick off another action-packed summer at home for a 16th season at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George on Monday, June 19, against cross-bridge rival the Brooklyn Cyclones. See the attached document for the entire 2017 schedule.

For the first time since 2013, Staten Island will open the season at home on a Monday (June 19) against Brooklyn. The team then returns to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George on Saturday, June 24, for their first three-game series of the season as they take on division foe the Aberdeen IronBirds.

While fans will have to wait until early 2017 for the promotional schedule, dates such as July 4 vs. the Hudson Valley Renegades and the regular season home finale on Sept. 6 vs. Brooklyn should be games to mark in your calendar.

More information regarding our rebranding efforts will be available in the coming weeks.

Fans can reserve season tickets and partial plans for the 2017 season by contacting a Staten Island Yankees ticket rep at (718) 720-9265 or by email at tickets@siyanks.com. Contact us today to reserve your tickets or for more information about the 2017 season.

The Staten Island Yankees are the Single A-Short Season Affiliate of the New York Yankees and play at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George. The Staten Island Yankees are six-time New York-Penn League Champions (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011). For more information, visit siyanks.com.

Staten Island Yankees Release Finalists for New Name Contest

STATEN ISLAND YANKEES RELEASE NEW TEAM NAME FINALISTS

Organization asks for fans to vote on final team name

STATEN ISLAND- After receiving more than 2,000 fan submissions during our “Name the Team” Contest, the Staten Island Yankees have narrowed it down to five finalists, one of which will be the new team name for the Staten Island franchise beginning in 2017. Fans can help select the new team name over the next two weeks by visiting www.siyanks.com/rebrand. The finalists below are presented in alphabetical order:



Bridge Trolls

Bridge Trolls commemorates the iconic bridges that connect Staten Island, while embracing the kind of wacky names Minor League Baseball is known for.


Heroes

The Heroes honors the civil servants and military personnel of Staten Island and New York who work tirelessly to uphold our American values.


Killer Bees

Killer Bees pays tribute to Staten Island's musical and cultural impact. Fans will be “buzzing" over our bee-themed promotions!


Pizza Rats

Like Staten Islanders and New Yorkers, these natives are tenacious, enterprising and know where to find the best food in the city.



Rock Pigeons

Another animal synonymous with the city, the Rock Pigeons celebrates Staten Island - known by locals as “The Rock."

Staten Island Yankees Send Three to All-Star Game

Solak, Bridges, Mahoney named New York-Penn League All-Stars

STATEN ISLAND- Three Staten Island Yankee players, Nick Solak, Drew Bridges and Kolton Mahoney, will represent the organization in the 2016 New York-Penn League All-Star Game on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., home of the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Second baseman Nick Solak was the New York Yankees’ second round selection, 62nd overall, in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Louisville. Solak, a native of Woodridge, Ill., was named a 2016 Third-Team All-American byBaseball America after batting .376 with five home runs in 47 games at the Louisville. In his first professional season with Staten Island, Solak is batting .301 with three home runs, 15 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 39 games.

First and third baseman Drew Bridges is in his second season with Staten Island. Primarily a third baseman in 2015, Bridges played in 55 games, batting .211 with four home runs and 25 RBIs. The 2013 20th round pick has shown growth in 2016, adding a part-time role at first base while batting .308 with 12 doubles, four home runs and 22 RBIs in 43 games.

Pitcher Kolton Mahoney made a return to the Staten Island rotation in 2016, continuing his consistent success on the mound. After being drafted in 16th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Brigham Young University, Mahoney helped lead the Staten Island to a McNamara Division title, posting a 3-2 record with a 2.29 ERA. In 2016, the Utah native is 4-3 with a 2.42 ERA and tossed a complete game shutout against the Auburn Doubledays on July 31.

SCOOTER THE HOLY COW WINS STATEN ISLAND YANKEES’ PRESIDENTIAL POLL

SCOOTER THE HOLY COW WINS STATEN ISLAND YANKEES’ PRESIDENTIAL POLL

STATEN ISLAND- In a stunning upset at the Staten Island Yankees “Yanks Choose the President” Friday night, the Pinstripe Party’s Scooter the Holy Cow took down Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump with 44.4 percent of the fan vote.


Most experts ruled Scooter out of the race early in the week as third-party candidates usually don’t fare well in these early polls. With a voter turnout of 78 percent, Staten Island Yankee fans made their voices heard as the Yankees defeated the Hudson Valley Renegades, 6-4.


“The ‘Pinstripe Party’ has a nice ring to it. And those wearing pinstripes are used to winning and ‘rings’. We’re honored to be represented by Scooter the Holy Cow and thank our loyal fans for hoofing it to the polls tonight at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George,” said Staten Island Yankees team president Will Smith.


It was an unusually “blue” night for Staten Island, statistically New York City’s most Republican borough, as Clinton earned 30.7 percent of the vote against Trump’s 24.9 percent.


Scooter and the Pinstripe Party will continue their underdog campaign at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George all summer long with 16 rallies currently scheduled through Monday, Sept. 5. For tickets to the remaining rallies, supporters can visit www.siyanks.com.


The Staten Island Yankees are the Single A-Short Season Affiliate of the New York Yankees and play at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George. The Staten Island Yankees are six-time New York-Penn League Champions (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011). For more information, visit siyanks.com.

Staten Island Yankees to Rebrand in 2017

STATEN ISLAND YANKEES TO REBRAND FOR 2017 SEASON

Organization asks for fan input on new team name

STATEN ISLAND- In 1999, the Staten Island Yankees were introduced to New York’s “forgotten borough”, giving baseball fans from the Island a professional sports team to call their own. After two seasons playing at the College of Staten Island, the Baby Bombers moved into their cozy new waterfront stadium, the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George, where the team is celebrating 15 seasons of unforgettable baseball in 2016.

Since our first season 17 years ago, we have proudly donned the iconic Yankees pinstripes and worn our parent club’s world-recognized name across our chest. Under the Yankees’ moniker, we’ve won six New York-Penn League titles, the most of any team in our league.

In 2017, Staten Island’s team will take on an identity of its own, and we want our community to help usher in that change.

“This ballpark is a jewel located in a passionate community in the best setting in sports. The Staten Island community is proud to have our team here, and we believe rebranding the team to something more specific will make this local brand become more popular here, and ultimately internationally. We are very proud to be Yankees, but equally proud to be part of this community. What moniker best represents this city, borough and team? You tell us! We want to encompass the passion, cultures, tradition and pride of Staten Island, New York,” said Team President/Operating Partner Will Smith.

While our name will change, our proud affiliation with the New York Yankees remains the same, and the road to the Bronx still goes through Staten Island. We look forward to many more years of our championship-winning relationship with the Yankees.

The process begins Monday, June 20. Fans are encouraged to submit their nomination for the team's new identity atwww.siyanks.com/rebrand, along with an explanation of why they feel their nomination best represents the borough of Staten Island and its community. Fans have until Tuesday, July 5, at noon to submit their nominee. The top six choices will be entered into a contest to vote for the new team name. One fan who submits an entry will win two (2) 2017 season tickets, an official team jersey, and the opportunity to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day 2017.

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The Staten Island Yankees are the Single A-Short Season Affiliate of the New York Yankees and play at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George. The Staten Island Yankees are six-time New York-Penn League Champions (2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011). For more information, visit siyanks.com.

Quick Hit: Yankees Owner Buys the Memphis Redbirds

No, not that Yankees owner. Not Hal or Hank Steinbrenner but one of the Yankees minority owners, Peter Freund, has purchased a franchise from the St. Louis Cardinals. Nearly two years about being bought by St. Louis the Memphis Redbirds have a new owner in Freund.

The Memphis Redbirds are a minor league affiliate that plays in the Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) and is just one of the umbrella organizations that makes the St. Louis Cardinals the most profitable team in all of Major League Baseball according to FORBES Magazine. Redbirds GM Craig Unger will remain with the team and will be promoted to president and general manager as a part of the transaction.

The St. Louis Cardinals will maintain a minority ownership stake with the team and the team will remain a Cardinals affiliate going forward, at least that’s the plan now, and will remain in the city of Memphis. This is not unprecedented, just as an FYI, though as Freund also principally owns the Class-A Williamsport Crosscutters (Philadelphia Phillies minor league team in the New York-Penn League) and the Charleston Riverdogs in Low-A for the Yankees.

What does this mean to us and the New York Yankees in general? Absolutely nothing, don’t fret. Just a nice little nugget of information I figured I would pass along thing morning. Enjoy and have a great day!

TGP Prospects Month Top 29 Prospects List - #4 James Kaprielian

What can you say about the Yankees first pick, 16th overall, in the 2015 MLB First year Players Draft that hasn't already been said? James Kaprielian was taken 16th overall out of UCLA in last years draft and was deemed MLB ready out of the draft. New York needed a fast riser and they got one in Kaprielian who could reach the Major Leagues as soon as the 2016 season. Kaprielian did nothing last year to keep any of the Yankees brass up at night after spending time in the Gulf Coast League and in the New York/Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees.

Kaprielian was considered to be a middle-of-the-rotation type starter as his ceiling with a fastball that sat around 92 MPH but somehow Kaprielian has found a couple ticks in his velocity getting up to 94-95 MPH consistently. If Kaprielian can keep this velocity and cut down on the 7.7 BB/9 ratio he had with the GCL Yankees, and he did in Staten Island in a larger sample size, he could easily be a #2 starter if he reaches his ceiling.

By the way, because I've heard about every pronunciation of his name possible thus far, the Yankees 4th best prospect on our Top Prospects List is pronounced as if it was spelled Kaprilian.

4. James Kaprielian
5. Robert Refsnyder
6. Domingo Acevedo
7. Dustin Fowler
8. Wilkerman Garcia
9. Ian Clarkin
10. Brady Lail
11. Jacob Lindgren
12. Bryan Mitchell
13. Drew Finley
14. Mason Williams
15. Slade Heathcott
16. Abi Avelino
17. Hoy-Jun Park
18. Luis Torrens
19. Cale Coshow
20. Chance Adams
21. Miguel Andujar
22. Jonathan Holder
23. Tyler Wade
24. Nick Rumbelow
25.Jordan Montgomery
26.Trey Amburgey
27. Ben Gamel
28. Austin DeCarr
29. Thairo Estrada
30. James Pazos

Staten Island Yankees Announce 2016 Coaching Staff

STATEN ISLAND YANKEES ANNOUNCE 2016 COACHES

STATEN ISLAND- As Spring Training approaches, the Staten Island Yankees have been assigned the following field staff by the New York Yankees:



Dave Bialas – Manager

Bialas enters his second season in the New York Yankees organization after managing the Tampa Yankees to a 66-72 record in 2015. A seasoned veteran of professional baseball, Bialas’ career began in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization after being drafted in the 4thround in 1972 out of Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas. The native Texan played ten seasons in the Cardinals’ system, reaching as high as AAA. Bialas also managed AAA Springfield/Louisville (STL, 1982-83 & ‘86), AA Arkansas (STL, 1984 & ’90), Single A St. Petersburg (STL, 1985-89 & ’91-92), AA West Tenn (CHC, 2000-01) and AAA Iowa (CHC, 2012). Bialas has a wide range of coaching experience outside of managing minor league clubs as he spent time as the bullpen coach for the San Diego Padres (1993-94) and Chicago Cubs (1995-99), third base coach for the Cubs (2002), minor league field coordinator for the Cubs (2003-11), and minor league coordinator for the Atlanta Braves (2013-14). The highlight of Bialas’ managing career came in 2000 as he led the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx to a league championship for the first and only time.

Eric Duncan – Hitting Coach

Duncan enters his second season as hitting coach for the Baby Bombers after guiding Staten Island to NYPL top-four finish is both runs (344) and home runs (32) en route to the McNamara Division title in 2015. Prior to coaching in professional baseball, Duncan served as a volunteer coach at Seton Hall for three years while pursuing his degree in political science. Duncan was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round, 27th overall, in the 2003 draft. Duncan returns to Staten Island after a short stint with the Baby Bombers in 2003. In only 14 games with Staten Island in 2003, Duncan drove in 13 runs while batting .373 with two home runs, four triples and five doubles. The highly touted prospect earned the honor of Arizona Fall League MVP in 2005, a year that featured future MLB stars Matt Kemp, Joey Votto and Adam Jones. In 2006, Duncan was named Top Rookie for the New York Yankees in Spring Training. The New Jersey native made it as high as AAA in his career playing for four different organizations: New York Yankees (2003-09), Atlanta Braves (2010), St. Louis Cardinals (2011) and Kansas City Royals (2012).

Teuris Olivares – Defensive Coach

Olivares enters his second season as defensive coach of the Staten Island Yankees after helping the Baby Bombers reach the NYPL Championship in 2015. Olivares began his professional baseball career as a player in the New York Yankees organization in 1996. The Dominican Republic native worked his way through the system until 2004, reaching as high as AAA. Olivares then played independent baseball from 2005-10 for Newark, Camden, Somerset and the Road Warriors before rejoining the Yankees organization as a coach for the Dominican Summer League Yankees from 2011-14.

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“I’m proud to be a Yankee, no doubt about it. It’s a world class organization. I’m looking forward to being in Staten Island and working with the younger guys, including the college draftees. The biggest pleasure I have is working with the young players and having the chance to teach them how to play Yankees baseball.” – Dave Bialas, Manager

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Baseball America: Three Yankees In Top 20 New York-Penn League Prospects List

picture courtesy of Pinstripes Prospects

Baseball America has been covering all the minor league league's and affiliates and ranking the Top 20 prospects in each league for the better part of a week now. The Yankees have been well represented in each of these lists with prospects from the Appalachian League and Gulf Coast Leagues but the team has been no more well represented than the team was in the New York-Penn League.

New York had three prospects listed in the Top 20 for the short-season NYPL including #3 overall prospect RHP Domingo Acevedo, #10 OF Jhalan Jackson and and #18 SS Kyle Holder.

The top two prospects in the league are the Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles. For the complete list CLICK HERE. 

Weekly Check In: James Kaprielian

James Kaprielian will finish his first professional season in Major League Baseball with a playoff appearance with the Staten Island Yankees. Kaprielian had to watch as Domingo Acevedo started Game One of the Championship round while Dario Agrazal started Game Two with the SI Yankees back against the elimination wall.

Kaprielian dropped his ERA over nine points from his time with the GCL Yankees to Staten Island, although he was a relief pitcher in the GCL and was a starter in the New York-Penn League. Kaprielian will pitch much more in 2016 but he had a great 2015 that he can build off of and that's worth more than any stat line is.

Year	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	A--Rk	0	5	3.90	18	64.2	56	41	28	1	18	38	1.144	7.8	0.1	2.5	5.3
2015	Rk	0	0	11.57	2	2.1	2	4	3	0	2	2	1.714	7.7	0.0	7.7	7.7
2015	A-

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Weekly Check In: Domingo Acevedo

In our Wednesday weekly check in post, and our last Wednesday check in post of the season, we look at a Yankees prospects that has made a name for himself in 2015, Domingo Acevedo. I admittedly didn't know much about Acevedo before the 2015 season but that has changed not because of an interest or a connection on my end but because of a strong season from the right-hander. His strong season, along with the rest of his Staten Island Yankees teammates, led the team to play for the New York-Penn League Championship this season.

Acevedo has been in the Yankees organization since the 2013 season and even spent time during the 2015 season with the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs before settling in and breaking out with the Staten Island Yankees. Acevedo has quieted the best hitters and the best offense in the New York-Penn League and has been as close to an automatic win this season as you can get.

Acevedo will likely be rewarded for his strong season this winter by being promoted back to Charleston or even Tampa, although Tampa may be a bit of a stretch for the 21-year old right-hander, and no one can take that away from him. He deserves it. Congratulations on a great season Mr. Acevedo.

Year	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	A--A	3	0	1.81	12	49.2	39	16	10	2	16	54	1.107	7.1	0.4	2.9	9.8
2015	A-	3	0	1.69	11	48.0	37	15	9	2	15	53	1.083	6.9	0.4	2.8	9.9
2015	A	0	0	5.40	1	1.2	2	1	1	0	1	1	1.800	10.8	0.0	5.4	5.4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Weekly Check In: Trey Amburgey

Trey Amburgey has quickly established himself as one of the better prospects inside the New York Yankees farm system despite being drafted less than three months ago. Amburgey was drafted in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft and got into 58 games in his pro debut season leading the Staten Island Yankees to a 41-34 record. That record for the SI Yankees was enough to send the team to the Tri-City Playoffs and a best-of-three playoff series that begins tonight.

Amburgey put his name on the map quite quickly show power to the gaps, over the fence power and power with his arm in right field. Amburgey was drafted much later in the draft than current teammates James Kaprielian, Kyle Holder or Jeff Degano but he has far exceeded any of the Yankees top three picks in 2015 and will head into the playoffs and the subsequent winter that follows with his eye on the prize that is the 2016 season.

Weekly Check In: Nate Mikolas

Yesterday morning we showcased a pair of Pulaski Yankees that have led the team to the Appalachian League Playoffs in rookie ball and today we will do the same with their teammate Nate Mikolas. Mikolas may be the biggest name and the biggest star of the Pulaski Yankees this season after taking a bit of a step back from the Staten Island Yankees in 2014. Mikolas was a 3rd round draft pick in the 2012 MLB First year Players Draft and the Yankees may finally be seeing some of the dividends for drafting the young outfielder that early.

Mikolas spent two seasons with the Gulf Coast Yankees after being drafted out of High School by the Yankees and made the big step to Staten Island in 2014. Mikolas has gone from a .225 hitter in the New York-Penn League to flirting with a .300 average in Pulaski showing the Yankees that the organization made the correct decision.

Year	Tm	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	Pulaski	52	222	40	55	8	4	33	2	25	51	.285	.374	.409	.783

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Weekly Check In: James Kaprielian

James Kaprielian’s professional career did not start out the way anyone had planned as he struggled in his first few appearances of the season. Kaprielian, like most Scott Boras “advised” clients do, went down to the absolute wire before signing his deal with the Yankees and may have been battling a bit of rust to begin his Yankees tenure while he also had to adjust to coming out of the bullpen at first. Kaprielian has since been bumped up to the New York-Penn League’s Staten Island Yankees as a starter and has made the most of his time there thus far.

Kaprielian has shown the fans and the doubters a shimmer of hope and a glimpse into the future as a starter with the Staten Island Yankees and now looks to finish the season strong. Kaprielian is now debuting for the 2016 season where he may is unlikely to repeat short season ball and will likely head to either Charleston with the Riverdogs or Tampa with the High-A Tampa Yankees. 

Year	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	A--Rk	0	1	5.87	4	7.2	8	6	5	0	4	8	1.565	9.4	0.0	4.7	9.4
2015	Rk	0	0	11.57	2	2.1	2	4	3	0	2	2	1.714	7.7	0.0	7.7	7.7
2015	A-	0	1	3.38	2	5.1	6	2	2	0	2	6	1.500	10.1	0.0	3.4	10.1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Weekly Check In: Jeff Degano

The New York Yankees added a ton of talent to their minor league affiliates this month through the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft including two first round picks in Kyle Holder and James Kaprielian. The two first round picks have already made it to the New York-Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees and they joined another 2015 Draft pick by the Yankees, Jeff Degano.

Degano was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2015 Draft out of Indiana State. Here is the MLB.com Pipeline scouting report on Degano:

The redshirt junior works at 88-92 mph and can reach 95 with his fastball, which features some natural cutting life. He gets many of his strikeouts with his hard slurve, which he can run away from lefties and back-foot against righties … Degano has a decent changeup with some fade and will need to use it more as a starter in pro ball. He throws strikes but his command could use some refinement. Though he doesn’t have a true plus offering, he has the upside of a three-pitch starter with the fallback of becoming a situational lefty.

Year	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	Rk-A-	0	4	4.50	8	16.0	19	10	8	1	6	14	1.562	10.7	0.6	3.4	7.9
2015	Rk	0	4	5.06	6	10.2	14	8	6	1	4	8	1.688	11.8	0.8	3.4	6.8
2015	A-	0	0	3.38	2	5.1	5	2	2	0	2	6	1.312	8.4	0.0	3.4	10.1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table