ICYMI: Yankees Release Jaron Long, Five Others

Every week the guys and crew over at Baseball America bring us the minor league transactions from the week that used to get overlooked in years past. If it weren't for Baseball America we wouldn't know that the Yankees released six more prospects this week including one pretty big name in my opinion in Jaron Long.

All told the Yankees released Long, the son of former hitting coach Kevin Long, along with KJ Alexander (C), Jake Hernandez (C), Chris Breen (OF), Frank Frias (OF) and another bit of a shocker in outfielder Taylor Dugas.

For the complete list CLICK HERE. 

Yankees Release Jaron Long, Five Others

Every week the guys and crew over at Baseball America bring us the minor league transactions from the week that used to get overlooked in years past. If it weren't for Baseball America we wouldn't know that the Yankees released six more prospects this week including one pretty big name in my opinion in Jaron Long.

All told the Yankees released Long, the son of former hitting coach Kevin Long, along with KJ Alexander (C), Jake Hernandez (C), Chris Breen (OF), Frank Frias (OF) and another bit of a shocker in outfielder Taylor Dugas.

For the complete list CLICK HERE. 

Possible Yankees Losses in the Rule 5 Draft

As we inch closer and closer to the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee we also inch closer and closer to some actual activity in the baseball community. We have seen a few trades get pulled off, a few free agents overpaid (totally not looking at you Cliff Pennington), a few starting pitchers get paid (and I am totally looking at you Jordan Zimmerman) and a whole lot of talk. That talk equates to moves at the Winter Meetings and it also means the Rule 5 Draft comes leaving us with the answers to the “will he stay or will he go?” questions. We know who is staying for New York but looking at the roster the Yankees may see more than a few go as well this December.

Mark Montgomery was once thought to be the heir-apparent to Mariano Rivera after being drafted in the 11^th round of the 2011 MLB Draft but a lot has happened since a shoulder injury dampened his 2013 season. Montgomery had a nice 2014 season and basically repeated the solid season in 2015 between Double-A and Triple-A posting a 4-4 record with a 2.66 ERA and 17 saves with 53 strikeouts in 50.2 innings. Montgomery was especially good in Triple-A posting a 1.17 ERA and 0.391 WHIP in just 7.2 innings leaving many to wonder if he couldn’t stick as a long man on a MLB roster. I certainly think he could, and will, as he is much better in my opinion than Tommy Kahnle who the Colorado Rockies hid on their roster two years ago after taking him from New York in the draft.

Taylor Dugas and Jake Cave fit a similar mold not only in the draft but inside the Yankees system. New York has so many left-handed defensive first outfielders in their system, Mason Williams, recently protected Ben Gamel and Slade Heathcott immediately come to mind, that it may not be the worst thing to see one or both picked. For their sake, not the team’s sake. Dugas and Cave can play all three outfield positions, have high on-base percentages and have hit for average at every minor league stop they’ve made. Neither have large sample sizes above Double-A to base their picks on but could easily be hidden as a fourth or even fifth outfielder on a MLB roster this season.

Tony Renda is a second baseman that lost out to the versatility “metta” currently going on in Major League Baseball. Renda plays second base well but the problem is that’s the only position he can play. In a world where every team wants their own shiny Ben Zobrist type player Renda was made available in the draft. His bat is average and he hasn’t had much time above Double-A so he’s unlikely to be selected, but he could be and that’s enough at this point.

Finally we finish with a prospect we did one of our “Weekly Check In” posts with multiple times this season, left-handed starter Miguel Sulbaran. Sulbaran was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in the Eduardo Nunez trade from a couple years back and made it all the way to Double-A with the Trenton Thunder before the 2015 season came to a close. Sulbaran is not a sexy name and probably not a common household name for many despite being in his age 21 season but was solid this season and is left-handed, that’s intriguing to some teams in itself.

Just as a reminder there are three phases to the Rule 5 Draft, the Major League portion being the most popular. If a player is taken in the Major League portion a $50,000 fee is charged to the team selecting the player and the team must keep the player on their 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season. If they do not they must offer the player back to his original team with a $25,000 price tag attached to him before he is eligible to sign elsewhere.

Meet a Prospect: Taylor Dugas

Taylor Dugas was called up from Double-A with the Trenton Thunder this week to give the Yankees an extra outfielder and bench player for the weekend. Carlos Beltran was removed from Tuesday night’s game with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a rib cage injury that seems minor enough to avoid a DL stint or surgery meaning that Dugas isn’t likely to stay up for long unfortunately. The Yankees could have called up Tyler Austin who is already on the 40 man roster but didn’t for some reason and could not call up Ramon Flores since it hasn’t been 10 days since he was demoted and since Beltran will avoid the DL, at least for now, so Dugas gets the shot. Let’s hope that Dugas makes the most out of this opportunity so let’s meet him, Meet a Prospect: Taylor Dugas.

Taylor Brooks Dugas was born on December 15, 1989 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Dugas grew up a Yankees fan with brother Tyler Dugas and sister Tiffany Dugas. The Yankee fandom can be explained by the fact that the Dugas family was family friends with a former Yankees star Ron Guidry and Taylor saw much of Louisiana Lightning, a fellow Lafayette native by the way, growing up as a kid. Dugas began playing youth baseball at five years old and joined many travel teams that visited the state of Florida and Texas and continued his amateur career when he attended Teurlings Catholic High School in Lafayette. Dugas played for the baseball team there and posted a .640 batting average with 10 home runs in his senior season. Dugas ended his tenure at the Catholic School with a career .519 batting average and although he did not do enough to get drafted in the 2008 MLB First Year Players Draft he did enough to catch the attention of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Alabama was not the first choice for Dugas, LSU was naturally, but was only given a chance as a walk-on player for Louisiana State University while the University of Alabama offered him a scholarship to play baseball. Dugas went on to hit .352 as a freshman with the Crimson Tide while he improved on that in his sophomore season hitting .395 to lead the SEC Conference. After that breakout season Dugas was invited to try out for the United States national collegiate baseball team. All this attention Dugas was garnering was enough to get him drafted in the eighth round by the Chicago Cubs after his junior year, 249^th overall. The Cubs offered Dugas $300,000 to sign but instead the outfielder decided to play his senior season at Alabama and turn down the Cubs offer.  As a senior Dugas hit .343 and set the Crimson Tide records for hits 334, singles with 235, doubles with 67 and triples with 18.

After setting multiple school records he impressed the New York Yankees enough to draft him in the 8^th round, this time 277^th overall, in the 2012 MLB Draft. Dugas almost immediately signed with New York and began his professional career with the Staten Island Yankees where he hit .306 and was named to the New York-Penn League All-Star Game. Dugas was promoted to the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs in 2013 before earning another promotion to the High-A Tampa Yankees before the season ended where combined for a .285 batting average and 64 walks. Dugas began the 2014 season with the Trenton Thunder before earning a call up to Triple-A and the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in June of that season where he was until the Yankees called him up this week.

Dugas is another left handed outfielder with a ton of speed and defense that lacks in the home run department that fits the mold of Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott and Ramon Flores. Williams and Heathcott are injured and Flores could not be called up as we said so now it’s time for Dugas to take a crack at it. The good news for the Yankees is if the whole outfielder thing doesn’t work out they can always rest the arm of Garrett Jones and let Dugas pitch like he did three times last season going 0-2 in 3.0 IP with a strikeout and two walks. Hopefully it doesn’t come down to that but if it does then at least the Yankees are prepared as Dugas is prepared for anything. Welcome to the show Taylor, make us proud!

Rogers Outrighted, Dugas Up, Miller Throws Off Mound, Ellsbury in Center Field

It seems like every day the Yankees keep the people who update their transactions page on Yankees.com very, very busy. Today was no different as the Yankees made a couple roster moves today while they learned how close they were to having to make a couple more with a pair of injury updates.

• Esmil Rogers has been outrighted off the roster and has been sent down to Triple-A. 

• Rogers was outrighted to make room on the roster for Double-A outfielder Taylor Dugas. Dugas is here to fill in for Carlos Beltran while he battles a rib cage injury and while the Yankees decide if they want to DL him this week. 

• Jacoby Ellsbury is back in center field tonight in Tampa after sitting out last night's game with general fatigue. 

• Andrew Miller threw 20 pitches off a mound for the first time since his injury and could be back before the All-Star break if all goes according to plan. 

Predicting First Round of Spring Cuts

Any day now, honestly I don't know the exact date but I know it has to be soon, minor league spring training camps will start opening up which means a ton of Yankees prospects will leave camp and head there. I am going to take a snag at predicting those players right here, can I do it? Probably not. Let's try anyway, it's Friday the 13th, because we may get lucky.

Gary Sanchez

Cito Culver

Jake Cave

Tyler Wade

Taylor Dugas

Michael O'Neill

Jaron Long

Dante Bichette Jr.

Mark Montgomery

Zach Nuding

These players have no shot at making the team and can benefit more from consistent at bats than riding the Yankees crowded bench. It's in their best interests honestly so let's see if it happens or not.

Yankees Have Added 13 to Spring Training Camp

The New York Yankees have added a total of 13 players to their major league spring training camp this week presumably to help with split squad games and the everyday grind of the schedule. Many "wrongs" have been righted with these call ups although many of these players are expected to go back down as soon as tomorrow. According to the transactions page on Yankees.com the following players have been added to Yankees camp:

LHP Matt Tracy

3B Dante Bichette Jr.

OF Michael O'Neill

OF Taylor Dugas

C Alvaro Noriega

RHP Caleb Cotham

RHP Mark Montgomery

3B Eric Jagielo

RHP Jaron Long

RHP Cesar Vargas

LHP Fred Lewis

SS Tyler Wade

RHP Taylor Garrison

Yankees Still Yet to Finalize non-roster Invitations to Spring Training

Some teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers have already finalized and announced their non-roster invitees to spring training camp this year but the Yankees have not. Who the Yankees will invite is anyone’s guess but there seem to be more than a few obvious choices for New York.

Nick Noonan, Cole Figueroa, Robert Hernandez, and Slade Heathcott have all signed minor league deals with invites to spring training so we shouldn’t be surprised to see these three names. Joining them, besides the 40 men that currently occupy the 40 man roster, will likely be Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Robert Refsnyder and Taylor Dugas. We may see a Jake Cave, Cito Culver or Kyle Roller signing as well but that’s merely speculation on my part.

I expect New York to invite a ton of pitching this spring as many men battle it out for the last remaining bullpen slots and maybe a rotation spot if Chris Capuano is not up to snuff. It’s going to be an interesting spring with tons of competition, just the way Brian Cashman envisioned it and Joe Girardi wanted it. 

So Much Talent Being Wasted In Scranton

The Yankees offense continues to struggle while there is so much talent just being wasted in Triple-A right now. The Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders offense may be better than the big league club's offense right now. I continue to beat the drum and I continue to ask the question, why are these guys still sitting in the minor leagues while guys like Ichiro Suzuki and Stephen Drew continue to make outs in the Bronx?

Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Zoilo Almonte#	25	89	393	368	45	103	17	1	17	66	6	3	23	87	.280	.323	.470	.793
Taylor Dugas*	24	44	158	137	13	43	5	1	0	14	2	2	15	23	.314	.391	.365	.756
Ramon Flores*	22	53	230	199	27	52	16	3	5	19	3	2	29	38	.261	.352	.447	.799
Adonis Garcia	29	80	345	320	53	103	18	3	9	44	11	3	17	48	.322	.357	.481	.838
J.R. Murphy	23	43	167	153	14	36	8	0	4	21	0	0	11	38	.235	.283	.366	.649
Ronnier Mustelier	29	13	53	51	4	16	3	0	0	3	1	0	2	9	.314	.340	.373	.712
Jose Pirela	24	116	522	480	80	146	19	9	8	51	12	7	34	64	.304	.352	.431	.783
Rob Refsnyder	23	61	269	233	41	70	15	1	8	29	3	4	32	51	.300	.388	.476	.864
Kyle Roller*	26	88	374	322	53	91	19	3	15	44	0	0	44	105	.283	.380	.500	.880
Zelous Wheeler	27	79	325	295	48	88	25	0	9	38	1	0	24	58	.298	.363	.475	.838

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Taylor Dugas & Aaron Judge Promoted

The New York Yankees have announced that Charleston RiverDogs outfielder Aaron Judge has been promoted to the Single-A Tampa Yankees. Judge is the current South Atlantic League leader in batting average and walks.

Charleston receives right-handed pitcher Cale Coshow from the Staten Island Yankees. Also, outfielder Mikeson Oliberto has been activated from the disabled list. The RiverDogs are back to their maximum of 25 active players.

Judge, a top-ten Yankees prospect according to Baseball America, MLB.com, and Baseball Prospectus, made the most of his professional debut in the Lowcountry. His .333 average and 39 walks top all players in the Sally League. Judge is also third in the SAL in on-base percentage (.428) and fourth in slugging percentage (.530). He hit nine home runs and was the starting right fielder for the Southern Division in the 2014 South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

Coshow is a 6’5”, 260 pound righty from Edmond, Okla. who was drafted by the Yankees in the 13^th round of the 2013 draft out of Oklahoma Christian University. He appeared in 15 games last season with Staten Island, and had made one scoreless outing with Staten Island this year.

In other news Taylor Dugas has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton and will be available tonight for the RailRiders. 

Yankees Assign 10 Minor Leaguers To Yankees Camp

The New York Yankees assigned a total of 10 players to the big league club today, presumably to have plenty of players when half the teams heads down to Panama to honor Mariano Rivera. The Yankees added switch pitcher Pat Venditte, LHP Tyler Webb, catcher Wes Wilson, short stop Carmen Angelini,  infielders Ali Castillo, Robert Refsnyder, and Rob Segedin, and outfielders Taylor Dugas, Ben Gamel, and Jake Cave.

Flurry Of Minor League Roster Moves Part Deux

Last night and yesterday we had another round of roster moves surely to confuse you. Here they are:

Scott Lillibridge was activated.

Casey Stevenson was promoted from the Trenton Thunder to the Scranton Railriders where he hit two home runs including the walk off winner in the 11th inning.

Dan Fiorito was sent to High A to play for the Tampa Yankees.

Ryan Baker was added to the AAA disabled list.

Caleb Cotham was called up from Trenton to pitch the first game of the double header last night for Scranton.

Zach Nuding and Fred Lewis were called up to Scranton from Trenton on Friday and sent back down to Trenton last night after both pitching well in their Railriders debut.

Angelo Gumbs has been demoted back to Charleston with the Riverdogs since struggling after coming back from that finger injury. Fu-Lin Kuo has been promoted to Tampa to take Gumbs' spot.

Eduardo Sosa has been released. Taylor Dugas has been placed on the DL for an unknown reason.

Did I get them all? Probably not, but I hope so.

Prospect : Dugas, Segedin, Butler, Pope & Johnson

My friend over at Pro Sports Daily forums posted five guys that he really likes that are not really well known names down in the Yankees system. I really enjoyed reading this so, with his permission, I figured I would share with you guys as well. I encourage you all to click HERE and check out the original post to show him some love and to check out the stats that he posted that are not copying over here well. Enjoy the list!

5 non-prospects (more than likely organizational guys) that I like

1- Taylor Dugas - 5'8 / 170 lbs / 23 / Bats: Left, Throws: Left

8th round pick of the Yankees this year. Plus K-Zone discipline, advanced approach at the plate, solid hit tool (career .360 hitter in college as well in the SEC) carry him offensively. He has little to no power. Defensively, he has above average speed and arm strength. He has a ceiling of a 4th OF, maybe a starter on a lower-tier team. His intangibles and competitiveness are all off the charts. He's probably an organizational guy but I really like his game.

2- Rob Segedin - 6'3 / 220 / 24 / Bats: Right, Throws: Right

3rd round pick of the Yankees in 2010. Segedin played 3B/LF/RF this year in Hi-A and AA ball. He's a contact oriented hitter. He has an advanced approact at the plate and takes the ball the other way pretty well. He has a strong throwing arm and is an an average defender at both 3B and in the outfield. He doesn't have the necessary power to play either a corner OF or INF position which limits his ceiling.

3- Saxon Butler - 6'2 / 239 / 22 / Bats: Left, Throws: Left

Drafted by the Yankees in the 33rd round of this year's draft. The guy can mash. He makes consistent contact with the ball and hits it hard. No value on defense or in the running game. His numbers took a hit after he was promoted to Charleston mid-season. 

4- Ryan Pope - 6'3 / 205 / 26 / Bats: Right, Throws: Right

Time's running out for him. He had some bad BABIP luck in 2012. Gave up a bit too many hits. His other peripherals (specifically K/9, BB/9 ratios) were elite. Fastball sits 91-93 and he commands it well. Has a change-up and curveball that he commands well, though neither are anything more than average pitches. He might have the best pitching deliver in the entire system. Quick, effortless, efficient.

5- Cody Johnson - 6'4 / 240 / 23 / Bats: Left, Throws: Right

Former 1st round pick of the Braves in 2006. He has tons of power from the left side, especially against right handed pitching (.512 SLG and .864 OPS against RHP last season in AA). Still fairy young. Doesn't offer anything else though especially defensively or on the basepaths. Needs to improve plate discipline. Pinch hitter / platoon player is his ceiling.

Meet A Prospect : Taylor Dugas

The New York Yankees used their 8th round pick, 277th overall, on college center fielder Taylor Dugas. Taylor spent his collegiate career at the University of Alabama. Taylor signed for WELL under the slot at 10K. 

Another left handed outfielder that will fit perfect in Yankee Stadium if he ever makes it that far. The Cubs drafted him in the same round last year but he returned to Alabama to set the school record with 332 hits in a season in 55 games. While his speed and power numbers are under fire, and for good reason, his hitting ability is never questioned. I tend to pick one guy that is under the radar that I pick as "my prospect" and this is my guy for 2012 and beyond. I cannot explain it but I just love what this guy brings to the table and I am a sucker for a project player. 

Taylor Dugas is already in the outfield playing for the Staten Island Yankees in the New York Penn League. In 22 games and 78 at bats , at the time of this writing, Dugas is batting .333 with 11 K's and 21 BB's, a crazy .490 OBP, and 26 hits already. He does not seem long for the New York Penn League with numbers like that. 

Follow Taylor on Twitter @ T_Dugas1