Help Wanted: Scranton Shuttle Members

So I was walking down the street in front of Yankee Stadium this week when I saw a help wanted poster outside reading "Help Wanted." Me needing a job like I do I immediately checked it out hoping I could snag a job that got me into Yankee Stadium on a nightly basis and I was disappointed to read that the help wanted sign was for new members of the Scranton Shuttle.

Now this is obviously a fictitious story as I have moved to Atlanta, Georgia from the Bronx and I am very much employed but aside from that the rest is pretty accurate. I'm sure the Yankees haven't resorted to posting a sign outside of the stadium for their poor, their tired and their hungry just yet but the Scranton Shuttle is getting awfully thin nowadays.

New York has already lost Branden Pinder, Nick Rumbelow, Bryan Mitchell and Jacob Lindgren to various injuries including a pair of ulnar collateral ligament tears, a serious toe injury and yet another elbow injury for a former 2nd round pick. What's left at the Yankees disposal as far as the Scranton Shuttle goes? More than you would think actually.

The list of available relievers for New York still includes Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Tyler Olson,  and James Pazos on the 40 man roster while Richard Bleier, Tyler Cloyd, Kyle Haynes, Diego Moreno, Vinnie Pestano, Anthony Swarzak and Tyler Webb make up just a few of the options down in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders.

There are plenty of more names that could be options as soon as July and by September as well. Names you may know and names you may not know. Names like James Kaprielian, Brady Lail, Daniel Camarena, Cale Coshow, Ronald Herrera, Mark Montgomery, Evan Rutckyj, Matt Tracy and Miguel Sulbaran to name a few.

Injuries suck but don't sleep on the Yankees, their bullpen and the whole Scranton Shuttle just yet.

Meet a Prospect: Vinnie Pestano

The New York Yankees began the process of filling in the gaps in their minor league affiliates late this winter, specifically the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre team, and that included the signing of Vinnie Pestano. Pestano made his name with the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and is just 31-years old. Pestano signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training with the New York Yankees this winter so now that he is Yankees spring camp we may as well meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: the Vinnie Pestano Edition.

Vinnie William Pestano was born on February 20, 1985 in California. Pestano attended Canyon High School in Anaheim, California where he played baseball catching the attention of the California State University Fullerton. While at Cal State Fullerton he caught the eye of the Cleveland Indians who drafted him in the 20th round of the 2006 MLB First Year Players Draft.

Pestano was called up by the Indians on September 23, 2010 and made his Major League debut the same day pitching in inning of scoreless relief. Pestano was dominant for two seasons in Cleveland, 2011 and 2012, before taking a step back a bit in 2013. In 2014 Pestano's struggles continued leading the Indians to trade him back home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Class-A pitcher Michael Clevinger.

Year	Tm	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W
2010	CLE	0	0	3.60	5	5.0	4	2	2	0	5	8	118	2.88	1.800	7.2	0.0	9.0	14.4	1.60
2011	CLE	1	2	2.32	67	62.0	41	16	16	5	24	84	170	2.67	1.048	6.0	0.7	3.5	12.2	3.50
2012	CLE	3	3	2.57	70	70.0	53	20	20	7	24	76	152	3.42	1.100	6.8	0.9	3.1	9.8	3.17
2013	CLE	1	2	4.08	37	35.1	37	18	16	6	21	37	94	5.03	1.642	9.4	1.5	5.3	9.4	1.76
2014	TOT	0	1	2.89	25	18.2	18	8	6	3	5	26	135	3.24	1.232	8.7	1.4	2.4	12.5	5.20
2014	CLE	0	1	5.00	13	9.0	13	7	5	2	1	13	81	3.47	1.556	13.0	2.0	1.0	13.0	13.00
2014	LAA	0	0	0.93	12	9.2	5	1	1	1	4	13	403	3.03	0.931	4.7	0.9	3.7	12.1	3.25
2015	LAA	1	0	5.40	19	11.2	15	9	7	3	8	13	72	6.56	1.971	11.6	2.3	6.2	10.0	1.63

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Pestano spent just 12 games in the Angels bullpen in 2014 and those struggles continued in 2015. Pestano lasted just 19 games in 2015 before he was designated for assignment by the team on July 28, 2015. Pestano did not make it back to the Major Leagues that season and hit free agency this winter. The New York Yankees came calling hoping to find some lightning in a bottle while Pestano looks to harness the success that made him so great in 2011 and 2012 with Cleveland.

Pestano is a three-pitch pitcher. His fastball is clocked from 90-93 MPH on the radar gun while he also harnesses a 80 MPH breaking ball to keep batters off balanced. Some call his breaking pitch a curveball while others call it a slider, maybe we'll interview him one day and find out. His third pitch is an occasional two-seam fastball.

Will it happen? Who know! One thing is for sure though you have to play the game to win the game. The Yankees are playing the game with Vinnie Pestano. Will they win? Stay tuned.

Meet a Prospect: Tyler Jones

The New York Yankees, like they do every season, have been adding a ton of depth to their minor league system from outside the organization. The team has been adding high upside players who have struggled in recent seasons, Vinnie Pestano, players who fill a specific role, Donovan Solano and Jonathan Diaz, and players who could merely fill in depth spots at Triple-A just in case. The latter belongs to the newest member of the organization and a former member of the Minnesota Twins organization, Tyler Jones.

This is Meet a Prospect: The Tyler Jones Edition. Tyler Jones is a right-handed starting pitcher that was born in September of 1989. The Minnesota Twins drafted Jones out of LSU in the 11th round of the 2011 MLB First Year Players Draft as a starting pitcher before switching him to the relief role full time in 2013.

Jones was a mediocre starting pitcher at best and posted a 4.67 ERA in his first professional season in 2012. After Jones switched to the relief role in 2013 he struck out 66 batters in just 52 innings while holding opposing batters to just a .196 batting average. Jones was promoted to High-A Ball before the 2013 season and he repeated that stop in 2014 where he continued to strike out players at a high rate. The biggest issue with Jones though, and this began to show its head once again in 2014, was the lack of control and command for Jones.

Jones brings a mid-90's MPH fastball to the Yankees and a sharp slider that is devastating to right-handed hitters. Left-handed hitters have done well against Jones in his professional career and that may be his fast-track to the Major Leagues. Jones cannot walk nearly four batters per nine innings if he wants to make the major leagues with the Yankees and he will have to continue to strike out batters more like the 11.4 K/9 ratio he had in 2013 and not the 9.4 K/9 he had in 2014.

Jones is the underdog here and I always root for the underdog. I'm rooting for you Tyler, make us proud and welcome to the family.

Meet a Prospect: Five Prospects in One

The New York Yankees have been adding as much minor league depth as they can find in recent weeks and rather do Meet a Prospect posts for every one of them I figured we could lump them all into one big post. Those names include Jose Rosario, Richard Bleier, Juan Silva, Sebastian Valle and Cesar Puello.

These write-ups come courtesy of LoHud Yankees Blog:

Sebastian Valle - Catcher

In the past: Once thought of as a top catching prospect, Valle has never reached the big leagues, but he’s still just 25 years old, he has some Triple-A experience, and he’s coming off a pretty good year in Double-A with a .754 OPS. He’s played in Mexico this winter.
Role to play: The Yankees are pretty thin at catcher in the upper levels, and Valle gives them an option who could be a Double-A regular, a Triple-A backup or even a Triple-A regular. Given the uncertainty of Gary Sanchez’s situation, the Yankees need some options behind the plate.


Jose Rosario - Utility

In the past: Primarily a middle infielder in the low minors, Rosario has shifted to a true utility role in recent seasons. His entire career was spent with the Yankees, so they’re signing a known commodity. He was still putting up pretty decent numbers as recently as 2014 when he was in High-A.
Role to play: Has played every position except catcher and first base, so he fits any franchise as an organizational utility man who can plug holes anywhere. Seems to most naturally fit the Double-A roster, but he could fill a bench role in Triple-A if necessary.


Richard Bleier - Left-handed starter

In the past: Has been both a starter and a reliever, but he most recently pitched as a starter through most of the 2015 season. And he put up really good numbers with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP between the two levels. Doesn’t strike out many guys, but doesn’t walk many either.
Role to play: This should be familiar, because it’s another bit of upper-level rotation depth. Probably not necessarily a next-in-line option for the big leagues, but certainly a guy who can provide innings in Double-A or Triple-A. If he can repeat his 2015 numbers, Bleier could put himself more firmly on the radar. But this looks a Double-A/Triple-A swingman as much as anything.


Juan Silva - Outfielder

In the past: Left-handed hitter with experience at all three outfield positions. He turns 25 in January and just got his first Double-A and Triple-A experience. Doesn’t have huge stolen base numbers, but in 2014 he was named the fastest and best baserunner in the California League.
Role to play: There’s not much room in the Triple-A outfield, but Silva could fit the Double-A roster. He’s shown some speed and on-base ability, and the Yankees like those two things. Another left-handed hitter, but he mostly fits as another option for Double-A (and he fits the Yankees’ mold).


And the Cesar Puello writeup was done by myself:

Puello missed much of the 2015 season with a back injury while inside the New York Mets organization. Puello was flat out released in August after an up-and-down tenure with the Metropolitans. Puello was suspended for 50 games after the whole Biogenesis clinic was shut down in Miami and is the only player to not reach the majors after the suspension. Puello was once a top outfield prospect for the Mets before the suspension, injuries and ineffectiveness dampened his career.

Yankees Add Anthony Swarzak on MiLB Deal

The New York Yankees continue to add minor league depth and plenty of options for the 2016 season and they did a bit more of that today. The Yankees announced that relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak has been signed to a minor league deal and will receive an invitation to spring training. Swarzak will make $750K if he makes the big league roster at any point this season.

Swarzak joins Vinnie Pestano as former top end relief pitchers to come to Yankees camp looking for a deal. Swarzak is 30 years old and has experience both starting and relieving. When Swarzak did relieve he pitched multiple innings at a time, a la Adam Warren.

We'll meet Swarzak the way we always do later this week.

Meet a Prospect: Tyler Jones

The New York Yankees, like they do every season, have been adding a ton of depth to their minor league system from outside the organization. The team has been adding high upside players who have struggled in recent seasons, Vinnie Pestano, players who fill a specific role, Donovan Solano and Jonathan Diaz, and players who could merely fill in depth spots at Triple-A just in case. The latter belongs to the newest member of the organization and a former member of the Minnesota Twins organization, Tyler Jones.

This is Meet a Prospect: The Tyler Jones Edition. Tyler Jones is a right-handed starting pitcher that was born in September of 1989. The Minnesota Twins drafted Jones out of LSU in the 11th round of the 2011 MLB First Year Players Draft as a starting pitcher before switching him to the relief role full time in 2013.

Jones was a mediocre starting pitcher at best and posted a 4.67 ERA in his first professional season in 2012. After Jones switched to the relief role in 2013 he struck out 66 batters in just 52 innings while holding opposing batters to just a .196 batting average. Jones was promoted to High-A Ball before the 2013 season and he repeated that stop in 2014 where he continued to strike out players at a high rate. The biggest issue with Jones though, and this began to show its head once again in 2014, was the lack of control and command for Jones.

Jones brings a mid-90's MPH fastball to the Yankees and a sharp slider that is devastating to right-handed hitters. Left-handed hitters have done well against Jones in his professional career and that may be his fast-track to the Major Leagues. Jones cannot walk nearly four batters per nine innings if he wants to make the major leagues with the Yankees and he will have to continue to strike out batters more like the 11.4 K/9 ratio he had in 2013 and not the 9.4 K/9 he had in 2014.

Jones is the underdog here and I always root for the underdog. I'm rooting for you Tyler, make us proud and welcome to the family.

ICYMI: Predicting the Spring Training Invitees

It's just about that time of the year Yankees family, the time where we're still digesting Christmas both emotionally and physically and where we're approaching a brand new year. Some are making New Years resolutions, others are buying out their local liquor stores while some are preparing for a quiet night at the house with friends and family. The Yankees are no exceptions but they do have one major task left to do presumably this week or next and that is to announce who they are inviting to Spring Training this March.

We know the entire 40 man roster will be invited to camp but who else? Honestly, I don't know but I am going to take an educate guess at it. If I missed anyone leave it below in the comments section.

Pete Kozma
Vinnie Pestano
Domingo German
Luis Cessa
Chad Green
Diego Moreno
Kyle Higashioka
Ronald Herrera
Francisco Diaz
Sebastian Valle
Jorge Mateo
James Kaprielian
Cesar Puello
Tyler Austin
Aaron Judge
Brady Lail

Predicting the Spring Training Invitees

It's just about that time of the year Yankees family, the time where we're still digesting Christmas both emotionally and physically and where we're approaching a brand new year. Some are making New Years resolutions, others are buying out their local liquor stores while some are preparing for a quiet night at the house with friends and family. The Yankees are no exceptions but they do have one major task left to do presumably this week or next and that is to announce who they are inviting to Spring Training this March.

We know the entire 40 man roster will be invited to camp but who else? Honestly, I don't know but I am going to take an educate guess at it. If I missed anyone leave it below in the comments section.

Pete Kozma
Vinnie Pestano
Domingo German
Luis Cessa
Chad Green
Diego Moreno
Kyle Higashioka
Ronald Herrera
Francisco Diaz
Sebastian Valle
Jorge Mateo
James Kaprielian
Cesar Puello
Tyler Austin
Aaron Judge
Brady Lail

Meet a Prospect: All Those New Guys New York Signed

The New York Yankees have been adding as much minor league depth as they can find in recent weeks and rather do Meet a Prospect posts for every one of them I figured we could lump them all into one big post. We already met Vinnie Pestano because he has Major League experience and was a great relief pitcher for a couple years with the Cleveland Indians but the other guys have not shared the same successes yet. Those names include Jose Rosario, Richard Bleier, Juan Silva, Sebastian Valle and Cesar Puello.

These write ups courtesy of LoHud Yankees Blog:

Sebastian Valle
Catcher
In the past: Once thought of as a top catching prospect, Valle has never reached the big leagues, but he’s still just 25 years old, he has some Triple-A experience, and he’s coming off a pretty good year in Double-A with a .754 OPS. He’s played in Mexico this winter.
Role to play: The Yankees are pretty thin at catcher in the upper levels, and Valle gives them an option who could be a Double-A regular, a Triple-A backup or even a Triple-A regular. Given the uncertainty of Gary Sanchez’s situation, the Yankees need some options behind the plate.

Jose Rosario
Utility
In the past: Primarily a middle infielder in the low minors, Rosario has shifted to a true utility role in recent seasons. His entire career was spent with the Yankees, so they’re signing a known commodity. He was still putting up pretty decent numbers as recently as 2014 when he was in High-A.
Role to play: Has played every position except catcher and first base, so he fits any franchise as an organizational utility man who can plug holes anywhere. Seems to most naturally fit the Double-A roster, but he could fill a bench role in Triple-A if necessary.

Richard Bleier
Left-handed starter
In the past: Has been both a starter and a reliever, but he most recently pitched as a starter through most of the 2015 season. And he put up really good numbers with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP between the two levels. Doesn’t strike out many guys, but doesn’t walk many either.
Role to play: This should be familiar, because it’s another bit of upper-level rotation depth. Probably not necessarily a next-in-line option for the big leagues, but certainly a guy who can provide innings in Double-A or Triple-A. If he can repeat his 2015 numbers, Bleier could put himself more firmly on the radar. But this looks a Double-A/Triple-A swingman as much as anything.

Juan Silva
Outfielder
In the past: Left-handed hitter with experience at all three outfield positions. He turns 25 in January and just got his first Double-A and Triple-A experience. Doesn’t have huge stolen base numbers, but in 2014 he was named the fastest and best baserunner in the California League.
Role to play: There’s not much room in the Triple-A outfield, but Silva could fit the Double-A roster. He’s shown some speed and on-base ability, and the Yankees like those two things. Another left-handed hitter, but he mostly fits as another option for Double-A (and he fits the Yankees’ mold).

And the Cesar Puello writeup was done by myself:

Puello missed much of the 2015 season with a back injury while inside the New York Mets organization. Puello was flat out released in August after an up-and-down tenure with the Metropolitans. Puello was suspended for 50 games after the whole Biogenesis clinic was shut down in Miami and is the only player to not reach the majors after the suspension. Puello was once a top outfield prospect for the Mets before the suspension, injuries and ineffectiveness dampened his career. 

Meet a Prospect: Vinnie Pestano

The New York Yankees began the process of filling in the gaps in their minor league affiliates, specifically the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre team, and that included the signing of Vinnie Pestano. Pestano made his name with the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and is just 31-years old. Pestano signed a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training with the New York Yankees this winter so we may as well meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: the Vinnie Pestano Edition.

Vinnie William Pestano was born on February 20, 1985 in California. Pestano attended Canyon High School in Anaheim, California where he played baseball catching the attention of the California State University Fullerton. While at Cal State Fullerton he caught the eye of the Cleveland Indians who drafted him in the 20th round of the 2006 MLB First Year Players Draft.

Pestano was called up by the Indians on September 23, 2010 and made his Major League debut the same day pitching in inning of scoreless relief. Pestano was dominant for two seasons in Cleveland, 2011 and 2012, before taking a step back a bit in 2013. In 2014 Pestano's struggles continued leading the Indians to trade him back home to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Class-A pitcher Michael Clevinger.

Year	Tm	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9	SO/W
2010	CLE	0	0	3.60	5	5.0	4	2	2	0	5	8	118	2.88	1.800	7.2	0.0	9.0	14.4	1.60
2011	CLE	1	2	2.32	67	62.0	41	16	16	5	24	84	170	2.67	1.048	6.0	0.7	3.5	12.2	3.50
2012	CLE	3	3	2.57	70	70.0	53	20	20	7	24	76	152	3.42	1.100	6.8	0.9	3.1	9.8	3.17
2013	CLE	1	2	4.08	37	35.1	37	18	16	6	21	37	94	5.03	1.642	9.4	1.5	5.3	9.4	1.76
2014	TOT	0	1	2.89	25	18.2	18	8	6	3	5	26	135	3.24	1.232	8.7	1.4	2.4	12.5	5.20
2014	CLE	0	1	5.00	13	9.0	13	7	5	2	1	13	81	3.47	1.556	13.0	2.0	1.0	13.0	13.00
2014	LAA	0	0	0.93	12	9.2	5	1	1	1	4	13	403	3.03	0.931	4.7	0.9	3.7	12.1	3.25
2015	LAA	1	0	5.40	19	11.2	15	9	7	3	8	13	72	6.56	1.971	11.6	2.3	6.2	10.0	1.63

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Pestano spent just 12 games in the Angels bullpen  in 2014 and those struggles continued in 2015. Pestano lasted just 19 games in 2015 before he was designated for assignment by the team on July 28, 2015. Pestano did not make it back to the Major Leagues that season and hit free agency this winter. The New York Yankees came calling hoping to find some lightning in a bottle while Pestano looks to harness the success that made him so great in 2011 and 2012 with Cleveland.

Pestano is a three-pitch pitcher. His fastball is clocked from 90-93 MPH on the radar gun while he also harnesses a 80 MPH breaking ball to keep batters off balanced. Some call his breaking pitch a curveball while others call it a slider, maybe we'll interview him one day and find out. His third pitch is an occasional two-seam fastball.

Will it happen? Who know! One thing is for sure though you have to play the game to win the game. The Yankees are playing the game with Vinnie Pestano. Will they win? Stay tuned.

Yankees Continue Signing Minor League Depth

Hat tip to Matt Eddy of Baseball America for the latest in all things Yankees prospects. The New York Yankees signed four minor league players this week as the club continues to add a bit of depth to the organization.

The first signing was the signing of catching prospect Sebastian Valle, a one-time top prospect at the position. The second was a veteran bullpen signing with former Minnesota Twins closer Vinnie Pestano joining the organization and likely Scranton/Wilkes Barre. The third signing was LHP Richard Bleir who is best known for his control. The fourth and final signing was CF and former New York Mets product Cesar Puello. If the name Cesar Puello sounds familiar there is probably a good reason for it, Puello was one of those suspended in the Biogenesis scandal. Puello is the only player to not yet make it to the Major Leagues that was suspended in the fallout.