Rays @ Yankees 6/7/12

UPDATE:

Chris Stewart has the only Yankees run tonight with a sacrifice ground out to the second basemen. Yankees are down 5-1 in the 5th

Yankees lose 7-3

This man, CC Sabathia, will lead the Yankees tonight against the Rays and David Price looking for the sweep and maybe finally being atop the AL East all by themselves. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on YES and MLB Network.  

Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Jones DH
Nix LF

Stewart C 

The Yankees will be without Freddy Garcia for an undisclosed amount of time while he is in Venezuela on bereavement leave with the death of his grand father. Ryota Igarashi has been added to the roster to take his place. 

Sweep those Rays and Go Yankees!!

Rays @ Yankees 6/6/12

UPDATE:

A Teix Message is the difference early as the Yankees lead 1-0

Robinson Cano with a "Yankee Stadium" home run to make it 2-0

Yankees win 4-1 with Rafael Soriano getting his 8th save

Tonight the Yankees will try to completely take over first place from the Tampa Bay Rays who hold a slim half game lead over the Yankees in the division. Ivan Nova will be asked to do the pitching tonight for the Yanks on their quest for first place against Rays pitcher Alex Cobb. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on YES and ESPN 2.

Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Teixeira 1B
Ibanez LF
Swisher RF
Chavez 3B
Martin C

Go Yankees!

Meet A Prospect : Yankees Draft Picks

Ty Hensley -

It's unlikely Oklahoma will see a bounty like it did in 2011, when local prepsters Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley went in the top 10 of the Draft. It will be up to Hensley to represent the Sooner state and he should do just fine.Hensley has a fastball that's a tick above average, sitting 91-92 mph, and he can reach back for more, hitting 94 mph when he needs to. He has a hard curve with good downer rotation when he throws it right, though sometimes he drops his arm angle and it becomes a bit slurvy. His changeup is below-average right now, but he hasn't used it much and with more experience, it should be a usuable pitch in the future. He generally throws strikes and is very confident on the mound.Some of Hensley's issues stem from mechanics that can be cleaned up with time and experience. Strong and durable, Hensley may not have the ceiling of his Oklahoma predecessors, but he profiles as a very good starting pitcher at the next level.

Austin Aune - Amazingly he has already signed with the Yankees.


6'02" 185lbs DOB: 09/06/93
A two-sport star in high school, Aune has the ability to make it in either football or baseball. A potential five-tool player, Aune bats lefty and has potential plus power. He has good range at shortstop and a great arm, but some scouts think that a move to the outfield could be in his near future. Aune could potentially play center field at the next level, especially because of his great speed and arm. Although a bit raw, Aune's upside and great makeup should allow the toolsy outfielder to be picked in the early going of the Draft.


Peter O'Brien -


6'04" 225lbs DOB: 07/15/90 
This is a bit of a do-over for O'Brien, who entered the 2011 season as a strong catching prospect at Bethune-Cookman, but he decided not to sign after being drafted in the third round by the Rockies, instead transferring to Miami for his senior season. He's been more consistent with the Hurricanes, showing the kind of offensive ability most thought they'd see when 2011 began. He drives the ball to all fields and has above-average to plus raw power. He's not a bad runner for the position. His arm has always been a plus and he's shown some improvement behind the plate as well with decent hands and agility for someone his size. College catchers, especially with this kind of offensive potential, often do well on Draft day and it seems that O'Brien's decision to spend one more year in college may work to his advantage.


Corey Black -


Black has a good fastball that has good movement and can get into the upper 90s. Black also has relatively good secondary stuff and dominated the NAIA. A lot is still unknown about the righty from a small school in Alabama, but he could end up being a steal in the Draft.

Rays @ Yankees 6/5/12

A vintage Andy Pettitte mixed with some Rays errors and a Russell Martin grand slam and the Yankees win 7-0 and get one step closer to first place in the AL East

Tonight Andy Pettitte starts in game 1 of a three game set with the first place Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays will throw out James Shields to face Pettitte and try to keep their slim (shared) lead of first place. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on the YES Network and MLB Network. Here are the lineups.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Raul Ibanez LF
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez DH
Russell Martin C

Where Were They Drafted?

I wanted to take a look and see where the regulars in the Yankee lineup, pitchers or hitters, were drafted. The results are pretty much what I expected, as six 1st round draft picks are currently contributing in MLB, while the rest come from rounds 3 through 36. I guess it goes to show you that while drafting the right players is important, developing them is just as key.

Alex Rodriguez - drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the 1st pick of the 1st round.
Mark Teixiera - drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 5th pick of the 1st round.
Derek Jeter - drafted by the New York Yankees with the 6th pick of the 1st round.
Nick Swisher - drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 16th pick of the 1st round.
CC Sabathia - drafted by the Cleveland Indians with the 20th pick of the 1st round.
Phil Hughes - drafted by the New York Yankees with the 23rd pick of the 1st round.
Brett Gardner - drafted by the New York Yankees in the 3rd round.
Curtis Granderson - drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 3rd round.
Cory Wade - drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 10th round.
David Phelps - drafted by the New York Yankees in the 14th round.
Russell Martin - drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round.
David Robertson - drafted by the New York Yankees in the 17th round.
Boone Logan - drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 20th round.
Andy Pettitte - drafted by the New York Yankees in the 22nd round.
Raul Ibanez - drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 36th round.

Robinson Cano, Andruw Jones, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, and Rafael Soriano were all signed as free agents, proving that the new restrictions on signing amateur or international free agents is going to have a big effect. So drafting the right players, and developing them, is a bit more important to the success of the big club.

Even though I, and certainly others, have no idea who most the guys are that are being drafted, we may want to watch or follow things so you get a jump on what the future of the Yankees has in store.

Yankees Draft 2012

Congrats to Carlos Correa for being the first overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Houston Astros organization.

Congrats to Byron Buxton for being the second overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Minnesota Twins organization. 

Congrats to Mike Zunino for being the third overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Seattle Mariners organization. 

Congrats to Kevin Gausman for being the fourth overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Baltimore Orioles organization. 

Congrats to Kyle Zimmer for being the fifth overall pick in the MLB First Year Player Draft! Welcome to the Kansas City Royals organization.

The Yankees, with the 30th pick in the first round of the draft, select Ty Hensley. Welcome to the club Ty!

Yankees 2012 Draft Reminder

Reminder that the MLB First Year Player Draft will be televised tonight, starting at 6:00 pm ET, on MLB Network. 

CC Sabathia will be representing the Yankees on day 1. The Yankees have the 30th overall pick in the first round and have two draft picks in the second round (89th and 94th respectively). 

Yankees Draft History:

The last time the Yankees had the 30th pick they chose Andrew Brackman. The Yankees have twice had the first overall pick. They chose Ron Blomberg(1967) and Brien Taylor(1991) respectively. 

Yankees 2012 Draft : 10 Round Slot Values

Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues

The amateur draft is a little more than three weeks away right now, and we know the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has imposed strict spending restrictions that figure to change the way clubs operate. The Yankees have been allotted $4,192,200 for their eleven picks in the top ten rounds, including $1.6M for their first rounder (#30 overall). Any money in excess of $100k given to a player drafted after the tenth round counts against the draft pool as well.

The penalties for exceeding the draft pool are pretty harsh, including a tax on the overage and forfeiture of future picks. They really don’t want teams spending on amateurs, it seems. Baseball America recently published a list of slot values for the top ten rounds of the draft, which breaks down like so for the Yankees…

Round	Pick	Slot
1	30	$1,600,000
2	89	$548,400	for 2011 unsigned 2nd rounder, LHP Sam Stafford
2	94	$507,800
3	124	$378,000
4	157	$275,000
5	187	$205,900
6	217	$154,400
7	247	$141,000
8	277	$131,700
9	307	$125,000
10	337	$125,000

If a team does not sign a player, they can not use that pick’s money elsewhere. So the Yankees won’t be able to just not sign say, their fifth rounder and use that $205,900 on other players. They can game the system a little but, most notably by selecting some low-cost college seniors — they usually sign for bonuses in the $1k-$20k range — and using the savings elsewhere. If they take college seniors with their ninth and tenth rounders and pay them $25k each, they’ll have an extra $200k to spend on other players. The Yankees can also exceed their draft pool by $209,610 (5%) before the penalties kid in.

The slot values themselves are not low at all, in fact they’re actually larger than recent years (at least for the first few rounds). The problem is the restrictions and penalties; the inability to exceed slot for one player without having to skimp elsewhere. It stinks, but that’s the system they decided to put in place.

Yankees 2012 Draft : Stryker Trahan

Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues 

The 2012 amateur draft is less than two weeks away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Stryker Trahan | C

Background
Named after a character in a Burt Reynolds movie, Trahan stars in both baseball and football for Acadiana High School in Lafayette, Louisiana. He is committed to Ole Miss.

Scouting Report
One of those “country strong” types at 6-foot-1 and 220 lbs., Trahan produces a ton of hard contact from the left side and the ball makes a different sound off his bat. He projects to hit for big power down the road but there is some concern about his propensity to swing and miss at the amateur level. His hands and arm work well behind the plate but he needs to work on his overall receiving and footwork. Trahan is athletic for his size and runs way better than the typical catcher, so he’ll be able to shift to right field if the catching thing doesn’t take. There is star potential behind the plate, however.

Miscellany
Trahan is a back-half of the first round talent and recent rankings by Keith Law (24th), Baseball America (27th), and MLB.com (28th) reflect that. They put him right in the mix for New York with their first round pick (#30 overall) and for what it’s worth, Baseball Americahad the Yankees selecting Trahan in their latest mock draft. The Yankees prioritize catching depth in the minors, specifically catchers who can hit, and Trahan is one of the two or three best offensive catchers this draft class has to offer.

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Yankees 2012 Draft : Walker Weickel

Being Borrowed from River Avenue Blues

The 2012 amateur draft starts tomorrow, so I’m going to highlight some last-minute prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Walker Weickel | RHP

Background
Weickel has starred for Team USA throughout his high school career and has been on the draft radar for years. He attends Olympia High School outside of Orlando and is committed to Miami.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-6 and 195 lbs., Weickel went through a growth spurt last year and is still figuring out how to pitch with his new frame. He usually throws his fastball in the low-90s with a power curveball in the upper-70s, but this spring he’s been more upper-80s with the heat and low-70s with the curve. He also throws a changeup. Weickel has struggled with his delivery this spring and it’s led to his declining stuff. His frame oozes projection and there’s a lot to dream on here.

Miscellany
Keith Law (#29), MLB.com (#31), and Baseball America (#37) all have Weickel in the mix for the end of the first round, which is where the Yankees pick (#30 overall). For what it’s worth, Baseball America says he’s on the team’s radar in their latest mock draft. I would prefer to see the Yankees take a player who isn’t as much of a project early on, but Weickel offers a lot of upside and would be a fine first round selection. Talent is talent, and he has a lot of it.