Yankees @ Tigers 6/2/12

UPDATE:

Yankees lose in walk off fashion

4-3 Tigers

Tonight Hiroki Kuroda will step onto the mound at Comerica Park in Detroit looking to have a second straight good start and show some consistency, although this time against a good American League offense. Rick Porcello will be on the mound for the Tigers to try and make sure that does not happen. 

The game will be televised at 7:15 pm ET on YES and FOX. The Yankees lineup is:

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

Yankees Draft 2012: Duane Underwood

Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues

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

Duane Underwood | RHP

Background
Hailing from Marietta, Georgia and Pope High School, Underwood is committed to the University of Georgia and would get a chance to contribute both as a pitcher and position player for the Bulldogs. He’s been dogged by inconsistency this spring, putting his draft stock in a state of flux.

Scouting Report
Standing 6-foot-3 and 210 lbs., Underwood has shown first round potential with a big fastball that has touched 97-98 but usually sits 92-94. His mid-70s curveball is a work in progress but he’s shown a feel for making the ball spin, so it’s just a matter of refinement. A fading low-80s changeup is his best secondary offering and is quite advanced for a high school arm. Underwood’s command can come and go because he throws across his body a bit and tends to rush his delivery, but the athleticism is there for him for repeat his motion. He’s drawn praise for his competitiveness and baseball aptitude as well, which is always a plus. It’s worth noting that Underwood will graduate at 17 and is young for his draft class.

Miscellany
As expected with the inconsistent spring, the consensus is very split on Underwood.MLB.com ranks him as the 34th best prospect in the draft, Keith Law ranks him 52nd, andBaseball America ranks him 104th. Depending on when you see him, you could see a first round arm for a third or fourth round type. Talent is talent though, and Underwood clearly has plenty of it. I like him best for either of New York’s two second rounders (#89 and #94 overall) but he might not last that long. The Yankees have drafted just two high school pitchers in the first (not sandwich) round in the last 20 years — Phil Hughes and Gerrit Cole — and they were instances of players who were expected to go top 15 but fell into their laps. Not guys who were inconsistent and fringe first rounders. Underwood does offer the size, power stuff, and makeup the Yankees like though, so they could buck the trend.

Jorge Soler Now A Free Agent

For real this time...

Jorge Soler is officially a free agent now so let the bidding process and eventual spending spree begin. The Yankees passed on Yoenis Cespedes claiming that they had more interest in a younger, and some say better, Jorge Soler when he became available.

Jorge Soler is 20 years old and is a Cuban defector, which generally means they are ahead of their age in terms of baseball. Jorge is being compared to Cespedes so it is notable to look at Cespedes four year $36 million dollar deal that he received as a starting point for Soler. Soler is not considered major league ready like Cespedes was so I would think that he would command probably a three year deal with less money, but again that is just my speculation as a blogger. It totally depends on the team that signs him whether he starts in the major leagues or not.

Some of the teams that seem to be interested are the Red Sox, Blue Jays, White Sox, Phillies, Astros, Orioles, and of course the Yankees (or you would not be reading about it here). Soler is generally a right fielder, a position that we MAY have an opening for as soon as next season, and is said to have very RAW power but the potential to be a five tool player and an athlete. He seems to have all the things you cannot teach so as long as he is with someone who can teach him the rest I think he could be a very productive major leaguer in his career.

Jorge Soler needs to sign with a team by July 2nd or he will be eligible for next years spending cap on International Free Agency. I do not think that will be a problem because Soler's agent has said the deadline for teams to submit their bids is June 7th, just a mere five days away.... Get to work Cash!

Steve Pearce "Traded" To Baltimore

Steve Pearce had an opt out clause in his contract that if we was not called up to the Yankees major league team and added to their 25 man active roster that he could go to another team. Baltimore wanted Pearce and we did not have a spot for him so he was sent there. He was easily our best minor league hitter, although he should have been given his age and former MLB experience, but with Russell Branyan now healthy and making his way back up to AAA I think this was more of a roster move and clearing a space then anything. Good luck Mr. Pearce!

Yankees 2012 Draft : Clint Coulter

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.

Clint Coulter | C

Background
A former state wrestling champion, Coulter hails from Union High School in Camas, Washington, which is right on the Oregon border and practically a suburb of Portland. His coach is former big leaguer Tom Lampkin, who spent parts of 13 seasons in the show and started over 400 games behind the plate. Coulter is committed to Arizona State.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 lbs. with a wrestler’s build, Coulter has some of the best power in the high school crop this summer. He hammers mistakes and has shown the ability to adjust to offspeed stuff and drive the ball to all fields from the right side. Although he has the arm and athleticism to catch, Coulter has a long way to go with his receiving and footwork before becoming a solid defensive backstop. He runs like a catcher but is a heady baserunner with strong instincts. Coulter is very coachable and an intense competitor who plays really hard, earning high grades for his intangibles.

Miscellany
Keith Law (35th), Baseball America (48th), and MLB.com (48th) all consider Coulter a fringy first round/firm supplemental round talent based on their most recent rankings. The Yankees pick 30th overall in the first round but do not have a sandwich round pick, so Coulter is one of those ‘tweener types who might not be worth a first rounder but won’t last into the second round. As I wrote two days ago, the Yankees prioritize offensive catchers in the minors and Coulter fits the mold to a tee.

Yankees Draft 2012: Mitch Gueller

Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues

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

Mitch Gueller | OF/RHP

Background
Raised just outside of Olympia in Chehalis, Washington, Gueller is a two-way star at West High School. He’s committed to Washington State.

Scouting Report
At 6-foot-3 and 205 lbs., Gueller is the best athlete from the Northwest in the draft class. He’s a legitimate prospect both on the mound and as an outfielder, and the Cougars will allow him to do both if he makes it to school. On the mound, Gueller runs his fastball up to 94 with an advanced changeup and a slurvy breaking ball that is likely to settle in as a slider. As an outfielder, he offers a well-rounded game and all five tools. Gueller has the speed to steal bases and enough raw power from the right side to hit the ball out of the park, plus his arm is obviously strong. He is considered more advanced as a pitcher.

Miscellany
Gueller has quite a bit of helium at the moment. Keith Law ranked him as the 39th best prospect in the draft (as an outfielder) while Baseball America ranked him 107th (as a pitcher), and it’s definitely worth noting that the Yankees have been connected to him with their first rounder (#30 overall) by both Law and BA recently. New York selected a similar two-way prospect in Jake Cave last season, but Gueller has more athleticism and louder tools. Gueller could be surprise pick in the back-half of the first round.

Series Awards: 2 Angels, 5/28 - 5/30

Jake Taylor Award
Although he was pretty much useless with the bat in Game 2, going 0-for-5 with 2 strikeouts, Curtis Granderson was pretty good in the other two games. For the series Curtis went 4-for-14, with 2 Home Runs and a Double. Those two homers put Granderson in a tie for 4th place in most HRs in MLB. If only Granderson would start running again (he has only 1 SB in 2012, after stealing 25 last season), then he could turn in another MVP-caliber season.

Gentry Award
Eric Chavez was not slated to be a regular starter for the Yankees, but in the series with the Angels he started all 3 games (DH twice, 3B once). Unfortunately he didn't help at all with his bat, going 0-for-10 in the series. He did reach base twice in Game 1 on a couple of walks, but I'm sure I'm not the only Yankee fan who can't wait for Gardner to return from the DL so we don't see Eric and his .253/.293/.427 triple-slash often at all.

Rick Vaughn Award
Like the Kelner Award in the last series, I can't give this award to anybody this time. All three starters for the Yankees, Hughes, Pettitte, and Nova, failed to give the team a quality start. In fact, Hughes gave up 7 earned runs, while both Pettitte and Nova gave up 5 earned runs a piece. And no relievers stood out well in the series either. Cory Wade did do well in Game 3, going 1.1 innings while not allowing a single baserunner, and striking out 3. But in Game 1 Cory gave up the walk-off home run to Mark Trumbo.

Kelner Award
As you could tell from the Rick Vaughn Award write-up, there were plenty of pitching performances to give this award to. But it was Phil Hughes that stood out to me as the worst. In Game 1 Phil lasted 5.1 innings, giving up 7 earned runs off of 11 hits. The one good thing that came out of the start? Hughes didn't walk anybody.

--------------------

*The awards are named after one of the best baseball movies of all time... Major League.

Jake Taylor Award - Awarded to the most valuable position player. Named after the hard-nose veteran catcher that, despite making the league minimum, was the heart and soul of the 1989 American League East winning Cleveland Indians.

Gentry Award - Awarded to the least valuable position player. Named after the very first man cut from the 1989 Cleveland Indians, #47 Gentry. A man so insignificant he wasn't even given a first name.

Rick Vaughn - Awarded to the best pitcher in the series. This one is, of course, named after the "Wild Thing". The man that made Clu Haywood look silly in the division deciding game.

Kelner Award - Awarded to the worst pitcher in the series. Named after the Opening Day starter for the '89 Indians. Not a good game for Mr. Kelner, as Indians' announcer Harry Doyle famously quipped "thank God" after Kelner left the game. And yet another bad player without a first name.

Yankees @ Tigers 5/31/12

UPDATE:

Derek Jeter walks with the bases loaded to tie the game at 1 a piece. 

Curtis Granderson hits a grand slam to put the Yankees up 5-1. So much for him NOT being a home run hitter.

Chris Stewart hit a rbi single to put the Yankees up 6-3

CC Sabathia goes tonight for the Yankees and faces Casey Crosby for the Detroit Tigers. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on YES and MLB Network. The Yankees are coming off a win against the Angels and an off day for travel so look for them to be fresh.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones DH
Jayson Nix LF
Chris Stewart C

Here is what we need to do to every one of those Detroit Tigers, including Jimmy Leyland.

Yankees Draft 2012 : Nick Wittgren

Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues

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

Nick Wittgren | RHP

Background
Wittgren was raised in Lafayette, Indiana and attended Parkland Community College (Illinois) for one year before transferring to Purdue. He was a shortstop in high school and didn’t begin pitching full-time until arriving at Parkland.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 205 lbs., Wittgren is a career reliever and owns an 88/19 K/BB with 21 saves in 84 innings for the Boilermakers over the last two springs. Although his fastball only sits at 89-91 and touches 93 on most days, the pitch plays up and generates swings and misses because of the deception in his delivery. His power curveball in the upper-70s/low-80s gives Wittgren a legitimate put-away offering. He throws both pitches for strikes despite his relative inexperience.

Miscellany
Considered a 7th-10th round type of talent, Wittgren starred on the Cape Cod League last summer is exactly the type of prospect the Yankees usually target in the later rounds — a strike-throwing reliever with two good pitches and a track record of success. Slot money for the post-fifth round is under $160k and that won’t net you any future stars, but it’s a solid investment for a potentially quick-moving bullpen arm. The expected return on a pick that late is basically zero anyway.

Yankees Draft 2012 : Ty Moore

Being Borrowed From River Avenue Blues

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

(Luis Sinco/The LA Times)

Ty Moore | OF

Background
A Southern California kid from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Moore stole the show at the National High School Invitational in North Carolina this spring. He has a strong commitment to UCLA.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 190 lbs., Moore isn’t a bat-first prospect. He’s a bat-only prospect. Despite an unorthodox setup and swing — he waggles the bat and uses an extreme toe-tap — Moore consistently squares the ball up from the left side and his best tool is his above average power. He’s relegated to left field because he’s not fleet of foot and doesn’t control the arm strength that allows him to pitch in the low-80s. Moore draws rave reviews for his makeup and all-out style of play, and he’s developed a reputation for being a big game player thanks in part to his excellent showings against top competition in showcase events.

Up Next
Even though he can hit, Moore is expected to be drafted somewhere in the 6th-8th round because he doesn’t provide any defensive value. The unorthodox hitting mechanics are another negative, at least in the sense that “it looks different and therefore must be bad.” You want late round picks to be able to do at least one thing well and he does just take with the bat. With slot money after the fifth round in the sub-$200k range, there’s a strong likelihood that Moore will end up in school next spring. If the Yankees decide to save some draft pool money by taking a few college seniors in the 9th or 10th round, someone like Moore would be an excellent place to reallocate the funds.