Yankees Add Jon Niese on Minor League Deal

The New York Yankees added another arm into the mix this spring when they signed former New York Mets product Jon Niese to a minor league deal Sunday night. Naturally the minor league deal comes with an invitation to spring training as Niese will look to latch on with the Yankees either as a starting pitcher or as a reliever.

We were just saying the other day on the blog that the Yankees needed a left-handed relief pitcher in their bullpen just in case Chasen Shreve were to struggle and it seems like the team got their man. Niese, who told the New York Daily News that he was surprised he could not find a Major League deal this winter, struggled in 2016 with the Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates posting a 5.50 ERA while giving up 25 home runs in 121 innings pitched.

Will Neise make the team and will it be as a starter or a reliever? Who knows… stay tuned.

ICYMI: Top 10 Prospects for 2017

So for the first time in the history of The Greedy Pinstripes we did not hold Prospects Month here on the blog. Well we kind of like to turn every month into prospects month as I could talk about prospects all day and half the night but we didn’t do it up all fancy like we have in the past. Instead of a daily countdown filling out my prospect list I am just going to give it to you straight, right here and right now, before the beginning of the 2017 regular season.

10. Albert Abreu

9. Dustin Fowler

8. Chance Adams

7. Aaron Judge

6. Justus Sheffield

5. Jorge Mateo

4. James Kaprielian

3. Blake Rutherford

2. Clint Frazier

1. Gleyber Torres

And there it is. That’s my list. What’s yours? Leave it below in the comments section. Let’s get this discussion going on here again.

Most Popular Article of the Week: The Return!!!

Predicting and Projecting the Yankees 2017 Opening Day Lineup

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will kick off the 2017 Major League season with a game inside Tropicana Field on Sunday, April 2nd. While the Opening Day starters have yet to be announced and while a lot can go down between then and now I wanted to take a stab at predicting the Yankees Opening Day lineup anyway. Keep in mind this may not necessarily be my lineup but this is the lineup that I believe manager Joe Girardi will throw out there here in a couple months. So keep that in mind when directing the hate mail, friends. Thanks.


LF. Brett Gardner
CF. Jacoby Ellsbury
DH. Matt Holliday
C. Gary Sanchez
1B. Chris Carter
SS. Didi Gregorius
2B. Starlin Castro
3B. Chase Headley
RF. Aaron Judge

Meet a Prospect: Clint Frazier

The New York Yankees are going through top prospects in their system like most people go through underwear, they have a new one every day or every other day it seems. I joke about people changing their underwear every other day, at least I hope that I am, but not about the Yankees top prospects in their system. For the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons it was Jorge Mateo who occupied the top spot until Aroldis Chapman was sent to the Chicago Cubs and Gleyber Torres was brought in to dethrone the Yankees shortstop. Now like many transitions and power struggles there is a new king already after the Andrew Miller trade and his name is Clint Frazier. Don’t let the red hair fool you, Frazier is the real deal. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Clint Frazier Edition.


Clint Frazier was born on September 6, 1994 in the Atlanta, Georgia area where he attended high school at Loganville High School in Loganville, George. Frazier was a top prospect entering the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft and caught the attention of the Cleveland Indians who took the outfielder with the fifth pick overall that season. Frazier had committed to the University of Georgia but the Indians offer was too good to pass up thus beginning his professional career.


Frazier is a former third baseman and pitcher which shows you that he has a strong throwing arm but it is center field where he is making his mark at these days and he played at that position for most of his Cleveland Indians tenure. While in the Indians system Frazier cemented himself as a powerful prospect that has 30 home run potential in his future while stealing an absolute ton of bases as a potential five-tool player. Frazier is an aggressive hitter but he has worked on that in recent years and has seen his strikeout numbers go down while his contact and walk numbers go up which is always encouraging for a prospect. It shows maturity at the plate which Frazier definitely has.

ETA for Frazier to the Major Leagues: 2017

Frazier was recently part of the 2016 XM All-Star Futures Game where he went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a stolen base for Team USA while also earning a promotion to Triple-A with the Columbus Clippers. Frazier went on to join the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders where he struggled a bit. Not to worry though, 99% of the time talent wins over all and Frazier is one hell of talented player. We may finally get to see how talented he is this upcoming season.

Rummaging through the Bargain Bin...

So, the Yankees are finally bringing a veteran pitcher into camp to compete with the kids…  

Yesterday, reports circulated that the Yankees have signed former Mets starter Jon Niese pending a physical.  I had long anticipated a move as I didn’t really expect the Yankees to hold the audition for two open spots in the rotation with only guys barely old enough to legally drink.  

Back in the days of George Steinbrenner, the veteran pitcher would have been a big name, someone who had reached the height of his glory and was now being over-compensated as performance was on a rapid downward slide.  Under Hal Steinbrenner, Niese represents a low-cost, under the radar signing.  I do not really expect Niese to win a spot in the rotation but he certainly brings healthy competition to the mix.  Still only 30 years old, Niese has seen major league success.  His presence should have a positive impact on guys like Luis Severino, Chad Green, Luis Cessa, and Bryan Mitchell.  

I am not sure how Niese fits with the 2017 Yankees.  With a number of left-handers in camp, I expect Tommy Layne and Chasen Shreve are the favorites for LOOGY.  Perhaps Niese slots in long relief if he fails to win a spot in the rotation.  My early prediction is that he’ll be a camp casualty when the team pares down its roster for Opening Day unless Bryan Mitchell or Adam Warren fail miserably this spring.

Niese was traded from the New York Mets to the Pittsburgh Pirates in late 2015 for second baseman Neil Walker when the Mets surprisingly let Daniel Murphy walk.  Niese ended up back with the Mets on August 1st, but 2016 was a miserable year for him.  He finished 8-7 with a 5.50 ERA.  For the Mets, it was a disaster as he finished with a 11.45 ERA and 0-1 record in 6 games.  He hasn’t been good for a few years, and his best year was 2012 when he was 13-9, 3.40 ERA in 190 innings.  

The Mets moved on when they opted against exercising Niese’s $10 million option in the off-season, and instead paid $500K to buyout the contract.

Niese’s departure from the Mets the year before was rather comical.  He was critical of the Met’s defensive play after his trade to the Pirates.  When he returned, he had to scramble to explain his words and was met (no pun intended) with boos when he made his first appearance at Citi Field in relief of Jacob DeGrom against, ironically, the Yankees.  While the Mets won the game, Niese did ruin DeGrom’s shutout by allowing a homer to Didi Gregorius.  

At this point, I’d prefer to take the inexperience of the younger arms over Niese.  He is not going to suddenly become the next Jake Arrieta at this point in his career.  He is what he is, and that’s not a good pitcher.

Next…

Rob Refsnyder the Third Baseman?

Hey guys, remember like just last year when I said that the New York Yankees should try Robert Refsnyder out at third base? Well this was originally stated before the Yankees acquired Starlin Castro and before Chase Headley had yet another down season at third base in 2016. So here I am once again putting the most obvious of situations down on paper because apparently the New York Yankees organization cannot see it themselves. So here it is, as slow as I can type it, one last time for you. The Yankees need a third baseman of the future and a third baseman for the now and that third baseman should be Robert Refsnyder.


Some will say that the Yankees aren’t high on Refsnyder or that they don’t trust his defense but those same people are ignoring the fact that the team called him up not once, but twice during the 2015 season while keeping him in the show for much of the 2016 season. The second call-up also resulted in him starting at second base in the AL Wild Card Playoff Round against the Houston Astros, an eventual 3-0 loss to Dallas Keuchel. The bat looked like it could stick, albeit in a short sample size, as he batted .355 in September and .302 overall in both call-ups while his defense looked to be adequate. Refsnyder got to the balls he was supposed to and he made the plays he was supposed to, anyone who doesn’t think that’s sufficient at 25-years old and with just two years of experience at second base professionally should just turn in their Derek Jeter jersey’s now.



The possibility of Refsnyder learning and playing the third base position is still up in the air. Brian Cashman seems adamant that the team will keep him at second base only while Refsnyder is said to be open to the idea. Then again Refsnyder is “up for anything” as long as it means he is sticking with the MLB squad. We already know that Starlin will be playing some third base this spring but keep your eyes out for Refsnyder, if he starts playing third base some then you know the plan is in motion. The plan I originally set forward and the plan Joel Sherman will once again get all the credit for. And that’s okay.

So it Seems the Grass isn't Always Greener...

So we meet again members of my extended family. Not the family I was born into but the family that I choose. Feel special, because you are. So we meet again on just another manic Monday but hopefully where it lacks in some departments it makes up for it in another. While waking up early in the morning sucks it's the good mornings that make it all worth it. While we have to wake up and go to work we'll always have lunch breaks and down time that get us through the day or simply keep us going. And there's always 4:30.

So while we have another manic Monday on our hands there's always a way to turn a negative into a positive, you just have to look for it. As the Yankees prepare to take the field again this morning for spring training workouts I leave you with this last word of knowledge and positive thinking, the grass is not always greener on the other side but it's always green where you water it.

Have a great Monday everyone.

This Day in New York Yankees History 2/20: Just Another Manic Monday

There is surprisingly no notable news that has happened on this day in Yankees history. Not much to talk about here. Pitchers and catchers have reported and they've even had their first workouts together. Today is just another day unfortunately. Maybe caption this picture for fun?

What I Look For When Drafting a Fantasy Baseball Team: Expert Advice

Spring training is almost upon us, and up North, in New York the temperatures have been in the 60's for the last two days. The bitter cold of the winter is starting to go away. The snow is disappearing and the kids will soon be going down to the sandlot to play ball. A lot of baseball fans just watch the game and enjoy the game. When the game is over, they turn it off. However, other people like myself turn the channel on the TV to another game or sports talk show. We can never get enough baseball. We never stop thinking about the game that we grew up loving. For the people like us that are trying to get more baseball and think about the game at a deeper level, we play Fantasy Baseball. We're the people who fill out the book at every game and can recite our favorite players stats like its nothing. We even know just about every player in league by their stance, windup or silhouette.

In a couple of weeks the annual Fantasy Baseball drafts for our respective fantasy leagues on many sites that have leagues for us. The draft gives us a restart from the team we had last year (unless u play in a keeper league), even if your team took first, last or any place in between, the draft brings back the competitive feeling that we all love. Most leagues have a rotisserie style draft which is a draft that starts 1-12 then 12-1 and back and fourth each round. This makes it a lot more fair than a league that drafts 1-12 every round which makes it so the  person who drafts first always gets the best players. The rotisserie style makes it even out because the person who gets the first pick gets a more even team rather than the best pick every round.

When I draft my fantasy team every year I look for certain players, I don't always follow the projected stats and rankings like people who are newer to fantasy baseball. I start off the draft by taking the best overall hitter I can find, some people may chose an ace for their first pick, but I prefer a batter because there are a lot of pitchers who can give you saves, low ERA, wins, whip and other stats. Pitchers also play every fifth day so they can't help your team every day like an elite hitter. With my first pick in the draft I try to find the player with the best OPS if the league states it, but if it doesn't, I look for a player who barely ever gets injured (I stay away from players like Stanton and Tulowitzki), is consistent and has high triple crown stats, weighing higher on average and RBI's than home runs. If you have the #1 pick in the draft, you have to take Mike Trout he is the best overall player in stats year in and year out. Also, when I draft players I try to steer clear of players with tons of strikeouts like Chris Davis and Chris Carter because they have bad averages, players with good averages are more likely to be better in other stats as well like stolen bases, runs and home runs because if they hit the ball more it's a lot more likely for the ball to go over the fence if you put it in play than if you don't. If you get the choice of your draft position you should try to get right in the middle so you get an all round team,not a few good players and bad players. When drafting pitchers first look at their ERA, it's the biggest indicated of how good of a pitcher they are, next I look at their innings for the last couple of years to make sure they don't get injured often and are consistent, also I make sure they have a good whip, and finally I like to pick up younger pitchers who are not gonna break down and have really good stuff that can play up. They have a lot higher potential then some of the old guys who throw in the low 90s and are getting worse. When looking for a closer I look for someone with a lot of strikeouts because you need a closer who gets people out without letting people on base, they need a low ERA and projection to have a lot of saves. Some good people to pick up who are undervalued in the draft are Wade Davis and Alex Colome. When you have a lot of high average players and not a lot of home runs, you might want to pick up a guy like Chris Carter or Mark Trumbo towards the end that will get that up for you but not be the center piece of your team, so if they are batting .210 it won't hurt you that much.

Just know that the team you draft is not your final team that you are stuck with, you can pick up people on waivers and get players who are doing very good at a certain time to boost your team. Finally, remember it's just a game and have fun, you might have some times bet money, but you did it knowing you have a chance to lose it all. Happy drafting!!!! Hope you have fun!!!

Meet a Prospect: Luis Cessa

Luis Cessa knows a thing or two about minor league baseball and New York and it’s a good thing after the Detroit Tigers sent him to the New York Yankees before the 2016 season in the Justin Wilson trade. This marks the second time that Cessa was traded this calendar year as he was also traded to the Detroit Tigers by the team who drafted him, the New York Mets, in the Yoenis Cespedes deal. Now Cessa, along with teammate Chad Green, head to New York to give the Yankees some Triple-A starting pitching depth at the very least and could possibly slide back into the rotation come Opening Day 2017, let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Luis Cessa Edition.


Cessa is 21-years old and has a natural right-handed pitcher’s build. Cessa stands 6’3” and weighs 190 lbs. with plenty of room to grow and fill out his frame. Cessa was considered an underrated prospect while pitching in the same rotation as Steven Matz and Gabriel Ynoa but is still considered to have less upside than a frontline starter. Cessa is the type of pitcher to aggressively attack the zone and relies on his excellent pinpoint control to survive. Cessa keeps batters off balance with his developing curveball and is still considered raw since he was converted from the infield. The Mets drafted Cessa as an infielder in 2008 and converted him to a starting pitcher in 2011 so the 2016 season looks to be just his sixth professional season as a pitcher. That equals upside.


Cessa’s downfall may be his durability and the fact that he loses velocity the deeper he goes into games. Cessa doesn’t have electric stuff by any means but he gets the job done and could be an excellent relief pitcher eventually. Cessa is truly raw and the sky is the limit.


I was scouting around on a Mets Minors and found these grades from before the 2015 season:

Fastball: 45/55 Change-Up: 55/60 Curveball: 35/50 Control: 55/60 Mechanics: 60/60

Cessa is not going to change an organization by any means but at age 22 you never know. Justin Wilson was replaceable either inside the organization or via free agency so it’s not the biggest loss. At worst Cessa could become a serviceable relief pitcher, at best a decent starter. If last year was an indicator it showed us that Cessa needs to add another pitch to be an MLB pitcher but the guy can still get guys out, so who knows?