Yanks’ second pick, #44 overall

June 5, 2008 by Mike Axisa 164 Comments

With their second pick, the Yanks selected Jeremy Bleich, LHP, Stanford

Scouting Report: Neither BA nor Keith Law nor MLB have a report on the guy, so we’re out of luck. Here’s his video.

My Take: Don’t like the pick, it’s an overdraft. Can’t even find the kid on BA’s top 200 list.

Outlook: Bah. Staten Island I guess.

The site’s a bit overloaded right now, apparently walkoffs and draft broadcasts don’t mix well. Please be patient if the site loads slow, don’t hit refresh over and over, it only makes it worse. Use this thread until the next post is up.

Update: Got a scouting report: 88-91 with movement, good change and curve. Missed a good chunk of the season with an elbow strain.

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com NC Saint

That pick just sapped all the Cole-excitement out of me.
- http://footballstu.blogs.sportsline.com/ Stu H
  
  John Manuel’s apparently really excited about the Bleich pick, thinks it was a great choice for the Yankees, and that he had first round talent before being hurt.
Piquay

Just saw his scouting video on MLB.com

Sitting 87-90 with his fastball, decent curve, easy delivery. Nothing that stood out to me, or made me think he was worth a pick this high.
J.R.

Cardinal Career: Updated Career Stats
Stanford’s active career leader in games started (29) • Has posted a 8-14 career mark with seven saves, one complete game and a 4.41 ERA in 47 appearances • Has limited opponents to a .288 batting average.
J.R.

Nothing worthy of the 44 pick
greg

wtf?
J.R.

NM, his junior year looks sick

As A Junior In 2008: Has made six starts in seven total appearances with a 2-2 record, 1.24 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 29.0 innings pitched • Has had his ERA drop 92 points over his last four starts despite suffering two losses and a no-decision as 11 of the 12 runs scored against him during period are unearned • Opponents are hitting just .204 against him in 2008.
Piquay

Wow, I was hoping with his less than stellar stuff, he would at least have a Kennedy-like college career.

That is quite disappointing.
Matt L

Is he the next Adam O?
Joey

Hopefully someone falls to us our next pick…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594331910 Jamal G.

“Bleich, a Louisiana native, returned from his elbow strain in late May and could move into the first five rounds with a strong NCAA postseason. At his best, he sits in the 88-91 mph range with his fastball that has natural lefty movement, complemented by a solid curveball and a plus straight change.”

Scouting report from a poster on the nyyfans.com forum.
Joey

Faith in Oppy people! Faith in Oppy
Adrian-Retire21

Dumb pick.
rbizzler

Repost: Did Opp just draft a LOOGy in the supplemental round or does this kid have a chance as a starter? Any idea?
Adrian-Retire21

Did anybody take Tanner Scheppers.I hope he falls to us.I rather him the this lefty IaN kennedy type.
cult of basebaal

hmmm … i wonder how you pronounce his last name … right now i’m feeling like its “blech”, like the sound you make when you clear your throat in disgust
Sinjin

Stupid pick. This guy would have been around in later rounds. If they were interested in a LHP Robbie Ross (BA Rank 43) or Kyle Lobstein (BA rank #45) would have made more sense.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Here’s my scouting report:

87-89 on the fastball, topping out at 90
has 2 curves–a 72-73 curve and a 75-77 curve. I like the first one better–more movement–but he has to learn how to command it. The second is more like a slurve with tight rotation. I just don’t see the use for it. Throws it too often.
79-81 slider. Has good cut to it, what you want in a true slider.
quick to the plate from the stretch.
smooth delivery other than showing the ball to 2b/cf, which creates stress; not much of an issue with everything else being fine
good pick off move.

In total, this guy isn’t anything special. He’s not particularly good at any one thing. He’s got some frame to fill out but not that much. Not worth a supplemental pick at all.
http://www.myspace.com/urnyctransformed Brad

And with the 44th pick the Yankees draft…Buddy Groom!
mehmattski

Bryan Smith of Baseball Prospectus said this earlier this week:

Draft Notice: Jeremy Bleich. I go with Bleich here, because it’s rather substantial that the lefty proved he is back, though he did walk five in his four scoreless innings. This has definitely been a year in which some late risers have clouded the early rounds, making a guy like Bleich a bit of an afterthought. However, the Stanford lefty just missed in my Cape Cod League Top 30 list this offseason, and he’s a lefty that keeps the ball in the park with swing-and-miss stuff. Here’s to guessing he is drafted lower than he should be.

Any idea what he was “back” from?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Elbow strain.
  - mehmattski
    
    Hey, it was the last two words of your write-up. Oops.
    
    ESPN lists six other lefties still on the Top 75 board. Where did this pick come from? Did the Yankees think he wouldn’t be available in the third round?
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

I mean, Tim Murphy was still on the board…
- J.R.
  
  Yeah Murphy was Pac-10 pitcher. I was saying murphy all year.
- http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
  
  wow. I haven’t realized that.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

With Robbie Ross on the board you take this joke…nice Yankees. Hopefully they take Ricky Oropesa sometime soon.
Jake

This makes no sense to me. Obviously the draft is a crapshoot, but there doesn’t seem to be any logic behind this. Need a lefty? Fine, take one of lefties rated way higher than Bleich. Really want Bleich? OK, take him in the 4th or 5th.
Joey

when he’s the #3 prospect behind Andrew and Gerrit in 2 years you all owe him an apology! ;-)
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  And I will gladly deliver it from my knees.
  - cult of basebaal
    
    along with a coke
My Pet Goat

There was a deafening silence in Yankee blogdome a a result of a Google server melt-down due to the excessive Bleich searches. Any-hoo, its strange in that this pick only makes sense if the Yankees truly felt he would not make it back to them. Hard to say from our limited perspective. But on his Stanford Bio page (\http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/bleich_jeremy00.html) its pretty clear that he was special in Cape Cod (not so much in the Pac10). Instead of muttering about left-handed Kennedys (which would be spectacular) let’s hope for the next Pettite.
Ivan

The Yankees have to see something into this guy that was impressive. I trust the Yankee Brass
dan

I read somewhere that it’s pronounced “blyshe” or b-lie-sshhhh
dan

Nardi had better get his chisel out for both of them.
Joey

My God I feel old. All of these kids being drafted out of HS I’m older than. Can I start calling them kids yet?
- dan
  
  Haha I’m a senior with 4 days of school left… this is really weird being the same age as a bunch of these guys. And I have the same birthday as Eric Hosmer :)
  - Lanny
    
    Well I’m the same age as Andruw Jones. Just wait til a guy your age hits homers in the World Series.
billybob

When does the second round start? I need some more action.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  6:15
Baseballnation

Could cliff lee be a comp??
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

I think this kid needs another pitch.
- rbizzler
  
  That is why I was thinking LOOGY when I saw the scouting report that says ‘keeps the ball in the yard and good swing and miss guy.”
  
  Hopefully, he turns out to be much more than that.
Lanny

If we are going to give all the credit for the great system to the guys making the picks maybe we should give them a little breathing room on their picks.

They do have a pretty good track record.
- CB
  
  I couldn’t agree more. Cash and Oppenheimer deserve the benefit of the doubt. Let’s just wait and see. No one was that hot on Romine in the second round or pope in the third round last year.
Jake

What a mixed bag today has been in Yankee land. The Giambi walk-off, the Cole pick, the news that the Yanks are talking to Cashman about an extension then … this. The good still outweighs the bad.
Jon

It looks like he dominated the Cape Cod League. I bet that did a lot to improve his draft position in the Yanks’ eyes.
Mac

The pick’s intriguing, to say the least. Good ’08 numbers + good Cape Cod showing + great make-up + some room on his frame for muscle? It’s interesting.
- dan
  
  + elbow strain…. but I see where you’re going with that
tommiesmithjohncarlos

Hey, ESPN, the worldwide sports leader, here’s an idea… how about you have a FUCKING LINK TO ANY ROUND OTHER THAN THE FIRST on your “DraftCentral” site…

This production musta set ’em back a couple of bucks…
- Lanny
  
  What’s with the cuss words? Relax.
  - tommiesmithjohncarlos
    
    Sorry, just frustrated. Ironically, today I was dreaming about making a t-shirt that says “Fudge the Police”…
    - tommiesmithjohncarlos
      
      … I mean, they have a link that says:
      
      “Sort By: Name | School | Position | Round”
      
      … and the “Round” link gives you the First Round and no others, as if there’s only 1 round and not 51. Is this the first time they’ve ever covered a draft of a major sports league? Methinks not.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594331910 Jamal G.

2nd Round starts now right?
- dan
  
  any second now
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Yeah, the tracker’s on a bit of a delay.
Joey

Do they take any more breaks inbetween rounds 2-5?
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

What happpened to the site formatting?
Ponch

This falls in line with the way the Yankees draft. This kid is probably serviceable (and I say probably serviceable because I’ve never heard of him in my life), and he’ll sign relatively cheap. They’ll take their shots with signability guys in the later rounds and get them cheaper than if they took them at 44. The MLB draft is a different beast than the NFL draft. They saved cash here, and at least it’s a lefty. They’ll probably give a 8th round kid a $1 million bonus, ala Betances.
- Mike W.
  
  QFT.
  
  Relax everyone. I am sure there is a plan and that they are not just pulling names out of a hat.
- Nefarious jackson
  
  good point Ponch, will be interesting to see how the rest of the draft shakes out
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

They started. Rays took Lobstein.
- Nefarious jackson
  
  Mike A, off the top of your head in the Yanks top 30 where would you put him?
Joey

There goes Lobstein….
dan

lobstein gone– rays
Lanny

They should use their financial might on every selection. They spend 45 mill on Igawa they can throw 45 mill to the draft every year and stock this system with studs.
dan

oh shit.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594331910 Jamal G.

And Scheppers.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Wow, Scheppers to the Pirates.
- dan
  
  I guess it’s safe to say that he’s worthless now, considering who he’s now employed by. That’s if he signs, of course.
  - Lanny
    
    You think Pitt is going to try to prove a point by not signing them or their new leader going to make other teams look foolish for following his directives the past few yrs?
    
    Talk about hypocritical
mehmattski

Scheppers finally goes, to the Pirates at 48.
Lanny

What site is running best for the updates?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2008/draftcaster.jsp
- dan
  
  I’m on mlb.com’s draft tracker… seems to be what people here are looking at based on when comments are made after each pick comes up.
Hot Karl

Not enthusiastic about the pic. Why not roll the dice on Tanner Scheppers rather than this kid. From the looks of his bio, he probably would have been available in the 2nd or even 3rd round.
Joey

fuck. bye bye Scheppers
Hot Karl

ah crap, i guess they just took scheppers. the yankees are silly geese.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Avery was a bit of an overdraft
L

and there goes tanner scheppers to the pirates…gah. I hope the Yankees get one of these two guys:
Kyle Long
Pat Venditte

Long is a tremendous athlete and could be a pitcher or position player and venditte is a switch pitcher…gotta love it
L

What caused Melville to slide so much? Money?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Yeah. He sent a letter to all the teams saying he wasn’t going to sign unless he was drafted in the top 15.
  - Lanny
    
    That’s the kind of guy you take late and buy out. Use those financial muscles.
  - dan
    
    I’m sure he can be bought. Wow that sounds bad, but true.
  - http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
    
    He could have gone to LA at 15. He probably wanted to go there and that’s probably why he set the benchmark at 15.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Freggin’ Anthony Ferrara is a better pick than this guy.
rafael

Is there any way of following along that does not use Flash?
Ponch

I’d be scared to death of Scheppers. If his shoulder needs surgery, it’s anybody’s guess if he’ll ever be the same. It’s amazing what the shoulder joint can do when it’s healthy, and what it can’t do if it is truly damaged. What other joint is asked to turn 270 degrees with regularity? I’m all for taking risks, but calculated risks.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Wow Cutter Dykstra in the second round…
- Lanny
  
  His father will triple that signing bonus!
dan

Robbie Ross gone
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Crap, Robbie Ross…
dan

How much time is allowed between picks at this point? 2 mins?
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Tyson Ross? Really Billy Beane? Did he even send a scout to look at this guy?
- dan
  
  mlb.com scouting report says he could be a front of the rotation starter.
  - http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
    
    They’re out of there fucking minds. No nice way to say it.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594331910 Jamal G.

I’m not going to criticize the #44 pick because we can’t all just praise Cash and Opp and them trash them when they make a move we did not foresee.
- http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
  
  doesn’t mean they did a poor job on this pick, though.
  - TurnTwo
    
    seriously? people are going to jump down Cash and Opp’s throat because they dont recognize the guy’s name?
    - dan
      
      I don’t get it. I’m reserving judgment ’til Mike tells me what to think ;)
    - Jake
      
      It’s not about him being a bad player, it’s about taking him earlier than necessary, which cost the Yanks another high ceiling player they could have had in addition to Bleish.
    - http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
      
      Not at all. if they were to draft Ricky Oropesa, for example, who most people don’t know about, I’d be happy and so would most people after reading his report. But this guy’s stuff is not at all what I profile from a supp 1st rounder, not to mention the injury concern. This was a poor scouting job and I’m not sure Mike Dunn isn’ still the best lefty in the system…
      - TurnTwo
        
        but how does anyone know this? minus a couple of video clips, and a scouting report or two, who’s really seen him? you cant judge a player off that alone.
        
        http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
        
        really? so you would draft a guy who throws 87 in the supplemental? with superior talents out there? with potentially sound thumping bats? would you???
- Joey
  
  Bye bye Lindblom.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  If nothing else, it was bad pick management. The probably could have had this guy in the 3rd round.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Cards got two of the best hitters in the class in Wallace and Peterson.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Mike there goes your boy Lindblom.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Dammit. Figures it was Logan White…
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

How many rounds today?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  They’re supposed to stop at 9pm, regardless of round. That means they’ll quit at 8:15. They always stop early.
Ponch

Also don’t forget that the international signings fall into the Yanks’ draft budget, which has to factor into their equation. Maybe in their estimation, Micheal Inea is a better gamble that Scheppers, so they take some developmental guys in higher rounds and sock cash to throw at the Dominicans.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Shit, Cubbies got Aaron Shafer. I was hoping people would forget about him and we could gobble him up later.
Rich M

Coco Crisp just got his ass kicked!
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Details.
  - dan
    
    sports center in a few minutes they said
  - Rich M
    
    He charged the mound, shields missed with a right and navarro tackled him and gomes jumped on top along with others and started pelting him with punches
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

There goes Raben.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Nice pick for the Tigers, getting Satterwhite.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Nice Mets–Javy Rodriguez. Boy this draft blows for us. And no one believed me when I was saying it in the 1st round.
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Havens was a good pick.
- Captain Wiley
  
  Debbie Downer
  - http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
    
    I’m generally a positive person, actually. I always hold out hope for every prospect to succeed, even Tim Battle (a tiny bit) and Eric Duncan (quite a bit).
jim

how many rounds today?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Stopping at 9pm, regardless of round.
- http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
  
  ^^: they stop by 9PM, regardless of round.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Might we snag Thames? or Westmoreland?
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

Man I really hope they don’t take Brett Jacobsen at 75…
mehmattski

Yankees up soon… what’s the best player out there?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  Not sure, but probably Danny Webb if you’re discounting Melville.
Mike W.

Mike,

Can you give us a list of names that we might be looking for in terms of the upcoming rounds in terms of “signability issues” that we should be rooting for the Yanks to take a shot on?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594331910 Jamal G.

Come on, get him this time.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Come on Yanks make my mock look good!
L

joseph bittle who is this?? any1 have a scouting report?
- Rick in Boston
  
  His stats are insane – 130 K’s in 70 IP out of the pen. 30 walks, but only 35 hits allowed in those 70 IP.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Goddamit not again…
dan

another “who?” pick
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Is there no such thing as an OFFENSVIE PLAYER??????? ERIC THAMES??? or even a better RHP like DANNY WEBB????? damn…
L

This is what i found..

He has a live and slender 6-1 frame with a loose, quick arm. Bittle’s fastball was 86-88 mph and he threw plenty of 88’s. He’ll throw some two-seamers to left handed hitters that have good running life to them. Bittle’s strikeout pitch is a slider at 81-84 mph that has some sharp late action to it. He throws a 71 mph change up that shows plenty of promise. This kid is good and projects to be even better.
r.w.g.

Scott Bittle was a nice pick. He can help soon.
ujshocker

Apparently, he is an Eastern Orthodox priest . . .

rcpstudy.blogspot.com/2007/10/word-of-promise-audio-bible.html
CB

Biddle is a guy that the yankees have drafted before.

Mike profiled him a couple of days ago in his unsigned gems post:

http://riveraveblues.com/2008/06/03/unsigned-gems-2732/#more-2732
- http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos
  
  his name is Joseph Bittle, not Scott Biddle…
dan

Oh, yanks drafted him last year in the 48th round
Jake

Not that Keith Law is the final word, but the Yanks had 3 picks in the top 75 and managed to get only 1 player in Law’s top 75.
mehmattski

The Ole Miss website has him listed as Scott Bittle, not Joseph…
John

Are Joseph Bittle and Scott Bittle the same person?
ujshocker

and they picked him in the 49th round last year, so clearly they’ve been following him for a while.
tommiesmithjohncarlos

Found a clip of Bittle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8dclYWR8Ks&feature=related
r.w.g.

Scott is his middle name. Gordon Beckham’s real name is James Gordon Beckham. Some people like to go by their middle name as a first name, or their name on things outside of legal documents.
dan

He has absolutely crazy stats. .145 BAA, 1.75 ERA, 130 K’s(can’t find innings, but that’s a ton for college)
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.
  
  It was like, 60-something IP. Led the SEC in K as a reliever.
- r.w.g.
  
  Yeah, plus it’s against very good college competition – probably better than short season. I don’t know if he’ll be dominant or a superstar, but it’s a good example of using draft picks on college arms to help the pen.
- A.D.
  
  BAA and ERA are alright
Rick in Boston

The guy throws strikes and will probably move fast. So, while it’s sort of a need pick, it’s still a good pick.
- J.R.
  
  Good hard thrower, with those numbers it looks like he goes right after hitters.
Rich

He supposedly throws 93-94 now.
http://yankeesfuture.wordpress.com Pablo Zevallos

Ok…I’m a little happier on this guy now
L

yankees.lhblogs.com…Over on ESPN.com, Keith Law is digging the Gerrit Cole pick. What’s not to like? He’s a top-15 sort of talent.

Well, there is this. It’s standard practice for teams to hold a conference call with their first-round pick and the beat writers. It takes 10-15 minutes.

Cole told the Yankees he was too busy to do it. Really?

Hopefully he has a legit reason and he does one tomorrow. But that’s not an especially good first impression. This has nothing to do with Scott Boras, either. Andrew Brackman did his call last year and the rest of his clients have done theirs today.

That’s great to hear about Cole lol…class act?
JeterMack Clutch

that is funny, and yea, teh stanford guys were saying he tops at 94 now
Steve

“Don’t like the pick, it’s an overdraft. Can’t even find the kid on BA’s top 200 list.”

This is hilarious Mike. You know nothing about the guy and you hate the pick because he isn’t on some crappy list? If BA told you to jump out a window, would you do it? Wait, check your list first for the answer. HAHA! Why can’t you just admit you know nothing and the Yankees do? Why can’t you just admit you are clueless like every other fan when it comes to the draft. You shouldn’t even be covering the draft since you have no clue about any of these players. If you have to check a list then why even bother. Baseball America is not a gospel. Idiot.

When Bleich pans out Mike, you have to write an apology to everyone. Maybe “I am an idiot that knows nothing about baseball” 5,000 times.

And the little ignorant trolls who knocked this pick have to do it to. HAHA!
- http://yankeesetc.blogspot.com/ Travis G.
  
  relax. mike knows a helluva lot. he’s just stating his opinion.
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http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike A.

There’s still plenty of great players out there. Hopefully we get Lindblom and Maronda.