Via Marc Carig, the Yankees have reassigned Steve Garrison, Ryan Pope, and Eric Wordekemper to minor league camp. The first two are on the 40-man roster, so they were optioned down. I could be wrong, but I believe there are now 36 players left in big league camp, not counting the injured Frankie Cervelli, Reegie Corona, and Colin Curtis. Manny Banuelos is still there, which is kinda surprising.
MRI reveals oblique strain for Granderson
Update (8:18pm): Apparently Granderson did have an MRI after all. Marc Carig reports that it revealed an oblique strain, which is obviously some pretty crummy news. Grandy downplayed the injury, comparing it to Joba Chamberlain’s recent oblique strain, but even that kept the right-hander on he shelf for ten days. It’s possible the Yankees won’t have their center fielder for Opening Day, but hopefully he won’t miss much more than that.
4:30pm: Via Chad Jennings, it sounds like Joe Girardi is cautiously optimistic about Curtis Granderson’s oblique injury. “I believe there’s a chance he’s going to play Opening Day,” said the skipper. ‘Now, I haven’t talked to [Gene Monahan] yet about all the tests he’s been through, but I believe he’s got a chance to play Opening Day.” Grandy went through a series of tests today but not an MRI, so the full extent of the injury is being determined.
Opening Day is next Thursday but is just an arbitrary deadline. If Grandy isn’t healthy by then and misses the first three or five or ten games of the season, so be it. A handful of games now is better than a lot of games later should he rush back and re-aggravate it somehow.
ST Game Thread: A Familiar Lineup
As the Yankees run on the clock on their Grapefruit League schedule, Joe Girardi has been tinkering with the lineup somewhat, most notably hitting Brett Gardner leadoff. He’s done that the last few days, but Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher are back in the one-two slot today. Why? Because there’s a lefty on the mound; the Blue Jays are throwing Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo Jo-Jo Reyes. I’ll talk more about this setup tomorrow, but tonight we’ll get to see it in action. Here’s the lineup…
Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Swisher, RF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robbie Cano, 2B
Jorge Posada, DH
Andruw Jones, LF
Russell Martin, C
Brett Gardner, CF
Available Pitchers: Phil Hughes, Mariano Rivera, Boone Logan, Luis Ayala, Steve Garrison, Eric Wordekemper, Ryan Pope, Buddy Carlyle, and Josh Schmidt.
Available Position Players: Gustavo Molina (C), Brandon Laird (1B), Ronnie Belliard (2B), Ramiro Pena (SS), Eduardo Nunez (3B), Jordan Parraz (LF), Melky Mesa (CF), and Greg Golson (RF).
Tonight’s game will be aired on MLB Network in all markets, they confirmed that the game will not be blacked out in the Tri-State Area via Twitter. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm ET, so enjoy.
Roster Notes: Laird, Golson, Parraz, Jose Gil, Jorge Vazquez, and Kevin Russo have all been reassigned to minor league camp. Golson being sent probably means that Justin Maxwell beat him out for the potential fifth outfielder’s job, should one be needed.
Yankees claim Jose Ortegano
Via Marc Carig, the Yankees have claimed left-hander Jose Ortegano off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton. The 23-year-old from Venezuela made 20 starts for Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate last year, pitching to a 4.56 FIP in 103 IP. He was not among their top 30 prospects in the 2011 edition of Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook, but he ranked 25th in 2010. “His fastball sits 86-88 mph and occasionally touched 90,” they said. “He also has a plus curveball and locates his changeup with precision … his ultimate role may be as a crafty left-handed reliever.”
Given Pedro Feliciano’s bothersome triceps and Boone Logan’s nagging injury filled camp, it doesn’t hurt to have another lefty around to stash in Triple-A. Ortegano’s nothing special, but certainly not useless.
2011 Season Preview: The Farm System
Forgive me if I sound like a broken record, but pretty much everything went right for the Yankees’ farm system last year, which is why they jumped from 22nd to fifth in Baseball America’s organization rankings. For the most part, the key prospects stayed healthy and performed well while others came back from injury to reclaim to past prospect glory. It was a boost the Yankees needed, because now the team has a solid mix of near-MLB ready talent at the upper levels combined with upside guys a little further down the chain.
Is everything going to break right again? Almost certainly not, but each of the full season affiliates will offer plenty of reasons to follow along this summer.
Triple-A Scranton
Just like every other year, the Yankees are going to rely heavily on the reinforcements they have stashed away in Triple-A this season. In fact, they’ll probably rely on these guys even more than usual given the current situation of the back of the big league rotation. Assuming Ivan Nova starts the year in the Bronx, the Scranton staff will be led by three guys who finished last season there: Hector Noesi, David Phelps, and D.J. Mitchell. Andrew Brackman and Adam Warren will jump up from Double-A to round out the rotation, and it seems like a foregone conclusion that two or three of those guys will make their big league debut this summer.
The lineup was going to be anchored by Jesus Montero, but Frankie Cervelli’s fractured foot makes him Russell Martin’s likely backup to at least start the season. Manager Dave Miley will instead have to rely on 2010 Eastern League MVP Brandon Laird to make the offense go, and he’ll have help from Justin Maxwell, Jordan Parraz, Dan Brewer, and big ol’ Jorge Vazquez. Mark Prior highlights the bullpen corps, which will also feature big lefty Andy Sisco and a pair or righty prospects in Ryan Pope and George Kontos. Many of these guys will see big league time this year, but the Yankees have enough upper level depth that a sixth consecutive division title is a very possible for Scranton.
Double-A Trenton
This is where the action will be this year. Brian Cashman has said (repeatedly) that both Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances will start the season with Trenton, the same place they finished last season. Graham Stoneburner, the best pitching prospect in the system that no one ever seems to talk about, will play the role of third wheel. All three feature power, strikeout stuff but do it in different ways: Banuelos is fastball-changeup, Betances fastball-curveball, and Stoneburner with primarily a sinker. It would be surprising if all three spent the entire year in Double-A.
The offense will be led by the returning David Adams and likely Austin Romine despite his place in the backup catcher’s competition. Florida State League MVP Melky Mesa will join the fray, and Corban Joseph will stick after spending most of last season in Single-A. A case can be made that those two are the best five-tool prospect and pure hitter in the system, respectively. Craig Heyer will bring his beastly strike zone skills (95/15 K/BB in Single-A over the last two years) to the pitching staff in some capacity, and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte will give the fans something to enjoy and opposing batters something to dread out of the bullpen. Trenton has won the division in four of the last five years, and with that pitching staff, they’ll certainly make a run at another.
High-A Tampa
Luis Sojo’s squad figures to be a little short on position player talent this year, with college vets Luke Murton, Neil Medchill, and Rob Lyerly doing most of the heavy lifting. Sojo will have two of the very best arms in the system working out of his rotation in Jose Ramirez and Brett Marshall, and sleeper Scottie Allen (acquired from the D’Backs for Juan Miranda) will get a look as well. Flamethrowers Tommy Kahnle, Dan Burawa, and Conor Mullee will likely join the sneaky good Chase Whitley in a lock-down bullpen. A third straight Florida State League championship will be tough to pull off, but not impossible.
Low-A Charleston
Want to see two first picks play for the same team? Head to Charleston, where Slade Heathcott (2009) will roam center field and Cito Culver (2010) will probably man shortstop. Second rounder J.R. Murphy (2009) figures to give it another go behind the plate, where he’ll likely do the DH-catcher thing with Gary Sanchez, arguably the best non-Montero prospect in the system. Eduardo Sosa, Ramon Flores, and Kelvin DeLeon will round out one of the most tooled up outfields in all of minor league baseball, though Flores will likely see time at first.
The rotation is a little more uncertain, but there’s no shortage of talent. Mikey O’Brien, Nick Turley, Evan DeLuca, Bryan Mitchell, Gabe Encinas, Taylor Morton, Evan Rutckyj, Matt Richardson, Brett Gerritse … all of those guys are solid candidates for the River Dogs’ rotation, and in no way is that be lame.
Short Season Leagues
The vast majority of the short season Staten Island and rookie level Gulf Coast League rosters will be supplied by the 2011 draft, but 2010 picks Mason Williams, Ben Gamel, and Angelo Gumbs are likely to be pop up here. If the Yankees decide to take it slow with Culver, he’ll fit in here as well. Whatever pitchers do not make the Low-A roster will play in SI or the GCL, and the stateside debuts of Yeicok Calderon and (especially) Ravel Santana should be highly anticipated.
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My top 30 prospects list will give you some more detailed information about most of the players in this post, but the upper level arms clearly highly the crop with Montero presumably in the big leagues. Whether they help the big league club on the mound or in a trade remains to be seen, but it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that they’ll have some kind of impact in 2011.
2011 Draft: A historical look at the Yanks’ picks
The more things change, the more they stay the same. We’re now less than three months away from the draft, but there hasn’t been enough time for any major developments to … uh … develop, so the best draft prospects from last month are still the best draft prospects this month. Keith Law posted his updated list of the top 50 prospects yesterday (Insider req’d), and had UCLA RHP Gerrit Cole jumping ahead of Rice 3B Anthony Rendon as the top talent. There’s not much of an argument against that ranking right now, Cole’s showing three knockout pitches every Friday while Rendon is battling shoulder issues that have limited him to mostly DH duty. They’re both premium guys, but for now, Cole’s in the lead.
TCU LHP Matt Purke fell a handful of spots because he’s been battling blister issues and his stuff hasn’t been as crisp this year as it was last, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that the slide continues and he’s available when the Yankees’ first pick comes around. Personal fave Taylor Guerrieri has gone from a second-ish round guy to the best high school right-hander in the country, so the Yanks’ won’t be getting a shot at him. For shame.
The Yankees’ first pick doesn’t come until number 51 overall, in case you’ve forgotten, which isn’t exactly a high-end slot. That doesn’t mean its doomed for failure though. I went back and looked at the list of players taken there throughout the 45-year history of the amateur draft, and then I did the same thing for their next three picks as well. Here are the results, which are for your information only and are not intended to be some kind of analysis of the caliber of player the Yankees could land…
First Pick, #51
The most productive player ever taken with the 51st overall pick is a Hall of Famer, or someone that should be in the Hall of Fame, anyway : Barry Larkin. It’s a major, major drop-off after that, with guys like Chris Haney and Rocky Biddle representing the familiar names. As for recent prospects, there’s Anthony Gose (part of the Roy Oswalt swap) and personal fave Jeff Locke (part of the Nate McLouth trade), but Larkin’s it, the one legit, long-term big leaguer to be taken 51st overall.
As for the 52nd and 53rd overall picks, since those players were available at 51 as well, you’ve got Carl Crawford, Gary Carter, Andy Messersmith, Sean Casey, Ryan Sweeney, and Pirates’ farmhand Stetson Allie. That’s a fine group right there.
Second Pick, #88
Kirk McCaskill, who spent a dozen completely unspectacular seasons in the big leagues in the mid-80’s to mid-90’s highlights this pick, but after that you’ve got bit pieces like Alex Cora and Eli Marrero. Yikes. There are a few interesting prospects running around that were taken 88th overall, led by Robby Rowland of the Diamondbacks (2010). This pick has historically been a bit of wasteland, but go up to the 89th pick and you’re looking at Justin Morneau, Nick Johnson, Chris Young (the pitcher), and then some guy named Randy Johnson who is probably the best left-handed pitcher most of us will ever see. Of course that was when the Braves drafted him out of high school, not when the Expos drafted him out of college. Imagine RJ with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Wowza.
Third Pick, #118
The biggest name here (to date) is Mickey Tettleton, but the Rays took this spot in 2005, added an above-slot $500,000 bonus, and landed themselves a frontline guy named Jeremy Hellickson. The Angels drafted and failed to signed eventual seventh overall pick Matt Harvey here four years ago. Sal Bando and Todd Stottlemyre highlight the history of the 119th overall pick, and number 120 is complete barren unless you happen to be a Mickey Morandini fan.
Fourth Pick, #149
There’s some premium names here (emphasis on name), specifically Michael Young and Deion Sanders, plus a few recent and interesting prospects like Jason Adam (Royals), Jeff Samardzija (Cubs), and Brandon Allen (ChiSox, now with the D’Backs). The Yankees have some history at this pick as well, taking Zach Day here back in 1996. He was eventually packaged with Ricky Ledee and Jake Westbrook for David Justice, who put on a Superman costume for half-a-season in 2000. Dan Hudson and Mike Marshall are the only noteworthy players taken with the following two picks.
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Like I said, don’t read much into this at all, it’s an exercise in history more than anything else. It has zero predictive value. Every draft class is different, and the way teams draft today is considerably different than the way they drafted five years ago and worlds different than the way they drafted ten years ago. Having to wait 50 picks before your first selection is a pretty big handicap, but there’s always talent to be had, it’s just a matter of finding it.
Cashman shoots down Perez rumor, thankfully
Via Chad Jennings, Brian Cashman shot down the rumor about the Yankees having interest in Oliver Perez rather bluntly this afternoon. “I was asked [by those] above me to look into it just to be certain,” said Cashman. “We always look at everything, but it’s not something that right now makes sense for us based on everything we’ve seen.” That’s the politically correct way of saying Perez sucks.
It’s also good to know that those above Cashman have such a keen eye for talent that they asked him to check out Perez. You can never be too sure, right?