Archive for Asides
2012 Draft: Baseball America’s Mock Draft v2.0
Posted by: | CommentsBaseball America posted their second mock draft this afternoon (subs. req’d), and they again have the Astros taking Stanford RHP Mark Appel with the first pick. They have the Yankees selecting high school SS Addison Russell with their first rounder (#30 overall), who I profiled last week. He’s a power-hitting infielder with strong defensive tools who may outgrow short and wind up at third.
It’s worth noting that Baseball America says if “any team takes fast-rising Washington prep right-hander Mitchell Gueller in the first round, it could be New York.” Keith Law had the Yankees taking Russell in his first mock draft while also mentioning their interest in Gueller, but as an outfielder. Baseball America had the Yankees taking high school catcher Stryker Trahan in their first mock draft.
Yankees sign John Maine to minor league contract
Posted by: | CommentsVia Evan Drellich, the Yankees have signed John Maine to a minor league contract. The 31-year-old right-hander signed with the Red Sox this offseason but did not pitch a game for them before being released earlier this month. Maine hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2010 and has battled significant shoulder injuries through the years. He owns a 4.35 ERA and a 4.68 FIP in 585.2 career innings, most coming with the Mets. I guess the Yankees are going to stash him in Triple-A for a few weeks and see what happens, which will most likely be nothing substantial.
The Ivan Nova Story
Posted by: | CommentsIvan Nova‘s journey from amateur to prospect to big leaguer is a unique one, partly because he wasn’t a high-profile player who signed for a lot of money as a teenager. ESPN’s Jorge Arangure chronicled Nova’s journey, explaining how he transitioned from position player to pitcher with some help from his father, who woke him up for 5am workouts every day. He spent two weeks working out for the Red Sox at age 16, but says “I really didn’t want to sign with Boston … My father and I were both Yankee fans.”
Interestingly enough, the article explains that Nova is working on a new changeup grip with pitching coach Larry Rothschild because he shelved the pitch for much of last season and lost feel for it. He uses the new pitch sparingly (6.9% according to PitchFX) and both Nova and Rothschild say it’s a root cause of his homerun problem — PitchFX confirms that five of the ten homers he’s allowed this season have come off that new changeup. Arangure’s article is a great read and gets RAB’s highest level of recommendation. Make sure you check it out.
Williams ranks 24th on Law’s midseason top 25 prospects list
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s only late-May, but Keith Law posted an updated list of the top 25 prospects in the minors today (subs. req’d). RHP Dylan Bundy of the Orioles claims the top spot with OF Bryce Harper now in the big leagues, and Baltimore also owns the number three prospect in SS Manny Machado. SS Jurickson Profar of the Rangers is sandwiched between them at number two.
OF Mason Williams check in at #24, up ten spots from KLaw’s preseason ranking. “He’s not walking, but he’s also making a ton of contact, and he’s barely begun to fill out physically,” he wrote. “There’s a lot of projection involved in this ranking but he’s a favorite of many scouts (and of me) because of the substantial upside here.” LHP Manny Banuelos was ineligible for the list because he’s on the DL, but I confirmed with Law that he would have made the top 25 as well. He ranked 23rd on the preseason list.
Gardner still feels stiffness in elbow, will try to hit on Monday
Posted by: | CommentsFollowing tonight’s game, Joe Girardi announced that Brett Gardner still feels some stiffness in the strained right elbow that has keep him on the DL for most of the season. It doesn’t sound serious though; Girardi said Gardner will travel to Tampa as planned later this week and try to hit off a tee on Monday. It’s a slight setback.
A quick look at Boone Logan’s slider
Posted by: | CommentsBoone Logan‘s work this season has been a huge lift to a bullpen that’s suffered two pretty significant injuries, and late last week Lucas Apostoleris of The Hardball Times looked at why the left-hander has been so effective: his slider. Simply put, Boone has been using the pitch much more frequently (48% of all pitches at the time of the writing) and is generating a ton of swings and misses (59% of all swings). Easy enough.
Logan has struck out 27 of the 76 batters he’s faced this season (35.5%) including 17 of 46 lefties (37.0%). I always worry about extreme breaking ball guys (like 50%+ of all pitches, not 25%) because anecdotally, they seem to break down or decline quickly — Brad Lidge, Carlos Marmol, Luke Gregerson being primary examples. Maybe I’m wasting my time worrying about relievers given their short shelf lives, who knows. Anyway, Boone’s been highly effective this season and I hope he continues to pitch this way going forward.
Romine out until July with inflamed disc
Posted by: | CommentsVia Dan Martin, catcher Austin Romine is going to be out until at least July with an inflamed disc in his back. He missed time with a similar injury last summer and hasn’t played at all this season, including Spring Training. “He saw [Dr. Watkins] in Los Angeles about four weeks ago and is on his third week of rehab,” said Brian Cashman.
This is essentially a lost season for the 23-year-old Romine, who came into 2012 as the club’s best upper-level catching prospect. He was slated for his first full season at Triple-A and would have had a very real chance to usurp Frankie Cervelli as the backup catcher and cement his place in the club’s long-term catching picture. Instead, the Yankees had to make the George Kontos-for-Chris Stewart trade to replace the depth and Romine’s long-term outlook is a big question mark.
Update: Banuelos’ sore elbow not considered serious
Posted by: | Comments5:01pm: Via Norris, Banuelos did go for an MRI and it came back clean. It’s more of a “tired arm” than actual soreness, apparently.
2:30pm: Via Josh Norris, left-hander Manny Banuelos was placed on the Triple-A disabled list for precautionary reasons and his sore left elbow is not considered serious. Banuelos and Eduardo Nunez (sore thumb) both hit the shelf just yesterday. It’s been a pretty brutal season for pitching injuries, so this is welcome news. Hopefully it remains nothing serious and Manny can get back on the mound relatively soon.
Still no date for Mariano Rivera’s knee surgery
Posted by: | CommentsVia Bryan Hoch, there is still no date set for Mariano Rivera‘s knee surgery. He’s still getting treatment and therapy for the blood clot in his right calf, and doctors want him to strengthen the knee before going in and repairing his torn right ACL. For what it’s worth, Mat Gamel of the Brewers torn his ACL a few days before Rivera but did not have surgery until today. Apparently waiting a few weeks for the swelling to go down and stuff is common with this kind of injury. Hopefully they can get Mo fixed up within a month so he can begin the rehab process.
Update: Nunez & Banuelos placed on Triple-A disabled list
Posted by: | Comments6:56pm: Via Mike Vander Woude, it’s a sore left elbow for Banuelos. Yuck.
6:00pm: Via Chad Jennings and Donnie Collins, infielder Eduardo Nunez and left-hander Manny Banuelos have both been placed on the 7-day DL in Triple-A. Nunez hurt his thumb a few days ago but it’s unclear what’s up with Banuelos. Perhaps the lat issue that shelved him a few weeks ago popped back up. Both guys could technically return this weekend, but we’ll see.
