Archive for Minors
Curtis finishes the season with a bomb
Posted by: | CommentsThe Arizona Fall League regular season is over. Surprise finished 16-16, two games back of the Peoria Javelinas for the West Division title. The Javelinas will take on Phoenix in the title game on Saturday.
AzFL Surprise (11-9 loss to the Peoria Saguaros on Wednesday)
Brandon Laird: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
Colin Curtis: 3 for 5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K - finishes the season on a 14 for 37 (.378) with 4 doubles, a triple, and a homer
AzFL Surprise (7-4 win over Phoenix on Thursday)
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1-0 GB/FB – 14 of 26 pitches were strikes (53.8%) … PitchFX had the fastball at 93.94-95
So that’s it for nightly DotF until next April. You’ll still get your winter ball updates every Sunday, but those won’t last much longer either.
Kennedy strong in his final start of 2009
Posted by: | CommentsAzFL Surprise (9-2 win over Mesa) the season ends on Tuesday … Phoenix and the Peoria Javelinas will play in the AzFL Title Game on Saturday .. chances are it’ll be on MLB Network, but I’m not 100% sure
Colin Curtis: 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB – 4 HR in 19 games
Ian Kennedy: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 5-5 GB/FB – 50 of 66 pitches were strike (75.8% (!!!)) … he finishes his AzFL stint with a 4.25 ERA but a 2.26 FIP in 29.2 IP … considering how ridiculously offensive this league is, giving up just one homer is a minor miracle … IPK also said he feels great
Meanwhile, the list of minor league free agents was released today. Here’s who the Yanks are losing:
RHP: Paul Bush (AA), Michael Gardner (AA), Justin Pope (AA), Humberto Sanchez (AAA), Jay Stephens (AA), Jose Valdez (AAA)
C: Brian Peterson (AAA), Chris Stewart (AAA)
3B: Eric Duncan (AAA), Carlos Mendoza (AA), Cody Ransom (AAA), Marcos Vechionacci (AA)
SS: Doug Bernier (AAA)
OF: Edwar Gonzalez (AA), Freddy Guzman (AAA), Richie Robnett (AA), John Rodriguez (AAA)
I guess I was wrong that Jason Hirsh was eligible for free agency, so that’s good. They’ll probably re-sign a few of these guys, but most of them can walk. Old buddies Chase Wright and Justin Christian are free agents now. I’d love to see the Yanks bring in Ryan Speier, Andrew Brown, and/or Chad Cordero to add to that cache of dirt cheap, interchangeable relievers.
Oh, and the guys at Project Prospect rated Slade Heathcott the 14th best centerfield prospect in the game.
Dunn strikes out four … in one inning
Posted by: | CommentsAzFL Surprise (6-4 win over Peoria Javelinas)
Brandon Laird: 3 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 CS
Colin Curtis: 0 for 2, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K – no contact kind of day
Mike Dunn: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – 19 of 30 pitches were strikes (63.3%) … you gotta love the four strikeout inning … PitchFX had him at 93.04-94.6 with the fastball
Zach Kroenke: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1-0 GB/FB – 20 of 28 pitches were strikes (71.4%) … PFX had him at 91.6-93.1
Winter ball in Puerto Rico begins
Posted by: | CommentsAs usual, the Arizona Fall League was off today since it’s a Sunday. The regular season ends on Thursday, and Surprise is buried in last place thanks to the second worst run differential (-21) in the league.
Here’s the winter ball updates…
Dominican Winter League
Abe Almonte: 7 G, 1 for 5 (.200), 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
Juan Miranda: 4 G, 5 for 13 (.385), 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 SB – check out Mr. Miranda with the steal
Eduardo Nunez: 1 G, 1 for 3 (.333), 1 R, 1 BB
Wilkins Arias: 12 G, 9.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Ivan Nova: 5 G, 4 GS, 25.2 IP, 17 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 17 K - studly
Jon Ortiz: 6 G, 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Jose Valdez: 11 G, 12 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Mexican Pacific League
Walt Ibarra: 19 G, 11 for 36 (.306), 7 R, 1 2B, 4 R, 2 BB, 12 K, 1 SB
Jorge Vazquez: 4 R, 3 for 15 (.200), 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K – good to see him back from his shoulder injury and terrorizing pitchers again
Humberto Sanchez: 6 G, 7.1 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 5 K – eek
Venezuelan Winter League
Reegie Corona: 18 G, 13 for 40 (.325), 10 R, 5 2B, 6 RBI, 8 BB, 7 K, 1 SB
Edwar Gonzalez: 21 G, 18 for 63 (.286), 9 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 11 K, 3 SB, 3 CS
Carlos Mendoza: 3 G, 0 for 3, 3 K – fail
Jesus Montero: 9 G, 3 for 26 (.115), 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K – he hasn’t played in about three weeks, though I suspect it’s nothing major … they play to win in these leagues, and if you’re not doing the job, you’ll sit
Luis Nunez: 11 G, 8 for 32 (.250), 1 2B, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K – on-base ten times in 11 games and you don’t score a run? weak
Marcos Vechionacci: 15 G, 12 for 42 (.286), 5 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 9 K, 1 CS
Romulo Sanchez: 13 G, 16.1 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 8 BB, 22 K – he’s settled down after the bad start … love the K’s
Josh Schmidt: 8 G, 6 GS, 28.1 IP, 28 H, 20 R, 14 ER, 10 BB, 24 K
Pat Venditte: 7 G, 9.1 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K - he’s gotten batters to ground into 4 double plays in those 9.1 IP, so he’s getting a little lucky
Eric Wordekemper: 3 G, 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
Puerto Rican League
Amaury Sanit: 1 G, 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Soon to be ex-Yankee Jose Molina is also playing in the PRL, though he hasn’t gotten into a game yet.
Duff throws a scoreless frame in Surprise loss
Posted by: | CommentsShortest DotF ever?
AzFL Surprise (4-2 loss to Scottsdale)
Grant Duff: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0-3 GB/FB – 8 of 12 pitches were strikes … PitchFX had him at 93.59-95.3 with the fastball, while his one slider came in at 86.6
Laird & Curtis help Surprise to a win
Posted by: | CommentsAzFL Surprise (5-4 win over Peoria Javelinas)
Brandon Laird: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 E (fielding) – .313-.374-.614 in 83 at-bats
Colin Curtis: 1 for 3, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB – .388-.453-.687 in 67 at-bats
Curtis keeps on raking
Posted by: | CommentsAzFL Surprise (8-6 win over Peoria Javelinas)
Colin Curtis: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS – 17 for his last 39 (.436) with five doubles, a triple, and two jacks
Zach Kroenke: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-3 GB/FB – 16 of 26 pitches were strikes (61.5%) … PitchFX had him at 91.72-92.6 with the fastball, but says he threw only nine of them, compared to twelve sliders … that’s odd
Who should the Yankees protect from the Rule 5 Draft?
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Nothing gets me excited quite like the Rule 5 Draft, one of baseball’s more underappreciated sources of talent. If you’re unfamiliar with how the R5D works, Wikipedia does a pretty good job of explaining it. Basically, it’s a way to help players stuck in the minors advance their careers. If they’ve been playing pro ball for at least four years (three for college draftees) and are not on the 40-man roster, they’re eligible to be drafted. Their new team has to keep them on the 25-man Major League roster all season, otherwise the player’s old team can take him back if they want. That’s a really quick and dirty explanation, but it’ll do.
The actual draft is held on the final day of the Winter Meetings in early December. This year it’s on the 10th. Even though the draft isn’t for another few weeks, rosters do have to be set fairly soon. I don’t know the exact date, but last year it was November 20th, so it can’t be too far away.
For the most part, teams will use the R5D almost like a temp agency; a means to find cheap labor. They won’t (or shouldn’t) go in looking for a franchise cornerstone, because they aren’t going to get it. The best young players always get protected for obvious reasons. Instead, teams will look for that second lefty reliever, or a backup catcher, or a spare outfielder, or a long reliever, stuff like that. NL teams might look for a veteran hitter to bring off the bench, someone they can hide on their roster all season. Last year, the Yanks lost four players in Major League portion of the R5D, plus two more in the Triple-A phase.
This year, I count no fewer than 37 players in the Yanks’ organization that are R5D eligible. Chances are it’s more, but it can be tough to figure out if some of the international signees are eligible. Now 37 seems like a big number, and it is, but relax, most of them are organizational players that have no business being protected. That said, the Yanks still have some tough decisions to make regarding who’ll protect and who they’ll leave exposed.
Before we get into who they should and shouldn’t protect, we first need to figure out what the 40-man roster situation looks like. As of today, there are 38 players on the 40-man. Brian Cashman has said he plans on “taking it slow” this offseason, so we can assume the Yanks will let all of their free agents hit the market. That frees up seven spots (Damon, Hairston, Hinske, Matsui, Molina, Nady, Pettitte), and the Yanks could easily free up another one by cutting ties with Shelley Duncan the same way they did with Freddy Guzman and Josh Towers.
It looks like Brian Bruney will be back next year (grrr), but not Chien-Ming Wang. That’s another open spot. Jon Albaladejo, Chris Garcia, and Edwar Ramirez all have options left, but I bet at least one (Edwar) goes because they’re easily replaceable. That’s another spot. Juan Miranda qualifies for a fourth option, and he’s worth keeping around. All told, that would be eleven open spots on the 40-man, but remember that six of those spots will have to be used on replacements for Damon, Hairston, Hinske, Matsui, and Pettitte (Frankie Cervelli replaces Molina, and he’s already on the 40-man), plus assume one more spot for fungibility. That would give the Yanks four spots to use for protecting R5D eligible players.
Three of those four spots unquestionably will be used to protect Austin Jackson, Ivan Nova, and Kevin Russo. Jackson is the organization’s top outfield prospect, and if the Nationals didn’t take him with the first pick of the R5D, the Pirates would gobble him up with the second. Nova was selected but returned by the Padres last year, and the Yanks wouldn’t be so lucky again after his breakout season. Russo is capable of playing five (probably six) positions, and wOBA’d .371 in Triple-A next year. That’s a guy you keep.
So that leaves one more spot, and about eight players worthy of being considered for protection. Let’s break ‘em down one by one after the jump.
Kennedy knocked around in Arizona
Posted by: | CommentsAzFL Surprise (9-8 loss to Mesa, walk-off style)
Brandon Laird: 2 for 5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Ian Kennedy: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 4-5 GB/FB – 46 of 70 pitches were strikes (65.7%)
Mike Dunn: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K – 13 of 21 pitches were strikes (61.9%) … allowed an inherited runner to score, which was charged to IPK
Prospect Profile: Slade Heathcott
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Zachary “Slade” Heathcott | OF
Background
A hardcore Texan, Heathcott attended Texas High School in Texarkana, which is right on the Texas-Arkansas border. In addition to playing football, he starred both on the mound and in the outfield for the Tigers. Heathcott was named First Team All-District as both a sophomore and junior, and also took home MVP honors of the WSSSA World Series as a sophomore. He hit .456 with a 1.98 ERA as a freshman, .489 with a 1.89 as a sophomore, and .530 with a 1.23 as a junior.
