Eduardo Nunez left yesterday’s game with a sore thumb and Brian Cashman confirmed that he’s going to miss three or four days. That’s good, I don’t want him sitting out and dwelling on his defensive problems for two weeks or something. Right-hander Jose Ramirez was placed on the DL for the an unknown reason and that sucks. He’s been pitching quite well of late.

Anyway, based on his Twitter feed, left-hander Evan Rutckyj has been promoted to Low-A Charleston and will presumably join their rotation.

Update: Caleb Cotham is on his way to join High-A Tampa according to his Twitter feed. Yep, it’s officially promotion season.

Triple-A Empire State (4-1 win over Toledo)
2B Kevin Russo: 1-5, 1 K
CF Colin Curtis: 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 CS — had been in a nasty 3-for-34 slump (.088)
1B Steve Pearce: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
DH Jack Cust: 0-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K
LF Ronnie Mustelier: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI — seventh homer in 37 games this year after hitting just three in 36 games last year
3B Brandon Laird, C Frankie Cervelli, RF Cole Garner & SS Ramiro Pena: all 0-4 — Laird and Cervelli each struck out twice, Gardner and Pena once each
RHP Ramon Ortiz: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 5/5 GB/FB — 62 of 90 pitches were strikes (68.9%) … look at the old man doin’ work
RHP Chase Whitley: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1/1 GB/FB — 13 of 22 pitches were strikes (59.1%)
RHP Manny Delcarmen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GB/FB — just 11 of 23 pitches were strikes (47.8% … filling in at closer after Kevin Whelan had pitched in each of the last two games

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Triple-A Empire State (3-1 win over Toledo)
SS Eduardo Nunez: 1-4, 2 K, 1 SB, 2 E (fielding, missed catch) — had more on his rough day earlier
PH-LF Ray Kruml: 1-1 — pinch-hit for Nunez in the eighth for an unknown reason
2B-SS Ramiro Pena: 1-5, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
LF-2B Kevin Russo: 1-2, 1 R, 1 2B, 3 BB — eight walks in his last seven games
DH Steve Pearce: 0-4, 1 R, 1 HBP
RF Cole Garner: 0-4, 1 BB, 3 K — 13 strikeouts in his last seven games
1B Brandon Laird: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 K
3B Ronnie Mustelier: 1-3, 1 BB
C Gus Molina: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
CF Colin Curtis: 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP D.J. Mitchell: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 9/4 GB/FB — 73 of 115 pitches were strikes (63.5%) … he also pitched a runner off first, and I’m glad they’re letting these older Triple-A guys work a little deeper into games and get that pitch count up
LHP Justin Thomas: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/0 GB/FB — half of his eight pitches were strikes … first appearances since being claimed off waivers over the weekend
RHP Manny Delcarmen: 0.2 IP, zeroes, 1 K — five pitches, four strikes
RHP Kevin Whelan: 1 IP, zeroes, 3 K — nine of 13 pitches were strikes … 31/7 K/BB in 19.2 IP

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Check out this David Driver article on Brett Marshall, who spoke about the time he’s spent with Andy Pettitte and also about his brother Chris, who just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. Oh, and apparently the Low-A South Atlantic League will hold their Homerun Derby on an aircraft carrier this summer, which is awesome. The game is in Charleston and figures to feature a lot of hometown River Dogs.

In other news, Craig Heyer was placed on the DL after leaving a start with arm stiffness over the weekend. Double-A Trenton added Adam Miller in his place and also activated Walt Ibarra from the DL. Jose Toussen was send back to High-A Tampa in a corresponding move. The recently claimed Justin Thomas took Cody Eppley‘s Triple-A roster spot.

Update: Mikey O’Brien has been promoted to Double-A, which is well-deserved.

Triple-A Scranton (8-2 loss to Toledo)
SS Eduardo Nunez: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB
LF Kevin Russo: 1-4, 2 K
1B Steve Pearce: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
DH Jack Cust: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K — 13 walks in his last ten games
3B Brandon Laird: 2-4, 1 K — two straight two-hit games
CF Colin Curtis, C Frankie Cervelli & 2B Ramiro Pena: all 0-4 — Pena struck out … Curtis made one throwing error while Cervelli made two … Cervelli allowed a passed ball
RF Cole Garner: 1-4, 1 R, 2 K
RHP Dellin Betances: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 7 K, 1/2 GB/FB — only 50 of 104 pitches were strikes (48.1%), but at least he hit 97 on the gun … at least six walks in four of his last seven starts, which is just awful
RHP Jason Bulger: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GB/FB — only eight of 19 pitches were strikes (42.1%)
LHP Juan Cedeno: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2/1 GB/FB — 27 of 45 pitches were strikes (60%)
RHP Kevin Whelan: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/1 GB/FB — 18 of 26 pitches were strikes (69.2%)

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Got some notes…

• Slade Heathcott played in his first Extended Spring Training game this afternoon. He’s scheduled to re-join High-A Tampa early next month following his latest left shoulder injury.
• Shane Greene has been sent to Extended Spring Training from High-A Tampa. He got annihilated last time out and his Twitter feed makes it sound like the demotion is performance (not injury or discipline) related, which is kinda weird. Super-sleeper Matt Tracy is taking his place on the roster though, and that’s fun. Adam Miller was sent from Triple-A to Double-A.
• Both Manny Banuelos and Angelo Gumbs made this week’s Ten Pack. You need a Baseball Prospectus subscription to read the entire thing, but both the Banuelos and Gumbs capsules are above the paywall. In other words, you don’t need a subscription for those two so check it out.
• Gumbs and Steve Pearce were named the Offensive Players of the Week for the Low-A South Atlantic League and Triple-A International League, respectively. Gumbs stole 11 bases in 12 tries last week.
• Jim Callis wrote about Cody Johnson briefly in this week’s Ask BA. He’s arguably the club’s best left-handed power prospect, but Johnson has struggled to make contact since turning pro and led the minors with 195 strikeouts last season.

Triple-A Scranton (1-0 loss to Durham)
SS Eduardo Nunez: 1-5, 1 CS — first game since being sent down … he led off the ninth with a single before getting thrown out trying to steal second
LF Kevin Russo, DH Jack Cust & 2B Ramiro Pena: all 0-3 — Russo walked twice, stole a base, and struck out once … Cust walked twice and struck out thrice … Pena walked once
1B Steve Pearce & RF Cole Garner: both 0-4, 2 K — Pearce got hit by a pitch
RF Ronnie Mustelier: 1-4, 2 K, 1 SB – 11 hits in ten games since the promotion
3B Brandon Laird: 2-3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (throwing) — had been in a 2-for-27 rut (7.4%)
C Frankie Cervelli: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 PB
RHP Adam Warren: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 10/4 GB/FB — 62 of 97 pitches were strikes (63.9%) … his best start of the season, good to see him get off the schneid
RHP Cody Eppley: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 2/0 GB/FB – 11 of 17 pitches were strikes (64.7%)
RHP Manny Delcarmen: 1 IP, zeroes, 3 K — 11 of 16 pitches were strikes (68.8%) … I wonder if he could pitch his way onto the big league roster, not that I want to see it happen

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With Eduardo Nunez back in Triple-A, Yadil Mujica was sent back to Trenton. Graham Stoneburner (groin) has been placed on the DL as well. Also make sure you check out this Ken Rosenthal piece on Mike Trout, who the Yankees were going to draft in 2009 before the Angels scoped him up.

Triple-A Empire State (3-1 loss to Durham) they faced RHP Chris Archer, the primary piece the Rays received in the Matt Garza trade
2B Kevin Russo & C Gus Molina: both 0-3 — Russo walked and whiffed … Molina struck out twice
CF Colin Curtis, 3B Brandon Laird & RF Cole Garner: all 0-4, 2 K
1B Steve Pearce: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
DH Jack Cust: 1-3, 1 BB, 2 K — seven walks in his last four games
LF Ronnie Mustelier: 1-4, 1 SB, 1 E (fielding)
SS Ramiro Pena: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K – I guess he’s off the DL
LHP Manny Banuelos: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 5/3 GB/FB — 61 of 89 pitches were strikes (68.5%) … 15/0 K/BB in 14.2 IP since coming off the DL … healthy Manny is good Manny
RHP Chase Whitley: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 2/0 GB/FB — ten of 17 pitches were strikes
RHP Adam Miller: 2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 3/0 GB/FB — 26 of 42 pitches were strikes (61.9%)

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If you’re wondering what Jorge Vazquez is up to, Mike Ashmore points out that he’s back playing in the Mexican League this summer. He’s hitting .273/.344/.473 with three homers in 15 games for Tigres de Quintana Roo after the Yankees released him at the end of camp. It wasn’t much of a secret that JoVa was getting tired of playing in Triple-A, but apparently none of the other 29 clubs were willing to give him a shot.

Triple-A Empire State (3-2 win over Durham, walk-off style)
2B Kevin Russo: 1-5, 1 R, 1 SB
LF Colin Curtis: 1-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — walk-off single
1B Steve Pearce: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K — has replaced JoVa and then some
DH Jack Cust & CF Ronnie Mustelier: both 0-4 — Cust struck out twice … Mustelier played center, eh? interesting
3B Brandon Laird & C Frankie Cervelli: both 1-4 — Laird doubled
RF Cole Garner: 0-4, 1 K
SS Yadil Mujica: 2-4, 1 2B
RHP Nelson Figueroa: 6 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 8/2 GB/FB — 62 of 91 pitches were strikes (68.1%)
LHP Juan Cedeno: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2/0 GB/FB — 20 of 35 pitches were strikes (57.1%)
RHP Kevin Whelan: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 3/0 GB/FB — 16 of 22 pitches were strikes (72.7%)

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Got some notes…

• According to Slade Heathcott, he will play his first game of the season with High-A Tampa on June 5th. Hooray for that.
• Dellin Betances got the sixth spot on this week’s Prospect Hot Sheet following his eight-inning gem the other day. Hopefully he strings a few strong performances together.
• A number of players — including Betances and Andy Pettitte — have had trouble with the mound in Rochester, so it will be rebuilt. Triple-A Empire State will play 38 of their 72 “home” games in Rochester this season, not to mention their regularly scheduled road games there as well.
• Mentioned yesterday that Rob Lyerly is out for the season with a shoulder problem, and apparently he had surgery to repair his labrum. That bites. Meanwhile, Jose Pirela is close to returning from the dreaded mystery injury.
• And finally, check out Yankees Fans Unite‘s interview with Tyler Austin.

Triple-A Scranton (8-7 loss to Durham in ten innings) they faced former Yankees great Lance Pendleton
2B Kevin Russo: 0-6, 1 K
CF Ray Kruml: 0-5, 1 K, 1 E (missed catch) — Brandon Laird pinch-hit for him in the tenth and struck out
1B Steve Pearce: 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K — yawn
DH Jack Cust: 1-2, 1 R, 3 BB, 1 K — six walks in his last ten trips to the plate
3B Ronnie Mustelier: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HBP — nine hits in 27 at-bats since the promotion (.333)
RF Colin Curtis: 0-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K — threw a runner out at second
C Frankie Cervelli: 2-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K, 1 E (throwing)
LF Cole Garner: 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K — first multi-hit game of the season
SS Yadil Mujica: 3-5, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 E (fielding)
RHP Ramon Ortiz: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 7/1 GB/FB — 62 of 93 pitches were strikes (66.7%)
LHP Mike O’Connor: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 3/4 GB/FB — 52 of 83 pitches were strikes (62.7%)

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Rob Lyerly’s season is likely over due to continued shoulder problems, which stinks. The Yankees’ sixth round pick in 2009 went 3-for-17 with two homers in five games for Double-A Trenton before hitting the DL last month.

Triple-A Scranton (5-2 win over Columbus in ten innings, walk-off style)
2B Kevin Russo & SS Yadil Mujica: both 0-3 — Russo walked twice and stole a base … Mujica walked and whiffed
CF Colin Curtis” 0-5, 1 K — stuck in a 5-for-36 rut (.139)
1B Steve Pearce: 4-5, 3 R, 3 2B, 1 E (pickoff) — up to .360/.442/.595 on the year
DH Jack Cust: 2-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB — game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth
3B Ronnie Mustelier: 1-4, 1 BB, 2 K
LF Brandon Laird & C Gus Molina: both 1-5 — Molina had the walk-off single and struck out
RF Cole Garner: 0-4, 2 K
RHP D.J. Mitchell: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 7/3 GB/FB — 60 of 96 pitches were strikes (62.5%) … his first Triple-A outing since being sent down last weekend
RHP Manny Delcarmen: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GB/FB — a dozen of his 20 pitches were strikes … just activated off the DL, apparently
RHP Jason Bulger: 1.1 IP, zeroes, 2 K1/0 GB/FB — nine of 14 pitches were strikes (64.3%)
RHP Chase Whitley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0/1 GB/FB — ten of 16 pitches were strikes (62.5%)

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Kevin Goldstein identified Tyler Austin as one of this year’s pop-up guys, meaning someone who has raised their prospect stock considerably since the start of the season. You need a Baseball Prospectus subscription to read the entire article, but the Austin write-up is at the top and not behind the paywall. In other words, go read it.

Meanwhile, Doug Bernier was put on the DL with an oblique strain. With he and Ramiro Pena (groin/quad) on the shelf, the Triple-A squad is down to their third string shortstop, otherwise known as the Double-A utility infielder.

Triple-A Scranton (2-1 win over Columbus)
LF Brett Gardner: 1-2, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 BB, 1 K — played seven innings in the field (replaced by Cole Gardner, who didn’t come to the plate) which is typical rehab stuff … the triple was a double that he hustled into a three-bagger … unless he wakes up with some serious soreness, I have to think we’ll see him in the Bronx tomorrow
2B Kevin Russo: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB
1B Steve Pearce: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB — only eight hits in his last ten games, but three of them have left the yard
DH Jack Cust, CF Colin Curtis & SS Yadil Mujica: all 0-3 — Cust walked and whiffed … Curtis struck out
RF Ronnie Mustelier: 2-4, 1 2B — six hits in 19 at-bats (.316) since the promotion
3B Brandon Laird: 0-4, 2 K
C Frankie Cervelli: 1-3, 2 K
RHP Dellin Betances: 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 10/2 GB/FB — 62 of 97 pitches were strikes (63.9%) … first batter of the game hit a solo homer and the walks didn’t come until the seventh and eighth innings, so there were a whole lotta outs in between … easily his best start of the season and his best since early last August
RHP Kevin Whelan: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K — eight of 11 pitches were strikes (72.8%)

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Catcher Craig Tatum was placed on the DL, and in a series of corresponding moves, Gus Molina was promoted to Triple-A and OF/1B Shane Brown was bumped up to Double-A Trenton.

Triple-A Empire State Game One (1-0 loss to Columbus in seven innings) makeup of yesterday’s rain out
LF Brett Gardner: 2-3 — both hits were singles off lefty/sometimes big leaguer David Huff … based on the play-by-play, he had to make three plays in the field
2B Kevin Russo: 1-3
SS Yadil Mujica: 1-2, 1 2B
Everyone Else: combined 0-17, 1 BB, 5 K — Jack Cust drew the walk, unsurprisingly
LHP Manny Banuelos: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2/4 GB/FB — 49 of 75 pitches were strikes (65.3%), and he should get up to 90 or so next time out … eight strikeouts and zero walks in 8.2 IP since coming off the DL, so hooray for healthy backs!
RHP Chase Whitley: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3/0 GB/FB — 16 of 23 pitches were strikes (69.6%)

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