River Avenue Blues

Draft Signing Updates: Judge, Clarkin, Coleman

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Earlier today we learned first round pick 3B Eric Jagielo and fourth round pick SS Tyler Wade had signed for straight slot bonuses, now here are some more updates on various Yankees draft picks (draft round in parenthesis):

  • Fresno State OF Aaron Judge (1s) said he is “real confident” he will sign soon, according to Bryan Hoch. Judge took batting practice with the team yesterday in Oakland. Slot money for the 32nd overall pick is $1,677,100, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he took straight slot money like Jagielo.
  • California HS LHP Ian Clarkin (1s) will travel to Tampa on Monday according to K. Levine-Flandrup, presumably to get his physical out of the way. The San Diego commit is slotted for a bit more than $1.65M, and I’m guessing he’ll sign close to the deadline for more than that.
  • California HS SS Gosuke Katoh (2) will also travel to Tampa on Monday after graduating tomorrow, according to KL-F. Yesterday it was reported Katoh said he “should be a Yankee by next week.” Slot money is just under $846k, but I think he winds up with less.
  • Texas HS OF Kendall Coleman (11) has agreed to terms pending a physical, reports KL-F. No word on the money yet, but every pick after the tenth round is slotted for $100k. Anything in excess of that counts against the draft pool. Coleman is a bat-first prospect with power from the left side.
  • Hoch has a handful of late-round signings to pass along: San Diego State RHP Phil Walby (12), Sam Houston State LHP Caleb Smith (14), Northwest Mississippi JuCo CF Jordan Barnes (15), Kent State IF Derek Toadvine (22), Appalachian State RHP Sam Agnew-Wieland (24), Fresno State C Trent Garrison (28), and Appalachian State IF Hector Crespo (34). No word on the money for any of these, but it’s safe to assume it doesn’t exceed the $100k slot.

All of the team’s draft selections can be seen at Baseball America, and you can keep track of the draft pool situation with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

Eric Jagielo and the fast track

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(AP)
(AP)

It’s been a long, long time since the Yankees drafted a college bat like Eric Jagielo. The Notre Dame third baseman is the first college position player they’ve selected in the first round since taking Florida State outfielder John Ford-Griffin — he was considered more of a second round talent because of injury concerns and a lack of power — with the 23rd overall pick in 2001. You have to go all the way back to Thurman Munson in 1968 for the last time the Yankees landed a slam dunk first round college bat.

Baseball America and Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Jagielo as the 16th and 26th best prospect in the draft in their final rankings, putting him firmly in the back-half of the first round mix. To get an idea of the skillset it takes to be considered a back-half of the first round college bat, here’s a snippet of Baseball America‘s pre-draft scouting report (subs. req’d):

He combines the ability to hit for power and average like few players available … He has shown more discipline, made more contact and done a better job of using the whole field. He now projects to hit for a solid average with at least plus power. While he’s a below-average runner and his agility and reactions still need improvement, scouts believe Jagielo will be able to stick at the hot corner. His actions, hands and arm all are fine for the position. He played all four corner positions for the Fighting Irish, not becoming a full-time third baseman until mid-2012.

Now here’s a piece of what Keith Law (subs. req’d) had to say:

Jagielo is one of the more polished college bats in the class, valuable even though he doesn’t have the explosive tools of Hunter Renfroe or huge raw power of Kris Bryant … In the field, he’s an adequate defender at third with arm strength, agile enough to stay at the position even though he’s going to be among the bigger third basemen in pro ball. I could see him as a 20-homer guy with mid-.300s OBPs who plays solid-average defense in a few years, which would make him an everyday guy who could make an All-Star Game or two.

By all accounts, or at least the accounts of people much more informed than me, Jagielo is a  legitimate two-way player who projects to hit for average and power in addition to contributing on defense. Will he be Scott Rolen? No. Can he be an above-average third baseman in the big leagues? Sure, if he develops as expected. That part is always tricky.

Because it’s been so long since the Yankees drafted a college bat like Jagielo, I really have no idea how they will handle him now that he’s agreed to a straight slot signing bonus and is ready to begin his pro career. The easy answer is an assignment to Short Season Staten Island before starting next year with High-A Tampa and hopefully finishing it with Double-A Trenton, which was the path Griffin was on until being dealt to the Athletics in the three-way Jeff Weaver/Ted Lilly trade at the 2002 deadline.

Griffin’s career started more than a decade ago, however. The Yankees have changed development personnel and stuff since then, and Jagielo is a better pro prospect now than Griffin was then. There’s not a one-size-fits-all development plan for college bats, which is why I wonder if Jagielo’s polish could earn him an assignment to High-A Tampa this year — first a few days with the Rookie GCL Yanks (who play in Tampa) as a tune-up after not playing since late-May, then a move to Tampa where they conveniently lack an everyday third baseman. It would be a true fast track.

For what it’s worth, the Yankees assigned Rob Refsnyder, another polished college hitter, straight to Low-A Charleston after selecting him in the fifth round last year, so jumping a college bat over the short season leagues into full season ball right away isn’t something the organization is unwilling to do. My general rule of thumb is if you take a college hitter in the first round and can’t send him to High-A ball to start his first full season as a pro, you took the wrong guy. Jagielo can definitely start next year with Tampa, but I wonder if the Yankees like his bat enough and think he’s polished enough to make the jump right now rather than wait until next April, especially since he mashed with wood bats in the Cape Cod League last summer. We’ll have an answer relatively soon.

2013 Draft: Yankees sign fourth rounder Tyler Wade

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Via Jim Callis: The Yankees have signed fourth round pick Tyler Wade for a $371,300 bonus. That is exactly slot money for the 134th overall pick. Earlier this week we heard the high school shortstop from Southern California was on his way to Tampa, presumably for his physical.

Wade, 18, is a “is a live-bodied athlete with above-average speed … a handsy swing and a line-drive approach, and he could become an average hitter down the road” according to Baseball America (subs. req’d). They also say he “impressed with his defense at shortstop, showing enough range, actions and above-average arm strength to give him a chance to stick at the position.” Wade needs to add some muscle to his 6-foot-1, 175 lb. frame to avoid getting the bat knocked out of his hands by better fastballs, however.

Keep tabs on the team’s draft pool with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

2013 Draft: Yankees sign first rounder Eric Jagielo

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2:06pm: The Yankees have announced the signing, so it’s a done deal. Jagielo came through the physical fine and his contract is official. It is the fifth largest bonus they have ever given a drafted player, behind Andrew Brackman, Ian Kennedy, Slade Heathcott, and Drew Henson.

11:31am: Via Jim Callis: The Yankees and first round pick Eric Jagielo have agreed to a $1,839,400 signing bonus, which is exactly slot for the 26th overall pick. Yesterday we heard the Notre Dame third baseman was already in Tampa, presumably to take his physical. The contract is not official yet, but it shouldn’t be long before it’s done.

Jagielo, who just turned 21 last month, hit .388/.500/.633 with nine homers and more walks (35) than strikeouts (33) in 56 games for the Fighting Irish this spring. The book on him is that he’s a left-handed hitter who projects to hit for both power and average at the next level while sticking at the hot corner. He has experience at first base and in the corner outfield spots as well, but they are fallback options at this point. I assume Jagielo will begin his pro career with Short Season Staten Island when the season starts next week.

Keep tabs on the team’s draft pool with our 2013 Draft Pool page.

An interview with Ken Singleton

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Ken Singletons

You may have seen him play back in the ’70s or early 80’s. Chances are, you most certainly have heard him on the YES network. Please welcome Ken Singleton!

Matt Warden: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me! I know everyone here at River Ave Blues will be thrilled!

Ken Singleton: Sure thing. I always enjoy talking baseball.

MW: Alright, great, let’s get started with this. I was checking out some of your career stats on Baseball-Reference.com. I noticed you spent time with the Mets, Expos, and Orioles. One team was conspicuously not on that list. How’d you wind up announcing for the Yankees?

KS: That’s a very interesting question. I was working with the Expos doing their radio and TV games. Mike McCarthy was the executive producer for the Yankees on MSG. I noticed that whenever we came to NY, he would sit in the back of the booth and not say very much. When the time came for me to leave the Expos he wanted me to work for MSG.

He paired me with Jim Kaat. We were supposed to do a demo tape of three innings of the World Series. After about one inning, he said that was enough and that we were a perfect fit, so he had to pitch it to George Steinbrenner down in Tampa. When I met George, I would say he wasn’t completely enthusiastic about the idea since I had never played for the Yankees. I remember his own words were, “Our fans aren’t going to like you because of all the bad things you used to do to us.” [Laughs] I explained to him I was only doing my job and he responded that I had done it very well which I took as a compliment. But I still wasn’t sure.

I went home to talk to my wife about the interview. One thing that George knew though, was that I was originally from New York so I guess he took that into consideration. I ended up getting the job and 17 years later, I’m still here. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The Yankees have been great whether with MSG or with YES. I’ve always said that outside of playing, this is the best job you could have. It’s worked out really well.

MW: Commentating for the Yankees is one thing. Playing for them is another thing altogether. Do you think you would thrived as a player under George Steinbrenner’s regime?

KS: You know what, I don’t know. I’m not sure. I mean if other guys could do it, I’m sure I could have too. There were some very good teams in those days. Of course, we were one of their rivals as George pointed out. Yeah, I could see where he was very demanding. That first year, doing the games on TV for New York, I just did what I had always done. I prepared just as I had in the past as player. George never said anything bad about it and I’ve gotten a lot of favorable feedback around the city. I think I would have fit in fine as a player because I would have prepared well and then I would have gone out and done my job.

MW: Do you feel that some players tend to fit in better in New York than others? Is the NY media lime light overstated sometimes?

KS: I think there is something to that. With all the media attention, there are certain players that handle it better than others. You see it from time to time — players that have done well, and others who come to NY and don’t do quite as well. There are writers and opinions everywhere. It does happen. You need to have a thick skin. You need to go out there and do your job as best as possible and let things fall where they may. For me, personally, having grown up in NY, I knew what to expect as a visitor. That’s just how it is. It can be a demanding place. I’ve mentioned on the air that NY isn’t just competing against everyone else, but their own history as well. And their history is unmatched.

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Yanks no match for A’s; drop series opener 6-4

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Source: FanGraphs

The final score is very misleading. The Athletics completely outplayed the Yankees both in the field and at the plate on Tuesday night, though some late garbage time runs make it seem like it was a fair fight. Maybe the O’Neill Theory will be in affect tomorrow, though I wouldn’t hold my breath with this offense. Let’s recap the 6-4 loss:

  • No Ace: For the fourth time in his last five starts, CC Sabathia allowed at least four runs. He’s up to a very average 4.07 ERA (3.87 FIP) on the season, which is the best way to describe his year: average. Sabathia gave up a leadoff homer to Coco Crisp and a three run homer to Derek Norris, raising his season total to 14 dingers allowed, the fourth most in baseball. He struck out three and walked one in six innings of six-run ball, and it’s becoming more and more clear with each passing start that he’s no longer the pitcher he was even two years ago. That’s a scary proposition for a team for a team unable to win with anything less than a very good pitching performance.
  • Blown Chance: Bartolo Colon came into this game with six walks allowed on the entire season, but he walked two of the first four men he faced to setup a bases loaded, one-out situation for New York. Rather than capitalize, the corpse of Kevin Youkilis popped up into foul territory and Lyle Overbay flew out to end the inning. Needless to say, that inning hurt. Scoring a run or two there changes everything and forces the A’s to play from behind before they even bat.
  • Late Runs: For the first seven innings, the Yankees did nothing. They put three men on first from the second through seventh innings before singles from Mark Teixeira and Vernon Wells plated a pair of runs in the eighth. Teixeira singled in two more with two outs in the ninth, and Travis Hafner kinda sorta almost came close to tying the game when he hit a ball to the warning track with a man on base for the final out. It was good to see some signs of life late, but unfortunately they were too little, far too late.
  • Left0vers: Preston Claiborne and Joba Chamberlain each threw scoreless innings in relief in Sabathia … the wrap-around 9-1-2-3 portion of the lineup went a combined 8-for-17 while the other four spots went 2-for-20 … Brett Gardner extended his hitting streak to eight games with a first inning single … Robinson Cano went 2-for-3 with two walks, which is hopefully a sign that he’s coming out of his slump and ready to go on a tear. They need him … the A’s had to use their top three relievers in what appeared to be a blowout early on, so I guess that’s a consolation prize.

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some other stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The Orioles won while the Rays beat the Red Sox, so the Yankees remain one back of Boston, one up on Baltimore, and two up on Tampa Bay in the loss column. Phil Hughes and Dan Straily is your pitching matchup for game two of this three-game series on Wednesday night.

Mesa, Sanchez, and Cave all homer in wins

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RHP Mark Montgomery was placed on the Triple-A Scranton DL for an unknown reason, reports John Sadak. Josh Norris hears it is “not serious.”

Triple-A Scranton Game One (6-5 win over Buffalo in seven innings) makeup of yesterday’s rainout

  • RF Thomas Neal: 3-4, 2 R, 1 RBI
  • LF Zoilo Almonte: 2-4, 1 R
  • 3B Ronnie Mustelier: 1-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI
  • CF Melky Mesa: 1-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI — left the game with an apparent shoulder injury after crashing into the wall making a catch … he actually stayed in the game and hit the homer after that, but eventually he came out
  • RHP Ivan Nova: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 5/2 GB/FB — 56 of 88 pitches were strikes (64%) … typical Nova, really
  • RHP Chase Whitley: 2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 4/0 GB/FB — 22 of 36 pitches were strikes (61%)

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