River Avenue Blues

Mesa & Almonte homer, Wang dominates in win

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Triple-A Scranton (9-1 win over Durham)

  • RF Thomas Neal: 1-5, 1 R, 2 K
  • CF Melky Mesa: 3-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 K — six hits in his last 19 at-bats (.316)
  • LF Zoilo Almonte: 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K — second straight game with a homer
  • 3B Ronnie Mustelier: 3-5, 1 R, 1 CS
  • RHP Chien-Ming Wang: 7 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 9/4 GB/FB — 57 of 87 pitches were strikes (66%) … one run allowed in his last three starts (19.1 innings)
  • RHP Dellin Betances: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 14 of 23 pitches were strikes (61%)
  • RHP Mark Montgomery: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HB, 0/1 GB/FB — 14 of 23 pitches were strikes (61%)

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Update: Chris Stewart leaves game with dehydration

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9:47pm: Stewart left the game with dehydration, the team announced. I’m guessing he’ll be fine for tomorrow.

8:59pm: Chris Stewart left tonight’s game between the fourth and fifth innings for an unknown reason. He hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth and there didn’t appear to be anything wrong, but he has been battling that nagging groin issue in recent weeks. Stay tuned for any updates.

Yankees outright David Huff to Triple-A

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Left-hander David Huff has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Scranton, the team announced. The Yankees claimed him off waivers last weekend before designating him for assignment to clear room on the roster for Joba Chamberlain when he was activated off the DL.

Huff, 28, allowed one run in his only inning of work for the Yankees and allowed six runs in four big league innings total this season. He owns a career 5.41 ERA (4.88 FIP) in 289.1 innings, but almost all of those have come as a starter. Huff’s days in the rotation are over and he’ll continue to work out of the bullpen for the first time in his career with the Triple-A squad.

Game 55: Start a Streak

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(Elsa/Getty)
(Elsa/Getty)

The Yankees snapped their hideous five-game losing streak last night thanks to a big outing from CC Sabathia and positive returns from Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira. It was a very good win, no doubt about it, and now it’s time to build off that win and string a few more together. Leaving the losing in May, start fresh in June. Here’s the lineup Joe Girardi is sending out there against southpaw Felix Doubront…

  1. CF Brett Gardner
  2. DH Kevin Youkilis
  3. 2B Robinson Cano
  4. 1B Mark Teixeira
  5. LF Vernon Wells
  6. SS Jayson Nix
  7. 3B David Adams
  8. RF Ichiro Suzuki
  9. C Chris Stewart

And on the mound is right-hander Phil Hughes, who was a Red Sox fan growing up. Go figure.

It’s another hot one in New York, but things should cool down a bit tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm ET and can be seen on FOX. Enjoy your Tim McCarver and Joe Buck broadcast.

2013 Draft: Hunter Green

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The 2013 amateur draft is less than one week away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Hunter Green | LHP

Background
Green is a Kentucky kid who attends Warren East High School in Bowling Green. He led the Raiders to a regional championship as a sophomore and is committed to Kentucky.

Scouting Report
Listed at a very projectable 6-foot-4 and 180 lbs., Green has been inconsistent this spring but has looked like a slam-dunk first rounder at times. His fastball has run anywhere from 87-95 as a senior, and he’s settled into the 90-93 mph range as the weather warmed up in the recent weeks. A low-80s changeup is his top secondary offering and advanced for a high schooler, but his slurvy upper-70s breaking ball is still trying to decide if it wants to be a curveball or slider. When he stays on top of the ball, its a downer curve that misses bats. Green needs to iron out his command and mechanics, but he gets good extension from a low three-quarters arm slot. There’s some more video on YouTube.

Miscellany
Baseball America and Keith Law (subs. req’d) rank Green as the 31st and 51st best prospect in the draft in their latest rankings, respectively. In his latest mock draft, Law mentioned the southpaw is one of several prep pitchers the Yankees are looking at for one of their three first round picks (26th, 32nd, 33rd). Green is a classic high-risk, high-reward pitcher with a big projectable frame and promising but raw stuff. He’s done his best work in the recent weeks leading up to the draft, so there’s some helium as well.

2013 Draft: MLB.com’s Mock Draft v2.0

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In his second mock draft, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has the Astros taking Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray with the first overall pick in next week’s draft. Stanford RHP Mark Appel and San Diego 3B Kris Bryant fall into place and go second and third to the Cubs and Rockies, respectively.

Mayo projects the Yankees to take Stanford OF Austin Wilson (26th), New Jersey HS LHP Rob Kaminsky (32nd), and Oklahoma HS C Jon Denney (33rd) with their three first round picks. The Yankees have been connected to all three guys in recent weeks, and you can click the links for my write-ups. I don’t love Wilson, but that would be a pretty great haul in the first round. Three real high upside guys including a sorely needed left-hander.

Other Mock Drafts: Baseball America (v1.0, v2.0, 3.0) Keith Law (v1.0, v2.0), and MLB.com (v1.0).

2013 Draft: Kyle Serrano

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The 2013 amateur draft is less than one week away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Kyle Serrano | RHP

Background
Serrano attends Farragut High School in the Knoxville suburbs. His father Dave is a long-time college head and pitching coach who currently calls the shots at Tennessee after stints at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. Kyle missed most of his junior year with a cracked rib and is committed to (you guessed it) Tennessee.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 lbs., Serrano broke out in a huge way this spring. He generates easy 90-94 mph velocity with a clean and compact delivery that he repeats very well. An upper-70s/low-80s power curveball is a true out pitch for him, with a sharp bite and hard finish at the bottom of the zone. It’s one of the best breaking balls in the entire draft, college or high school. Serrano also throws a very advanced changeup, especially compared to other high schoolers. That isn’t much of a surprise given his father’s reputation for teaching the pitch. He throws strikes and has now stuff, so the only real knock on Serrano is his size. That frame doesn’t lend itself to much projection.

Miscellany
Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America ranked Serrano at the 21st and 35th best prospect in the draft class, respectively. For what it’s worth, Law said Serrano is one of several prep pitchers the Yankees are monitoring in his latest mock draft. They have three first round picks (26th, 32nd, 33rd) and plenty of draft pool money to throw around. Serrano was considered unsignable coming into the year, but his stuff now lines up with his asking price and he seems likely to turn pro if drafted high enough. There’s an awful lot to like here — growing up around the game at a reasonably high level should make adjusting to pro ball less of a concern — even though 6-foot-1 righties usually aren’t a popular demographic.