Yanks’ sixth pick #170 overall
By · CommentsWith their 5th round pick, the Yanks’ selected Chris Smith, LF, Centennial HS (Ca.)
(not finding a picture with a name like that)
Scouting Report: Can’t find anything on him. Baseball America rated him the 105th best prospect in the state of California though. Here’s his scouting video.
My Take: Dunno enough to say. Maybe he’s a tooled up uber-athlete like Austin Jackson. Seems like a little bit of an overdraft.
Outlook: Rookie level GCL I guess.
Looks like they’re going one more round. Those cooky front office execs.
Update: This boy can hit. His line this year: .708-.744-1.361-2.105.
Yanks’ fifth pick, #140 overall
By · CommentsWith their 4th round pick, the Yanks’ choose Corban Joseph, SS, Franklin HS (Tn.)
Scouting Report: Hits for power and average to all fields, but he’s an offense first shortstop and will likely have to change positions. He’s got a big wiry frame, so there’s plenty of room to add strength. Fast, but not a burner. Here’s his scouting video.
My Take: I’m intrigued. If the kid can hit then the kid can hit. Like I said for the Adams’ pick, the Yanks need middle infielders.
Outlook: Not sure how his signability looks, but if they lock him up he’ll head to the Rookie level GCL.
Yanks’ fourth pick, #106 overall
By · CommentsWith their third round pick, the Yanks selected David Adams, 2B, Virginia
Scouting Report: He’s a grinder, gritty, hard-nosed, all that stuff. Decent pop (10-15 homers a year), but he excels at making contact. Not fast for a middle infielder but he can still steal some bags. Great makeup, kind of guy who just gets the job done. Here’s his scouting video.
My Take: I like the pick, good value in this round. The Yanks desperately need some middle infielders.
Outlook: I’m guessing he’ll head to Staten Island later in the month. Shouldn’t be tough to sign.
Yanks’ third pick, #75 overall
By · CommentsWith their second round pick, the Yanks’ selected Scott Bittle, RHP, Mississippi
Scouting Report: Wrote him up here, so I’ll refer you to that (scroll all the way to the bottom). Here’s his scouting video.
My Take: I like the pick. Should move very fast as a power reliever. The cutter should eat wood bats alive.
Outlook: If the Yanks choose to be aggressive with him, they’ll send him to High-A Tampa for the rest of the year. Otherwise he’ll torment the NY-Penn League with Staten Island.
Yanks’ second pick, #44 overall
By · CommentsWith their second pick, the Yanks selected Jeremy Bleich, LHP, Stanford
Scouting Report: Neither BA nor Keith Law nor MLB have a report on the guy, so we’re out of luck. Here’s his video.
My Take: Don’t like the pick, it’s an overdraft. Can’t even find the kid on BA’s top 200 list.
Outlook: Bah. Staten Island I guess.
The site’s a bit overloaded right now, apparently walkoffs and draft broadcasts don’t mix well. Please be patient if the site loads slow, don’t hit refresh over and over, it only makes it worse. Use this thread until the next post is up.
Update: Got a scouting report: 88-91 with movement, good change and curve. Missed a good chunk of the season with an elbow strain.
ByThat is all. · (21) ·
Yanks’ first pick, #28 overall
By · CommentsWith their first round pick, the Yanks selected Gerrit Cole, RHP, Orange Lutheran HS
Scouting Report: Big fastball, 96-97 consistently and touching triple digits, and there’s some projection left. His two seamer comes in a little slower, at 93-94. Sharp breaking ball that’s somewhere between a slider and curve, but it needs improvement. Decent changeup that fades. Not the prettiest delivery, but he’s got time to work on it. Here’s his scouting video, and another clip from ESPN:
My Take: I love the pick. He was the best player on the board, and the Boras factor certainly helped. Best high school righty to come out of SoCal since Phil Hughes said Baseball America. All of the concern about his makeup didn’t pop up until people found out he signed with Boras, so I’m going to reserve judgment on that until I learn more.
Outlook: Signing the kid will probably go right down to the August 15th deadline, so he might not get more than a handful of innings in the Rookie level GCL, if any at all.
The site’s a bit overloaded right now, apparently day games and draft broadcasts don’t mix well. Please be patient if the site loads slow, don’t hit refresh over and over, it only makes it worse. Use this thread until the Yanks pick again.
ByJohn Manuel of Baseball America notes that the talk of the Tigers selecting Gerrit Cole has stopped. And exhale… · (280) ·
Game 60: Hip, hip…
By · Comments…Jorge!
It’s the return of Jorge Posada, and for once, the Yanks have their opening day lineup on the field. Wait. What’s that? They don’t? Oh no. Now what?
Well, Jason Giambi is out for the second straight day with a foot problem. If this develops into another bout of plantar fasciitis, I’d probably write a serious post suggesting that the Yanks sign Barry Bonds. For now, we’re just holding our collective breaths.
Meanwhile, on the mound today is Chien-Ming Wang, and he really needs a good start. After starting the season with a 6-0 record, a 3.00 ERA and 32 strike outs in 45 innings, Wang had an alarming May. He went 0-2 with a 5.67 ERA and did not nail down a win in five starts for the first time in his career. In 33.1 innings, he has walked 16 while striking out just 13, and his mechanics seem a bit out of whack. Hopefully, he can start June off on the right note.
Game time is 1:05 p.m., and Mike will have draft coverage above this post as it unfolds later this afternoon.
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Betemit 1B
Cabrera CF
Wang P
Site Notes: Even though it’s relatively early, we’ve got a lot of content up on site so far today. Be sure to check out Mike’s early draft coverage, my thoughts on a Steve Goldman article and news concerning Brian Cashman’s future.
Cashman’s future on the agenda
By · CommentsBrian Cashman is heading down to Tampa this week for a bunch of meetings at the Yankee home office, and on the agenda will be a discussion about Cash’s Yankee future. Ed Price fills us in:
Cashman flew to Tampa yesterday for MLB’s First-Year Player Draft, which begins today. Asked if he wants to keep Cashman and if Cashman wants to stay, Steinbrenner said, “That’s the impression I get.”
Cashman, the team’s GM since 1998, likes to say he is focused only on this season and not his future, and some around baseball wonder if he wants to come back. Three years ago he deliberated for a couple of weeks before working out a new deal with increased authority.
At that time, two people who know Cashman well but asked not to be named because they were discussing his status, said Cashman was interested enough in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ GM opening to explore the housing market there.
When his contract is up after this season, one of the people said, the decision will be even harder for Cashman.
So Price presents something of a conflicting point of view. On the one hand, he has Hank Steinbrenner’s clearly stating that Brian Cashman is wanted by the Yanks and wants to stay with the Yanks. On the other, he has a few anonymous sources stating that Cashman could explore open GM opportunities in Philadelphia or Seattle.
While Cashman is as divisive a figure among Yankees today as anyone else, we would rather see Cashman stick with the team and continue his drive to build from within while investing in smart free agents. It’s a work in progress, and if the Yanks know what’s good for their long-term success, they should allow Cashman and his baseball ops team to stick together.
