River Avenue Blues

Hot .GIFs: Rondon’s slider & Kahnle’s fastball

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It seemed a bit odd when the Yankees added left-hander Francisco Rondon to the 40-man roster early in the offseason, keeping him away from the Rule 5 Draft. The 24-year-old pitched to a 3.93 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 42 walks in 71 innings across three levels last year, mostly with Double-A Trenton. Solid, but he wasn’t talked about a top (or even good) prospect and didn’t seem 40-man worthy.

Rondon threw two scoreless innings in this afternoon’s game, allowing a walk and a single while striking out two. As you can see, the kid has a pretty awesome slider. Downright CC Sabathia-esque, if I may. After seeing that, it’s easy to understand why they added him to the 40-man now, that breaking ball gives him at least lefty specialist potential. Some more clips of the slider after the jump. Make sure you click to embiggen.

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Girardi says Hughes may not be ready for start of season

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This isn’t the most surprising news in the world, but Joe Girardi told reporters this afternoon that Phil Hughes might not be ready for the start of the season due to a bulging disk in his back. “It’s possible,” said the skipper to Chad Jennings. “I think it’s too early to tell that, though.”

Hughes, 26, completed his round of anti-inflammatory medication and is working out in a pool these days. He isn’t quite ready to pick up a ball and there simply might not be enough time left in Spring Training to fully stretch him out for the season. If Hughes doesn’t make his first Grapefruit League start in about two weeks, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to start for the Yankees the first time through the rotation in April.

Hot .GIF Action: Nik Turley

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It was not a good Grapefruit League debut for left-hander Nik Turley. Not at all. The team’s 11th best prospect allowed five of the six batters he faced to reach base — in his defense, some hilarious defense contributed to that — and all five came around to score. The 23-year-old allowed those five runs (four earned) on three hits and a walk in just one-third of an inning. It was pretty obvious he was nervous given how he was overthrowing and wild. It happens.

Despite the poor showing, Turley still managed to break out a few .GIFable pitches, like the curveball you see above. He used both the curve and changeup in addition to the regular fastball, especially once all hell started to break loose and outs were needed. More .GIFs after the jump, and you can click them all for a larger view.

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Spring Training Game Thread: The Next Pettitte

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(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Left-hander Nik Turley — number 11 on my preseason top 30 prospects list — gets the start for the Yankees against the Orioles at GMS Field this afternoon. The big southpaw has been getting slapped with the “next Andy Pettitte” tag for a few years now, but it’s a) inaccurate, b) completely unfair, and c) a convenient game thread topic. Pettitte was a big league rotation mainstay when he was Turley’s age (23) and he also threw quite a bit harder. It might be more accurate to say he’s the “next age 35-40 Pettitte” because he’s nothing like the young Andy.

That doesn’t make Turley a bad prospect though, not at all. He’s a true three-pitch pitcher who can use either his fastball, curveball, and changeup in any count, and not many 23-year-olds can do that. I’m not sure if we’ll see all three pitches today since it’s only his first outing of the spring, but I guess we’ll find out. Without looking through all the rosters, I’m guessing Turley is the only 50th round draft pick currently on a 40-man roster, which speaks to his development as a prospect. He’ll made his Grapefruit League debut today and if all goes well, he’ll be a big league option sometime in 2014. Here’s the lineup…

  1. LF Brett Gardner
  2. SS Jayson Nix
  3. 2B Robinson Cano
  4. DH Juan Rivera
  5. 1B Dan Johnson
  6. RF Zoilo Almonte
  7. CF Slade Heathcott — fun!
  8. C Chris Stewart
  9. 3B Corban Joseph — slightly less fun!

And on the mound is Turley, the big lefty from Southern California. Here is the day’s second string, courtesy of Byran Hoch and Chad Jennings.

Available Pitchers: RHP Matt Daley, RHP Preston Claiborne, LHP Josh Spence, RHP Cody Eppley, RHP Mark Montgomery, and RHP Tommy Kahnle are all scheduled to pitch.

Available Position Players: C Frankie Cervelli, 1B Kyle Roller, 2B Jose Pirela, SS Cito Culver, 3B Walt Ibarra, LF Ramon Flores, CF Adonis Garcia, RF Tyler Austin, and DH Kyle Higashioka will all come off the bench.

This afternoon’s game is scheduled to begin at 1:05pm ET and can be seen on YES and MLB.tv (no blackout restrictions). Enjoy.

Joba and his non-future with the Yankees

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(AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)
(AP Photo/Scott Iskowitz)

I thought we were beyond this. The whole “should Joba Chamberlain be a starter or reliever?” debate died a slow and ugly death a few years back, after the Yankees took matters into their own hands and officially declared the young right-hander a full-time reliever. There would be no more bouncing back and forth, no more Joba Rules, no more pitch counts, nothing. He will be a reliever and that’s what he’s done since.

Yesterday, despite not being asked any questions about the topic, Joba told reporters he still believes he has what it takes to be a starter in this league. Here is his full quote, courtesy of Mark Feinsand…

“This is probably going to spark a bunch of stuff and (PR director Jason Zillo) is going to be mad at me, but it’s one of those things where it’s like, do you think you have the capability to start? Yes. Do I have four pitches that I can throw for a strike? Yes. Do I have two plus pitches in the bullpen that I can throw at any time? Yes.

“I guess I’m trying to have my cake and eat it, too. I feel like I’m good enough to do both. I’ve proven that I can do both. Whatever it is, if I close, I want to be one or the other. I’ve been in the role of in the bullpen for a while, but am I confident that if I got the chance to start again somewhere – wherever that’s at – I could do it? Without a doubt. I just have to focus on this year and what I can do to improve to help this team win, continue to try to win ballgames for them.”

There are two things going on here, the first of which is pretty simple: of course Joba thinks he can start. Pretty much every reliever thinks he can start, especially relievers who are still a few years away from their 30th birthday. He’s confident in his talent and believes he can handle a more important role, which is perfectly normal. It would be a little disappointing if Joba came out and said he’s content as a reliever and doesn’t think he’s capable of pitching in someone’s rotation. You always want your players striving for more, to be better.

Secondly, free agency is looming and starters make an awful lot more money than their bullpen brethren. It’s not close either. The biggest free agent reliever contract in baseball history (Jonathan Papelbon) is nearly identical to the third largest free agent starter contract given out this past winter (Edwin Jackson), nevermind in baseball history. Being a starter pays much more because they’re simply more important. You know this, I know this, Joba and his agent knows this.

With the obvious caveat that there is still eight months worth of baseball to be played between now and free agency, it seems very unlikely Chamberlain will be re-signing with New York after the season. That makes me sad. He’s made it very obvious we wants to start and the Yankees won’t give him that opportunity. That last part is very clear. Ivan Nova and his 4.41 ERA in 62 career starts is in camp competing for a rotation spot this spring while Joba and his 4.18 ERA in 43 career starts is not. Think about that. Nova has gotten 19 more starts (and counting!) to prove himself than Joba.

Anyway, some team is going to give Chamberlain a chance to start next year. He’s still young enough (only 27) with good stuff and former top prospect shine, which is the kind of package that typically has fans clamoring for their team to swoop in. I’m guessing Joba will get a contract like Carlos Villanueva’s (two years, $10M) with the promise that he’ll compete for a rotation spot in camp with the bullpen as a fallback option. Maybe his quasi-hometown Royals will give him that deal, or maybe it’ll be Padres and their big ballpark. I could see the Rays pulling off a move like that, the Rangers as well. Either way, Joba’s days with the Yankees are numbered because there is still, six years later, a difference of opinion about his role.

Open Thread: 2/26 Camp Notes

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Rained all over Florida today. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Rained all over Florida today. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

The Yankees lost to the Phillies this afternoon, their third consecutive defeat in Grapefruit League play. Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-3 with a stolen base while Mark Teixeira (double), Travis Hafner (single), and Matt Diaz (single) all had one knock apiece. David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain both make their Spring Training debuts with relatively uneventful (and scoreless!) innings.

The MVP of the day was catcher J.R. Murphy, who came off the bench to hit a two-run homer to dead center and then a double off the wall in almost the exact same spot. On the other hand, right-hander Zach Nuding gets LVP honors by allowing two dingers — including this monster shot by Domonic Brown — and three runs in an inning of work. Oh well, shake it off. It’s only February. Here’s the box score and here’s the rest from Tampa…

  • As always, Chad Jennings has the workout assignments for the guys who didn’t play in this afternoon’s game. Andy Pettitte threw live batting practice while Hiroki Kuroda and Boone Logan each threw a side session.
  • Within that same piece, Jennings notes that Joe Girardi had no update on Phil Hughes (bulging disk), who continues to work out in a pool. No news is good news, I guess.
  • Following the game, Joba told reporters he still thinks he can be a starter. “Do I think I have the capability to start? Yes. Do I have four pitches that I can throw for a strike? Yes,” said the right-hander. No doubt that’s on his mind with free agency nine months away. [Andy McCullough & Erik Boland]
  • Nik Turley will start against the Orioles at home in George M. Steinbrenner Field tomorrow afternoon, and that game will be broadcast on YES.

Here is your open thread for the evening. The Rangers, Islanders, and Nets are all playing tonight, so talk about those games or anything else here. Enjoy.