River Avenue Blues

Yankees sign undrafted free agent Daniel Aldrich

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Via Kendall Rogers, the Yankees have signed College of Charleston outfielder Daniel Aldrich as an undrafted free agent for at least $150k. Regardless of the final amount, anything given to him in excess of $100k counts against this year’s draft pool. The Yankees had more than $400k in pool money left over after first rounder Ty Hensley signed a below-slot deal.

Aldrich, 21, was a redshirt sophomore this spring, so he’s not the typical college senior that usually signs as an undrafted free agent. The left-handed hitter was one of the best power hitters in the country over the last two years, participating in the College Homerun Derby twice and winning in 2011. Aldrich absolutely mashed with wood bats in the Cape Cod League this summer, hitting ten homers in just 30 games. He was a .315/.389/.651 hitter during his college career. Here’s some video.

Most undrafted free agents are minor league filler, but Aldrich actually offers some upside due to his power. No word on his defense, but he pitched in high school and probably has a decent arm. The downside is that he’s a hacker, striking out 116 times in 121 college games with a 48/6 K/BB on the Cape this summer. The Yankees had draft pool money to spare and have had a bit of success with CofC kids (most notably Brett Gardner) though, and Aldrich is about as good a prospect as you’ll find in the undrafted free agent ranks.

Derek Lowe, time off, and adjustments

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(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Last night’s win over the Rangers was headlined by Nick Swisher’s grand slam and David Phelps’ impressive return to the rotation, but new pickup Derek Lowe capped things off with a four-inning save to spare his bullpen mates. The veteran right-hander was flat out released by the Indians last week after two disastrous months — seriously, look how bad they were — but he made a strong first impression on the Yankees’ faithful with his sinker, changeup, and slider in the four scoreless frames. It was his first save since 2001.

As much as we want to think that a simple change of scenery can lead to improved performance, that almost never is the case. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes, and prior to yesterday’s game Lowe spoke about the work he did during the 12 days between being designated for assignment by Cleveland and signing with the Yankees. I trimmed some of the fat out of quotes, but otherwise they come courtesy of Chad Jennings and Brad Lewis …

“(Getting designated for assignment) was actually a blessing in a way to be able to go back down to Fort Myers and work with the guy I normally always work with and get straightened out. I called (agent Scott Boras) last Wednesday and said, ‘I feel good enough to be able to go back and pitch the way I should.’

“When you lose your deception, you’re in a world of hurt. I had to get back to hiding the ball better … I’m a huge tinkerer. I have done it my whole career. I try to fix things mechanically, and one little tinker turns into two, turns in to — basically, you almost get lost. I’ve done it my whole career. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t … I literally said, ‘I need a repeatable delivery.’ There were some obvious glaring things I even knew that I was doing, that (since-fired Indians pitching coach) Scott Radinsky knew I was doing, but the side sessions weren’t long enough to fix it … It was great to be able to spend two or three hours really understanding what you were doing wrong and how to correct it … I’ve always been a tinkerer, so it doesn’t take a long time. It takes a good two or three days of hard work getting back right, looking at video and realizing what you have to do.”

Lowe pounded the zone last night, throwing first pitch strikes to 11 of the 14 batters he faced (79%) and a strike with 33 of his 44 pitches (75%). Only thrice did he get into a two-ball count and only once a three-ball count. Throwing strikes was a bit of a problem during his two-month slump with the Indians (only 60% strikes during the 60.1 IP sample, league average is around 67%), though that’s a chicken or the egg thing. Was he getting hit because he wasn’t locating well, or was he not throwing strikes because he was getting hit? Either way, Lowe didn’t run into that problem last night.

Thanks to the magic of PitchFX, we can take a quick look at where Lowe was locating the ball at various points this season. Here are his first nine starts with Cleveland, during which time he pitched to a 2.15 ERA (3.95 FIP) in 58.2 IP…

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the various pitch types and whatnot, right now I just want to focus on the location. Even the balls that were hit are relatively down in the zone and away from lefties, the kind of pitch very few hitters can really drive. During these nine starts, Lowe allowed just two homers and 13 doubles for a .084 ISO against. Here are his next dozen starts, that 8.80 ERA (4.87 FIP) disaster period…

Again, just looking at the location, Lowe left way more pitches up in the zone and towards the middle of the plate. He allowed six homers and 21 doubles during these 60.1 IP, good for a .151 ISO against. When you’re throwing a high-80s sinker that doesn’t sink, the pitch gets clobbered. Lowe was still a little up in the zone last night, but he did a better job of staying out of the middle of the plate.

Now obviously one four-inning appearance doesn’t mean much of anything, but it was certainly more encouraging than it would have been had he went out and gotten hammered again. Perhaps those adjustments last week helped him out, maybe it was being reunited with his former Dodgers catcher Russell Martin, or maybe it was just dumb luck and sample size noise. Either way, the Derek Lowe who was out there last night sure had the look of a potentially useful bullpen piece, the kind of guy who can soak up a few innings to spare the other relievers without letting the game get out of control.

PitchFX plots via Joe Lefkowitz’s site.

Feliciano throws a perfect inning in latest minor league rehab game

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In his latest minor league rehab appearance with the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League Yankees, left-hander Pedro Feliciano retired all three batters he faced — the first two on ground balls, the last on a called strike three. He struck out the side in his first rehab game four days ago. No word on his pitch count or anything, but I doubt it was more than 12-15 or so.

Feliciano, 36 in less than two weeks, is coming off major shoulder surgery. His 30-day rehab window expires on September 9th, so if all goes well between now and then, he’ll be able to rejoin the bullpen as the third lefty specialist once rosters expand. Obviously “all goes well” is a mighty big assumption at this point. The Yankees actually hold a $4.5M club option for Feliciano next season, but I can’t imagine they would pick given what we know right now. Let’s see him face some big league hitters first.

CC Sabathia’s bout with pitching mortality

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(AP Photo/David Goldman)

There are very few things in baseball that you can consider guarantees, but CC Sabathia logging oodles of innings has been one of them for the last decade. The big left-hander has thrown at least 180 innings every season since his rookie campaign in 2001 and at least 230 innings every year since 2007. That doesn’t even count his 86 postseason innings either. That elite level of durability is one of the reasons why the Yankees made Sabathia the wealthiest pitcher in baseball history after the 2008 season.

This season has been a slightly different story, however. Sabathia is currently on the DL with elbow stiffness, his second DL stint of the season. The first was due to a groin strain that cost him the minimum 15 days. CC came into the season with just two career DL visits to his credit — oblique strains in 2005 and 2006 — but he’s already doubled that total with roughly eight weeks left in the schedule. A short-term groin strain isn’t that big of a deal, but the elbow problem is. Any arm-related injury is a big deal.

“After Seattle, I was (nervous),” said Sabathia the other day. “I woke up the next day and my arm was kind of swollen, and I didn’t have any range of motion. So I was really nervous, honestly. So we had the test, and once the MRI came back clean, I just knew it was something I’ll have to deal with. I know there’s nothing structurally wrong with my arm.”

No range of motion? That just sounds scary. Sabathia fought the team’s decision to place him on the DL and insists that he will be on the mound August 24th in Cleveland, the first day he is eligible to return. That’s all well and good, but he is at the mercy of his body. If his elbow keeps barking, he won’t be pitching. I have to think finding out that your ace pitcher who has thrown nearly 1,000 more pitches than any other pitcher since his rookie year doesn’t have range of motion in his elbow had to be terrifying for the front office, especially after giving him a five-year, $122M contract this past offseason.

In addition to the injuries, Sabathia’s performance this season is a notch below his usually high standard. His strikeout (8.89 K/9 and 23.5 K%), walk (2.22 BB/9 and 5.9 BB%) and ground ball (48.5%) rates are more than fine, but his 3.56 ERA is his highest since 2005. He’s given up a few more homers than usual (0.95 HR/9 and 12.1 HR/FB%) and isn’t stranding as many baserunners as he has in recent years (70.1 LOB%). Oddly enough, left-handed hitters have hit him harder this year (.314 wOBA) than they have at any point since 2006. Sabathia usually owns same-side hitters with his slider. A 3.56 ERA (3.32 FIP) is still really really good, but it’s not what we’re used to seeing from the big guy.

Sabathia turned 32 last month, so he’s starting to get into his decline years. It’s safe to say that his best seasons are behind him, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to fall off a cliff and be a disaster going forward. He might just be really good instead of dominant. This recent elbow injury is a concern because pitching is such an unnatural act and Sabathia’s career workload is enormous. He’s been an absolute rock ever since the Yankees signed him, taking the ball every five days during the regular season and every four days in the postseason without missing a beat, and they absolutely did the right thing by playing it safe and placing him on the DL. All that wear-and-tear is likely to manifest itself at some point though, and this season may be a sign that the time to pay the piper is on the horizon.

Eric Chavez, fill-in superstar

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(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

It was just a footnote in last night’s win over the Rangers, but Eric Chavez hit another homer as he fills in for the injured Alex Rodriguez. The no-doubt blast — it cleared the home bullpen and landed in the right field bleachers — was his 13th homer of the season, raising his season line to .293/.350/.540 in 220 plate appearances. That looks an awful lot like the .275/.350/.496 batting line he put up during his glory days with the Athletics from 1998-2005.

“It’s hard to argue with what he’s done,” said Joe Girardi about his temporary third baseman after last night’s game. “He has been great for us. He’s in the middle of one rally, adds an add-on run later on to make it 6-2, and those runs are important because you can give (David Robertson), (Rafael Soriano) and some of your guys a day off. You might say ‘You won by six runs,’ but any time you can do that, it’s important when you’re in a stretch of 20 days in a row.”

The Yankees plucked Chavez off the scrap heap last season and he did a decent job for them off the bench, hitting .263/.320/.356 in 175 plate appearances while missing a bunch of time with a foot injury. It was his most playing time in five years due to all those back and shoulder and neck problems, and his value stemmed primarily from his knack for the big hit — Chavez put up a .416/.468/.537 line with runners in scoring position and had a number of big, late-inning knocks. He was a solid role player, that’s pretty much it, but this year he’d become so much more.

The difference between Chavez this year and last year is the power production, which I’m sure is even surprising Chavez and the Yankees at this point. His .247 ISO is the second highest of his career, and his 20.3 HR/FB% is a career-best since the data started being recorded in 2002. Although the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium are surely helping him out, Hit Tracker classified eight of his 13 dingers as either “Plenty” or “No-Doubters.” Those are balls that landed at least 50 feet beyond the wall. Three of the 13 were opposite field jobs out to left, and all three came on the road (one at CitiField, two at Comerica Park). So yeah, not all of these homers are squeaking over the short porch.

I wish I could find the link now, but I remember seeing an interview with then-pro scouting director and current assistant GM Billy Eppler last summer where he mentioned that when the Yankees look for part-time players, they target players who used to be stars because they know what it takes to perform at a high-level on a daily basis. For some reason that quote stuck with me. Chavez doesn’t have the resume of Andruw Jones or Ichiro Suzuki, but he was very much a star-caliber player back in the day. He hit for average, hit for power, got on-base, and played a world class third base for a half-decade on a contending team. This guy knows what he’s doing, and he’s paying huge dividends for the Bombers this summer.

Girardi has done a pretty good job of keeping Chavez rested, but it can’t be easy to sit him on the bench for a day or two when he’s hitting like this. He’s the oldest 34-year-old in the league given his injury history, so maintaining that delicate balance between keeping him productive and keeping him healthy will be one of the skipper’s biggest challenges going forward. Chavez has turned himself into one of the more indispensable players on the team with his performance, stepping up in a huge way when A-Rod went down. I also think he’s one of the easiest-to-root-for players the Yankees have had in quite some time, and not just because he’s mashing at the plate.

Phelps, Swisher & Lowe slam Rangers in series opener

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I have to say, I didn’t think Monday’s game would go that smoothly. David Phelps was coming in with a 75-80 pitch leash while Derek Lowe and his 8.80 ERA over his last dozen starts backed him up as the long man. Instead of collapsing against a powerhouse Rangers’ offense, Phelps and Lowe carried the Yankees to an easy 8-2 win.

(REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)

That’s Mr. Phelps To You

Early on, it looked like the highlight of this game would be Phelps’ pickoff move. The young right-hander picked a runner off first in the second and a runner off second in the third, and that came after he nearly caught Elvis Andrus a little too far off the bag in the first. Seven of the first 14 hitters Phelps faced reached base, including a David Murphy solo home on a pitch that wasn’t all that bad bad. It was a breaking ball down and in, and he just golfed it out. The other run Texas scored came after an infield single, a walk, and a broken back bloop. It happens.

Phelps shook the rocky start off to finish very strong, retiring seven of the final eight hitters he faced to complete five full innings for his first time as a big leaguer. Had his pitch count not been limited, he almost certainly could have completed six innings and maybe even record an out or two in the seventh. Phelps struck out three, walked one, and threw 51 of 78 pitches for strikes (65%). I’m glad to see he made me look foolish merely hours after publishing this post. Good job kid, we’ll see you again in five days.

(REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)

Swisher Slam

Trade deadline pickup Ryan Dempster held the Yankees down with two very efficient innings to open the game, but it all unraveled in the third. Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez led the inning off with singles, then advanced to second and third on Ichiro Suzuki’s sacrifice bunt. It looked like he was trying to bunt for a hit, but they call Adrian Beltre the best defense third baseman in the game for a reason. He made a nice barehand play and got the out at first.

Dempster was in trouble and Derek Jeter worked him hard, fouling off a few pitches to turn a 2-1 count into a walk that loaded the bases. Nick Swisher saw a first pitch ball and a second pitch meatball, a little cement mixer that hung up in the strike zone. He clobbered it for a go-ahead grand slam into the second deck in right, a no-doubter off the bat. Because that wasn’t enough, the Yankees immediately reloaded the bases against Dempster (walk and two singles) and tacked on another run with a Curtis Granderson sacrifice fly. Dempster managed to complete six innings, but he got hit really hard. Those five second innings runs were all New York would need.

This Derek Lowe can stay. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Lowe Rider

Phelps threw his five innings and the Yankees had a three-run lead, so Joe Girardi handed the ball off to the recently signed Lowe. The long-time starter agreed to return to his bullpen roots, and he looked mighty comfortable pitching in relief. Showcasing three very distinct pitches — upper-80s sinker, low-80s changeup, low-80s slider — the 39-year-old right-hander struck out four and allowed just two dinky singles in four scoreless innings of work. He and Phelps combined to retire 19 of the final 22 batters Texas sent to the plate.

Because he threw more than three innings, Lowe recorded a save in his first appearance in pinstripes. It was his first save since 2001, back when he was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox. Thirty-three of his 44 pitches were strikes (75%), 11 of 14 batters faced saw a first pitch strike, and half of his eight ball-in-play outs were on the ground. It’s one appearance, but it certainly looks like Lowe can be of some use going forward. He and Phelps were pressed into duty and they did a phenomenal job against a great team. Bravo, you two.

Leftovers

(REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine)

Eric Chavez missed this weekend’s games with a sore back but he showed no ill-effects on Monday, clobbering a solo homer over the bullpen and into the right field bleachers off Dempster. He also chipped in a single and now has five straight multi-hit games, which is a new career-high. Chavez has been nothing short of amazing this season. This is some swan song.

Swisher and Raul Ibanez were the only other hitters with multiple hits, though Jeter (double), Mark Teixeira (single), Martin (single), and Ichiro (triple) all had a knock. Both Robinson Cano and Granderson took 0-for-3s, but Robbie walked and Grandy had the sacrifice fly. Dempster wasn’t fooling anyone, especially the second and third time through the order.

The grand slam was Swisher’s 200th career homer, giving the Yankees seven players with 200+ career homers — Swisher, Teixeira, Jeter, Ibanez, Chavez, Alex Rodriguez, and Andruw Jones. That is tied with the 2008 Yankees for the most 200+ homer guys on one team in baseball history, and Granderson is sitting on 197 career dingers. Safe to see this team will have eight 200+ homer guys in short order.

Box Score, WPA Graph & Standings

MLB.com has the box score and video highlights, FanGraphs some additional stats, and ESPN the updated standings. The Orioles were idle on Monday and the Rays are out playing the Mariners on the West Coast, so at worst, the Yankees will wake up on Tuesday with their five-game lead in the AL East intact. The magic number at the moment is 43.


Source: FanGraphs

Up Next

It’ll be the Yankees and Rangers once again on Tuesday night, the second game of this four-game set. Hiroki Kuroda gets the ball against first-time All-Star Matt Harrison. Make sure you check out RAB Tickets for some last minute details if you want to catch the game.

Nuno gives up three homers in AA loss

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1B Kyle Roller was named the High-A Florida State League Offensive Player of the Week.

Triple-A Empire State (6-4 win over Syracuse)
3B Kevin Russo & DH Corban Joseph: both 1-5 — Russo doubled and drove in three … CoJo drove in a run and struck out
SS Eduardo Nunez & LF Ronnie Mustelier: both 0-5 — Mustelier struck out
1B Brandon Laird: 2-5, 2 R, 2 K
C Austin Romine: 2-4, 1 K
CF Melky Mesa: 0-4, 1 R, 1 K
RF Darnell McDonald: 0-1, 2 R, 3 BB — three strikeouts and six walks in his last six games
2B Ramiro Pena: 1-1, 1 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB — four strikeouts and six walks in his last nine games
LHP Mike O’Connor: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 4/5 GB/FB — 57 of 87 pitches were strikes (66%) … picked a runner off first
RHP Preston Claiborne: 1.1 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GB/FB — ten of 14 pitches were strikes
LHP Lee Hyde: 0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K — five pitches, one strike
RHP Cory Wade: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 5/0 GB/FB — 22 of 37 pitches were strikes (59%) … all three-runs came on a homer with two outs in the ninth

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