jacksonianmarch

6IP 1ER 7K 7H 1BB still dominating.

holy s***, we won?

1.1IP 1ER today.

so the offseason scorecard gives us one good trade for the good guys and one poor trade for us (SHeffield is ridiculous right now) right now. If Sanchez comes back strong, then it was worth it.

the more pressing issue is that he herniated his back again and will likely need more surgery and potentially a spinal fusion at that level. A fused lower back is not good for a pitcher.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/38A9D6E044E379D48625730E001468B8?OpenDocument too bad. I hoped he could get to 300, but that back is just killing him. The deal looks even better from our end now. Ohlendorf is gonna be a nice one to have while Unit may be done.

Oh no doubt. But a kid dominating A+ ball in his first full season is pretty nice. He skipped Long Season A ball altogether like Chamberlain and Kennedy did and if it wasnt for his injury, he'd probably be in AA by now. Last season's draft was ridiculously good for us.

The most puzzling 5th round pick from last yr's draft was probably George Kontos. He was torched in college at Northwestern. 3-10 5.39ERA and walked nearly 5 per 9. He had a solid arsenal, but yankee scouts noted that he had "metal bat syndrome". Or in layman's terms, he was so afraid to throw inside on the metal bats that he limited himself to one half of the plate. They saw that he already had a solid arsenal for the professional ranks and figured they could teach him to be more of a pitcher who uses both sides of the plate, and boy were they right. He signed quickly and reported to Staten Island (low A) where he dominated last yr. 7-3 2.64 ERA .227BAA 82/19 K/BB rate in 78 innings with a 1.07 WHIP. He was voted the Staten Island pitcher of the yr and worked very hard this winter to continue to flourish. His arsenal is impressive. He sites 92-93 with the capability to throw 95. He also has a 89-90 mph 2 seamer that gets good sink but it certainly a work in progress. His slider was plus out of college and is still his best off speed pitch. His most improved pitch is a curveball with plus potential. His changeup will likely be an important pitch in determining if his future lies in the rotation or pen. Right now it is not a very strong pitch. But the development of his curveball has led to dominance in his first full season at High A - Tampa. Although he did miss 6 weeks with shoulder tendonitis, he has rebounded quite nicely to post an overall line of.. 1-2 2.27ERA 39.2IP 33H 47K 9BB. And he has been even better since his return from shoulder issues allowing 4ER in 18.2IP (sub 2 ERA). Kontos' future is still to be determined. The scouting sites think he could be a swing man in the bigs or if he progressed that changeuop has the ceiling of a #2 or #3 in the majors. Time will tell, but the yankees got what looks like another steal in the draft in a guy who absolutely sucked in college, but is dominating in the wood bat realm.

and it starts with handing Edwar a bit more of the pie.

http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=303&p=2&c=656591 Carlos Rios loves this class saying that this one is the deepest class of INTL FA's he has seen in a long time. And that is saying something after the splashes we made the past 2 yrs in the INTL FA signing period. Here is a rundown... Kelvin De Leon- LF/RF- 5 tool player, huge power projection, runs well, but not well enough to man CF. NOT Melky-like in the least. Biggest ticket signing Eduardo Sosa- CF-Johnny Damon type with an average to above average arm. A hittability guy with big speed (6.6 60yd dash). Not much power. Jose Mojica- SS- above average hands, arm, speed. Solid hittability, power projection. Second most exciting player in the class according to Rios. Arodis Vizcaino- RHP- likes him better than Jairo Heredia, the yankees biggest pitcher signing last yr who is dominating in short season. Throws up to 93mph as a 16 yr old. Has a projectable body. Location is good for a 16 yr old. Projects to have 3 plus pitches. Elio De la Rosa- 3b- great hitting mechanics for his age. COmpares him to a young Beltre. He doesnt have the power yet, but his hitting mechanics and solid contact ability at 16 makes him "special". The rest of his game sounds average to below average though (arm, fielding, speed). Henry Pena- OF- left sided hittability. Average power projection. Average arm, speed. Now that I read it more closely, he really sounds like Melky. Edwin Beard- LF/RF- similar power projection (one step below maybe) to DeLeon. The rest of his game is not advanced though. Jorge Liccien-C- converted infielder. Sounds like a defensive guy with hittability potential. I dont get very excited about this kid. Josue Rodriguez- C- see above Maicar Sousa- RHP- brazilian pitcher who has a plus curveball already. Very raw in mechanics though. This is the biggest gamble of the bunch. They figured, hell, the kid has a big league curveball, lets develop the rest of him. They dont talk about his velocity.

http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=303&p=2&c=656591 you need a scout.com membership

scaff, just read the interview with yankee scout and player development guy Carlos Rios. He was asked the question about the comparison between Melky and DeLeon and he laughed, said the "unnamed AL scout" mustnt have ever seen Melky or DeLeon play and proceeded to rip apart that "unnamed scout." He said that DeLeon wont have Melky's speed, hence is more of a corner OF guy. But projects him as a young Jermaine Dye with huge power capability and good hittability as well. We did sign Sosa who is a "Johnny Damon type with a better arm" that could fit into the "Melky Cabrera with better speed" category. Maybe they were confused.

I see, my bad. I havent seen a baseball game in a week. Crazy schedule.

kid has some serious stuff but is really struggling with command. 4.2IP 0ER 6K 6BB. Sounds like the stuff is there, but the mechanics have regressed. He's too young to write off, but his ETA can be pushed back a yr if he continues to struggle with his control.

The yankees have already signed Krum and Sublett from the top 10. There is a rumor that the yankees have already signed Suttle, Grote, Angelini and Weems but for over slot money and the commish is holding onto the approval for their contracts until more teams sign their picks. He doesnt want the yankees to influence other team's spending habits on the young kids. Brackman and Romine have had no rumors attached to them in terms of signing. I would assume the Yankees would get them all done. If they do sign Angelini, there is talk in yankee land that Angelini may be considered the replacement eventually for Derek Jeter. He is a first round talent who had an ironclad agreement to Rice until the yankees took him in the 10th round and brought him to NY to take BP with the Yankees and putz around the clubhouse. He'd likely break the top 10 right away in terms of their minor lague prospects and would be followed closely. I hope the rumors are true. On another note, Greg Peavey was quoted after OSU won the CWS that "OSU looks like gold and the minors looks like fool's gold." He was considered a tough sign going in, but it may be nearly impossible now.

I like Ellsbury. Seems like a nice kid who plays hard. If he can keep this up, then why even bother with Cocout? This is a pennant race, right? Ride the hot horse till he bucks.

Apparently, we also signed Jose Mojica, a shortstop who BA seemed high on, but did state that he was having "age issues". He is said to be 18, not 16.

Threw one inning last night, striking out the side.

it isnt like they are making it up. Mo seems to start poorly evey season nowawadays. Maybe that is how he will age. A longer and longer stint between effectiveness.