jacksonianmarch

I think he'll settle out as a mid .700s OPS player capable of hitting double digit homers. I think when he cools off, you will see that his pitch selection will still be his soft spot

He's got a low 90s fastball, capable of running it up to 94-95 if needed. He doesnt have any one truly dominant off speed pitch, but he throws a curve, slider and change and all are at least MLB average. He's a horse, though, capable of going deep into minor league games. We'll see how he does in the bigs, but he is a big league pitcher in the making. I just wonder if that's in the Bronx or somewhere else

He's 10 for his last 11 and now has his BA over .300. The Yankees usually have a 30 day rule where they dont tinker with anything until they've observed their flaws and strengths for 30 days. That period expired about a week ago. They must have changed something cause he's on fire. The low levels are stocked right now, and we havent even signed our draft yet. We've probably got another 6-7 high upside kids coming

Actually, Nova is on the DL right now, so Adam Warren will make his big league debut for the doubleheader next week. After that, though, I think Nova needs to get the start. Hughes had one good start, one shaky start and one horrible one. He probably gets one more start, and if that one sucks as much as this one did, then I bet he's in AAA

I didnt see the game, how was the velo? Only ESPN gamecast comes through the hospital server, and that doesnt show pitch speed. But it seemed every pitch from Hughes was down the middle. And yes, as it stands right now, I would take even Adam Warren over Hughes. Getting lit up by the hapless A's is inexcuseable. Time to option him to AAA let him work the rest of the yr there and see what happens. He's obviously not right and hasnt been for a full yr now

Hughes sucked today.

Jacobs is too much as he is looking like he may be a big time stud. Bogaerts though is the kind of you who gets dealt as a second fiddle here. Nobody deals a prime time player like Beltran for a fringy lefty straight up. It's always a package. My guess is that Theo is happy enough with the production he should get out of Reddick from here on to forgo dealing away a package he isnt comfortable with.

He's a .285-ish hitter right now with an OBP over .360 and he leads the league in steals and I believe he also leads in P/PA. He's worth his tiny weight in gold

But you also run into the possibility that said "outside the top 10" player gets smoked on the big stage and any trade stock he had just goes out the window. Doubront will never be a top notch starter, IMO. He looks more like a lefty reliever to me or a back of the rotation NL starter. He is the kind of guy you deal for a rental

BTW, I have a feeling something big is gonna go down with NY. Just like last yr, the Yankees are being linked with everyone, but nobody has any sort of solid info. The needs for NY are essentially another shutdown starter, a lefty reliever and a big time bat to DH. I have a feeling 2 of those needs get filled

Sounds about right. One guy from A ball and another big league ready player for a .900OPS OFer

This might be the only chance the Mariners have of breaking their streak

You guys hate on Boras, but the players pick him for a reason. I'd love him as an agent. These guys have such short careers that getting the most money is very important. If Ellsbury shows that he can replicate 20+HR power up until his FA yr, he's gonna get a contract that makes Crawford's look like chump change

I just dont get how you play a series with TB and you throw out a lineup like that last night. How do you not at least DH your best offensive player in a game against the team right behind you in the Wild Card race? I just dont get it. Then, after resting him for 6 innings, you go ahead and throw him out there when we were down. Did Girardi not think we'd be down with the s*** lineup thrown out there? He's so f***ing clueless.

Matthew Duran, our 4th round pick, took a physical in Tampa today

They went to Logan when there were ALREADY 2 guys on base. That is when you need your relief ace.

The thing you had with Ells was the fact that his blazing speed made you at least think he could hack it when his BABIP dropped. And Ells was playing CF well, meaning his defense played more into things. Reddick is a corner OFer now, even though he has the goods to hack it in CF. He plays solid D in RF, but that is less of a "defense first" position than CF was. And Ellsbury had a track record in the minors of being successful. Reddick has mixed success with disappointment and has already been a failure in the show before Oh and in terms of bad journalism, I just read this... http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/cliff_corcoran/07/20/top.prospects/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a1 Kalish cannot be dealt while on the DL. Not sure why he's in the top 10 for prospects likely to be dealt

Look at Daniel Nava. He had an OPS over .800 in his first 2 months and people on here were drooling about his potential. Then he fell back to earth and ended up being DFA'd. Reddick looks to be better than that and I think he has more raw tools, but he did recently have almost no trade value, now he's a hot prospect. With Kalish behind him and with him manning a corner OF spot, it might not be a bad time to move him. I'd look at Pence, though, if I were the sox. Put Reddick and Ranaudo out there for Pence, then you can see if he continues his success in Houston.

I think the Sox will do what the Yankees SHOULD have done with Montero. Lavarnway isnt going to learn anything offensively from repeating AAA next yr. So, my guess is that Lavarnway breaks camp with the big club as the backup catcher and situational DH. Gets his feet wet offensively without over-exposing him while getting him used to big league game calling without the entire burden of the staff falling onto his shoulders. The Yankees should have done that this yr with Montero. Instead, the kid is bored in AAA with no real path to the bigs and has seen his production drop off. You reward kids who are killing it in the minors with call-ups, and the sox seem to do that. The Yankees have a system chock full of talent, but if they never dip into it for fear of "tarnishing the trade chips" then they'll never develop players like the sox do

I cannot remember the last time the Yankees had so much talent in SI and the GCL. Right now, on the Staten Island team, there are a slew of young prospects who are making a name for themselves Angelo Gumbs is an 18 yr old 2b drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. He's OPS'ing .799 with 7SB, 3HR, and an OBP of .350. Cito Culver is an 18 yr old SS drafted in the 1st round of the 2010 draft. His OPS is right around .750 with 2SB's, no HR's, but a .375OBP. Mason Williams is a 19 yr old CFer who is hitting the piss out of the ball. He was a 4th rounder out of the 2010 draft. His OPS is .911 with 9SBs and 2HR. Reymund Nunez, the 20 yr old 1B is having a slow season with an OPS right around .700. His power is developing, but the K's are a problem Ben Gamel is a 19 yr old OFer drafted in the 10th round in 2010 who is having a rough go thus far. Nice OBP of .345, but a sub .700OPS in 15 games is less than impressive Tyler Austin is a 19 yr old 3B drafted in the 13th round of the 2010 draft who dominated the GCL to the tune of 11SBs and an OPS of 1.060. He's now up with SI and is struggling through his first 5 games Evan DeLuca is a 20 yr old LHP drafted out of HS in the 44th round of the 2009 draft who is starting to put it together. 3-1 2.40ERA 31K in 30IP and a WHIP of 1.10 Bryan Mitchell is a 20 yr old RHP drafted out of HS in the 16th round of the 2009 draft who is having his struggles. ERA of 4.91, but WAY too many walks has seen his WHIP balloon into the 1.8 range. He has talent, just likely needs another short season yr Brett Gerritse is a 20 yr old RHP drafted out of HS in the 12th round of the 2009 draft who has taken to his conversion to the pen. No ER in 13.2IP, striking out 14 in the process Caleb Cotham is the old man of the group. He's a 23yr old RHP drafted out of the 5th round in 2009. He blew out his knee, then his labrum and just started pitching for the Yanks this yr. His stuff has come back out of the pen, as evidenced by his 8.1IP of shutout ball thus far, striking out 13 in the process Isaias Tejeda, a 19 yr old catcher out of the Dominican, has hit well in his limited time in the GCL, OPS'ing over 1.100 with 2HR in 16 games Justin James, a 20 yr old 5 tool OFer drafted in the 12th round this yr has started off hot, hitting .353 in a small sample size. Claudio Custodio, a 20 yr old Dominican 2B, is hitting .324 in the GCL thus far. Daniel Lopez is a real find. He's a 19 yr old with blazing speed who was hitting over .400 in the Dominican League when they moved him to the GCL. He's OPS'ing .925 with solid patience for a Dominican kid with 2HR and 10 steals in 18 games. He looks really solid 2 19 yr old Dominican infielders are holding their own with the stick, OPS'ing in the low .800s. Jose Rosario and Jorge Alcantara Ravel Santana, a 19 yr old Dominican OFer is also slugging well in the GCL. He leads the team with 6HR, but his .230AVG needs improvement. He is the definition of a 5 tool player, but he's a bit raw Dante Bichette Jr is also in the GCL. He started off slowly, but over his last 10 games, he's hitting .300 with an OPS over .900. He shows a big league approach to the dish, though, which is rare for an 18 yr old recent draftee as he's walked 20 times in 23 games There are 3 other talented young hitters who arent hitting so well in Yeicok Calderon (19 yr old Dominican), Fu Lin Kuo (20 yr old Korean), and Taylor Anderson (19 yr old 2010 draftee). On the pitching end, Taylor Morton (19 yr old RHP drafted in the 9th round of the 2010 draft) has been lights out of late. He's allowed runs in only 2 of his 6 appearances, has struck out 19 in 24IP and has an ERA of 1.81. Gabe Encinas, another 19 yr old RHP drafted in 2010 (6th round) isnt having as much success. His K and BB numbers are good, but the 29H in 22IP isnt going to get it done at the higher levels. His SR looked like a reliever coming out of HS, but it is way too early to convert him Evan Rutckyj, a 19yr old LHP drafted in the 16th round in 2010, is having a lot of trouble. Coming out of Canada, the Yankees knew he was a project. He's got a lot of work to do. 15K in 18.1IP isnt bad, but the 13 walks are horrible and a big reason why he has an ERA north of 6. Other young kids kicking around the DSL include 17 yr olds Wilmer Romero and Christopher Tamarez. Those were the two big signings last yr prior to Paniagua and DePaula. Both are struggling in the DSL. And Cris Cabrera, the 18 yr old Dominican signee from 2 yrs ago is returning from having a rib removed due to thoracic outlet syndrome. His commands hasnt been nearly as good as it was last yr, but he should see the states come 2012. In terms of the 2 other high profile signees of the past yr, Jose Paniagua and Rafael DePaula, both are still under investigation with MLB. That should close soon and when it does, they will apply for their visas