Who are the Yanks' reps in the 2009 Futures Game?

The Futures Game participants have been announced. Each team has at least one representative, no more than two. Here are the Yanks' reps:

Manuel Banuelos, LHP, Class A Charleston (World Team)
Many in the Yankees organization are excited about the high-ceiling potential of Banuelos, an 18-year-old product of Durango, Mexico, who has already flashed a low-to-mid 90s fastball and is working on his command.

The Mexican product signed with New York as a non-drafted free agent in March 2008, and he has opened eyes this season with the Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League, faring 5-3 with a 2.51 ERA in his first 12 starts at that level, populated by some more experienced hitters.

Banuelos has excelled in June, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.14 ERA through his first four starts of the month. He made his professional debut last season with the Gulf Coast Yankees, going 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 12 appearances (three starts).

Jesus Montero, C, Double-A Trenton (World Team)
The Yankees promoted Montero to the Eastern League in early June, and the slugging backstop has shown signs of adjusting to Double-A pitching, having proven convincingly that he was more than capable at Class A.

The 19-year-old Montero was hitting .356 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 48 games for Tampa of the Florida State League at the time of his promotion and is working on a followup campaign to his standout 2008 campaign, when he hit .326 with 86 runs, 34 doubles, 17 homers and 87 RBIs in 132 games with Class A Charleston.

A non-drafted free agent who signed with the Yankees in October 2006, Montero was selected to the South Atlantic League's midseason All-Star team and postseason All-Star team as the league's top catcher. He went 1-for-2 and caught the final four innings in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium last year.

KLaw on Bryce Harper

It's buried behind the Insider moat, but here's a snippet of Keith's take on the Baseball Jesus:

Bryce Harper is good at just about everything and bad at just about nothing. He can hit, throw, field and run. And power? He's got it in spades.

Harper's best asset as a hitter is his strength; not muscle or bulk but hand and wrist strength, so that when he makes contact the ball takes off with uncanny power for someone his age. He launches balls in batting practice out to right and right-center and can drive the ball easily to the left-center wall. He's still wiry but has plenty of room to fill out and eventually make his listed weight -- a heavy 205 pounds -- a reality. He loads with his hands well behind his back shoulder, so he nearly bars out his front arm, adding some length to the swing. But he strides into the ball and rotates his hips well with his swing and has good hand-eye coordination, so the result is a lot of contact and the big raw power for which he's become known. He's an above-average runner now and should settle in as at least average even if he fills out completely.
[...]
There won't likely be another player in the 2010 draft class who can match Harper's combination of present talent and tremendous upside, especially not among position players in the draft pool. If Harper reaches his ceiling, and stays behind the plate, he could be a Joe Mauer type, hitting for average and power while providing plus defense at a critical and hard-to-fill position.

In other words, Bryce Harper is the greatest thing since Matt Wieters invented sliced bread.

If you wear eyeblack like this...

...you might be a pompous a$$hole. Or worse.

I'm all for this kid doing whatever it takes to get to the majors as soon as he's able. I'm not going to chastise his parents for having him skip his last 2 years of high school if someone wants to pay him major loot. It's no different than having an exceptionally gifted student; let'em be Doogie Howser. What's so marvelous about high school anyways?

The Prom is overrated anyways. Unless you like fake tans (I love me some Oompa Loompas), renting someone else's clothes, overpaying for a limo....

But wearing your eyeblack like you're some badass WWE wrestler tells me you just might be a giant d-bag. I reserve the right to change my mind if proven wrong.

Moving on...

With the #1 pick in the 2010 draft, the Nationals select...

...Bryce Harper, Phenom, College of Southern Nevada (after earning his GED at age 16).

Harper, a 16-year-old who just completed his sophomore year, has registered at the College of Southern Nevada, where he plans to attend classes in August and play for the Coyotes next season.
[...]
Bryce Harper and his mother, Sheri, recently went to CSN and signed enrollment forms and his letter of intent to play baseball. Harper is aiming to earn his GED test credentials in the fall.

So not only will Boras have a "once in a generation" pitching talent with Strasburg this year, he could have Harper next year. And he'll have his gun in the back of the Nats (in all likelihood) yet again this time next year. At 16, I was just hoping to get a car. He's contemplating a multimillion dollar draft bonus. Of course, I wasn't a 6-foot-3-inch catcher who hit .626 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs along with 36 stolen bases.


A review of Harper can be found here: Behold! The Baseball Jesus!

Sons of famous dads getting drafted

The 2009 versions of "I have a famous dad" belong to:

• Asaad Ali, the youngest son of boxing great Muhammad Ali, drafted in the 40th round
• Michael Yastrzemski, the grandson of Red Sox icon and Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski (by Boston, naturally)
• Gavin McCourt, son of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, was drafted in the 39th round Thursday by the Boston Red Sox.

Anyone I missed?

Where are they now: Brien Taylor

This is a few days old, but what an interesting tale. The sad story of Brien Taylor, from high school phenom to Exhibit #1 of "What happens if your draft pick is a bust":

He was 6-foot-4 and not fat and not skinny. He looked like a man. He swaggered like one, too, when he was on that mound, all presence and intimidation and fear. Batters started the walk to the plate with a chrysalis in their stomach, and by the time they saw that fastball, it metamorphosed into a full-on butterfly. Lord, that fastball. They swear it tickled 85 when he was 12, and Willie "Ray" Taylor, his daddy and catcher, remembers the sting when it caught the mitt's heel. Like a thousand bees at once.

"I've been through 28 drafts," Scott Boras says, "and Brien Taylor, still to this day, is the best high school pitcher I've seen in my life."

More than a tale of woe, it's an fascinating review of how the Yanks tried to lowball Taylor compared to Todd Van Poppel, with accusations of racism tossed in, and how this changed the tactics for agents thereafter.

The offer was also $900,000 less in guaranteed money than Todd Van Poppel, the ballyhooed Texas right-hander, had signed for in the previous draft.

"They had the attitude that these poor black people from the South were stupid and didn't know any better," Bettie says. "And we were. But, let me tell you, we learn quick."

From June 3, the day the Yankees chose Taylor, Bettie drew the line of demarcation: Pay him Van Poppel money or he's going to college. The Yankees raised their offer to $650,000. She said no.

"When I went in, I told them what I wanted," Bettie says. "And I wasn't going to budge from that."

Along came Boras, who Bettie had read about. She knew he wrangled the Van Poppel deal, and she was going to need help. Major League Baseball had sent in a representative to kindly ask the Taylors to accept the Yankees' offer. The scene resembled a mafia sitdown, and Bettie wouldn't have been surprised if a dead fish showed up on her windshield.

Single-handedly she was changing how baseball did business, empowering the players who, for so long, had been stunted by a rigid bonus structure.
[...]
"It was not about the money for me," Bettie says. "I told them what I expected, and it was a matter of respect and equality and pride."

Ya know what, I believe her completely, and you know I rarely believe people who claim it's not about the money...

We can only wonder what might have been had he not turned his shoulder into spaghetti.

The #1 overall pick is a total crapshoot

If you like lists, the draft and nostalgia... here ya go: the #1 pick in every MLB draft since 1984...

• 1984: Shawn Abner, New York Mets
• 1985: B.J. Surhoff, Milwaukee Brewers
• 1986: Jeff King, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 1987: Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners
• 1988: Andy Benes, San Diego Padres
• 1989: Ben McDonald, Baltimore Orioles
• 1990: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
• 1991: Brien Taylor, New York Yankees
• 1992: Phil Nevin, Houston Astros
• 1993: Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
• 1994: Paul Wilson, New York Mets
• 1995: Darin Erstad, California Angels
• 1996: Kris Benson, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 1997: Matt Anderson, Detroit Tigers
• 1998: Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies
• 1999: Josh Hamilton, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
• 2000: Adrian Gonzalez, Florida Marlins
• 2001: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
• 2002: Bryan Bullington, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 2003: Delmon Young, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
• 2004: Matt Bush, San Diego Padres
• 2005: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
• 2006: Luke Hochevar, Kansas City Royals
• 2007: David Price, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
• 2008: Tim Beckham, Tampa Bay Rays

For every Chipper, Junior or ARod, you get a bunch of Bryan Bullingtons, Brien Taylors, Matt Bushs or Jeff Kings. Good luck, Strasburg.

Call it in the air...

Oh, happy draft day

The miracle of the internet, the growth of fantasy baseball and the continuing growth of baseball in general has pulled the MLB player draft out of shadows and pulled it into the forefront. The draft starts today and, for example, the MLB Network is televising the whole thing. Overkill, maybe? Maybe not. Not for the MLB version of Mel Kiper, John Sickels. Sky Kalkman of Beyond The Boxscore was lucky enough to "sit" with him for a few minutes to discuss the draft:

BtB: Where are the biggest opportunities for improving prospect evaluation? Better prediction of injuries? Predicting development of skillsets? Mental and emotional diagnosis? Other?

John Sickels: I would say the mental side. I think finding new ways to assess a player’s mental and emotional makeup, both currently and in the future, is the "next frontier." Some people are doing neurobiological work the "brain types" of competitive athletes, while others are taking a more psychological approach. A lot of teams use standardized personality tests, and of course scouts have been assessing and analyzing player personalities for 100 years. I think that is where the next breakthroughs in player analysis will be, though what exactly that breakthrough will involve, I don’t know.

A good read given the fun that will take place later today.

Feeling a draft, MLB-style

The First-Year Player Draft begins June 9 at 6 p.m. ET and lasts 3 days. The MLB Network will cover every mind-numbing minute of it.

Not that I don't love the draft. I LOVE all drafts, any draft, but the players are not there in person and we won't likely see them for years, save a few. Sure, we might see Strasburg if he, Boras and the Nots can somehow agree to a record-setting deal before the deadline. Doubtful, I know.

Because, I 1) focus on the Yanks and 2) I am not a draftnik like Keith Law or Jonathan Mayo, I have to trust the projections and reports. I got an interesting email last night from a trusted source who claims to have "an uber-inside source [on] the Yankees". The source confirms what several mock drafts have projected: the Yanks are hoping to select Cal-Berkley CF Brett Jackson.

My guy mentioned to me: "Yankees sent him to the optometrist today where he tested for 20/10 vision. If Jackson is on the board they are going to take him, but the Yanks are hearing that the Twins, Astros, Nationals, (all ahead of the Yanks are very interested)."

Additionally: The Giants have had him over twice for batting practice in the last week and are considering taking him 6th overall, which many think is a major reach. The Giants indicated there is 1 other player they could take at 6th overall and think its 50/50 he will still be on the board. If that player is gone, they'll take Jackson who they like because he is local and a safe bet to produce. They are talking numbers with his agent.

Mock drafts to check out:

• MLB.com
• Yankees.com
• ESPN.com (draft philosophies)
• ESPN.com (Keith Law's Top 100)
• ESPN.com (scouting reports)
• The Sporting News
• MyMLBDraft
• MLBDraftSite

Braves punt Glavine, bring up Hanson and get Nate the Great

Quite the afternoon for the usually stoic Atlanta Braves:

1. Waive HOF-to-be Tom Glavine, right as he was about to be called up to the big club in a move deemed "not a business decision" but rather a "performance decision". Good luck selling that to fans. Dumping Glavine a 2nd time, especially this way, seems cruel and cold.
   
2. In the wake of Glavine's departure, uber-prospect Tommy Hanson will start on Saturday. Fantasy fans, if you don't have him already, go get him. Seriously, go. Then come back.
   
3. Trade three prospects for Nate McLouth. Pittsburgh is rebuilding and sending away one of the guys who were leading the rebuilding process is a good move? Yeah, talk about a tough sell to the good fans of Pittsburgh. Various blogs weigh in here.

Guessing Braves fan Shysterball won't be too happy with the Glavine treatment but happy to see Hanson and Nate. Guess what, he's spot-on, as usual:

I thought the Braves were obligated -- out of both a sense of history and based on Glavine's commitment to rehab and apparent, though qualified success -- to at least give him a chance to pitch.

Behold! The Baseball Jesus!

Feast your pedestrian eyes upon the Baseball Jesus:

So good and so young is Bryce Harper, however, that he explodes baseball convention. He has hit the longest home run in the history of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, and he did so in January, at age 16, with a blast that would have flown farther than the measured 502 feet had it not smashed off the back wall of the dome. Still only 16, Harper stands 6'3", weighs 205 pounds, has faster bat speed than Mark McGwire in his prime and runs so fast that he scored on wild pitches six times this season from second base. As a catcher he picks off runners from his knees, and when he pitches, he throws a fastball that has been clocked at 96 mph. He also does volunteer work, holds down a 3.5 grade point average and attends religious education classes nearly every morning before school.

Stephen Strasburg's time is coming soon, but this kid's hype machine might be crankin' even higher.

Boras probably tilted back in his throne and howled. (Boras is one of his advisors, by the way)

So what and where does the Baseball Jesus want to play:

When asked about his goals as a ballplayer, he replies, "Be in the Hall of Fame, definitely. Play in Yankee Stadium. Play in the pinstripes. Be considered the greatest baseball player who ever lived. I can't wait."

Boras just kicked his feet up on the desk, grinning ever so slightly. Thy name is leverage.

Joe Pos & Bill James riff on: Hype

It's not a typical* Posnanski article, but it's a fun read about players who have come up thru MLB with immense amounts of hype, including the newest hypester, Matt Wieters. A good read all around.

Bill: Still trying to define Hype. There is:
1) The legitimate excitement about a player that builds on his skills and his potential.
and
2) Hype, which is built not on the player's skills or his potential but on the excitement about them.

* By not typical, I mean no Posterisks, readable in one sitting, only one reference to his latest book project. I keed, I keed!

Here's one I don't get

Wasn't this kid pretty highly regarded not that long ago? Wasn't he included in several trade rumors, too? Suddenly, he's DFA'd (along with Eric Hacker) and, like Hacker, a member of the Pirates?

The Pirates have claimed right-handed reliever Steven Jackson off waivers from the New York Yankees.

Jackson, 27, had a 1.88 ERA and one save in seven appearances for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before being designated for assignment May 8. Last season, Jackson had a 4.18 ERA in 49 appearances split between Class AA and AAA. That included a 0.87 ERA in 19 appearances after the All-Star break, all in Class AAA.

Wonder what he did to get that DFA considering he had a 1.88 ERA at the time? Anyone have any insight? With the Yanks bullpen struggling, how could they let a guy who was seemingly performing well in AAA just hit the trash heap? Someone help me, please. Though, if I had to guess, it's an issue of the 40 man roster (Kevin Cash called up; Tomko's call up got Hacker punted).

Also: Do I have to withhold my "are the Pirates now a Yankees minor league affiliate?" joke? What? Too late? Sorry.

Hacker traded to Pirates

As I said when he was first DFA'd: "We wish you nothing but the best of luck as you land with a new organization. Hopefully it will be soon and with one that can better utilize you."

Looks like that wish is coming true.

The Pirates have acquired minor league starter Eric Hacker from the New York Yankees, a source disclosed this afternoon. The rest of the trade details are not yet known.

The Pirates have had some good luck in working with Yanks' cast-offs. Let's hope that continues with Eric.

A good Q&A with Tyler Kepner

For those in tune with Yanks' beat writers, one of the best ones (who's not just looking to make noise with his own BS) is Tyler Kepner. Fellow blogger Steve Lombardi at WasWatching.com was good enough to land some time with Kepner. A good example of the exchange:

Tyler Kepner: I actually think the Yankees’ bullpen won’t be too bad. I like the way Girardi handles the guys, the way he really gives himself a chance to see who can pitch and who can’t. And when injuries arise, like this elbow issue with Bruney, we’ll learn something about Robertson and Melancon. I think they’ll be vital pieces as the year goes. As for disappointments, that’s tough. I suppose you could say that given Sabathia’s salary and the inevitable comparisons to Santana, he’s got a really tough standard to reach. From what we’ve seen so far — a startling lack of fastball command — he might qualify as a disappointment, though it’s very early. My question is, what would be considered successful for a pitcher making $23 million a year? If he wins 15 games and has a 3.50 ERA, is that a disappointment for the money? I guess it would be.

WW: True, $23 million for 15 wins would be an interesting scenario in terms of the fan reaction. If I recall correctly, the Red Sox have a policy that says you should only pay $1 million per expected win from a starter. And, there’s no way that CC is going to win 23 games this season. Since you’ve brought up Girardi, I have to ask: If the Yankees win less than 90 games this season and do not make the post-season, do you think General Joe will he return to manage New York in 2010? Why?

Tyler Kepner: My guess is he’d still come back. The Yankees always take measures to shake things up in a very obvious way each off-season. The way to do that next year will be to bolster the offense with Matsui, Damon and Nady all leaving. If Matt Holliday has a great year in Oakland, chances are they’ll sign him to a monster deal, sign someone else (plus maybe a pitcher) and feel as if they’ve fixed everything. To fire Girardi, someone would have to be really motivated to get rid of him, and I don’t see who that would be. Hal Steinbrenner runs the team, and he’s not rash and impulsive the way George was. My guess is Hal would defer to Cashman, who is signed through 2011, and I doubt Cashman would blame Girardi if the team doesn’t win. That’s not the way Cashman thinks.

Nady's done, possible implications for 2010?

If the reports are indeed true that Nady needs TJS and will be lost for the year, what are the implications for the Yanks? Some quick thoughts to ponder:

• If he's on the 60 day DL, does he accrue the time to be a free agent after this year anyways? I don't know the answer but it seems a reasonable question.
  
  
• Do the Yanks offer him arbitration?
  
  
• If yes, will he accept as he'd want a year of good performance (healthy playing) before diving into the FA pool?
  
  If yes, will Boras instruct him to decline anyways as that's Boras' M.O.?
  
  If yes, his arb figure will be based upon his $6.55m salary this year, which isn't terrible, unlike Abreu's arb figure last year ($16m). That's pretty managable if the team decided to risk the arb offer.
  
  
• Who do the Yanks bring up to fill out the bench? I can't see them bringing up Austin Jackson to ride the pine. Shelley Duncan, maybe? Another farmhand?

Aaron Gleeman, at his vacation spot at Circling the Bases, had this to say:

However, making Swisher an everyday player significantly weakens New York's bench, which now essentially consists of Melky Cabrera, Ramiro Pena, and Jose Molina. Calling up either Shelley Duncan or Juan Miranda to take Nady's spot on the roster will give them a usable bat off the bench, but with Hideki Matsui stuck at designated hitter for a while Cabrera is in line to get any extra outfield at-bats.

I don't think it materially weakens the bench. Swisher was outperforming Nady anyways. It requires Matsui to play more and actually DO SOMETHING when he's at the plate. The Yanks are a better team when Damon's playing (at least offensively) anyways.

Bottom line, this is not something to panic over.

Say what?

OK, I had some fun bashing KC and their Farnsworthless acquisition, but reading this made my head spin (emphasis mine):

Brett Tomko will be the Triple-A closer

Pitching cordinator Nardi Contreras said in spring training that the Yankees would rather control a young reliever's innings than his role. That's why you saw Scott Strickland in the closer's role last season and that's why Tomko will be in that role this year.

“Tomko is going to pitch in the closer role right now, and we’ll go from there," pitching coach Scott Aldred said. "We’ll see how it works. I think it will be fine. A lot of experience. Give him some intense work instead of being a long guy and pitching in some games that don’t mean much, I think we’ll get the best out of Brett Tomko by pitching him at the end of the game.”

As for the rest of the bullpen, Mark Melancon, David Robertson, Steven Jackson and Anthony Claggett are lined up to get most of the innings.

At least they have a rational reason for it, ya know, besides winning.

(Of course, Tomko posted a 1.17 ERA in 15 1/3 Grapefruit League innings, so maybe... nah, nevermind.)

Going on the cheap, bullpen style

I guess I find it funny. Some have been deriding the Yanks' bullpen because it consists largely of youngsters, but aren't those the same youngsters that others say the Yanks don't have enough of (yeah, they need young position players, I get it...)? That Joba should be a set up guy because the team lacks a proven one....

So courtesy of Pete Abe ("LoHud of the Rings"), here are the salary figures (bonuses included) for the middle relief corps:

• Damaso Marte: $3.75 million
• Brian Bruney: $1.25 million
• Jose Veras: $432,975
• Edwar Ramirez: $422,500
• Phil Coke: $403,300
• Jonathan Albaladejo: $403,075
• TOTAL: $6,661,850

I spy with my little eye: Jeter's heir apparent

For the longest time, I've been wondering who eventually takes Jeter's spot at SS, whenever the opening appears. I've read a bunch about various glovemen over the last few years, but none could hold a bat. But now, there appears to be a front runner:

Fact is, Pena has always demonstrated world class defense since being signed by the Yankees out of Mexico in 2005, but his improvement with the bat is what's elevated him to legitimate major league prospect status.

"When I first saw him three years ago, you could knock the bat out of his hands," said one veteran scout whose primary assignment is in the minor leagues. "But he was a magician with the glove and that made him someone to keep an eye on.

Now that he's gained a little weight, put on a little muscle, he's no longer an 'out'. He can handle the bat. I always felt his glove would get him to the big leagues, but now I can see him as an everyday shortstop."
[...]
"Best looking young shortstop I've seen in a couple of years," said one National League scout.

Well, we seem to have our answer. The only question left to answer is: when?

Another look at the Yanks farm system

Not a ranking, but a good preview of some of the higher-potential, upper-eschelon players the Yanks can look forward to seeing in pinstripes soon trading away for other teams over-priced players.

A sample:

Mark Melancon has fully recovered from Tommy John surgery and he flew threw the minor league system while playing at three levels in 2008, including his final stop at Triple-A. At the senior level, Melancon allowed just 11 hits in 20 innings pitched. He also walked just four with 22 strikeouts. In total, the right-hander allowed 69 hits in 95 innings. Impressively, his strikeout rate rose during each promotion and topped out at 9.90 K/9 in Triple-A. Melancon, 23, is in a perfect position to help out in New York in 2009.

Arguably the Yankees’ best prospect, outfielder Austin Jackson is still raw in many facets of his game, but his tools and potential are undeniable. Only 22, he had a solid season in Double-A last year with a line of .285/.354/.419 with nine homers and 19 stolen bases in 520 at-bats. He also posted rates of 9.7 BB% and 21.7 K%. He didn’t run a lot last year and he also does not have a ton of home run power in his bat. That said, he is a solid all-around player who does a little bit of everything and plays above-average defense. Jackson could very be patrolling center field for the Yankees before the end of 2009.

Jesus Montero has the potential to be a monster offensive player in the big leagues. He’s only 19 and will be playing at High-A ball in 2009. Last season in A-ball, Montero hit .326/.376/.491 with 17 home runs and 87 RBI in 525 at-bats. He walked just 6.6% of the time and posted a strikeout rate of 15.8 K%, which is excellent for a young power hitter. Montero’s defense behind the plate has improved, but it’s still below average and there are not many people who think he’ll remain a catcher for longer. He could be in New York in 2010, especially if it’s at 1B, DH or LF.

Of course, A-Jax hit a grand slam against the Sox yesterday and promptly got returned to the minors.