So long, Juan: Miranda traded to D’Backs

The Yankees traded Juan Miranda for a minor league pitcher on the Diamondbacks today.

Miranda played the most in the majors in 2010 than ever before, but wasn’t very impressive. He hit .219/.296/.422 in 71 plate appearances.

Miranda was traded for 19-year-old Scottie Allen, who doesn’t have great numbers in the minors, but those don’t always tell you the whole story. I’ll have more info on Allen when it becomes available.

Via LoHud:

“Projectable kid with FB up to 93. He has a good feel for spin and the change. Does miss bats and we think there may be some upside.” – Mark Newman

Most likely, Newman said, Allen will open in the High-A Tampa rotation.

Obviously Allen’s not a sure thing, but his chances of playing a significant role in New York might actually be higher than Miranda’s.

Allen’s scouting report doesn’t sound that great, but he is still just 19 years old. And what is Miranda going to do with Mark Teixeira solidified at first base through 2016?

Yankees beat Red Sox on walk-off walk

Despite another blown save from the great Mariano Rivera, the Yankees prevailed in the 10th inning on a walk-off walk by Juan Miranda to beat the Red Sox 4-3.

The Yankees’ magic number is now down to one.

Best of All: The Yankees were in need of a quality start after some awful starts this past week. Phil Hughes provided that, as he went six strong innings.

Mark Teixeira had three hits, including a key hit in the ninth-inning rally to tie the game up after Rivera blew the lead. It would’ve been Teixeira — not Miranda — up in the 10th inning with the bases loaded if Joe Girardi hadn’t pinch-run for him.

Alex Rodriguez launched another homer, his fourth of the series. He’s now just one shy of 30, a huge milestone for him.

Worst of All: The Yankees mustered just four hits through the first eight innings off Daisuke Matsuzaka. Ouch.

Coming Up: The Yankees visit Toronto for the first few days of the week and then, after an off-day Thursday, they conclude their season at Fenway Park this weekend.

Rookies support Vazquez to split series with Angels

Javier Vazquez nearly blew a 6-0 lead, but held on for a 10-6 win with four late insurance runs off homers by rookies Juan Miranda and Colin Curtis in the seventh inning.

Best of All: The top three Yankee hitters had huge days. Derek Jeter went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, Nick Swisher had two hits including a double and Mark Teixeira had three hits, two doubles and three RBIs.

Worst of All: Brett Gardner got ejected the day after Joe Girardi did. The Yankees are an angry team lately — I think the Angels, as well as the umps, are at fault here.

Coming Up: No day off for the Yankees this week; they host a four-game series with the Royals this weekend. It all starts Thursday night with CC Sabathia toeing the rubber.

Halos thump Hughes, Yanks

The Angels’ bats came alive against Phil Hughes and the Yankees’ pitching staff Tuesday night in a 10-2 slaughter at Yankee Stadium.

Best of All: Alex Rodriguez and Juan Miranda both had two-hit nights, and Nick Swisher stayed hot with a solo shot in the first.

Joe Girardi got ejected. He was wrong on a stupid play on the bases in the sixth inning, but he was right to get ejected. Why not? Down 6-2 with time still left for a comeback, why not try to spark the offense?

Worst of All: Hideki Matsui hit one of three homers against Yankee pitching. Godzilla may be closer to home in Los Angeles, but I bet he liked New York better.

The Yankees allowed 10 unanswered runs, as both Yankee runs were scored in the first inning.

Jonathan Albaladejo, Chan Ho Park and Chad Gaudin each allowed at least one run after Hughes was rocked for six runs over five-plus innings.

With Hughes and A.J. Burnett struggling, and now Andy Pettitte shelved for three to five weeks, the Yankees’ biggest strength may now be one of their most glaring weaknesses.

Coming Up: The Yankees will put the ball in the hands of Javier Vazquez to avoid the short-series sweep.

Jorge Posada expected to return to Yankees today

Jorge Posada will make his return to the lineup today as long as he doesn't have any issues warming up, Joe Girardi indicated yesterday.

The Yankees have missed Posada, as Francisco Cervelli didn't continue his hot hitting when he assumed the starting catcher role like he did last year. Posada will likely start as a DH today and work his way into being the regular catcher.

Chad Jennings wonders who will be sent down to make room for Posada. I immediately suggested Chad Moeller, but Jennings suggests Juan Miranda or Kevin Russo may be sent down temporarily if Posada isn't completely ready to catch.

Either way, the important thing is that Posada's bat returns. He was hitting .326/.406/.618 before fouling a ball off his foot.

A miserable time at the ballgame

 
Batting practice when I arrived.

Even with the help of my presence at the stadium, the Yankees couldn’t keep pace with the Rays. The 8-6 loss was the third in a row for the Yankees and fourth in their last five.

Best of all: Derek Jeter had three hits including a two-run double in the ninth. The captain was becoming a major cause for concern — and still is — but a night like this helps.

The bullpen wasn’t so bad tonight either: 4 IP, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. David Robertson pitched two scoreless and Chan Ho Park allowed a solo shot to Carlos Pena.

Worst of all: Andy Pettitte. This was by far his worst start of the year — his first loss — as he gave up six earned runs over five innings. His ERA is still under three, but the Rays really embarrassed him, slugging three home runs.

Line of the night: Juan Miranda: 2-for-3, 3B, HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB

Up Next: The first Subway Series of the year begins Friday night at Citi Field. Full series preview will be posted as usual.

The sad stadium as I left.

Yankees minor league prospects update

While the Yankees are battling for tops in the AL East, prospects in Double-A and Triple-A are looking to show they are ready to compete at the big league level.

With Juan Miranda called up yesterday, the Yankees have now promoted seven players five weeks into the season. The farm system always makes an impact on the parent club because every team has to battle injuries and cold streaks.

Here’s an update on some of the top hitting and pitching prospects in the top levels of the organization.

Triple-A: Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees 
Jesus Montero C: Montero is far and away the Yankees top prospect, as some scouts ranked him the best hitter in the entire minor leagues heading into the year. Sadly for him, he hasn’t quite lived up to the high bill. He currently owns a .233/.295/.359 hitting line with just two homers and 13 RBIs in 103 at-bats. He also was benched last weekend for not running out a groundball. I don’t think it could get any worse for the 20-year-old catcher, who is yet to prove he can play the field at a high enough level.

Mark Melancon RHP: Melancon was called up in the beginning of May, but only for one less-than-spectacular performance. But he has continued to thrive in Scranton, posting a 4-1 record, a 3.00 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 21 innings. Jon Albaladejo is having a great year so far, better than Melancon’s, but Melancon is still the much better prospect.
Full Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Triple-A stats here.

Double-A: Trenton Thunder 
Austin Romine C: Romine, another good catching prospect, came out to a roaring start for the Thunder in 2010. At one point he rode a 16-game hitting streak to a .337 BA, but has slowed down a little bit to a .304/.377/.480 line. He’s known more for his defense, but it’s great to see his production and percentages improve. If Montero gets promoted at some point this season, Romine will surely be his replacement at Triple-A.

David Phelps RHP: Despite not being ranked in the top 10 of any well-known Yankee prospect lists, Phelps has been the Thunder’s top starter by a long shot. In the Eastern League, known for its quality pitching prospects, Phelps currently ranks second in ERA at a miniscule 1.60 tagged with a 0.98 WHIP. Since you probably haven’t heard of him, his arsenal features a low 90s fastball and a curveball. Here’s a link to a video of his windup.
Full Double-A stats here.

High-A: Tampa Yankees stats here.
Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs stats here.
(All of the used stats are prior to action on 5/14.)

Cashman: Hoffmann’s spot is ‘his to lose’

Headline says it all, according to Chad Jennings.

I was surprised by Brian Cashman’s statement. The Yankees have a few outfielders vying for a spot on the roster, and I thought Jamie Hoffmann was last on that list.

The outfielders with a 99.9 percent chance of making the team are Cutis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner. Those three, plus a 12-man pitching staff, two catchers, the rest of the starting infield, a backup (Ramiro Pena most likely) and Nick Johnson, leaves two spots left on the 25-man roster.

Candidates:
Randy Winn
Hoffmann
Marcus Thames

Winn is an obvious pick for me, but it’s a coin flip between Hoffmann and Thames for the final spot. Hoffmann has better defense, Thames has more power and experience.

You could also make the argument for Juan Miranda (1B/DH) for the final spot. He might be the best hitter of the bunch, but he’d be third or fourth on the depth chart for first base (so he’s probably not the guy).

Check out this post for a breakdown of some of the high-up minor league outfielders that could see time in the Yankee outfield.

Newman’s notes on Yankees prospects

Yankees VP of baseball operations Mark Newman had a lot to say about the Yankees prospects yesterday. Beat writer Chad Jennings separated them into posts on the pitching and position players. Here they are in short:

Pitchers
Aroldis Chapman:

Newman said the reports were exactly what he expected: Huge fastball. Spotty command. Inconsistent secondary pitches. “But if you don’t like that, you need to be in another business,” Newman said.

“(He would start in) A or Double-A,” Newman said. “Wherever it is he pitches, he needs to be comfortable and he needs to work on the command and secondary pitches. And when he gets that, he’s going to take off.”

Wilkin De La Rosa & Jeremy Bleich:

De la Rosa and Bleich will be in a Double-A rotation that will most likely include recent 40-man addition Hector Noesi. Noesi made just nine High-A starts last year, but Newman said he will “probably” open in Trenton.

Christian Garcia:

Put Chris Garcia in the Double-A rotation as well. The high-ceiling, often-injured right-hander is currently throwing and should be ready to open the season back in Trenton.

Dellin Betances:

Newman said Betances should be ready to pitch close to the start of the season. He’s slated for High-A Tampa.

Alan Horne:

“He’s healthy. He’s got to come back and see if he can recapture it.”

Andrew Brackman:

“Brack’s got stuff that’s top-of-the-rotation stuff,” Newman said. Brackman’s overall numbers were bad last season, but through his last four appearances he pitched 10 scoreless innings, walking none and striking out nine.

Position players
On Brett Gardner’s bad jumps:

“We can simulate everything in the minor leagues except the three decks,” Newman said. That third deck makes the ball difficult to track, and it takes some getting used to.

On Juan Miranda being benched in the Dominican Winter League:

“I think they brought in one of their superstar guys,” Newman said. “But (Miranda) played well.” Through 13 games, Miranda has a .409 average with two home runs and 11 RBI.

Jamie Hoffmann:

“He’s a big guy that can run. He’s a toolsy guy. I hope we can keep him because I really like the guy.”

Colin Curtis:

The good news is, Curtis destroyed the Arizona Fall League with a .397 average, .472 on-base and five home runs. That’s an offensive league, but still, those are great numbers. “He led the league in OPS. Everything being relative, relative to the rest of the league, he was still really good.”

Catching situation:

Triple-A: Jesus Montero
Double-A: Austin Romine
High-A: undefined
Low-A: Kyle Higashioka
Extended ST: Gary Sanchez and J.R. Murphy

Juan Miranda eats a pie, Yanks do it again

September call-up Juan Miranda grounded a ball off Kyle Farnsworth’s leg to drive in the game-winning run with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning. The 4-3 win over the Royals (64-94) was No. 102 for the Yankees (102-56).

Quick ‘Cap:
The Yanks couldn’t solve Royals’ starter Anthony Lerew until Mark Teixeira blasted his 39th bomb of the season in the sixth inning. That tied the score at 1, but Phil Coke’s fielding circus in the seventh allowed two unearned runs. Nick Swisher cut the deficit in half with a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to begin breathing down the Royals’ necks.

Farnsworth came on to close out the game and struck out Brett Gardner to start the inning. Then singles from Francisco Cervelli and Eric Hinske set up Robinson Cano’s game-tying sacrifice fly. Then Hinske advanced to third when he stole second and catcher John Buck’s throw went into center field. Farnsworth intentionally walked the struggling Johnny Damon to get to Miranda, and the rest is history.

A.J. Burnett pitched his third straight strong outing, but didn’t get a win to show for it this time. David Robertson and Brian Bruney pitched the final two innings, and Bruney improved to 5-0 with the win. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
It was the 15th time this season the Yankees have walked off with a win. It’s truly incredible. This team’s balance is really being exhibited down the stretch here. With the division already wrapped up, most of my attention has been focused on the Twins and Tigers.

Line of the Night:
Burnett: 6-1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 8 K. I’m content with that if he can do it in the postseason.

Up Next:
The Yanks could make it eight straight with a win on Wednesday. Joba Chamberlain (9-6, 4.72) toes the rubber against Robinson Tejada (4-2, 3.41).

Yanks win, Cano and Marte to return to Yankees

Shelley Duncan's three-run homer and Juan Miranda's solo shot led the Yankees to a 7-1 victory over the Reds tonight.  Joba Chamberlain made the start, and gave up one run over three innings.

Phil Coke, Kei Igawa, Christian Garcia and Anthony Claggett combined for six shutout frames.  Cody Ransom, Brett Gardner and Ramiro Pena each had two-hit games.

Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte along with the rest of the Domincan Republic were eliminated from the W.B.C. tonight by the Netherlands.  It was an incredible game.  

Both teams were scoreless through ten innings, but the Dominican scored a run in the top of the eleventh on a fielding blunder by the right fielder.  Sure enough, the right fielder came up in the bottom of the eleventh and tied it back up with an RBI single.  The Netherlands went on to win the game that inning after a throwing error and a fielding error.