SB Nation - Juan Miranda

Farm system recap: Scranton Yankees, aka A Farewell to A-Jax

Travis G — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

With all the recent events between the Yankees and their division rivals, this had to be delayed.

The Triple-A Yankees finished first in the International League's Northern Division with an 81-60 record. They were swept, however, in the IL finals by the Durham Bulls, three games to none.

The offensive star was once again Shelley Duncan, who won the MVP after hitting .277/.370/.546 and leading the league in homers and RBI. He'll be 30 next year and declined to return to the Scranton Yankees, making himself a free agent. It's too bad that he happened to be in the organization of a team with such talent at the big league level. I believe he could've been (and still might be) a productive ML hitter.

Cuban defector Juan Miranda was the left-handed MVP, batting .290/.369/.498. He's been called the current DH for the big league Yankees, but we all should remember Brian Cashman's statement that Bubba Crosby was the starting centerfielder right before they signed Johnny Damon. However, having Miranda as the platoon DH/1B wouldn't be so bad. He murders right-handed pitchers (.893 OPS vs. RHP, .712 vs. LHP). But having a DH that only plays two-thirds of the games makes for problems by itself. He's a solid insurance policy in case (Mo forbid) Teixeira goes down.

The best prospect on Scranton was Austin Jackson (.300/.354/.405), who led the team in plate appearances because he hit lead-off much of the year. He's what's called a 'toolsy' prospect, basically meaning he hasn't shown much in terms of production but has the raw tools to be a very good player. His best stint to date was a half-season with the Tampa Yankees (.345/.398/.566 in 67 games). However, he has never come close to that incredible slugging average since 2007 (.419 and .405 the two years since). What's also concerning (for Detroit) is his strikeout rate: 522 in 565 career games. Generally a player that K's that much also hits for power - not so with Ajax, who has 30 career homers. The Tigers are hoping that his raw physical ability eventually translates into power (he'll only be 23 next year). He hits for a decent average (.288) and OBP (.356), steals bases (123 SB, 34 CS) and plays above-average defense (by most accounts). He'll never be a superstar, but could be a good centerfielder for many years (which is extremely valuable).

There wasn't anyone too exciting on the pitching side. Romulo Sanchez (65 ip, 4.04 ERA, 64 K, 34 BB, 1.55 WHIP) was acquired from the Pirates in May. The Yankees like his high-90's velocity, but what's perplexing is his relative lack of K's (until this year). He K'ed 5.9/9 before this season. That rate jumped to 9.2/9 this year. Being just 25, he still has a chance at a long ML career. He'll never have a rotation spot, but his heat could make him an intriguing bullpen option in 2010.

Another relief option is Mark Melancon (53 ip, 2.89 ERA, 54 K, 11 BB, .91 WHIP), the former closer for the U. of Arizona. His career minor league stats are sick: 156 ip, 2.54 ERA, 151 K, 35 BB, .96 WHIP. His problem at the major league level, in a brief 13-game stint, was control: he walked 10 in 16 innings. That can be attributed mostly to nerves. His MiL walk rate is very low (2/9), so once he gets comfortable in the majors, we should see the dominant Mark Melancon.

I guess I need to mention He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who now holds Scranton's career mark for wins, with 29. He led the team in innings (145), wins (10), K's (105), walks (40) and homers allowed (21). Two years to go...

New York Yankees notes: Much hinges on Damon's decision

Ed Valentine — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:21:46 -0000

Who is in left field? Who is at designated hitter? Those are the basic lineup questions about our New York Yankees right now, and they all hinge -- of course -- on whether Johnny Damon will accept a contract offer from the Yankees much shorter and less lucrative than uber-agent Scott Boras would like.

Meanwhile, there is much discussion of other options should Damon decide to walk. GM Brian Cashman can talk about Juan Miranda all he wants, but we all know that is incredibly unlikely to happen.

By the way, with the Rule 5 drafting of Jason Hoffmann another question seems to be whether or not speedster Brett Gardner will be part of the outfield mix. Seems the Chicago White Sox, and possibly the Kansas City Royals, are asking about Gardner's availability.

Personally, I love Gardner. Some folks think Jason Tyner or Joey Gathright -- speedy slap hitters who have never hit enough to play regularly, when they look at Gardner. To me, he's a lot closer to Scott Podsednik, a guy who can hit enough, defend and wreak havoc on the bases. Obviously, it's not going to be with the Yankees, but I still believe Gardner can play regularly -- and do it well -- for somebody.

I mentioned Hoffmann, the Rule 5 pick, earlier. He seems like a useful reserve outfielder with some tools, and The Baseball Analysts are wondering why the Los Angeles Dodgers seemed to be trying so hard to lose him.

So why wasn't he on the 40 man roster, and why was he DFAed in September? The answer seems to be that he was redundant on the Dodgers. The 4th outfielder role is currently held down by Xavier Paul. Jason Repko also sits higher on the blue totem pole. I would have been surprised to see anyone grab Trayvon Robinson in the rule 5 draft, but if the Dodgers perceived that as a threat, it could certainly be argued that he deserves protection more than Hoffman.

Perhaps it just says more about the Yankees than the Dodgers. The Yankees currently have 4 outfielders on the 40-man roster. The first two, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher, are clearly going to be penciled into most Yankees line-ups in 2010. The other two outfielders would be lucky to be penciled in at all. Melky Cabrera is a glorified backup centerfielder. He simply does not have the production to justify being played in a corner outfield position. With the Granderson acquisition, Melky will be reduced to being a 2nd choice centerfielder, and a last choice corner outfielder. The last outfielder, Brett Gardner is not even a good option for a 4th outfielder. How Gardner has still has a job confuses me.

Hoffman would fit in well as a 4th outfielder. He can play any outfield position, and his production will likely justify his being played on a corner. He isn't a great base stealer, but he has speed on the bases, making him a good option as a pinch runner. So this replacement-level outfielder, the 6th choice outfielder on the Dodgers, would be the starting left fielder on the current Yankees roster. This was clearly a good choice for the yankees. It was also very bad planning on the part of the Dodgers if they had any interest in keeping Hoffman.

Obviously, I disagree about Gardner. I do think, though, that Melky is a better fit than Gardner as a fourth outfielder because of his ability to play the corners and to switch hit. Nonetheless, this is kind of thought-provoking.

If you are in the 'Don't trade for Roy Halladay' camp, otherwise known as the Jesus Montero Fan Club, you will hate this quote from Cashman.

"I’m hesitant to move certain young players because of what they can do for us in the here and now or in the future and the salary off-set they provide. At the same time, for the right player, I’ll move anybody."

That doesn't mean Halladay is the right player. It just means he might be, so stay tuned.

The Big Lead, maybe the best general sports blog on the planet, had a nice interview with new Yankee Curtis Granderson the other day.

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is talking about his team taking a step back in 2010 to be more competitive down the road. Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy isn't buying what Theo is selling. Neither am I.

CC a tad shaky, just misses getting his 20th win in 13-4 loss

CrazyYankeeChick — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:07:46 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Yeah, we didn't want to look either.

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Was it me, or did the Yankees seem a bit off tonight?

Hard to put my finger on it exactly, but something was amiss. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say my eyebrow started to raise when CC Sabathia let up about 8,910,266 runs in the first hour of the game.

Seriously, what can I really say about this one? To be completely honest, I didn't have the heart or stomach to chain myself to the YES network. for this one, especially with the Rangers (of the hockey persuasion) opening up tonight. The whole "had to watch, like a car wreck" concept never really made much sense to me. I don't want to see a car wreck on the highway, and I don't want to see one on the mound.

Since there are no highlights to speak of, this will be quick...

I cannot dirve this point home emphatically enough: I was 100% shellshocked that CC didn't get his 20th win. I keep rolling it around in my head until it starts to make me crazy, (which doesn't really take much)--the best team in baseball was playing a team that's been crumbling at a steady rate for the past 2 months.

They played their best starter against a rookie. A colossally dominant starter whose emaciated ERA over his last 11 starts suggested nothing less than another repeat performance. And a starter whose team run support is nearly 6 per game--the 12th highest in all league pitchers.

It never once occured to me that win #20 would escape poor CC. As the TV was nearly muted (hearing a bad game is infinitely worse than just seeing it), I didn't take note of the crowd reaction to CC's inexplicable implosion. Do the Rays have like a full-fledged fan base now? Or are they still defined by their lack of definition?

I hope no one booed him. I'm all for booing Joba Chamberlain when he gets chased in the 3rd inning, even when it's a meaningless post-clinching game. But CC deserved a win tonight (obviously, not based on his merit). But he's been a veritable hero for the Yanks all season, and I wish he had gotten it. But instead, he threw 82 pitches in a little over 2 innings, giving up 9 runs on 8 hits, only 5 of which was earned, and walking 5.

(Requisite due diligence: David Price is unbelievably good. Remarkable and special thanks go out to White Sox tonight for reducing chances of having to face the suped up turbo hi-tech model of David Price in game 1 of the ALDS.)

(Legitimate query: Did the Yanks hit their high mark with 7, in terms of the number of pitchers used in a 9-inning game this season? If so, I think part of Girardi is secretly brimming with pride. "I knew I could do it!")

The first run of the game was "manufactured" in the first inning, after our boy plugged up the bases with Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and Jason Bartlett, and then walked their intimidating #6 batter Gabe Kaplar (who holds the distinction of being Nick Swisher's first major league strikeout. Where was Swish when we needed him tonight??)

That was run 1. And it just got uglier from there.

Nothing--seriously, NOTHING--made sense tonight. Mark Teixeira had an error in the first inning. The top two-thirds of our elite line-up was altogether hitless on the night. All 6 of the the Yankees' hits for the night came off the bats of the bottom third. To be clear, Jeter, Tex, Hairston ARod, Swisher, and Posada were all 0-fers. Cano, Gardner, Melky, Pena, and Juan Miranda all chipped in hits.

To sum it up, you know you're in for a total cesspool of backwards subversion when Jose Molina sees what a base looks like up close.

Everything's out of your system now, though, right?

(Oh, and B.J. Upton went 5-for-5 and hit for the cycle or something.)

-CYC

Scranton done, Miranda up

Travis G — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:54:52 -0000

Guess who's elbow that is...

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The Scranton Yankees were swept by the Durham Bulls in the IL finals, dropping the last game, 3-2. Considering they didn't have league MVP Shelley Duncan and starter Josh Towers in the playoffs, their run to the finals was very impressive.

After the game, lefty 1B/DH Juan Miranda was promoted to New York. The Cuban is (supposedly) 26-years-old and has a career minor league line of .280/.366/.474 (.290/.369/.498 this year), including extreme platoon splits (.704 OPS vs. LHP, .900 vs. RHP).

No word yet on any other Scrantonians.

Yankees prospect Juan Miranda on the block?

Eli Greenspan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:26:48 -0000

by Frank Franklin II - AP

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When the Yankees signed Cuban phenom Juan Miranda, slugger Jason Giambi was in the final two years of his contract. It seemed possible that by the 2009 season, Miranda would be ready to at least have a part-time role with the Yankees. Miranda has done well for the Yankees in three minor league seasons, posting a .280 average with 47 home runs and a .366 on-base percentage. However, with Mark Teixeira signed for the next eight seasons, it is very unlikely that Miranda will receive any considerable playing time in a Yankee uniform.

In his second full year at Triple-A Scranton, he hit a career best .290 with 19 home runs. If the Yankees were to move him this off season, now would be the time to call him up to get him a couple at-bats, so teams could see him face major league pitching.

The Pirates could pursue Juan Miranda. Miranda's bat would be a nice compliment to some of the Pirates' emerging hitters, and would likely come a cheap price. Other teams that could take a look at the 26-year old include the Indians, Giants, and Athletics.

Arizona to the Big Apple

jscape2000 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:29:59 -0000

Last season the Yankees sent Juan Miranda, Austin Jackson, Kevin Whelan, Phil Hughes and Humberto Sanchez to the Arizona Fall League.

This year they'll be sending Ian Kennedy, Austin Romine, Brandon Laird and Colin Curtis to the Surprise Rafters, with 3 spots TBA (possibly Zack Kroenke and Mike Dunn).

We all remember IPK's appearance on the scene in 2007, when he was a lights out September call-up. The market corrected itself, and he got trashed in 2008. He had a few good outings (I still believe he can be a reliable big league starter), but too many clunkers- he didn't make the 4th inning in 5 of his ten starts. He was back in Scranton by June. He got called up again when Joba got hurt, got one start, got slapped around by the Angels and got sent back down.

He's missed most of this season with an aneurysm under the arm, similar to David Cone's surgery in '96. Because of that, he's pitched only 4 games for Scranton- which is a shame because he looked ready to be brilliant, going 22.2 innings allowing 18 hits and 7BB against 25 Ks.

Austin Romine is the catching prospect so often lost in the shadow of Jesus Montero. He's a 2007 2nd-round pick out of high school, and he has refused to move slowly as he refines his craft. He spent all of 2009 with high A Tampa, going .272/.319/.429, a step back from his stats in Charleston. Still, he's only 20 years old (21 in November). He started the season ranked the Yanks' 4th best prospect, and BA's choice for catcher in 3 seasons. He could get a boost of confidence from the hitter-friendly AFL.

Brandon Laird is another 2007 draftee, going in the 27th round. Like Romine, he spent the season at high A, going .270/.330/.421 in 122 games. He mainly played third this season with Brad Suttle on the DL. He's been electric since the All-Star break (.294/.373/.520) and it's worth seeing if he can ride this hot streak up to Trenton next season.

24-year old Colin Curtis is just about at the end of his prospect status, and he's reached the point in his minor league career when he has to be added to the 40-man or be eligible for the Rule 5 draft. He plays all 3 outfield spots, and has always had a little power and a little speed, but he only hit .252/.321/.369 this season at AA and AAA. Sending him to the AFL will help the Yanks decide where he fits in their plans- if the Yanks opt not to resign Matsui, Damon, Hairston Jr. and Nady, Curtis will be either the 4th outfielder or the injury reserve.

Don't get too down re: Montero's injury

Travis G — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:38:55 -0000

A fractured finger is far from any kind of a long-term injury (like a leg or arm). His expected recovery time is 4-6 weeks, and that's because the Yankees will be extra cautious with their most precious prospect.

He still may play in the Arizona Fall League, which begins in October (h/t to RAB). Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson and Juan Miranda attended last year.

The injury may mean he starts next year in Trenton rather than Scranton, but if so, not for long. There's still a chance he begins 2010 in Triple-A (with a very outside shot of making the big team out of Spring Training).

Cubs AFL Report: Solar Sox 13, Javelinas 6

Al — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:30:05 -0000

MESA, Arizona -- The grass was a little browner than I remembered it from last March, scorched by the summer Arizona sun.

But parking's free, and it costs only $6 to get in -- sit anywhere -- so why not? I headed over to Ho Ho Kam Park Monday afternoon to take in the AFL game between the Mesa Solar Sox (comprised of prospects from the Cubs, Phillies, Braves, Marlins and Tigers) and the Peoria Javelinas (taking their players from the Mariners, Rays, Yankees, Brewers and Reds). A Javelina, apparently, is some sort of wild pig, as shown by their logo:

Personally, I like the Solar Sox logo (at left) better.

The PA guy (not Tim Sheridan, who does the Cubs' spring games, but someone else) laid a little joke on the small assemblage when announcing the attendance: at first he said "13,297", then adjusted it to 297 (and that must have included the 15 or so scouts, both teams and the employees behind the one concession stand that was open, and though the ticket price was cheap, the food was not: full major league prices for the limited selection). Those of us enjoying the above-average 78-degree game-time temperature and completely cloudless skies saw the Solar Sox beat the Javelinas 13-6 in a game that wasn't that close -- it was 13-0 Mesa at the end of the fifth inning, and then Mesa relievers gave up three homers and six runs over the last four innings. More on this later.

I'll talk more about the Cubs involved in this game in a moment, but the story of the game was Atlanta pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, a 22-year-old, 6-6 moose of a guy who throws bullets and has a nasty breaking ball; he threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit and two walks and striking out ten. It's no wonder that the Padres spent a good portion of the last couple of weeks trying to pry him away from the Braves in the Jake Peavy negotiations. Nor is it surprising, given the talent I saw today, that the Braves said no way. Hanson, though he spent 2008 split between the Carolina League and the Southern League, might be ready for a shot at the Atlanta rotation in 2009.

The Solar Sox scored first; Matt Young, another Atlanta prospect, led off the game with a walk (there were 12 walks in all in the game, which made it drag at times); next up was the Cubs' Nate Spears. After faking a bunt, then taking a pitch:

Spears swung at the next pitch, and on this swing (the catcher is faking a throw to second as the runner had taken off):

... he smacked a two-run homer, his first in the AFL, down the right-field line. Spears later singled, struck out, walked and flied to left, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Personally, I like Spears; he's hitting .338/.457/.500 and has split his time between SS and 2B almost equally during the AFL season. I am well aware cough Sam Fuld cough that AFL stats don't necessarily translate into major league success. However, I think Spears at the very least will get a spring training invite and possibly as much as being added to the 40-man roster (after the Rule 5 draft) with a chance of making the major league team as a reserve infielder.

The Solar Sox added two more runs in the third off Peoria starter Alex Periard (from the Brewers; he was less than impressive, walking four and allowing eight hits and six runs in 3.2 innings). Steve Kahn (Mariners) came in and promptly gave up a single and a walk to load the bases, and another Atlanta prospect, third baseman Van Pope, hit a grand slam to the right-field berm (sorry, Ballhawk, the berm was officially closed, although that didn't stop a couple of people from trying to run after the six home run balls hit out there -- even though they had the sprinklers going in right field most of the afternoon).

The Cubs' other position prospect who played in Monday's game was Darwin Barney, a fourth-round pick out of Oregon State in 2007. This faked bunt attempt:

... eventually resulted in Barney grounding into a 5-4-3 double play (on a subsequent pitch). Barney grounded out three times, popped up and walked in his five times up (he hit ninth in this DH-used game).

Cub pitching prospects didn't do very well. Rocky Roquet, rather old for this league and his level (he turned 26 two weeks ago and has never pitched above Double-A), relieved Hanson and allowed three runs (two earned, thanks to a throwing error by Spears) when Yankee prospect Juan Miranda slammed a three-run homer. All three outs recorded by Roquet were on deep fly balls.

And Esmailin Caridad, who had one appearance for the major league Cubs in spring training in 2008, didn't distinguish himself, either; after retiring the first two hitters in the 8th inning on lazy popups, he issued a walk and then Miranda hit his second homer of the game. Caridad throws pretty hard for a guy his size, only 5-10, 195:

Finally, the hitting coach for the Solar Sox is someone you might recognize:

In the AFL many of the coaches and managers serve as base coaches; Peoria's manager Daren Brown (who manages Seattle's Triple-A team at Tacoma) coached third, while former Cub Ozzie Timmons coached first. For Mesa, manager Rocket Wheeler didn't coach, which left first-base coaching duties for various players who weren't in the game, and third-base coaching for Ryno. I was sitting in the first row behind the Peoria dugout and overheard, toward the end of the game, and also toward the end of his conversation, one of the Peoria coaches, who I thought I recognized, telling either one of his players or one of the other coaches -- I couldn't tell which -- that Mesa's hitting coach was "Ryne Fucking Sandberg". (There was, apparently, a reason for this reference, but I didn't catch it.) Then I figured out who uttered that profanity... Peoria pitching coach Ted Power, onetime closer for the Reds who was, briefly, in spring training with the Cubs (and I believe, Sandberg's teammate), trying to hang on in March 1994.

Baseball. Love it. Glad to have seen a ballgame in mid-November. Can't wait for spring training!

All photos by Al Yellon