SB Nation - Colin Curtis

Yankees 10, Pirates 3: A Whole Lot of Offense

Tanya Bondurant — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:46:00 -0000

After trailing 2-0 before they ever saw a pitch, the Yankee offense caught fire on their way to a 10-3 win over the Pirates in Tampa.

Scoring was led by Curtis Granderson, who reached base four times with a double, single, two walks, and three runs. Alex Rodriguez continued to hit the ball well, reaching base three times while driving in three runs. Grandy and A-Rod have looked amazing so far this Spring, which will hopefully carry over once the team heads to New York when camp is over.

Justin Maxwell also had himself quite a day, doubling twice, driving in two runs, and working a walk. Additional offense came by way of doubles from Andruw Jones and Russell Martin, RBI singles by Mark Teixeira and Colin Curtis, base hits by Brett Gardner and Eduardo Nunez, and a bases loaded walk by Robinson Cano, of all people.

Nick Swisher returned to the lineup after missing time with an injured groin, but pulled up lame running to first base on an error and left the game. Swisher said he didn't feel a pull, just tightness, but he'll miss a few more days trying to get back to 100%.

Starter Michael Pineda struggled in his first inning of work, giving up three hits, including a two-run home run to Andrew McCutchen. Pineda needed 39 pitches to get through the inning, but his velocity was higher than it had previously been, topping out at 94 mph with plenty of pitches hitting 92-93 mph.

After his first inning issues, Pineda really settled in and struck out the side in the 2nd. He reached his pitch count after getting through the third inning, but not before adding two more strikeouts to his day. During his interview Pineda mentioned that his shoulder was opening too much during the first inning, so he made the adjustment before coming out for the 2nd, which really paid off.

Mariano Rivera came on in relief of Pineda and needed only nine pitches to get through his scoreless inning. Rivera extended his amazing Spring Training scoreless streak to 25 innings. Cory Wade struggled, giving up three hits and a run during his outing, but struck out two batters to avoid further damage. Boone Logan, Juan Cedeno, George Kontos, and Branden Pinder each contributed a scoreless frame of their own in the game.

The Yankees take on division rival Tampa Bay tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. in Port Charlotte. Phil Hughes will start for the New York, while old ~~friend~~ foe Kyle Farnsworth takes the ball for the Rays. You can catch the game on ESPN or MLB.tv.

Spring Training Game 7: Yankees vs Braves

Tanya Bondurant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:31:13 -0000

The Yankees take on the Atlanta Braves split squad this afternoon at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Freddy Garcia gets the start for New York, while Julio Teheran, of six dingers in two innings fame, will take the ball for Atlanta.

Lineups:

Yankees -

Derek Jeter SS

Eric Chavez 3B

C Gustavo Molina, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Corban Joseph, SS Doug Bernier, 3B Ramiro Pena, LF Cole Garner, CF Dewayne Wise, RF Colin Curtis, and DH Zoilo Almonte are also due to make an appearance in the game. Available pitchers in relief are Rafael Soriano, Manny Banuelos, D.J. Mitchell, Kevin Whelan, Cesar Cabral, and the normal Mop Brigade.

Braves -

Matt Diaz RF

Christian Bethancourt DH

Drew Sutton 2B

Brandon Hicks 3B

Jose Constanza LF

Zoilo Almonte & the Yankees' Need for an Outfielder

Tanya Bondurant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:13 -0000

Spring Training is a great way to see prospects in action if you don't closely follow the minors during the regular season. There are always the names you know, like Manny Banuelos and Gary Sanchez, but there are also the unknowns who have not been hyped up on top prospects lists who you wait for an announcer to identify, or you have to look up their number on the Yankees' roster online.

Those guys are interesting to me, especially when they succeed, because there are absolutely no defined expectations for them. No one starts to panic if they are bad the way they would with ManBan or Dellin Betances. Every once in a while, one of them comes out of basically nowhere to surprise you, though, and for the most part this Spring Training, that prospect has been Zoilo Almonte.

No one would really blame you if you didn't know his name before this. He doesn't make the Top 10 Prospects list, he had to repeat Rookie Ball, and his name is not Slade Heathcott or Mason Williams. Despite all that, he was added to the Yankees' 40 man roster this offseason to protect him from being taken in the Rule V draft, and has gotten people to notice him by starting Spring Training on a hot streak.

Knowing as you do that the Yankees are notoriously thin at upper level outfield prospects, and with the goal of a $189 million dollar payroll by 2014 hanging overhead, could Zoilo Almonte be someone that could fill an outfield spot inexpensively? I beat the dead horse on the impending outfield situation and discuss Zoilo's minor league numbers after the jump.

Almonte is a switch-hitting corner outfield prospect who has flown largely under the radar thanks to unspectacular minor league numbers. With Mason Williams and Slade Heathcott slated to start the season at Low A Charleston and High A Tampa, respectively, we are left with Colin Curtis, unimpressive Melky Mesa, and virtually unknown Zoilo Almonte to fill the spot of Nick Swisher or Curtis Granderson in the event that one or both of them aren't brought back in the near future, which seems almost inevitable. Chris Dickerson and Justin Maxwell are both out of options, but remain in the fray of underperforming AAA outfielders that are a dime a dozen in Scranton this season. I'm not sure anyone would feel good about turning over the starting job to either one of them, and if you would, I'll have whatever you're having.

I doubt any of that is very comforting to you, but the Yankees really need to find a homegrown outfield prospect somewhere out of that bunch. The popular bet will be Mason Williams, but until he continues his success at higher levels of the minors, I'm going to temper my expectations with him and you'd do well to do the same. An unsustainable BABIP-fueled run through Staten Island isn't much to hang your hat on right now. He's years away from the majors and anything could happen between now and then. Don't get me wrong, he could be fantastic and I hope he is, but putting all your outfield hopes and dreams on him right now seems a bit premature.

Slade Heathcott has been continually injured, maxing out at 76 games played in Charleston in 2010. Maybe he'll figure out how to stay healthy and put his talents that have him ranked so highly within the Yankee system on display, but he hasn't proven that he can do so to this point. Even if he does manage to stay on the field, he'll be doing so at Tampa with a chance to move up to Trenton mid-season. He's still a few years away if everything goes right, and the Yankees may need an outfielder sooner rather than later if Swisher is not resigned.

Anyway, this post is not about those guys, it's about Almonte. Why could he be the guy to take over a starting spot in the Yankee outfield in the next two or three years? Well, he's already debuted at AA Trenton, which makes his development schedule more in line with the time frame the Yankees are working with than Mason Williams', and Melky Mesa is, well, Melky Mesa.

With the help of numbers via fangraphs, here is what Zoilo has accomplished in his time in the minors with the Yankees:

He certainly hasn't set anything on fire in his progression through the minor league system. Aside from the weirdness that happened when he repeated Rookie Ball, he's been pretty consistent: when he moves up a level mid season, he struggles, and then eventually adjusts and improves when he starts the following season there. His numbers after being promoted to Tampa in 2010 were not great, but they improved greatly after starting there the next season before being promoted to Trenton halfway through 2011. If history holds true, we should see improvement in his AA numbers as he (most likely) begins the 2012 season there.

Zoilo takes a good number of walks, but also strikes out at a somewhat concerning rate. He doesn't have an abundance of home run power, but 10-15 probably wouldn't be out of the question, I don't think. Mike Axisa at River Ave Blues called him "a poor man's version of Swisher at the plate", and that seems like it could be a pretty apt comparison. He's not going to hit as many home runs as Swisher will, but he can still demonstrate patience at the plate by taking a walk, or show off a bit of power and speed by hitting one into the gap.

Almonte has decently good speed, but that hasn't really translated into tons of stolen bases for him. He has stolen at least 15 bases the last three seasons, but if he improves his smarts on the base paths, he could easily develop into more of a stolen base threat. He's solid to above average defensively with a good arm and good range, but definitely not a Brett Gardneresque defensive superstar, though very few are.

If Zoilo can cut down on his strikeout totals while continuing to improve his power numbers, he certainly has the potential to be a fine major league outfielder. His progression hasn't been spectacular and there isn't much to really suggest he'll be a superstar, but I believe he could be more than serviceable at some point in the next few years if the Yankees need someone to help keep a spot warm for Mason Williams, and maybe even beyond. Maybe. Hopefully.

Spring Training Game Three: Pineda's Debut

Tanya Bondurant — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:31:12 -0000

Michael Pineda is pitching in a Yankee uniform today, and the Yankees are going for the sweep of the Phillies. That's basically all you need to know.

Lineups:

Yankees-

Brett Gardner LF

Curtis Granderson CF

Nick Swisher RF

Raul Ibanez DH

Eric Chavez 1B

Russell Martin C

Eduardo Nunez SS

Bill Hall 3B

Jayson Nix 2B

Also due to play: C Gustavo Molina, 1B Jorge Vazquez, 2B Corban Joseph, SS Ramiro Pena, 3B Brandon Laird, LF Zoilo Almonte, CF Melky Mesa, RF Colin Curtis, DH Justin Maxwell

Other pitchers due to make an appearance: David Robertson, Cesar Cabral, Dan Burawa, Adam Miller, Ryan Pope, Juan Cedeno, Graham Stoneburner, Brett Marshall, and Michael O'Connor.

Phillies-

Jim Thome DH

Domonic Brown LF

Next Man Up For The Yankees

Tanya Bondurant — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:01:13 -0000

With the Yankees' 25 man roster nearly set, I thought now would be as good a time as any to look at the guys who would be first off the bus from Scranton in the event of an injury to a starter. Obviously the bench players like Andruw Jones or Eric Chavez will have the first crack at taking over for any injured starter, but beyond that, some of the names are not very comforting.

If you've hung around PSA long enough to hear some of the more minor league following members talk about depth, you've likely heard that most of the exciting position player talent within the system is at the lower levels of the minors. Sadly, that means that these names won't really be overly exciting, but it's interesting to see the depth that could be forced into action at the major league level if called upon in case of an emergency.

The Yankees could certainly absorb an injury long enough to weather the storm at some positions better than others. Scranton Wilkes-Barre has a good pitching staff with a few guys who could contribute tomorrow if they were needed. The outfield is a much different story, however. The verdict? We really need to wrap Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher in bubble wrap. You'll see why if you follow the jump.

Pitching:

The first two guys who would likely be asked to fill in for any injured pitcher in the rotation are obviously David Phelps and Adam Warren, with Phelps having the edge by already being on the 40 man roster. Both guys have had success at AAA, and would likely be serviceable as a fifth starter if needed. For most MLB teams, these two pitchers would likely already have a spot in the rotation, so look for them to get the call first if something happens to one of our starting five.

Behind those guys, D.J. Mitchell and Dellin Betances are also on the 40 man roster, and both would likely get the nod over teammate Manny Banuelos if another pitcher from Scranton was needed to fill in. Betances got a taste of the big leagues last season, but desperately needs to refine his mechanics at the minor league level before being called up for any extended amount of time.

On the relief front, George Kontos and Kevin Whelan would be good candidates for a call up in the event that an injury happened to a member of the bullpen. There are also a slew of unexciting guys signed to minor league contracts that could hang around to fill in as a mop, if necessary, but Kontos and Whelan have had success at Scranton and would be my picks to pitch if need be. Once Kontos recovers from his oblique injury, he'd likely get the call first because of his 40 man roster status. And because Kevin Whelan walked too many people that one time, and is doomed to never be good again. Or something.

Infield:

Eduardo Nunez would likely be the man for the job, but some other likely fill in candidates are Brandon Laird and Ramiro Pena. Most sane people would prefer Laird because he's not as incompetent offensively, and I definitely agree with that assessment. Less likely candidates include Jorge Vazquez, Corban Joseph, David Adams, and Jayson Nix. Most of these guys are in AAA for a reason, but if El Chato goes on another home run binge like he did in 2011, it might be interesting to see what he could do in the DH role in the Bronx. His strikeout numbers are concerning, and he'd likely be terribly exposed against major league pitching, but there's always a chance he could provide some value in a pinch.

For catchers, Austin Romine(!) and Gustavo Molina would likely be the fill ins for Russell Martin or Francisco Cervelli, who is likely to win the backup catcher spot out of Spring Training. Romine should really spend time in AAA to work on his offense against better pitchers, but if one of the catchers in the big leagues has to miss time, he'd be a better pick than Faux Molina pretty much by default.

Outfield:

Chris Dickerson and Justin Maxwell are out of options, and likely don't have a place on the 25 man roster to start the season as the sixth outfielder. This complicates the depth chart at an already weak position, as both are the best players we have to take over for a starter in the event of an injury. As you've likely heard, the Yankees are notoriously thin at outfield prospects, so Colin Curtis, DeWayne Wise, and Cole Garner are the main people to look forward to filling the spot of Grandy/Gardner/Swisher if one of them were to get hurt. Yikes. That's a pretty scary thought, in addition to the fact that there would possibly be some Raul Ibanez mixed in. We've seen the gifs. No one wants to watch him throw a baseball backwards.

Wrap our three starting outfielders in bubble wrap, store them in an airtight container, and keep all sharp objects at least 100 feet away from them. Please.

Which minor leaguers do you hope get the call in case of an injury?