Anyway, here is an open thread for this Yankees baseball-less evening. FOX Sports 1 will have the Twins and Tigers, and MLB Network is showing a regional game. There’s also the weekly Thursday NFL game (Rams vs. 49ers). The Thursday game always stinks though, doesn’t it? Players don’t have enough time to recover after Sunday. Whatever. Talk about anything here that isn’t religion or politics. Have at it.
Better matchup for the Wild Card Game: Angels or Twins?
With a week and a half left in the season, the Yankees appear set to host the American League Wild Card Game.
The team is still in hot pursuit of the division crown, but the Red Sox’s extra-inning escapes against the Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays in recent weeks have kept the Yankees from catching up.
Therefore, it’s time to look at the two likely potential opponents for the Wild Card Game: the Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins. The Yankees are 4-2 this season against the Twins and 2-4 against the Angels. While these are very different teams from past iterations of the Angels and Twins that the Yankees faced in the postseason, those records certainly mirror recent history between each franchise.
So which team is a better matchup for the Yankees in a one-game scenario? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons for each matchup.
Pros for facing the Twins
We’ve seen the case for why the Yankees would want to face the Twins this week. With Minnesota visiting Yankee Stadium, the Bombers were able to beat both of their top starters — Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios — while holding the Twins’ hot lineup at bay. Budding star Byron Buxton went 0 for 10 with a walk and was a non-factor in the series.
Perhaps the best reason to face the Twins is their bullpen. The Yankees got into the bullpen quickly against Berrios, who has significant home-road splits and therefore may not be the choice for a WCG. Rookie Trevor Hildenberger has been a revelation in recent weeks, but the rest of the bullpen is highly beatable. Matt Belisle is their closer and has converted just 7 of 12 save opportunities.
Their best reliever was Brandon Kintzler. He was traded at the deadline to the Nationals. That deal shows what the front office expected this team to do in the second half. Instead, they’re 28-20 since Aug. 1 and appear to be playing over their heads, although they’re 11-24 this season against the current AL playoff teams. The Angels are a more respectable 14-19.
They’ve had a lot of their success without slugger Miguel Sano. Sano struggled with injuries and is now on the 10-day DL with a stress fracture in his left shin, which likely has him out for the year. That should be a relief for Yankees fans: He’s the type of player that can turn a single game with his bat and is objectively Minnesota’s best hitter.
Cons for facing the Twins
There’s a lot to make the Twins a good matchup, but there’s also plenty of reasons to not to face them. A big reason to avoid them? Power. Even without Sano, the team has power up and down the lineup. They have five players with at least 15 home runs. They’ve hit the fourth most home runs in baseball since the All-Star break. And in the second half, they’re fourth with a 109 wRC+. They’re third in WAR thanks to a strong defensive unit.
Buxton epitomizes their resurgence. He returned from the disabled list on Aug. 1 and has batted .302/.348/.581 with 11 home runs and 21 total extra-base hits in 190 PAs. He’s still struck out 51 times, but he’s been a better hitter. What makes Buxton special is how he affects the game on both ends. He may be the best defensive center fielder in the game and he ranks at the top of the Statcast leaderboards for sprint speed.
In a WCG, the Twins could eschew their normal bullpen and simply use Santana followed by Berrios or vice versa, limiting the need for their parade of sub-par middle relievers. The Yankees can get to both, but they’ve each been special at times this year. Of any pitcher on the Angels and Twins, I would least want to face Berrios, who has a fastball-curveball combo that is unhittable when he’s rolling.
Pros for facing the Angels
Why would you want to face the Angels? Pitching, pitching, pitching. This team doesn’t have a clear starter for a one-game playoff, let alone a staff that you could see an easy path through nine innings. Three of their best starters — J.C. Ramirez, Matt Shoemaker and Alex Meyer — are out for the year. Their closer, Huston Street, threw four innings this year and is out for the season.
So who do the Angels turn to for a winner-take-all game? Parker Bridwell?? Bridwell is 8-2 with a 3.71 ERA through 102 innings, but his peripherals indicate he isn’t that good. He also has a 4.69 ERA over his last nine starts. Bridwell did hold the Yankees to three runs in 8 2/3 innings in two June outings, but he allowed nine hits and walked five to just four strikeouts.
Yusmeiro Petit has been the key cog in their bullpen and could throw multiple innings in a one-game playoff. Former Yankee Blake Parker has been solid this season with elevated strikeout numbers. But if the Yankees face anyone else in that bullpen, they should feast.
In the lineup, Albert Pujols still bats in the middle of the lineup despite batting just .242/.287/.392 (79 wRC+) and is an enormous negative on the basepaths. Teams have begun using extreme shifts to limit him further. The more he bats in the middle of the order, the worse things go for the Angels.
Cons for facing the Angels
Mike Trout? Mike Trout!!!! Why would you want to face Mike Trout in a one-game playoff?!?!
Having a stud starting pitcher is the best weapon for a one-game playoff (Luis Severino!). Outside of that, having a once-in-a-generation type talent that can dominate with his bat and glove is paramount. Trout is that. It’s like having a right-handed hitting Mickey Mantle for a one-game playoff. I’m not going to reel off his stats because Trout’s name should be synonymous with otherworldly success at this point in his career.
Unlike recent seasons, there is actually offensive talent around Trout. The Angels acquired Justin Upton at the August waiver deadline and he’s been mashing for three weeks in Anaheim. You’ll still want to avoid Trout beating you, but Upton makes you think twice before pitching around him.
Andrelton Simmons, the best fielding shortstop in baseball, has also turned back into an above-average hitter with power and helped turn one of the Yankees-Angels games earlier this season with a home run. The presence of Simmons extends their lineup, as does Brandon Phillips and the power of C.J. Cron and Luis Valbuena. It’s not exactly murderer’s row, but it’s more than the nothingburger the Angels had flanking Trout since their 2014 playoff appearance.
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Ultimately, the Yankees should win a one-game playoff if they get there. They have the best lineup, the best starting pitcher — perhaps the top four starting pitchers — and the best bullpen of any wild-card contender. However, anything can happen in a one-game playoff.
My take? While Twins look to be a more complete roster, I’d rather not face Mike Trout and co. in a one-game playoff. It’s kind of irrational because one player can’t beat you unless you let him. And in a five- or seven-game series, I feel like the better overall roster is a bigger advantage. Yet in a one-game series, having the best player on either side could be magnified, particularly if that player can do what Trout does.
Which team is a better Wild Card Game matchup?
Yankeemetrics: How sweet it is, Bombers sweep Twinkies (Sept. 18-20)
Who needs clutch hitting?
In what was billed as a potential Wild Card game preview, the Yankees struck first with a narrow 2-1 win in the series opener over the Twins. They overcame another massive RISPFAIL (0-for-12 with runners in scoring position) thanks to justenough power at the plate and a (mostly) lock-down performance on the mound.
Aaron Judge continued the steady climb out of his post-break slump with a first-inning solo bomb. It was his 28th home run in the Bronx this year, moving him into a tie for fourth place on the franchise single-season list for homers hit at home. A few guys named Gehrig (30 in 1934), Maris (30 in 1961), and Ruth (29 in 1928) are ahead of him.
After the Twins tied it in the fifth, Todd Frazier delivered a game-winning bases-loaded sac fly in the sixth inning. Here’s a “betcha didn’t know” stat: that was the Yankees’ 52nd sacrifice fly of the season, the second-most in the majors behind the Astros. The last time they finished first or second in sac flies was 20 years ago (!) when they hit an MLB-best 70 in 1997.
Jaime Garcia pitched his finest game in pinstripes, allowing one unearned run on four hits while striking out nine, before getting pulled with two outs in the sixth. He remained winless as a Yankee, though, giving us an excuse for another #KillTheWin Yankeemetric:
Garcia is the third pitcher over the last 100 seasons to not get a win in his first seven starts with the Yankees – the others were Steve Trout in 1987 and Mike Kekich in 1969 – but his 3.86 ERA is by far the best among that trio (both those other guys had ERAs way above 5.00 during their streaks).
The Yankees nearly wasted Garcia’s gem as Dellin Betances‘ control problems re-surfaced in an ugly eighth inning, during which three of the four guys he faced reached base without a hit (two walks, hit-by-pitch). Adding in the wild pitch he threw, and Betances gets our Obscure Yankeemetric of the Series.
Yes, it is very hard to cram all of that wildness into such a short outing. He is the first Yankee since at least 1912 to hit a guy, throw a wild pitch and issue multiple walks — while facing no more than four batters in a game.
Walks have always been a problem for Betances but he’s taken the hit-by-pitch issue to another level this year. It was the 10th time he hit a guy, becoming the first reliever in franchise history to plunk double-digit batters in a season. Betances had a total of nine hit-by-pitches in his major-league career before this year.
Don’t forget about the Elder Bombers
The Yankees continued to build momentum down the stretch with a 5-2 win on Tuesday, clinching their sixth straight series win. Over the last month, the only series they have lost was to the Indians (August 28-30) during their historic 22-game win streak.
The win also was their third in five games against the Twins in 2017, and with Wednesday’s finale being the only remaining matchup, the Yankees still haven’t lost a season series to the Twins since 2001. That is … good?
CC Sabathia battled through a shaky first inning, but recovered for one of his sharpest and most efficient starts of the season (77 pitches, six innings, two runs). Sabathia’s ability to come up huge in the most critical games has been well-documented here. And now we’ve got another “Big Game CC” stat to chew on: following Tuesday’s solid outing, he is 6-0 with a 1.25 ERA in seven starts against opponents with a .500 record or better this season. That’s the best record and lowest ERA in the majors among pitchers that have started at least five games against winning teams.
We’ve also got a Milestone Alert Yankeemetric for the big fella: his strikeout of Chris Gimenez to end the second inning was the 2,833rd of his career, moving him past Mickey Lolich for 18th place on the major-league all-time strikeout list, and third place among left-handers.
Most Strikeouts by LHP in MLB History
1. Randy Johnson – 4,875
2. Steve Carlton – 4,136
3. CC Sabathia – 2,836
4. Mickey Lolich – 2,832
Brett Gardner stuffed the stat sheet and provided the offensive spark at the top of the order, with three hits, two RBIs and a stolen base. The last Yankee leadoff batter to reach each of those totals in a game was Derek Jeter on July 9, 2011.
If that date sounds familiar …. yup, it was the Mr. 3000 game, when Jeter got his 3,000th hit against the Rays and produced one of the most iconic highlights in franchise history.
The Bronx Bombers returned to their bread-and-butter winning strategy – explosive innings and dingers galore – in sweeping the Twins with a 11-3 win on Wednesday. It was their ninth sweep in 2017, nearly twice as many as they had last year (5).
If these teams do end up meeting for a one-game playoff in less than three weeks, the Yankees should like their chances based on recent history.
Their .721 winning percentage (44-17) in the regular season against the Twins since 2009 is the highest in any head-to-head matchup between any MLB teams (min. 25 games) over the past nine seasons. The Yankees’ domination extends to the postseason, too. They are 12-2 against the Twins in the playoffs – their best postseason record against any opponent (min. 10 games) in franchise history – and have won all four series played between the two clubs.
So … back to Wednesday’s game …. Not only did we get a ton of offensive fireworks to enjoy, but we also saw a bunch of rare, historical feats. Let’s dive into the stat madness!
Judge started the party with a two-run homer in the third inning, his 45th of the season. He is the second outfielder in baseball history with 45 homers and 115 walks in his age-25 season or younger. The other? Babe Ruth in 1920.
The homer also gave him 100 RBIs for the year (he added RBI No. 101 later in the game on a sac fly), and when combined with his triple-digit-plus walk and run-scoring numbers, Judge has put himself in some very impressive company. Judge is the …
- Fifth Yankee age 25 or younger with at least 100 RBI, 100 runs and 100 walks: Mickey Mantle, Charlie Keller, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth are the others
- Second rookie all-time to with more than 100 walks, runs and RBIs, joining Ted Williams (1939)
- Only right-handed batter in Yankees history to have a 100-walk, 100-RBI, 100-run season
Gary Sanchez then went back-to-back with Judge in the third, belting a mammoth 439-foot blast deep into Monument Park. Fifteen of his 32 homers this season have gone at least 425 feet, the highest rate (47 percent) among all players with at least 20 homers.
The Yankees turned the game into a rout with a six-run fourth inning, sparked by Jacoby Ellsbury‘s one-out triple. Ellsbury wasn’t part of the homer-fest, but he still got on base four times via a single, double, triple and a walk – and that performance is worthy of a #FunFact. Over the last four decades, just two other Yankee centerfielders have produced a game with at least one single, double, triple and a walk: Bernie Williams (1998) and Dave Winfield (1984).
The biggest blow in the fourth inning was delivered by Didi Gregorius. His three-run shot to cap off the scoring made him the only shortstop in franchise history with 25 homers in a season, surpassing the 24 that Derek Jeter hit in 1999.
Thoughts on the final off-day of the regular season
Today is the final off-day of the 2017 regular season. Pretty wild, huh? The Yankees have ten games remaining and, weirdly enough, only four of those ten are night games. Huh. One of those four is tomorrow, the opener of the final road series of the regular season. The Yankees are Toronto for three games this weekend. Anyway, I have some thoughts on stuff, so let’s get to ’em.
1. Overall, the second wildcard spot is a wonderful thing for baseball. More teams get to the postseason, the Wild Card Games themselves are a ratings bonanza, and more teams are in the hunt each season. The second wildcard spot is a great thing for the game. Now, that said, wow are the Yankees getting hosed this season, assuming they don’t overtake the Red Sox and win the AL East. The Astros, Indians, Red Sox, and Yankees have clearly established themselves as the four best teams in the AL. It’s inarguable. The Yankees have a shot to win 90 games — they’re on pace for 90.6 wins right now, and they play nothing but non-contenders from here on out — and their +186 run differential is second only to the Indians (+231) among the 30 teams. Look at this sorry excuse for a wildcard race:
Good grief. The Yankees stick out like a sore thumb. It’s a damn shame they’re going to end up playing that winner-take-all Wild Card Game after such a wildly successful and fun season. But, the rules are the rules, and that’s what you get when you lose four games when leading after eight innings and five others when leading after seven innings. Could be worse though. The 2015 Pirates won 98 games and had to face the sicko version of Jake Arrieta in the Wild Card Game.
2. Why are the Yankees are on pace to win 90.6 games with the second best run differential in baseball? Because they’ve obliterated the normal attrition rate associated with even top prospects. Aaron Judge might hit 50 home runs as a rookie. Gary Sanchez has 32 homers as a 24-year-old catcher despite missing a month. Luis Severino has performed like a legitimate ace. That’s not supposed to happen! When you have three prospects like that coming up through the system, you hope to hit big on one and thank the baseball gods if you hit on two. Hit huge on all three so quickly? Come on. That doesn’t happen. Young catchers usually need a few seasons to find their footing offensively. A 6-foot-7 hitter is supposed to need years to adjust to big league pitchers picking apart the holes in his swing before posting .400+ OBPs. Young starters who throw 100 mph for 100+ pitches aren’t supposed to stay healthy. The Yankees hit the prospect jackpot. Judge, Sanchez, and Severino all became impact players very quickly. The veterans have helped get the Yankees where they are. No doubt. But they’re all complementary players. The three homegrown All-Stars are the centerpieces of this soon-to-be officially postseason bound team.
3. Am I wrong in thinking the Yankees, if they manage to win the AL East or Wild Card Game, will be a very dangerous team in a short postseason series? I mean, any team can beat pretty much any other team in a short series in this game. That’s baseball. But the Yankees would be going into a short series with a rotation top three of Severino, Sonny Gray, and Masahiro Tanaka in whatever order, a lineup loaded with power and hitters known for working long at-bats, and a bullpen deep in bat-missing power arms. Remember, the postseason is a much different animal than the regular season. The fifth starter disappears and the fourth starter get marginalized in the postseason. (Also, CC Sabathia might be the best fourth starter on any postseason team in either league. For real.) Middle relievers? Hah. They’re used in emergencies and blowouts only. The high-leverage guys get all the work because there are so many built in off-days. The Yankees have shown they are a very good regular season team this year, and I think they have a chance to be a great postseason team. I love the way this roster is built for a short series. They look like a matchup nightmare for October.
4. That whole thing I just mentioned about the lineup being loaded with hitters known for long at-bats? The Yankees have really kicked it up a notch the last few weeks. It started with the Chris Sale game on ESPN, when the Yankees roughed him up for three homers in 4.1 innings. Some recent pitch counts against the Bombers:
- Chris Sale: 109 pitches in 4.1 innings on September 3rd
- Dylan Bundy: 98 innings in four innings on September 4th
- Jeremy Hellickson: 64 pitches in 2.1 innings on September 5th
- Kevin Gausman: 79 pitches in three innings on September 7th
- Jake Odorizzi: 94 pitches in 3.2 innings on September 11th
- Chris Archer: 92 pitches in four innings on September 13th
- Jeremy Hellickson: 68 pitches in three innings on September 16th
- Jose Berrios: 90 pitches in 3.1 innings on September 19th
That’s 694 pitches in 27.2 innings, or 25.1 pitches per inning. Ridiculous. The Yankees have really gotten in the habit of wearing starters down lately, and even though everyone coming out of the bullpen seems to throw 97-99 mph these days, making the starter throw a ton of pitches is never a bad strategy. The more pitches he throws, the more likely he is to make a mistake. Judge and Brett Gardner obviously lead the way when it comes to working the count — they’re two of the top 12 hitters in baseball in pitches per plate appearance — but adding Todd Frazier (Frazier is also top 12 in pitches per plate appearance) and getting both Greg Bird and Matt Holliday back from injury helps in that department as well. Heck, even Jacoby Ellsbury is running a career high 10.6% walk rate this season, including 14.6% in the second half. Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro are still going to swing at everything. That’s just who they are as hitters. Everyone else in the lineup is putting together long at-bats now. It’s great to see. That had been missing the last few years.
5. So we’ve seen the postseason lineup the last few days, right? Joe Girardi seems to have settled on this lineup during the recent 14-4 stretch:
- LF Brett Gardner
- RF Aaron Judge
- C Gary Sanchez
- SS Didi Gregorius
- 2B Starlin Castro
- DH Matt Holliday or Chase Headley
- CF Jacoby Ellsbury
- 3B Todd Frazier
- 1B Greg Bird
I suspect we’d see both Holliday and Headley in the lineup against a really tough left-hander in the playoffs, though generally speaking, that’s been the lineup the last few days. And it’s working. No reason to change it, right? Judge is most certainly not a typical second place hitter, but given his sky high OBP and ability to give the Yankees a quick first inning run with a homer — he did exactly that against Ervin Santana on Monday night — I like him in that spot. And Judge can run too. I love Sanchez. He’s awesome. But Gary is slooow. Judge is a much better fit for the No. 2 spot now than Sanchez was earlier this year. Judge has stolen some bases and he’s taken the extra base (first-to-third on a single, etc.) 46% of the time this year. The MLB average is 45%. That lineup works. When you’ve got Ellsbury hitting like he has in the seven spot and Frazier’s .366 OBP hitting eighth, you’re doing all right at doing all right.
6. The worst thing Sabathia could’ve done is make his dislike of bunts so public. I mean, it was no secret to us he hates bunts, but now the whole world knows it. He’s been bunted on several times in his starts since making those comments following a game with the Red Sox earlier this month, and I can’t imagine teams will stop bunting on him anytime soon. Heck, I’m surprised teams aren’t bunting on him more. I imagine they won’t be as kind come the postseason. It’s something the Yankees and Sabathia will have to be ready for, because it’s coming. Love CC. He’s the man. But being so vocal about hating bunts probably wasn’t the smartest move. He invited the entire league to bunt on him now.
7. Can the Yankees and every other team in the league please extend the netting at least to the end of the dugouts now? Pretty please? A little girl took a foul line drive to the face yesterday — Statcast says the ball left Frazier’s bat at 105.2 mph — and as of yesterday evening, it was unclear whether she would need surgery, her father told Billy Witz. Go read Dan Martin’s newser on the incident and look at the photos of this little girl being carried away by her grandfather with blood everywhere. It’s awful. It’s awful and it shouldn’t be happening. It wasn’t that long ago that MLB put up railings in front of the dugouts because the pros can’t react quick enough to defend themselves from foul balls and flying bats. How can you expect fans to do the same? Warnings are useless. “Pay attention!” is not a real solution, as anyone who has ever gone somewhere with another human being would know. Extend the netting or someone is going to die. It’s only a matter of time. Players are bigger and stronger than ever before, and the ball is flying faster than ever. Exit velocity is fun until it comes flying at you. The sight lines will be fine. Fans will still get their autographs and free baseballs. People will complain for like ten minutes and then they’ll get over it, like everything else. The Yankees have said they are considering extending the netting for too long now. It’s time to act. How the organization can justify putting protective netting over Monument Park during home games but not on top of the dugouts to protect fans is beyond me. If a kid taking a screamer to the face doesn’t get the Yankees to act, nothing will.
Wednesday Night Open Thread
RECAP: Judge and Gary went back-to-back, Sir Didi set a new record and we swept Minnesota. https://t.co/EOWr0LzUrW pic.twitter.com/ebULKj9fAE
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 20, 2017
What a series that was. The Yankees stomped the team trying to chase them down for the first wildcard spot and now have a seven-game lead over the Twins for homefield advantage in that Wild Card Game with ten games to play. I really hope this series was a Wild Card Game preview. Well, I hope the Yankees win the division, but if not, playing the Twins in the Wild Card Game ain’t too bad. Anyway, make sure you check out Jeff Sullivan’s piece on Luis Severino. He’s pretty awesome, today’s outing notwithstanding.
Here is an open thread for the night. ESPN will have games at 7pm ET (Red Sox vs. Orioles) and 10pm ET (Indians vs. Angels), both of which are relevant to the Yankees. They’re chasing the Red Sox, and an Angels loss means the magic number goes down again. Also, preseason hockey! Rangers vs. Devils tonight. I’ve been going through hockey withdrawals here. Talk about those games or anything else, as long as it’s not politics or religion. Thanks in advance.
Yankees 11, Twins 3: Score all the runs
Source: FanGraphs
Won the game and swept the series. After falling behind 3-0, the Yankee bats scored 11 unanswered points to take this one Wednesday afternoon. Luis Severino wasn’t his usual self so, of course, the bullpen and the lineup picked him up. Wouldn’t it be neat if New York played Minnesota all the time? Anyways, it was a matinee game so let’s do it bullet-point style.
- 46 pitches: Remember when this was the start that Sevy was supposed to skip? I kind of figured that he wouldn’t really go a long distance today because 1) he’s a young starter who’s upped the innings pitched from last year, and 2) the Yankees probably want to save some bullets for October. Turned out that he didn’t go past three innings today, for better or worse. He really labored in the top of the third. With one out, Kennys Vargas hit a soft infield single to shortstop and Jason Castro followed it up with a line drive single to put runners on corners. Brian Dozier worked a full-count walk to make the bases loaded and up came Joe Mauer, who is not really someone you want to face in situations like this. Mauer really, really worked Severino to a 13-pitch at bat until finally getting an RBI single to the right field. Jorge Polanco followed it up with another single through the right side for a 2-RBI single. 3-0 Twins. He retired the next two hitters but, by then, Sevy had thrown a 46-pitch inning. It’s one thing to have thrown 71 pitches but it’s another when you threw more than half of it without taking a break in the dugout in between. The Yankees decided to go to bullpen starting the fourth.
- Tying it up: But fear not, here comes the Young Yankee Hitting Machine. In the bottom of the third, Greg Bird got on base with a double and Aaron Judge followed it up by hitting an opposite two-run shot. It was one of those homers that made the small Yankee Stadium tiny. Dude hits home runs like he’s playing pinball. Gary Sanchez, not to be outdone, hit a solo homer into Monument Park to tie the game at 3-3. That was quick. But hold on, the fun was far, far from done.
- Let the runs pile in: After Chasen Shreve threw a clean fourth, the Yankee bats really brought it in the bottom of the frame. After Matt Holliday fouled out, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a triple into the left center because he’s friggin’ Jacoby Ellsbury. Todd Frazier followed it up with a walk and Bird brought Ellsbury in with his second double of the day (and knocked Bartolo Colon out of the game, who may or may not have thrown his last pitch at the Yankee Stadium. We’ll see). Brett Gardner’s RBI single against the new pitcher Tyler Duffey brought in Frazier and made it 5-3 Yankees. Judge struck out but Sanchez singled to right to tack on another run and Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer into the second deck to make it a 9-3 rout. The Yankee rally continued on in the fifth. The former Yankees 2008 50th round pick (no, really) Nik Turley took the mound for the Twins and, well, it didn’t go well for him:
- Extend the netting: There was a huge scare in the fourth inning when a Frazier liner hit a young girl in the mouth, briefly interrupting the game. While Joe Girardi said after the game that the young girl is “doing OK”, it was a very, very scary moment where you did not know whether the carelessness of the team and the league cost a precious life. Every player on the field looked very shaken while the medics were looking after her and I bet that they would choose in a heartbeat to install a netting across the infield to protect the fans. Not to get too voiced here but there’s a proverb “fixing the barn door after your cow escaped” in Korea and I really hope this will not apply to this situation. After a foul ball from Judge struck a fan in the stands few months ago, the team said they are “seriously exploring” he idea of extending the netting but haven’t taken an action. That’s ridiculous. There’s one thing to “obstruct” fans’ view but it becomes a much graver thing when the non-athletes have to go out of the way from a 105 mph liners.
- Leftovers: Guess who came a home run shy of the cycle? Ellsbury. He had a 3-for-4 day with a walk. In his last at-bat in the bottom of the eighth, Ellsbury was clearly swinging for the fence but had to settle for a flyout in the center. Bum! Judge stayed on-brand by having a 1-for-3 day with a home run, a walk and a strikeout. Sanchez and Bird each had a 3-for-4 day and that’s just music to my ears. Clint Frazier also had a triple in his pinch-hit AB for Gardner, making it his 17th extra-base hit of his 30 total. On the bullpen side, Shreve had an almost-perfect 3 IP outing, allowing only a walk while striking out three. Ben Heller tossed a scoreless inning and Domingo German finished the game up with a 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K outing. Neat all around.
Here are today’s box score and updated standings from ESPN, video highlights from MLB.com and WPA chart from Fangraphs. The Yankees have a break tomorrow and will head up north to face the Blue Jays for the final road trip of the regular season. Masahiro Tanaka is penciled in to start against Marco Estrada for the Friday series opener.
Minors Notes: Top Triple-A & Breakout Prospects, Rodriguez
The 2017 minor league season is officially over. Durham beat Memphis in the Triple-A Championship Game at PNC Field in Scranton last night. The Triple-A Championship Game rotates sites each year like an All-Star Game, and it just so happened to be played in Scranton this year. Too bad the RailRiders didn’t make it. Anyway, here are some minor league notes to check out.
Three Yankees among top International League prospects
Earlier this week Baseball America started their annual series looking at the top 20 prospects in each minor league. They covered the Triple-A International League (subs. req’d) yesterday, with Braves OF Ronald Acuna claiming the top spot. Three Yankees made the list (four if you count OF Dustin Fowler, who was traded away but makes the list at No. 17 due to his time with Scranton):
- 9) RHP Chance Adams: “One evaluator said that between Adams’ four offerings, he has a chance for three above-average pitches with above-average control … He drew comparisons with Bud Norris and Jordan Zimmermann.”
- 15) 3B Miguel Andujar: “Andujar drew rave reviews from managers and scouts for his uncanny ability to barrel baseballs with authority as well as his energetic nature on the field … He has a plus arm, quick-twitch actions and a strong work ethic at third base, but below-average footwork and hard hands could be too much to overcome.”
- 16) OF Clint Frazier: “(Some) evaluators think he always will pair home runs with strikeouts and low batting averages because of a limiting, rigid swing. With sufficient pitch recognition, though, he can be an impact power hitter.”
Hmmm. I’m pretty sure I’m the biggest Andujar fan out there, but even I wouldn’t rank him above Frazier on a prospect list. Frazier seems like one of those prospects people look for reasons not to like. The kid has insane bat speed, the ball explodes off his bat, he works the count well, and he’s fine in either corner outfield spot. What’s the problem here? Anyway, in the chat Carlos Collazo said SS Gleyber Torres would’ve ranked in the top three had he not gotten hurt and fallen short of the playing time minimum. SS Tyler Wade was a consideration for the list as well.
McKinney to begin working out at first base
OF Billy McKinney, who will be added to the 40-man roster after the season, is going to begin working out at first base in Instructional League, reports Robert Pimpsner. Sounds like an assignment to the Arizona Fall League in possible as well, though the Yankees already have a first baseman going to the desert (1B Chris Gittens) and their position player spots are full. Someone could get be getting pulled though. We’ll see.
McKinney, 23, came over from the Cubs in the Aroldis Chapman trade and hit .277/.338/.483 (124 wRC+) with a career high 16 home runs in 124 games between Double-A and Triple-A this summer. He’s a bat first prospect — his defense in the corner outfield is not great — so it makes sense to increase his versatility and get him time at first base. We still don’t know whether Greg Bird can stay healthy and/or produce consistently. Given the team’s outfield glut, getting McKinney familiar with first base seems like a no-brainer.
Loaisiga, Widener among top 2018 breakout candidates
The crew at Baseball Prospectus (subs. req’d) posted a list of ten breakout candidates for the 2018 season, and two of the ten are Yankees: RHP Jonathan Loaisiga and RHP Taylor Widener. Keith Law had good things to say about Loaisiga last week. Widener was a reliever in the college before the Yankees moved him into the rotation, Chance Adams style. A quick recap of the write-ups:
- Loaisiga: “(He) features a potentially plus fastball-curveball combination with the ability to throw either pitch for strikes in any count. The fastball consistently hovers around 95 (t97) with late movement … expect him to start shooting up prospect lists.”
- Widener: “Widener was in the low-to-mid-90s with the fastball, topping out at 96, and it was moving around pretty good … Widener commanded it like a good Double-A starting prospect, not a guy making his first Double-A appearance … Widener projects as an interesting mid-rotation prospect at the upside, with a more likely outcome as a good reliever.”
So I guess Johnny Lasagna being a prospect is a thing now? He originally signed with the Giants out of Nicaragua back in 2013, but they released him a year later after some injury issues. The Yankees picked him up, he blew out his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery last year, and came back looking good this year. Loaisiga turns 23 in November, and he’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 165 lbs., plus he has an injury history, so there are some things working against him. Still, the Yankees picked him up off the scrap heap, and now he’s being written up as a breakout prospect. Pretty cool.
Rodriguez is “99%” sure he’s retiring
C Eddy Rodriguez, who spent the last three seasons with Triple-A Scranton (and part of one season with Double-A Trenton) is “99%” sure he’s retiring, reports D.J. Eberle. For much of this year Rodriguez was third on the catcher depth chart while C Kyle Higashioka was hurt, though he never did get a call-up. His one MLB cameo came with the Padres in 2012. He took Johnny Cueto deep in his first at-bat.
Rodriguez, who defected from Cuba with his family when he was a kid, is still only 31 years old. He’s not much of a hitter — he hit .189/.240/.308 (51 wRC+) in 446 plate appearances with the RailRiders the last two years — but he’s long been regarded as a great defender and clubhouse guy. Rodriguez wouldn’t reveal his post-playing days plan to Eberle, but he seems like the kind of guy we’ll see on a Yankees minor league coaching staff/instructor list in the near future. Either way, the Yankees need a new veteran good guy backup catcher for Scranton next year.
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