Minor League Report. When will they call Chance Adams up? (Great again). Littell & Perez dominate again, too.

This will be my last report for a while. I will be on vacation, visiting family on the other side of the country for a little over a week. Please bear with me until my return.

I haven’t seen a niece or nephew in 8 years. Or a sister in two years.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

AAA: SWB (44-28) won 11–1.  Chance Adams was once again, awesome. When does he join the rotation? Not only that, when does Austin replace Carter at 1B?

Check the numbers.

Austin DH: 2 Hits, double, HR, 4 RBI.
If you don’t want him to replace Carter, how about 1B Ji-Man Choi? HR, 2 RBI.
RF Jake Cave 2 hits, solo HR.
LF Mark Payton 3 Hits, rbi.
2B Cito Culver 2 hits, double, HR, 2 RBI.

Adams (W, 5-2, 2.12) 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 8 K.
Heller 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K. 2.67. Gave up 1 HR.
Graham 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K. 3.57.

Between AA and AAA this year, Adams is 9-2, 1.65 in 14 starts. How long before he is brought up?

AA: Trenton rained out.

High A: Tampa (40-31) won 6-1 in a rained shortened game.  2B Nick Solak (.315) 2 hits, 2 RBI. SS Kyle Holder 2 hits, 2 RBI.

Zack Littell (W, 9-1, 1.77) 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 4 K. 21 yrs. old and someone to watch out for.

Low A:    Charleston (35-36) won 2-1 in 10 innings.

2B Joy Hun Park 3 hits.
LF Blake Rutherford 2 hits.
CF Estevan Florial 3 hits, 1 HR shy of cycle, RBI.

Perez 7 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 W, 4 K. 3.24
Diehl (W, 7-2, 3.58) 2 1/3 IP,  0 R, 3 H, 0 w, 2K.
Mundell (S, 7) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.16

Minor League Report. Torres needs TJ surgery, done for year.

Yankees’ top prospect, INF Gleyber Torres, needs TJ surgery and is done for the year. He injured his non-throwing elbow sliding into home the other day and hyperextended the elbow, injuring ligaments as well.

The Yanks were possibly grooming Torres to take over at 3B for Chase Headley later this year. They also now have promoted 3B Miguel Andujar to AAA. Andujar is an option for the future at 3B, also the Yanks may look at the trade deadline for a 3B. They aren’t happy with Headley’s performance so far.

Besides 3B, the Yanks may also look to upgrade at starting pitching and 1B. With CC out until early August and Tanaka struggling, an upgrade in the rotation, via Chance Adams being called up,Fo or a trade, looks imminent.

Also, 1B has been a problem with Greg Bird hurt and shut down, and the disappointing performance of Chris Carter. Here, the Yanks could look at a promotion (Tyler Austin, Mike Ford, Ji-Man Choi) or look to trade.

These are three positions that bear watching over the next month. How do the Yanks upgrade here? Is there a big deal brewing?

AAA: SWB (42-26) won 6-1. CF Dustin Fowler double, HR, 2 RBI. 3 hits, HR, 2 RBI LF Jake Cave. 3 hits, RBI 2B Donovan Solano. RF Clint Frazier 2 hits.

Lail (W, 4-2, 4.78) 6 2/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 W, 3 K.
Layne (H, 1) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00
Heller 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.48.

AA: Trenton off.

High A:   Tampa (37-31) won 4-2. 2B Nick Solak 2 hits, solo HR. LF Tito Polo 2 hits, rbi. C Sharif Othman 2 hits.

Widener (w, 4-6, 3.94) 6 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 4 K.
Foley (H, 1) 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K. 1.59
Gomez (S, 2) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. 2.55

Low A: Charleston off.

UPDATE: Yanks’ minor league pitcher Matt Marsh has been suspended 50 games for using a banned substance.

Minor League Report. Torres suffers hyperextended elbow.

AAA: Gleyber Torres suffered a hyperextended elbow sliding home in SWB’s (40-26) 6-2 win on Saturday. This was the first game of a DH that SWB swept.

Reg. scheduled game. SS Tyler Wade 2 hits, CF Dustin Fowler 3 hits, RBI.  Both stole 2 bases. LF Clint Frazier 2 hits, Rbi.

When will the Yanks bring up Chance Adams? Esp. w/CC on the DL and Tanaka struggling? Between AA/AAA, Adams is 8-2, 1.78.

Adams (4-2, 2.43) 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 3 W, 4 K.
Mantiply (S, 1) 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.03

Makeup of 4/7 rainout: SWB won 4-0. SS Wade two hits, 2B Donovan Solano 2 hits. 2 hits, RBI 1B Ji-Man Choi (.296). C Wilkin Castillo solo HR.

What a job by Adonis Rosa, who jumped all the way from Low A to AAA to make the start for the pitching strapped Railriders. With all the recent moves, SWB needed a starter.

Rosa (W, 1-0, 0.00) 6 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 0 W, 4 K. AAA debut.
Webb 1 Ip, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 3.09.

AA: Trenton (44-23) split a DH. They won the regularly scheduled game 2-1. 2 hits 3B Miguel Andujar & RF Billy McKinney.

Rogers (W, 4-0, 3.19) 6 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 5 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Brewer (S, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.65′

Lost makeup of 4/7 rainout, 3-2. SS Thairo Estrada 2 hits.

Cortes 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 W, 6 K. 2.82
McNamara (BS, 1; L, 0-1, 5.79) 1 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Frare 1/3 IP, 0 R 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.88

High A: FSL North (Tampa’s division) won the Florida State League All-Star Game, 5-2. Tampa representatives: SS Jorge Mateo 0 for 2, CF Tito Polo 0 for 2.
Schwaab 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K.
Gomez 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.

Low A: Charleston (33-36) won 3-0.

Keller (W, 5-5, 3.64) 6 IP, 0 r, 2 H, 4 W, 8 K.
Sosebee (H, 2) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.97
Mundell (S, 6) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.22

Minor League Report.

Just a quick reminder. No posts for a little over a week. I will be on vacation and on the other side of the country June 24-July 2.

AAA: SWB (35-25) lost 6-4 to Lehigh Valley. SS Tyler Wade 3 hits, 15th SB. CF Dustin Fowler 2 hits, RBI. 2B Donovan Solano 2 RBI. LF Mason Williams 2 hits. SWB struck out 15x.

Adams 6 2/3 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR 2.52
Webb (Bs, 2; L, 3-1, 3.30) 1/3 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Graham 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.61

AA: Trenton (40-21) won 5-3. SS Thairo Estrada 3 hits, RBI. .330. 1B Mike Ford 2 RBI. 2 RBI CF Rashad Crawford.

Rogers (W, 3-0, 3.60) 7 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR (Overall A+/AA 7-3, 2.67)
Marsh (H, 2 ) 1 IP, 1 r, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.26
Brewer (S, 3) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.88

High A:  Tampa was off.

Low A: Charleston (30-33) lost 3-2. C Eduardo Navas 2-run HR. 2B Angel Aguilar 2 hits.

Rosa (L, 1-2, 4.23) 5 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 0 w, 3 K.
Sosebee 3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K. 3.15

Minor League Report. Chance Adams.

Ernesto Frieri, who opted out of his Yanks’ contract w/SWB, signed with Texas.

AAA: SWB (32-23, same as the big club) lost 8-1. Chance Adams started and did well, pitching five scoreless innings before making a mistake in the sixth that was hit for a 3-run HR. The bullpen and defense fell apart after that. SWB struck out 17x. Former Yankee farmhand Nik Turley struck out 15 SWB batters in 6 IP. 3B Tyler Wade (.300) 2 hits. Besides Gleyber Torres, Wade could be an in-house option for 3B what with Headley struggling.

Adams isn’t on the 40-man roster, so the Yanks would have to make a move there if they brought him up. With Tanaka’s struggles, who knows?

Adams (L, 3-2, 2.17) 6 Ip, 3 R, 3 H, 4 W, 7 K. Gave up 1 HR. Overall this yr 7-2, 1.55. Overall minor league career: 23-4, 2.03.

Feyereisen 2/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 6.75
Mantiply 0 IP, 1 r, unearned, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.55
Graham 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 W, 2 K. 5.11

AA: Trenton (36-20) won 6-3. SS Thairo Estrada 2 hits, 2 RBI. 3B Miguel Andujar 2 hits, RBI. 1B Billy Fleming 2 hits, 3 RBI.

Rogers (W, 2-0, 4.00) 5 2/3 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 2 W, 7 K. gave up 2 HR
Cortes (H, 1) 1/3 IP, 0 r, 0 H, 0 W. 0 K. 3.48
Rumbelow (H, 1) 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 5 K. 0.00
Brewer 1 IP, 1 R, unearned, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.19

High A:  Tampa (30-29) lost 2-1. They got just two hits, one a double by rehabbing 1B Greg Bird.

Abreu 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 5.09. No word why he left early.
Mesa 3 Ip, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 4 K. 1.88
Pena 2 Ip, 0 r, 0 H, 3 W, 2 K. 3.38
Gomez (BS, 1; L, 2-2, 3.07) 2 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 W, 4 K.

Low A: Charleston rained out.

Game 55. Trouble for Tanaka again in Yanks’ 5-4 loss.

The disturbing and troubling season of Masahiro Tanaka continued last night when he gave up 5 runs, including 3 HR in 5 IP as the Yanks lost to Boston 5-4.

Tanaka had such a great spring training. His fall from ace to Kei-Igawa-like performances has been shocking.

The loss decreases the Yanks’ lead over Boston to one game. The Yankees are 32-23.

That 32-23 has been built strangely. They started 1-4, went 20-5 over the next 25, and are 11-14 in their last 25.

Even though they are still in first place, there are a couple of problem areas that need to be addressed, and let’s start with Tanaka.

With the Yanks 10-11 in their last 21 games (stats via Joel Sherman’s NY Post article), Tanaka is 0-5, 10.72 in that span. If Tanaka was his old ace-like self, he would have gone, say 4-1. Now the Yanks would be 14-7 in this span and we wouldn’t be as concerned.

The season is just over 1/3 over, and Tanaka has already given up 17 HR.

They need to get him straightened out. But how? He is earning so much $$ and $$ talks. Can they just pull him from the rotation? Who would replace him? Chad Green, who was fabulous in relief last night? Chance Adams? They would need to create a roster spot for Adams (who pitched last night also, see my minor league report) who isn’t on the 40-man roster.

Boston got a run right away in the first inning on a couple of singles and an RBI forceout. The Yanks tied it in the second on a walk to Hicks, single by Didi, and Hicks scored on a throwing error by Boston RF Mookie Betts.

But in the fourth, Tanaka gave up three runs on back-to-back homers. He gave up another HR in the fifth and Boston was up 5-1. The Yanks couldn’t come all the way back.

Chris Carter (a problem we’ll get to in a bit) hit his fifth HR of the year in the bottom of the fifth to cut Boston’s lead to 5-2.

Castro and Hicks singled in the sixth, and Castro scored when Didi GIDP.

The Yanks got a break in the eighth that made you think maybe the gods were with them and they’d pull it out. Matt Holliday doubled and went to third on a groundout. After Hicks popped up, Didi Gregorius struck out for what should have been the third out, but the ball was a wild pitch and Didi reached, Holliday scoring to cut the lead to 5-4. You thought with a break like that, maybe…

But no…

Tanaka (L, 5-6, 6.55) 5 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 1 W, 2 K. Gave up 3 HR.
Layne 0 IP, 0 r, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 7.50. More on him in a bit.
Green 3 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 5 K. 1.62. See above. Replacement for Tanaka? Did great.
Shreve 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 w, 1 K. 0.57.

Judge, Hicks and Gregorius each had two hits. Carter had the HR.

But even with Carter’s HR, 1B is a position that the Yanks need improvement on. Bird was 6 for 60 (.100-1-3) and Carter is 21 for 115 (.183-5-15). So that is a combined 27 for 175, which comes out to .154-6-18. Somehow, the Yanks are in first place despite getting the worst production in MLB from their first basemen.

3B also is a problem. Chase Headley is down to .225, and rumors are that the Yanks are shopping for a 3B. Rumors also are that if Gleyber Torres starts adjusting to AAA pitching, that the Yanks may bring him up to play 3B, with Headley moving to a backup 1B/3B role, which would mean cutting Carter (Carter $3.5 MM left for this year, Headley is owed the rest of $13MM this year and $13MM for 2018).

Headley is at .225-3-23, but since April 18, has hit .168-1-19 in his last 37 games. When you take what he is doing at 3B, and the lack of production at 1B, it’s like the Yanks are playing with a 7-man lineup. That can’t continue if they want to stay in first place. Headley hasn’t homered since April 19.

So the Yanks desperately need to get better production from 1B, 3B and Tanaka. We’ll see how and if that happens.

The final thing may be minor. Tommy Layne hasn’t performed that well, and the Yanks do have a solution there if necessary. Tyler Webb has been doing well at SWB and could be a replacement for Layne. LOOGY for LOOGY.

 

Minor League Report. Adams dominates.

AAA: SWB (29-20) swept a DH.

Game 1: Won 6-0. Chance Adams just dominated (see below). 2 H, HR, 2 RBI for both SS Tyler Wade and RF Dustin Fowler. C Wilkin Castillo 3 for 3, RBI.

Adams (W, 3-1, 1.57) 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 12 K.
Heller 1 IP, 0 r, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 3.22

Between AA and AAA this year, Adams is 7-1, 1.24 in 10 starts. His career Minor League record is 23-3, 1.96.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yanks “found” something wrong with Tanaka to get him straightened out and called up Adams if Tanaka’s struggles continue.

Game 2: They won 4-3. C Eddy Rodriguez 2 RBI.

Mantiply 3 1/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 4 K. 2.55
Jones (W, 3-1, 2.39) 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 5 K.
Frieri (S, 7) 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 3.00 Gave up 1 HR.

AA: Trenton 33-18, lost 5-3.  C Jorge Saez and 3B Miguel Andujar each had 2 hits, RBI.

Rogers 6 2/3 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 0 W, 2 K. 4.38
Carroll (L, 0-1, 2.45) 1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Brewer 1 IP, 1 R, unearned, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.53

High A: Tampa 27-26, lost 5-4. DH Trey Amburgey 3-run HR. 2B Nick Solak 2 hits.

Abreu (L 0-3, 5.57) 5 IP, 5 R, 7 H, 1 W, 3 k.
Clarkin 4 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 w, 5 K.

Low A: Charleston (26-26) lost 5-3.

Nelson (L, 0-5, 5.91) 5 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 5 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Rosa 3 IP, 1 r, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. gave up 1 HR
Harris 1 IP, 0R, ) H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.00