Pinstripe Alley: All Posts by Kevin WinterhaltBig boi dinger enthusiastshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51961/pinstripe_alley_minimal.png2024-03-17T00:00:00-04:00https://www.pinstripealley.com/authors/kevin-winterhalt/rss2024-03-17T00:00:00-04:002024-03-17T00:00:00-04:00NYY News: R&R is the plan for Cole’s right elbow
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<p>Cole will rest elbow for a few weeks; Gil looks great as the Yankees need rotation help; Jones continues to impress; Torre puts on pinstripes for the first time in a long while</p> <p id="VdJ0Hs"><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39745006/yankees-ace-gerrit-cole-elbow-throw-3-4-weeks">ESPN</a>: Yankees Universe was on pins and needles all week, speculating about and terrified of news regarding the right elbow of ace and reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. As of now, it looks like he’ll escape surgery. The latest is that the ace will rest the elbow for three to four weeks. Cole, in less-than-surgical language summed up the state of his arm, saying he “got a little too hot a little too quick.”</p>
<p id="OI2oAi"><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/03/16/brian-cashman-addresses-gerrit-cole-sized-hole-in-yankees-rotation-as-luis-gil-shines-again/">New York Daily News | Gary Phillips:</a> Speaking of Cole’s absence, everyone understands there is a huge void in the rotation with the ace out. That, of course, includes GM Brian Cashman, who talked about the Yankees’ paths forward without Cole. While not ruling out an external reinforcement, the GM specifically named a plethora of internal options: Luke Weaver, Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, Cody Poteet, and—the focus of this article—Luis Gil. Fortuitously, Gil looks spectacular this spring as he works his way back from the Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2023 season. In 8.1 frames this spring, Gil whiffed 14 opposing hitters, including 3.1 shutout frames Saturday with four punchouts. </p>
<p id="ZnRu4s"><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39723388/new-york-yankees-spencer-jones-future-lefty-aaron-judge">ESPN | Jorge Castillo</a>: The Spencer Jones hype train is full steam ahead, and for good reason. Jones; recently ranked as baseball’s 56th-best prospect by ESPN writer Kiley McDaniel, has had a great spring and his tools have resulted in rave reviews while the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> have steadfastly refused to include him in trades for Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, and Dylan Cease. “I know this sounds hyperbolic, but Jones has louder tools than Judge,” an anonymous scout told Castillo. “Jones is just a freak of nature.”</p>
<p id="67lRU1">In yesterday’s Spring Breakout game, Jones demonstrated why folks are so taken by him, as he mashed a pair of homers against the Toronto prospects.</p>
<div id="QGKcDt"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/spencer-jones-hits-a-two-run-home-run-in-1st" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="ocpeHr"><a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/16/sports/joe-torre-dons-yankees-full-uniform-for-first-time-s/">New York Post | Dan Martin</a>: Friday saw a little blast from the past as former skipper Joe Torre donned a Yankee uniform for the first time since departing after the 2007 season. Current manager Aaron Boone made the request of Torre, currently working as a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred. Torre wasn’t the only old-timer in the house Friday. Andy Pettitte, Willie Randolph, and Ron Guidry were all still in camp; Pettitte was a mainstay of Torre’s dynasty, and Randolph and Guidry both served on his coaching staff at various points.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/17/24103318/yankees-news-gerrit-cole-injury-elbow-rehab-rotation-luis-gil-spencer-jones-joe-torre-returnKevin Winterhalt2024-03-15T16:40:39-04:002024-03-15T16:40:39-04:00Yanks tab Nasty Nestor for Opening Day
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<p>With no Gerrit Cole, New York turns to their unorthodox southpaw to face Houston to kick off 2024.</p> <p id="QDKwf9">With Gerrit Cole <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/15/24100793/yankees-news-gerrt-cole-avoid-tommy-john-surgery-elbow-injury-aaron-judge-return-michael-lorenzen">unavailable</a> for the Opening Day start that literally everyone in the world knew he’d get for the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>, the club had to turn to someone else. New acquisition Marcus Stroman passed, preferring to stay slotted into the third game of the season (and the Bronx home opener). Carlos Rodón, meanwhile, was also out of the running, sticking as the game two starter in Houston. That left Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes as the realistic options for March 28th at Minute Maid Park. </p>
<p id="QzjLBo">Late Friday afternoon, the Yankees announced they have their man. YES reporter Meredith Marakovits <a href="https://twitter.com/M_Marakovits/status/1768734158954651973">tweeted</a> that it will be Cortes. The portside slinger will take the ball for New York. Cortes has had a rough spring and is coming off an injury-plagued and subpar 2023 campaign. But he’s not far removed from breakout performances in pinstripes in 2021 and ‘22, and his <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/nestor-cortes-impressive-outing?q=Nestor%20Cortes&cp=CMS_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0">final start of ‘23</a> was a pretty strong one against the Astros.</p>
<p id="JlNIWn">In a bit of trivia, Cortes is also the first Opening Day starter for the Yanks whom they have both drafted and signed since Andrew Eugene Pettitte in ‘98. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nestor Cortes will be the Yankees’ first opening day starting pitcher drafted *and* signed by the Yankees since Andy Pettitte in 1998. <a href="https://t.co/euHOPrXKRA">https://t.co/euHOPrXKRA</a></p>— Conor Foley (@ConorFoleyYES) <a href="https://twitter.com/ConorFoleyYES/status/1768735518387220738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="kbzL61">There were, of course, a few DFAs along the way and brief organizational changes in Nestor’s journey. Both Chien-Ming Wang and Luis Severino earned Opening Day nods during that timeframe as well, though they were international signees rather than draft picks. Regardless, that iteration of the Yankees ended up being pretty good. It can’t hurt to put some 1998 Yankees Energy out into the universe right now.</p>
<p id="B384Jv">Baseball Reference also helped us unearth this nugget. Among all Opening Day starters in MLB history since the introduction of the draft in 1965, only White Sox great Mark Buehrle was a more unlikely draft pick to get an Opening Day start.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">According to our pals at <a href="https://twitter.com/baseball_ref?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@baseball_ref</a>, Nestor Cortes will be the second-lowest MLB draft pick to ever make an Opening Day start!<br>Nestor was taken in the 36th round of the 2013 draft & 1,094th overall; only Mark Buehrle (38th rd./1,139th) was more of a long shot. <a href="https://t.co/Aj8UwxRCQ4">pic.twitter.com/Aj8UwxRCQ4</a></p>— Pinstripe Alley (@pinstripealley) <a href="https://twitter.com/pinstripealley/status/1768747346664264007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a>
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<p id="8b39Ar">With this news now out in the open, you can presumably pencil in Cortes, Rodón, Stroman, and Schmidt, in that order, for the opening four-game series in Houston. </p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/15/24102342/yankees-opening-day-starter-nestor-cortes-houston-astros-gerrit-cole-injuryKevin Winterhalt2024-03-14T10:00:00-04:002024-03-14T10:00:00-04:00Yankees 2024 Season Preview: Austin Wells
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<figcaption>Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The blue-chip backstop, after a ’23 cup of coffee, is on the cusp of an Opening Day roster spot</p> <p id="sfq2sq">The <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> liked Austin Wells so much as an amateur that they drafted him twice. Following his career at the University of Arizona, they successfully nabbed him as their first-round pick on the 2020 MLB Draft. After two-plus seasons in the minor leagues, he found himself in the Bronx for the final stretch last season. He had a rough first week and change at the dish in pinstripes but finished the season strong. </p>
<p id="SfqbrB">Now, with mere weeks before Opening Day 2024, Wells seems to have an excellent chance to crack the Opening Day roster, splitting time with—and presumably getting a ton of mentorship from—<a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/8/24089561/new-york-yankees-season-preview-jose-trevino-catcher-austin-wells-starter-rortvedt">Jose Trevino</a>, as the left-handed bat in a platoon. It might not be a straight platoon, though, at least to start.</p>
<p id="otpfD2"><strong>2023 Stats (MiLB)</strong>: 96 G, 429 PA, 24 2B, 17 HR, 72 RBI, 48 BB, .240/.333/.442</p>
<p id="Jygx9m"><strong>2023 Stats (with Yankees)</strong>: 19 G, 74 PA, 4 HR, 13 RBI, .229/.257/.486, 97 wRC+, 97 OPS+, 0.4 fWAR, 0.1 rWAR</p>
<p id="GyUpNl"><strong>2024 ZiPS Projections</strong>: 108 G, 475 PA, 21 2B, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 40 BB, .228/.301/.401, 94 wRC+, 1.6 fWAR</p>
<p id="FgBBdd">It makes sense that Wells is kicking at the door to the Bronx. He’s pretty well esteemed among a good number of folks who evaluate prospects. Two quick examples: <em>Baseball America</em> has him as their 71<sup>st</sup> ranked prospect headed into this season. FanGraphs is even more bullish, with Wells cracking their Top 50 at 47<sup>th</sup>. </p>
<p id="nPYoeq">One of the things that has opened the most eyes recently is the apparent improvement in Wells’ defense. His ability hit has been taken for granted since the Yanks grabbed him four years ago. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen had this to say in his preseason <a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/new-york-yankees-top-36-prospects-2024/">scouting report</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="Txi5sc"> “Wells has made considerable progress as a receiver and ball-blocker despite his below-average hands and limited lateral mobility, the result of his one-knee style. I’m now more bullish than I’ve ever been about him staying behind the dish.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="FEmRrp">Meanwhile, at least one Yankee beat writer is on the Wells defense bandwagon. Bryan Hoch, writing for MLB.com recently, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/austin-wells-yankees-spring-camp-2024">gave</a> his two cents. Wells’ defensive performance this spring led Hoch to write, “There is no more chatter about Wells trying first base or left field, not when his receiving, blocking and game-calling have been so strong.”</p>
<p id="2be69e">Wells’ weak spot has traditionally been his ability to throw out baserunners. Even there, there’s reason for optimism. Skipper Aaron Boone opined last week that the rookie backstop has “improved drastically.” Reigning AL Cy Young winner and Yankee ace Gerrit Cole has also raved about Wells behind the plate, saying that his game-calling was “exceptional.”</p>
<p id="m1lFW7">If Wells can play some defense, there is reason to get excited. He didn’t show it during his fall cameo, but he’s held a walk rate above 10 percent throughout the minors, and has hit for power at every stop. If he can hit even to his baseline projection (97 OPS+), he’d represent a huge improvement over the offensive output the Yanks got from their backstops last season. </p>
<p id="z1T7Dq">Trevino, whose calling card is admittedly his defense, had the worst offensive season of his career last season with a 58 wRC+. As for the recently traded Kyle Higashioka... despite 10 dingers, he only managed an 86 wRC+. And the less said about Ben Rortvedt’s bat, the better.</p>
<p id="fzLWqE">Now imagine Wells outperforming his projection by even 10 percent. A 107 wRC+ from a left-handed hitting catcher who can hold his own on defense, presumably hitting at the bottom of the lineup? Put that energy into the universe.</p>
<p id="S8smLp">For what it’s worth, he’s been swinging a big stick this spring. The sample size makes statistics useless. But Wells has put some excellent swings on balls. Most recently, he drove a ball to the opposite field for a double on Monday, clearing the bases for three ribbies. This won’t help him make the team, but his moustache game is also pretty elite this spring.</p>
<div id="BoAidi"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/julio-teheran-in-play-run-s-to-austin-wells" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="RO21g0">All this said, there is no guarantee he breaks camp with the club. Our most recent <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/11/24094795/yankees-spring-training-roster-battles-bullpen-bench-oswaldo-cabrera-tommy-kahnle-jonathan-loaisiga">Making the Team Meter</a> has his status “up in the air.” Here, roster machinations are <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/2/24078612/yankees-mlb-austin-wells-catcher-trevino-opening-day-roster-rortvedt-depth-chart-new-york">working against Wells</a>. At the end of the day, he has minor league options remaining. Ben Rortvedt, on the other hand, does not. As John said in his writeup, “teams generally don’t like to surrender catching depth unnecessarily, so I’d be surprised if the Yankees tried to sneak him [Rortvedt] through waivers.”</p>
<p id="uoBFPH">But... John also points out that Wells has already caught Cole and Nestor Cortes multiple times this spring. Those are valuable reps with key starters. New York seems quite invested in Wells’ future and there’s no time like the present to test him on an extended run in The Show. So who knows?</p>
<p id="kO4vpL">I’m on Team Wells. If he makes the team to start the season and stays healthy, I have him penciled in for slightly above-average offensive production (think that 107 wRC+ I mentioned earlier) in considerable playing time. As an aside, Boone has <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/08/sports/austin-wells-continues-to-impress-yankees-with-improved-defense/">said</a> that if Wells breaks camp, he’ll see that playing time — maybe two games out of five, maybe three. The plan is not to have him fester on the bench. </p>
<p id="bKCh62">Unless Wells goes 2016 Gary Sánchez on us, he’s unlikely to get enough time for serious Rookie of the Year consideration, but he could still end up being a very important piece for a club that was, bluntly, atrocious at the plate in 2023. And if he continues improving, the sky is the limit in the future. But we’ll talk about 2025 Austin Wells when we get there. </p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/14/24097899/new-york-yankees-season-preview-roster-2024-austin-wells-catcher-starting-platoon-defense-hittingKevin Winterhalt2024-03-10T16:17:09-04:002024-03-10T16:17:09-04:00Yankees 9, Braves 8: Soto and Trevi lead the way
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<img alt="MLB: Spring Training-Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KikSnYRzGNxeHBVGeUTf-tA7A5c=/0x482:2637x2240/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73196432/usa_today_22745057.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Juan Soto’s moonshot was the highlight of a high-scoring matinee between the Yanks and Braves.</p> <p id="BfKSxk"><em>“I want to watch that for the next 15 years.”</em><br>- John Griffin in our Pinstripe Alley Slack channel immediately after Juan Soto launched one into orbit.</p>
<p id="j5REXA">Seriously. Soto is having Juan heck of a spring. And his three-run bomb that gave the Yanks their first lead of the day in Sunday afternoon’s rumble with Atlanta is just the latest evidence that, to riff on Dan Patrick from SportsCenter back in the day, “you can only hope to contain him.”</p>
<p id="9idDAk">Clarke Schmidt, making the start for New York, had his first rough outing of the spring today. The Braves roughed him up for four runs in the first inning as Schmidt struggled with his location.</p>
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<p id="XU4qPe">Schmidt really only had two consistent locations in the opening frame: the heart of the strike zone, and nowhere close. After throwing 27 pitches, manager Aaron Boone lifted Schmidt for Joey Gerber, who escaped the first when Jose Trevino, in his first spring game after a calf injury held him out, <a href="https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/1766878094277668894">nailed a runner trying to steal second</a>.</p>
<p id="ZWqepF">Schmidt was back in the game for the second, with much better results. Leaning on his curveball, the righty whiffed two in the frame en route to a scoreless inning. The third was more of the same with another strikeout and a 9-3 double play on a line drive to Soto with a runner on. That spelled the end of Schmidt’s day. The opening salvo was rough, but once he settled down, he looked great.</p>
<p id="4p6Y5C">New York got on the board in the second. After a Gleyber Torres leadoff single, Giancarlo Stanton ripped a 96-mph fastball into right center field. Notably, to the naked eye, Stanton looked much better on the basepaths than when I last saw him play in late ‘23. An Alex Verdugo infield single followed by a Trevino sacrifice fly cut the Braves’ lead in half before Atlanta finally got out of the inning. </p>
<p id="L3FxgM">Southpaw Victor González, who came over from the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> with Jorbit Vivas in the deal that sent Trey Sweeney to the West Coast, was the next man out of the ‘pen for Boone and the Yanks. And much like they did to Schmidt, the Braves greeted him rudely. With a runner on first, Atlanta first baseman Luke Williams crushed a González sinker for a two-run dinger.</p>
<p id="KeqFY6">Juan freaking Soto, man. I don’t know what to say. In the fourth, a walk, a single, and a sac bunt that ended in another single juiced the sacks for DJ LeMahieu, who knocked a seeing-eye single up the middle to score a pair of <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>. That cut the Atlanta lead to 6-4 with two runners on and brought Soto to the dish. </p>
<div id="hrvU4g"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/juan-soto-homers-4-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-oswaldo-cabrera-sc" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="orD6OD">It’s Soto’s world and we’re just living in it. </p>
<p id="h8ICcg">Caleb Ferguson, another former Dodger southpaw, hurled a scoreless fifth for the Yanks, passing the baton to the offense. And in his final at-bat of the day, already with a sac fly and a single and run scored, Trevino put an exclamation mark on his spring debut. </p>
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<p id="p2bxEe">In the sixth, Ron Marinaccio took the ball and kept the Dodgers off the board, though he left a pitch up in the zone in the seventh and surrendered a solo dinger. Marinaccio struggled last year and it would be a pleasant development if he regains his form from his 2022 rookie season. </p>
<p id="qpQOnf">Former Guardian Oscar Gonzalez had a day at the plate for the Bronx Bombers. After tripling earlier, he smoked an RBI line-drive double in the bottom of the seventh to make the Yankee lead 9-7. And if not for a spectacular defensive play at third base in the eighth, he would have had a third extra-base hit and two more ribbies. With the outfield set, it’s unlikely he has a path to the Opening Day roster, but today was a good day. </p>
<p id="QxxoJB">After Marinaccio, Tanner Tully took over for the final two innings. Tully, who pitched at Triple-A last season before a brief sojourn to the KBO, kept Atlanta off the board in the eighth. He gave up a sacrifice fly in the ninth but brought this one to a close for the Yanks’ sixth win of the Grapefruit League season. </p>
<h3 id="3twffB">Quick Hits</h3>
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<li id="p1ZX6N">Stanton remained locked into the game in the sixth, when he collected his second knock of the day, this time turning on a 92-mph heater and pulling it into left field. He hit .201 against fastballs last year and .207 the year before after historically destroying velocity, so a pair of hard hits off fastballs today is a welcome development.</li>
<li id="G3XSU8">Aaron Judge only had two at-bats before being given a seemingly-early hook, but Jack Curry <a href="https://twitter.com/JackCurryYES/status/1766921689462354232">reported</a> that both Boone and Judge said this was just the plan for Sunday.</li>
<li id="mcEy0E">Oswaldo Cabrera manned shortstop today. With Oswald Peraza out for a while, Ozzie’s ability to play short could be really important. That said, Curry threw it out there on the broadcast that the Yankees could bring someone in from outside the organization to fill out the roster. With only one opportunity to make a play, it was hard to read how comfortable Cabrera looked, though he has started a handful of career games there.</li>
<li id="THc0F2">As a bonus note, the prospect Vivas also saw a little time at the six, which is notable since he last played there in A-ball, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/jose-trevino-clobbers-a-solo-home-run-to-left-field?q=TeamId%20%3D%3D%20[147]%20Order%20By%20Timestamp%20DESC&cp=CMS_FIRST&p=0">three years ago</a>.</li>
<li id="nwWZck">Tomorrow will feature a split-squad matchup, with a home game against the Orioles and an away matchup with the Phillies in Clearwater. A couple arms to watch at Triple-A will start, as Will Warren gets Baltimore while Clayton Beeter squares off with Philly. Both games will begin at 1:05pm ET.</li>
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<p id="OTASxF"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/gameday/braves-vs-yankees/2024/03/10/748029/final/box">Box Score</a></p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/10/24096412/yankees-mlb-game-score-recap-juan-soto-homer-braves-jose-trevino-returnclarke-schmidtKevin Winterhalt2024-03-10T12:35:00-04:002024-03-10T12:35:00-04:00NYY vs. ATL: Clarke Schmidt vs. AJ Smith-Shawver
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<img alt="New York Yankees v Miami Marlins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QQmA03pG-_5rSDEcrmxxFWDuOkk=/0x0:7638x5092/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73196137/2059409092.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Jose Trevino makes his spring debut for the Yankees</p> <p id="Hj6UVT">Spring training continues apace today as the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> face off with Atlanta. Clarke Schmidt will take the ball for the first couple of innings for New York. Keep an eye on his pitch selection, as he’s been working on a new changeup this spring, after last year’s version got clobbered on the rare occasions he threw it. The new iteration is more of a split-change, and it almost certainly can’t be less effective than the old one.</p>
<p id="7vGpau">For Atlanta, 21-year-old righty AJ Smith-Shawver gets the start. Atlanta’s seventh-round pick in 2021, he made a handful of starts for the club last season and is considered by many outlets to be the Braves’ best prospect (albeit in a somewhat-depleted system).</p>
<p id="IysQU1">Meanwhile, Jose Trevino makes his first appearance of the spring after being sidelined with a calf strain for the past few weeks. He dons the tools of ignorance and bats eighth. With him in the lineup today, it looks a lot like what we’ll probably see on Opening Day. </p>
<p id="L2N8ZY">The only presumptive starter not in today’s lineup is Anthony Volpe. Oswaldo Cabrera will instead man shortstop; Oswald Peraza’s <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/9/24095476/yankees-oswald-peraza-injury-shoulder-strain-il-opening-day-injured-list-shortstop">injury</a> only increases the importance of Cabrera’s ability to back up Volpe. We’ll see what parade of reserves follow the starters when it becomes time to remove the latter from the contest. </p>
<p id="BKHAmN"><strong>How to watch</strong></p>
<p id="yh1zow"><strong>Location</strong>: George M. Steinbrenner Field - Tampa, FL</p>
<p id="ASJYtk"><strong>First pitch</strong>: 1:05 pm ET</p>
<p id="VG1of4"><strong>TV broadcast</strong>: YES, Bally Sports Southeast</p>
<p id="UA3QgF"><strong>Radio broadcast</strong>: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan</p>
<p id="aReTfU"><strong>Online stream</strong>: MLB.tv</p>
<p id="isg4kC">For updates, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/pinstripealley">X</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pinstripealley/">Instagram</a>, and like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinstripealley">Facebook</a>. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trevi makes his Spring Training Debut <a href="https://t.co/PnykqW0gwo">pic.twitter.com/PnykqW0gwo</a></p>— New York Yankees (@Yankees) <a href="https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1766806511932551343?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Clocks closer to Opening Day <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BravesST?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BravesST</a> <a href="https://t.co/GjjKfnBOcj">pic.twitter.com/GjjKfnBOcj</a></p>— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) <a href="https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1766817838075965499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2024</a>
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https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/10/24096249/yankees-braves-mlb-lineups-how-to-watch-streaming-channel-clarke-schmidt-jose-trevinoKevin Winterhalt2024-03-04T00:00:00-05:002024-03-04T00:00:00-05:00NYY News: Spencer is Jones-ing to learn and grow
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<img alt="2024 New York Yankees Opening Day" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bfLIpoK_IvDkivhhIhsn5UYCfbA=/0x0:4981x3321/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73180324/2033878535.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Spencer Jones does a Q&A; Yanks send down handful of players form Major League camp; New York knows Baltimore is the reigning king of the mountain in the AL East; looking at possible bidding wars between the Yanks and Mets </p> <p id="v0G9DD"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/spencer-jones-discusses-rise-in-yankees-system-in-q-a?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage">MLB | Bryan Hoch</a>: So. This Spencer Jones fellow down on the farm seems like he might be a good ballplayer. And he got off to a heck of a start this spring, wowing members of the club with his power and speed. Jones sat down and answered some questions for Hoch. Based on his answers, he seems like a level-headed young man who understands the importance of soaking up as much as he can this spring before he heads back to the minor leagues. </p>
<p id="oQPLM8"><a href="https://twitter.com/yankees/status/1764421908462780555?s=46&t=S4Tk1J6EVftzQfPrvdE_bA">X | New York Yankees</a>: Speaking of heading back to the minor leagues, the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> made their first two rounds of training camp reassignments on Sunday. Prior to yesterday’s game, they <a href="https://twitter.com/yankees/status/1764345997323272658?s=46&t=S4Tk1J6EVftzQfPrvdE_bA">sent</a> Luis Gil and Yoendrys Gómez back to Triple-A and reassigned Art Warren and top prospect Chase Hampton to minor league camp. After the contest, Josh Breaux, Ben Rice, and Joey Gerber were sent to minor league camp while the club outrighted Jordan Groshans off the MLB roster and into Triple-A.</p>
<p id="rEyIok"><a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/03/sports/yankees-know-path-to-al-east-title-runs-through-orioles/">New York Post | Greg Joyce</a>: After winning 101 games to take the AL East crown last season, the <a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/">Baltimore Orioles</a> upgraded this spring with the blockbuster addition of Corbin Burnes. With all due respect to the rest of the division, the O’s are the big dogs right now. And the Yankees know it. Manager Aaron Boone and new Yankee Marcus Stroman, who has his own long history in the AL East, both had good things to say about Baltimore, who look like they could be a real pain for the foreseeable future. </p>
<p id="fcOgXT"><a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/02/sports/astros-alex-bregman-could-be-at-the-center-of-mets-yankees-battle/">New York Post | Joel Sherman</a>: While we’re talking about Burnes, Sherman is prognosticating (very much in advance, obviously) that the righty could be a player that induces a Yankees-<a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a> bidding war after the ‘24 season. But moreso than Burnes (or even Juan Soto), the player Sherman thinks could set off financial fisticuffs if he reaches free agency is <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a> third baseman Alex Bregman. Some of Sherman’s argument is pretty sound but color me skeptical that the Yankees will add another mega-contract to the books, especially if they end up landing Soto for the next decade-plus.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/3/4/24089678/yankees-news-prospect-spencer-jones-minor-league-orioles-corbin-burnes-juan-soto-alex-bregmanKevin Winterhalt2024-02-27T09:00:00-05:002024-02-27T09:00:00-05:00A look at the Yankees’ first-half schedule
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<img alt="Baltimore Orioles v New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nIahMTQyPafujDO8UJezdpnw6aM=/123x0:5109x3324/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73167408/1257815431.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>New York will have work to do, with a formidable slate of opponents in the early going.</p> <p id="AJJG8V">Yankee baseball is back! And with its return, come important questions. Will the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> average 10+ runs scored per game all year? Will Spencer Jones ever make an out in his career? Hopefully the answers to those are “yes,” and “no,” respectively.</p>
<p id="vuqQcc">One question we can look at, now that we have an idea where the major players will ply their trade this season (apologies to Blake Snell, Monty, and Matt Chapman), is what quirks and tripwires the Yankees’ schedule might have in store for the Bronx Bombers at the start of the year. With Juan Soto on board and the club trying to erase the stink of finishing 82-80 in ’23, it feels like ’24 has the potential to be a pivotal campaign. Ergo, let’s dig into the first half of the season.</p>
<p id="G5OPkc"><strong>The Season Opener: </strong>Four games on the road against the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a> is certainly one way to kick off ’24. In one of life’s great ironies, the Yankees went 5-2 against Houston last season. That by no means negates the trauma of the Astros mercilessly crushing New York in the 2022 playoffs. And it might be more of a commentary on how the Astros last season were not quite the juggernaut they’d been in previous seasons. </p>
<p id="jsm7UZ">The reigning AL Cy Young winner will almost certainly get the call for the season opener. And while there’s no world where he throws 129 pitches on Opening Day, let’s use Gerrit Cole’s last start in Houston as a <em>de facto</em> hype video:</p>
<div id="i6jpwq"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dGZ4jofLCjQ?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="zhJJ9B">It will be important for the Yanks to charge out of the gates and play a competitive series in Houston. Not just because the Astros seem to be the Final Boss for New York. But also, because…</p>
<p id="cwWxMz"><strong>April Gauntlet: </strong>The opening month of the season has the potential to really set the stage for the Bombers. After their set in Houston, the club heads to Arizona for three against the NL pennant-winning <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>. From there, it’s home to the Bronx against Toronto, another 2023 playoff team. Then it’s the Marlins coming to New York, a club that won two more games last year than did New York.</p>
<p id="Ew3yR8">On April 12<sup>th</sup>, the Yankees finally have a game against a club that finished under .500 last season when they open a set against the Guardians in Cleveland. But after that, it’s north of the border to face the Jays again then home against the Rays. After a series against Oakland, the Yanks close the month with a series against Milwaukee, and then a four-game tilt versus the Orioles.</p>
<p id="vUEpHA">That’s a collective 2023 opponent winning percentage of .524 in the opening month. And if you take the Athletics out of the equation, that number jumps considerably to .550. There are a ton of good vibes around the Yankees as I write this. A strong opening month would go a long way to maintaining those. Conversely, while you can’t win the AL East in April, you can probably lose it. </p>
<p id="HvjBJu">On that train of thought, it behooves the Yanks to play better against their aforementioned AL East foes in ’24. Last season they finished 6-7 against Baltimore. Versus Tampa, 5-8. At least they were above .500 against Toronto, finishing 7-6.</p>
<p id="i318iL"><strong>Out of the Frying Pan: </strong>May isn’t much nicer, to be honest. The first weekend of the month does feature three games against the Tigers. But then it’s Houston. Again. Oh well. I guess we’re done with them early. Then off to the Trop for three with the Rays. Then the Twins… to whom we… <em>lost the season series last year</em>. What alternate timeline is this? Please rectify that.</p>
<p id="mu2dlu">After three games against the Pale Hose from Chicago, Seattle comes to town for four contests against yet another playoff team in the early going. After that, it’s time for the Dreaded West Coast Trip.</p>
<p id="4KkFzk"><strong>Visiting Old Friends: </strong>I honestly don’t know how y’all out East do the sports fan thing. I was in the Eastern Time Zone for part of the Avalanche <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl-playoffs">Stanley Cup</a> run two springs ago and that week almost killed me. So, I’ll know your pain as the Yanks head west for nine games in 10 days to push the calendar to June.</p>
<p id="6yKG1a">First up, the Padres, who will be welcoming Juan Soto back. For the Yanks, they’ll get to renew acquaintances with Mike King and the other players the club sent West in the <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-soto-yankees-trade">deal</a> for the megastar. Then it’s the Angels, bereft of generational talent Shohei Ohtani. Three games against San Francisco (no word on if Arson Judge will appear) end the long sojourn on the Pacific coast. </p>
<p id="wZE1fz"><strong>YamaSoto… sort of: </strong>Perhaps the most anticipated series of the season happens from June 5<sup>th</sup> through 7<sup>th</sup> as Starkiller Base… er, the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Los Angeles Dodgers</a>, descend on Yankee Stadium. After Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto spurned NY to sign in LA, I’m fairly confident he’ll get a less than friendly welcome from the usually polite and reserved Yankee faithful.</p>
<p id="MDfJ74">To be fair, I head to Coors Field every time the Dodgers are in town just to boo them. And that was before Yamamoto. So I might be projecting my own feelings on how this will play out.</p>
<p id="gQpgTk"><strong>Other Notes: </strong>It’s tough to get too pumped up about games between teams that finished fourth and fifth in the division last season, but still. It’s Boston. New York finally faces their longtime rivals at Fenway in mid-June. A week and a half later, the Yanks play the first half of the Subway Series at Citi Field. In between: a measuring stick series against the Braves, and another set against Baltimore.</p>
<p id="p1DTyK">The final week before the All-Star Game will be another set to watch. Consecutive road series against the Rays and Orioles close out the first half for New York. </p>
<p id="VDX2gn">There are some really tough stretches in the first half for the Yankees. Their mettle is likely to be tested early and often. But if they can come through the first half in good shape, they’ll have proven themselves against a plethora of quality teams. </p>
<p id="2fadc8">This is the second year of the balanced schedule. If the Yanks were not in your city last year, you can expect them sometime this season. With them not visiting Coors Field this year, the series I am keeping an eye on for visiting purposes is Kansas City in early June. I’m told Kauffman Stadium is a heck of a place to catch a ball game. </p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/27/24083677/yankees-schedule-al-east-west-coast-padres-playoff-teams-strength-of-schedule-dodgers-metsKevin Winterhalt2024-02-24T08:00:00-05:002024-02-24T08:00:00-05:00Aaron Judge headlines the Yankees’ top prospects from a decade ago
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<img alt="MLB: New York Yankees-Workout" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z7ybB07rfkT26ciiGFOEcHAp2pM=/0x172:1681x1293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73161323/usa_today_8402563.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Ten years later, a look at how the Yankees’ farm system has panned out.</p> <p id="bA0Olo">In the spring of 2013, the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> found themselves with three picks in the first round of the amateur draft. At #26 (their original pick), they snagged Eric Jagielo. Then, as recompense for Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano departing in free agency, New York drafted Aaron Judge 32nd overall and Ian Clarkin at 33. </p>
<p id="f5s44N">Unsurprisingly when <em>Baseball America </em>released its top-30 list of Yankee prospects several months later, that trio of first-round picks all appeared high on the list. For different reasons and to different extents (obviously), each of the three ended up making impacts. </p>
<p id="arb9VQ">The old adage is it takes three years to judge an NFL team’s draft class, so I think it’s more than fair that after a decade has passed, we can look back at what became of <em>BA</em>’s list, with a focus on the top-10. For contemporaneous coverage, check out this old PSA <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-prospects-minor-leagues/2013/12/9/5192206/yankees-baseball-america-top-10-prospects-2014">piece</a>.</p>
<p id="JcoYvM"><strong>Biggest Boom</strong>: Aaron Judge (#6)</p>
<p id="49qvHD">I don’t think I need to belabor an explanation. The man won AL Rookie of the Year, and narrowly (and controversially) missed winning AL MVP in the same season. He then clubbed 62 dingers in 2022, becoming the AL single-season home run king. </p>
<p id="eqDWD4"><em>BA</em> saw his power potential early, though they were unsure of how it would translate to games. And that’s fair, considering the Yanks had only drafted him the previous spring and he’d yet to debut in the minors. It certainly translated in batting practice, as Judge opened eyes in July ‘13 when he took BP with the big league club shortly after being drafted. </p>
<div id="2dkT0D"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/judge-takes-batting-practice-c27947103" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="nEh3Ik">The biggest surprise based on the old scouting report? How his hit tool has evolved. “At his height, it’s hard for his swing path to be short, and he’s not expected to be more than a .260 hitter.” He’s currently a .282 career hitter, including a .311 mark in ’22. He’s turned out okay.</p>
<p id="B0E4b3"><strong>Booms</strong>, <strong>but briefly: </strong>Gary Sánchez (#1) and Luis Severino (#9)</p>
<p id="vyHwwF">El Gary was the undisputed head of this prospect class. In early ’14, his bat had people dreaming. In an eye-opening sentence, <em>BA</em> wrote “scouts see his floor as being a .260-.270 hitter with at least 20 home runs annually, which would be all-star-caliber production for a catcher.” <em>His</em> <em>floor</em>! And after his first season and a half in the Bronx, that looked prescient. Gary went on to notch three seasons of 3+ rWAR in his first four, including a surreal one-third of a rookie campaign. Alas, it was all downhill after 2019.</p>
<div id="7KjJYe"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ziaQdOHdNK0?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="5Vi1o6">Severino, only 19-years-old at the time, was coming off a ’13 season that maxed out at A-ball. All told, he’d whiffed 53 hitters in 44 innings, walking only 10. Those results tracked with <em>BA</em>’s scouting report, which raved about his raw stuff and ability to throw strikes with three pitches. Sevy had a strong debut in ’15, struggled greatly his sophomore season, then was one of the best starters in the American League in ’17 and ’18 before injuries derailed his career trajectory.</p>
<p id="sziyiq"><strong>A Signature Yankee Moment</strong>: Greg Bird (#8)</p>
<p id="4ha08X">Bird was coming off what <em>BA</em> called a “breakout season” at A-ball in 2013, where he’d hit 20 home runs and led all of the minor leagues with 107 walks. The question, at least in this scouting report, was whether his power tool would keep up with his hit tool and his plate discipline. </p>
<p id="yMLxmY">Bird continued to progress, winning an Arizona Fall League MVP on his way to a fantastic 2015 debut in the Bronx. Injuries unfortunately plagued Bird, almost certainly preventing him from meeting his full potential. But we’ll always have his monster playoff home run off ex-Yankee Andrew Miller in the 2017 ALDS. </p>
<div id="WKiW2m"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/greg-bird-homers-2-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-field" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="DWNQAI">By the way, Bird is doing pretty well these days on the diamond, albeit a world away. For anyone who hasn’t been tracking, he’s basically the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/01/04/sports/ex-yankee-greg-bird-thrives-in-australia-after-being-mad-at-baseball/">King of Australian Baseball</a>. </p>
<p id="3F3cIc">That’s not it from the top-10 either. Catcher John Ryan (then J.R.) Murphy went to Minnesota in the deal that brought Aaron Hicks to the Bronx. And despite how Hicks’ tenure ended, he was outstanding from 2017 through 2020, though limited by injury. </p>
<p id="zJTJGo">Speaking of trades, Jagielo found himself packaged in the deal that brought Aroldis Chapman to New York in late ’15. To be fair, that deal was a bit distasteful even at the time, given the <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/14884190/aroldis-chapman-accepts-suspension-apologizes-only-using-gun">issues</a> that led Cincinnati to offload the fireballer for pennies on the dollar. The Yankees eventually dealt Chapman to the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a>, bringing Gleyber Torres to New York. Jagielo never set foot on the diamond in pinstripes but is part of a transaction lineage that provided the Yanks a starting middle infielder for more than a half-decade (and maybe more, depending on what happens with Torres’ upcoming free agency). </p>
<p id="Hm9Ru7">Fellow 2013 first rounder Ian Clarkin also found himself eventually sent out of New York. For Clarkin, he went to Chicago in July ’17 in the deal that brought Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle to the Yanks. </p>
<p id="3My6xv">Farther down, for those wondering about numbers 11 through 30, the list included familiar names like Dellin Betances (#26) and Thairo Estrada (#28). While the former obviously starred in pinstripes, the latter has carved out a nice career in San Francisco. </p>
<p id="CoatoI">All told, the top 10 players on the list have, to date, combined to provide the Yankees 67.3 career rWAR. Admittedly, that number is overwhelmingly due to Judge, and it will become even more Judge-heavy as the superstar slugger continues on. </p>
<p id="mTLd8j">But Gary and Sevy gave the Yanks elite production for multiple seasons at important positions, while Bird had a great debut and helped the club advance to the 2017 ALCS. </p>
<p id="fcZ6L3">Some of the players in the top-10 absolutely did not pan out, with Slade Heathcott and Mason Williams in particular not going on to major league success. But all told, it’s hard to complain about the direct and indirect returns the Yankees received from the players that <em>Baseball America</em> listed as the cream of the crop. </p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/24/24081193/yankees-prospects-2014-aaron-judge-gary-sanchez-luis-severino-greg-bird-trades-hicks-torres-kahnleKevin Winterhalt2024-02-16T00:00:00-05:002024-02-16T00:00:00-05:00NYY News: Kluber likely returning as advisor
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<img alt="Toronto Blue Jays v New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nLd9leran1vSvnY-i-uZn8byTPI=/0x0:2106x1404/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73143494/1320502913.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Kluber likely returning as advisor; Manfred done as commish in ‘29; six Yankee prospects make FanGraphs Top 100; Cole isn’t mincing words; count Kahnle among those unhappy with the current uniform situation</p> <p id="cPZHtl"><a href="https://www.nj.com/yankees/2024/02/yankees-are-in-talks-to-reunite-with-retired-two-time-al-cy-young-winner-report-says.html">NJ.com | Jimmy Hascup</a>: Activate the Klubot. <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/10/24068150/yankees-corey-kluber-retired-no-hitter-2021-season-cy-young-retirement-career-farewell">Recently retired</a> former Yankee Corey Kluber is in discussions with the organization to come aboard in a “yet-to-be-defined advisory position.” Considering the impact Kluber had on former Yank Michael King, having him spend time with a pitching staff that includes heralded young arms like Chase Hampton and Will Warren seems like a no-brainer. Per <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanHoch/status/1758258134601097273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1758258134601097273%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=about%3Asrcdoc">Bryan Hoch</a>, GM Brian Cashman has confirmed that Kluber’s return to the organization is a distinct possibility, though not a done deal. </p>
<p id="mjCnQg"><a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/rob-manfred-not-planning-to-seek-another-term-as-mlb-commissioner.html?utm_source=twitter">MLB Trade Rumors | Darragh McDonald</a>: Late Thursday afternoon, the news broke that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will step down in 2029 at the end of his new term. Manfred took over for Bud Selig in 2015 and has presided over the Astros cheating scandal, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021-22 lockout, and several rule changes in his time as commish (just to name a few). There will be plenty of time for post-mortems on his time as commissioner, but for now the news is that there is an end date to his tenure. </p>
<p id="pFrN4R"><a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2024-top-100-prospects/">FanGraphs | Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin</a>: FanGraphs has officially chimed in on prospect season, and the news is good for the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>. Six Baby Bombers make the Top-100, headlined by 55 FV prospect Spencer Jones at No. 15. Longenhagen and Taruskin think the sky is the limit for Jones, writing “as far as ceilings go, in this case we’re talking about St. Patrick’s Cathedral.”</p>
<p id="ztuZrR">Five other Yankee farmhands join Jones, with catcher Austin Wells the next-highest ranked at 47th overall. Assigning Wells a 50 FV, along with a 50 future hit tool, and 55 future raw and game power, FanGraphs seems to be the high outlet on Wells. And I’m here for it. Check out the article for all the team’s thoughts on the six.</p>
<p id="Xhq90Q"><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39532420/gerrit-cole-hoping-yankees-use-2023-disaster-motivation">ESPN | David Schoenfield</a>: Gerrit Cole isn’t mincing words about last year’s monstrous disappointment of a season. Talking Thursday, the reigning AL Cy Young winner and Yankee ace described the ‘23 campaign as a “disaster” and commented that the club needs to figure out how to stay healthy. They’re off to an <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/15/24073573/yankees-mlb-news-effross-back-injury-trivino-back-trade-andrews-boone-hellbent-trevino-gullett">inauspicious</a> start on that front, sadly. More promisingly, Cole is confident in the presumptive Yankee rotation. He also noted the influx of left-handed bats to the lineup, including a guy named Juan Soto who is supposed to be pretty good. </p>
<p id="bYazKs"><a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F5276715%2F2024%2F02%2F15%2Fnike-mlb-fanatics-jersey-issues%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinstripealley.com%2F2024%2F2%2F16%2F24074377%2Fyankees-news-prospects-fangraphs-rob-manfred-retire-gerrit-cole-corey-kluber-tommy-kahnle-uniforms" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Athletic | Stephen J. Nesbitt</a>: Matt <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/13/24072103/yankees-mlb-jerseys-fanatics-spring-training-complaints-merchandise-low-quality">wrote</a> the other day about the issues with the terrible product that Fanatics has been rolling out this year. Unfortunately, players are also irritated by what they’re receiving. Pitchers in particular are less than impressed by what they’ve seen. Among them: Tommy “Tightpants” Kahnle. Tailoring is no longer happening at the manufacturing stage, with some clubhouse managers taking that task upon themselves. As of Wednesday, Kahnle hadn’t even tested his pants, but he knew they weren’t going to be tight enough without some adjustment. “Tommy Normalpants” and “Tommy Baggypants” don’t exactly roll off the tongue, so here’s hoping he finds some leg prisons that are to his liking. </p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/16/24074377/yankees-news-prospects-fangraphs-rob-manfred-retire-gerrit-cole-corey-kluber-tommy-kahnle-uniformsKevin Winterhalt2024-02-09T08:00:00-05:002024-02-09T08:00:00-05:00The PSA Top 100 Yankees: One writer’s reflections, methods, and choices
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<img alt="Bob Meusel with Babe Ruth and Earle Combs" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/I2aY7vYiVbewARmskqA-O0WJUe0=/0x84:3577x2469/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73125230/515568170.0.jpg" />
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<p>What decisions go into distilling a famous Yankee career into a couple thousand words?</p> <p id="T2Y1Vb">This week, we finally finished our ongoing Pinstripe Alley<em> </em><a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2023/10/23/23926997/yankees-top-100-players-history-baseball-pinstripe-alley">Top 100 Yankees series</a>. It was an intellectually fascinating exercise on my end, not least for the challenge of ranking players across position, tenure length, and era of baseball, among other factors. As the comments section made regularly clear, there was no pleasing everyone, and the top five got particularly contentious except for the literal GOAT at No. 1.</p>
<p id="CwpK3q">With the series completed, I wanted to circle around and explain my research and writing process. On the writing side, we had a word limit to work with throughout that affected what we included in articles and what got omitted. In some cases, Dellin Betances’ for example (my first write-up), it was not overly onerous to distill his career into around 2,000 words. </p>
<p id="BAcseI">But when I reached the end and stared at the daunting task of writing Joe DiMaggio, I realized immediately my fool’s errand of having to decide what to include and what to exclude. And that was with me getting Andrew to allow me 3,500 words.</p>
<p id="XNloCw">From a research standpoint, some of our players had SABR bios written and others didn’t. And for the inner circle, entire books have been written. For example, go read Richard Ben Cramer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book on Joltin’ Joe, if you haven’t already. Or, if you prefer, head to <em>PBS</em> and watch the “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dimaggio/">American Experience</a>” documentary from 2000. </p>
<p id="foiaee">Finally, there were the players, and I had one, who was so controversial that there was no choice but to spend time on the elephant in the room. In that case, the trade-off became giving proper credit to their Yankee career while adequately addressing any glaring historical shortcomings. </p>
<h3 id="JxNBOk"><strong>Researching the Top 100</strong></h3>
<p id="kJwhnr">To start, I found myself cursing my lack of foresight for, long before I started writing at PSA, leaving most of my Yankee library 1,000 miles north in Canada. That said, there was no shortage of secondary source research material. My first stop was the Society of American Baseball Researchers’<em> </em>biographies of select players. This was its own problem, though. It was entirely too easy to fall into a trap of unconsciously mirroring SABR biographies’ rhythm. Same problem for the numerous monographs written on Yankee subjects.</p>
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<img alt="Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre at Barnes and Nobl" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NZjYdRB-LuF16_FJZgWW5RP8nKc=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25268949/97283393.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="d2s2wz">I’m certain my primary research process is different from at least some of our other writers. I’m an historian by trade, a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder. Primary sources are my jam. So, for all these players, my first stop was the <em>New York Times</em>. I pay semi-good money annually for access not just to the <em>Times</em>, but also to its archives.</p>
<p id="EiW42r">Heading there was never a poor decision when it came time for the PSA Top 100. It’s one thing to know that Joe DiMaggio was facing a foot issue that might delay his rookie season. It’s another to know the name of the doctor who was treating him and the page and placement of that article. And on other occasions, an article on one player served double duty, discussing a history of trade talks involving multiple players who ended up on the countdown.</p>
<p id="KUImI1">And sometimes you think you’ve found a great primary source, which is one of the great thrills of archival research. When I ran across the “FEDS AFTER PECKINPAUGH” headline in the <em>Times</em>, I excitedly wondered what skullduggery I’d run across and how I could incorporate it. Alas, “Feds” in this context meant the Federal League trying to poach Peck, not that he had run afoul of Washington, D.C. Good for Roger, disappointing for my inner researcher.</p>
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<img alt="Baseball Magazine Cover With Bancroft &amp; Peckinpaugh" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lBNsiWcKxnDF-UtBuRtAjdPZBxw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25268920/849443002.jpg">
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<h3 id="JbdF0p"><strong>Writing the Top 100</strong></h3>
<p id="4ZEz4l">What goes into a Top-100 piece? What do you leave out? These are the decisions you make while mapping out a plan. In some cases, it’s relatively easy. Dellin Betances didn’t feel like I omitted much. Ditto for Ben Chapman. Higher on the rankings, I felt like I did Brett Gardner justice. But Jorge? Guidry? Dear Lord… DiMaggio. A lot of these pieces could have gone on forever (RIP Andrew, Jake, and Madison if they hadn’t kept us under control). </p>
<p id="cdNbHF">The longest, and most recent, piece I wrote was on the Clipper. And that’s what inspired me to write this post-mortem. DiMaggio is an infinitely more complex human being than anyone can present in one article. But without going extremely long-form (again, Cramer won a Pulitzer for his biography and there are numerous other monographs on Joltin’ Joe), it’s impossible to delve into everything. And I didn’t want to pay lip service to the complexities of DiMaggio, while for all intents and purposes glossing over them. There are other pieces that delve into, for example, his turbulent relationship with Marilyn Monroe. </p>
<p id="UIKWrv">So, the DiMaggio piece probably reads like a hagiography (Posada’s too, because I didn’t want to constantly harp on his defense or dedicate precious words to the tumultuous final year of his career). But for the overwhelming majority of the players we were discussing, we were almost exclusively celebrating their Yankee careers and their importance to the organization and its history. Occasionally, someone cropped up whose dark side demanded adequate attention.</p>
<h3 id="eEwhQI"><strong>The (Ben) Chapman Dilemma</strong></h3>
<p id="X6Nmo3">I wasn’t originally signed up for Chapman, if memory serves. I traded into that slot and only remembered Chapman’s ignominious history with Jackie Robinson after doing so. Moreover, I had no idea about the petition signed by roughly 15,000 New Yorkers in the mid-’30s to get rid of him for anti-Semitic remarks while a Yankee. </p>
<p id="70Ycu8">As one PSA commenter opined in the comments on my write-up: “You have to be a real scumbag to get 15,000 fans back then to sign an actual petition.”</p>
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<img alt="Jackie Robinson Ben Chapman 1947" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8v8Eaij5SPvMJ353ZnZ7DO5hY38=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25268931/89042417.jpg">
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<p id="jSYgRI">As a result, a considerable amount of the Chapman piece (22 percent of the word count) deals with his appalling history of racism, both during and after his Yankee tenure. I don’t feel like I short-changed him elsewhere. If anything, I inflated what would have been a shorter article. But there’s no way to write about Ben Chapman without addressing the Jackie Robinson incident, both in isolation and in a longer history of bad behavior. </p>
<h2 id="BoNL7g"><strong>Placement Thoughts</strong></h2>
<p id="vxanZI">I already released my top-20 in an AMA in the FanPosts the other night, so there’s no reason not to let everyone have a look at my Best of the Best, after ranking them and re-ranking them too many times to count (though I never hesitated over my top-5).</p>
<p id="A5dYIt">1. Ruth. 2. Gehrig 3. Mantle 4. DiMaggio 5. Berra </p>
<p id="veGbuR">6. Ford 7. Jeter 8. Rivera 9. Dickey 10. Bernie </p>
<p id="VL9rrw">11. Posada 12. Rodriguez 13. Pettitte 14. Ruffing 15. Guidry</p>
<p id="seyJeg">16. Judge 17. Gomez 18. Mattingly 19. Randolph 20. Keller</p>
<p id="l3Czyz"><strong>Biggest regret (inside the Top 20)</strong>: If I could do it over, I’d have Guidry placed at 11 and Jorge and 12. I was too low on Gator, and I admit it. Although, there’s probably a case to be made that the <em>marginal difference</em> between 11 and 15 on a list like this isn’t that significant. But still. </p>
<p id="5qKnCS"><strong>Biggest regret (outside the Top 20)</strong>: I was too low on Reggie. I was too focused on numbers and length of tenure and not mindful enough of his historical importance. If I could do this again, I’d move him up about 20 spots from where I had him.</p>
<p id="ADihHd"><strong>I stand by it</strong>: Placing Posada at 11. The consistent, long-term production from a switch-hitter at a position that’s historically not one that anchors a lineup, and his presence on several World Champion teams combined to make me very high on Posada. Probably higher than anyone else was. </p>
<p id="FQC0XQ">By the time the Top 100 ended, I had penned 11 of the write-ups, starting with Dellin Betances at 84, and finishing (controversially in terms of ranking) with Joltin’ Joe at 5. It was a fun and invigorating learning experience, though also challenging at times for a myriad of reasons. </p>
<p id="VyZTtM">Twenty years from now when PSA does another Top 100, I’m overwhelmingly certain I won’t be one of the scribes. But I hope whoever does put (metaphorical) pen to paper next time finds it similarly rewarding.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/2/9/24062679/yankees-history-top-100-biography-primary-sources-research-writing-sabr-character-dimaggio-chapmanKevin Winterhalt