Cave now has 10 homers in 130 ABs with Scranton, hitting .377 and his OPS is over 1.100. He can run, too. Drafted in sixth round in 2011, Cave is a long-term minor leaguer. His good friend Ben Gamel traveled a similar path and was traded last August to Seattle. Cave was taken in the Rule 5 draft last winter by Cincinnati and then returned in the spring. He is blocked in NY for the time being.Mateo 2-2 again so far today, double and a single.
Jake Cave with a 3 run HR today, he is quietly edging his way back towards possible 40 man contention, he is still only 24, 1.042 OPS in 115 AAA PAs before today.
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=595909#/career/R/hitting/2017/ALL
It depends what you're getting back, they already traded Rutherford. I would say that the guys with clear paths to starting jobs shouldn't be moved, Florial and Mateo are the top of the potentially expendable list for position players, but you need to get other long-term control guys in return. Andujar would be untouchable for me as he ideally will be the 3B with Torres at 2B.Yanks have so many elite prospects, they almost gave to trade some of them over the next year or two, because you can't play them all. So who do they trade?
I'll be honest, I'm not enamored with Sanchez behind the plate the past month. He has some obvious defensive work to do this offseason, specifically with blocking balls. I don't know if I can criticize him for pitch calling because that may be coming from the bench but there has been a handful of incredibly poor pitch selections in tight spots, specifically with Betances. Every time he can't spot his fastball, Sanchez rushes a curve for a strike and immediately asks for another one which promptly gets jacked for a double.Thinking about it a bit more, not that almost any team has this luxury, but NY could definitely use more catching depth top to bottom in their system. The Padres kind of screwed them by taking Luis Torrens in the rule 5 and keeping him on the roster all year, even though he is years from being ready. If NY could somehow get a premier defensive catcher who could also hit a bit, maybe they could make Sanchez their primary DH.
Sanchez caught Tanaka's gem yesterday. Does he get any credit?I'll be honest, I'm not enamored with Sanchez behind the plate the past month. He has some obvious defensive work to do this offseason, specifically with blocking balls. I don't know if I can criticize him for pitch calling because that may be coming from the bench but there has been a handful of incredibly poor pitch selections in tight spots, specifically with Betances. Every time he can't spot his fastball, Sanchez rushes a curve for a strike and immediately asks for another one which promptly gets jacked for a double.
Forget where I saw the stat, maybe here, but our hardest throwers are still throwing more breaking pitches than fastballs. Betances' troubles can be traced back to Sanchez's rise as starting catcher too.
This is just Heyman backing off his previous incorrect reporting about Oakland insisting on Torres or Frazier when the negotiations were far past that according to everyone else.Heyman says Oakland has softened its demands on Yanks for Sonny Gray.
sherman, an hour ago, on Twitter:This is just Heyman backing off his previous incorrect reporting about Oakland insisting on Torres or Frazier when the negotiations were far past that according to everyone else.
Sorry. Is Gray the final piece needed?Heh, I put that in the trade deadline thread already.
I mean, as of today it looks that way, but new injuries can change things quickly (like Price a few days ago). Keep in mind that we're a month from Sept 1 when NY will be able to bring up a bunch of additional helpful arms (Heller, Holder, Gallegos, Mitchell, German) and fill that 5th spot by committee each time around, and keep all their core prospects. They don't really have a big 40 man crisis anymore, so I don't think that's a big factor here.Sorry. Is Gray the final piece needed?
This is just Heyman backing off his previous incorrect reporting about Oakland insisting on Torres or Frazier when the negotiations were far past that according to everyone else.
Sounds like someone that would definitely get snatched away in the Rule V.Stephen Tarpley is one of the two prospects NY got from PIT for Nova at this time last year (Tito Polo was the other, now gone in the White Sox deal). Tarpley didn't pitch until early June this year and has been averaging 2-3 inning relief stints, he is a wild but absolutely untouchable lefty with a combined line in 11 games of 24.1 6 0 0 12 28, opponent BA of .078. He is 40 man eligible and pushing his way into contention for possible protection, although he is 24 and only in high A, a 2013 3rd round draft pick.
http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=605501#/gamelogs/R/pitching/2017/MINORS
I really liked what I saw of McKinney in spring.McKinney wins IL Batter of the Week, his stock is skyrocketing:
Still though, even if Frazier graduating (and to a lesser extent Wade) knocks them down to say the 7 spot, that is still pretty incredible. Because there is already so much young talent succeeding on the MLB roster. ATL and CWS doesn't have youngsters performing on the MLB team in their first and second years the way the Yankees currently do, so whether they are 1 or 7, they are maybe better positioned than anyone else moving forward.Bleacher Report reranks the farm systems after the deadline, they have the Yankees still at 3rd overall, with 7 "Tier 1" prospects out of 113 in baseball. Frazier graduating this month will knock them down a bit, but others may step up in the interim.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2723949-updated-farm-system-rankings-after-2017-trade-deadline-frenzy
Another one tonight in his Charleston debut, so homers in five straight games now across two levels.Dermis Garcia (who has homered four straight games in rookie ball) to Charleston.
The Yankees had the game's deepest farm system before trading Rutherford and Clarkin to the White Sox and then outfielder Dustin Fowler, shortstop/outfielder Jorge Mateo and right-hander James Kaprielian to the Athletics for Sonny Gray. They still may have the deepest, with an abundance of infielders (led by Torres, Tyler Wade, Miguel Andujar) and a seemingly endless supply of power arms (Adams, Domingo Acevedo, Albert Abreu, Jorge Guzman, Freicer Perez, Matt Sauer and on and on and on). Look for Florial, who has the highest ceiling among New York farmhands, to start climbing the Top 100.
Does the scout know about Jacoby Ellsbury?Dan Federico @RealDanFederico 6m6 minutes ago
Quick MiLB note: An NL scout who's in SWB just told me: "Andujar should be on the #Yankees now. Bat is killing AAA pitching."
He also noted Jake Cave "would be starting on 15 MLB clubs right now" but added "he has no spot on the #Yankees"
The thing is that he is actually serving a purpose right now as a late game pinch-runner. If Hicks was back and Holliday was hitting, it would be different, but I'm guessing they'll carry him through the end of the season just because of that late game utility. Then in the offseason, they may try to move him while picking up most of the money or just cut him as you say, they could use the 40 man spot.I really hope they just flat out cut him.
Other teams just cut their overpriced players and move on. I know the Sox just did it with Sandoval but I feel like they have done it a bunch of times over the years. The Yankees just never take the L and move on with overpriced vets not cutting it anymore. It has to happen.
I might not have been clear, but I don't think he should be cut right now either.The thing is that he is actually serving a purpose right now as a late game pinch-runner. If Hicks was back and Holliday was hitting, it would be different, but I'm guessing they'll carry him through the end of the season just because of that late game utility. Then in the offseason, they may try to move him while picking up most of the money or just cut him as you say, they could use the 40 man spot.