Down on the Farm - 8/8

Before we get into how the Tampa Yankees are doing, kudos to them for holding Breast Cancer Awareness Night at GMS III Field on August 15. The players will be wearing blue jerseys with pink lettering, like that Joba guy once did, that will be auctioned off with partial proceeds going to the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

On a lighter note, the team is also holding a Jimmy Buffett tribute night on the 16th.

It's been an up and down season for the Florida St. Leaguers, who have had a number of winning and losing streaks. Their current two game slide has left them 58-57, 21-24 in the second half. They obviously miss the pitching of Eric Hacker (Trenton) and Al Aceves (Scranton), who were a combined 6-3, 1.98 before being promoted. Zach McAllister's 6-6 record doesn't reflect just how well he's pitched. The right-hander has compiled a 2.17 ERA in his 12 starts. Overall, between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister is 12-9, 2.30 in 22 starts. Jon Hovis has excelled in the closer's role, recording 10 saves, and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Offensively, 1st baseman Kevin Smith leads the team with 50 RBI while posting a .283 average. DH Andres Perez has added 8 home runs and 41 RBI to a team that misses Edwar Gonzalez, who was promoted to Trenton after 27 games. Mitch Hilligoss, who hit in 38 straight games en route to a .310 season, has been a disappointment. The third baseman is batting just .241.

The Charleston RiverDogs battled a number of injuries to put together a fantastic 45-25 first half in the South Atlantic League. Things haven't gone so smoothly since, as the Dogs have put together just a 22-23 record. Granted, they have lost stars like starters McAllister and Jason Stephens to Tampa.

The big name on the RiverDogs is of course Jesus Montero. The 6'4" catcher fought off a bad May and came back strong, hitting .293 in June and .341 in July. He's topped that with a .387 average in 8 games in August. Montero has hit 13 home runs, 30 doubles, and driven in 69 runs in 430 at-bats. He's also done a good job of making contact, having struck out 69 times. He's also hit an impressive .350 with runners in scoring position and has an .844 OPS.

Montero is not alone, though. 3rd baseman Brad Suttle (.280-10-33, .828 OPS in 72 games), fellow catcher Austin Romine (.283-7-34 in 82 games), Justin Snyder (.290, 52 RBI), and Brandon Laird (17 HRs, 60 RBI) have all put together solid seasons.

Jon Ortiz has been a stud at closer, recording 28 saves, while striking out 73 batters in 52.2 innings. Starter Wil De la Rosa, a converted position player, has compiled a 7-3, 2.29 mark with 110 strikeouts in 90.1 innings. Dellin Betances and Lance Pendleton have each had solid seasons, with 7 wins apiece.

Tomorrow - the Staten Island and GCL Yankees

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Minor League Weekend Recap - 7/21

We start off at the Double-A level where red hot prospect Austin Jackson helped lead the Trenton Thunder to a 3-game sweep of the Portland SeaDogs. The series was supposed to go 4 games, but a rainout on Sunday shortened things up.

Jackson, the 21-yr old that could man centerfield in the new Yankee Stadium for many years to come, is hitting .556 (20-36) over his last 10 games, with a home run, 3 doubles, 5 RBI, 5 walks, and 8 runs scored. He went 4-4 in the series opening 8-1 win last Thursday, and went 4-6 in a doubleheader sweep on Saturday (5-4, 3-0). Phil Coke impressed in the nightcap, tossing 2-hit ball over 6 innings, with 10 strikeouts.

The Thunder's current 5-game winning streak put them 25 games over .500 (62-37) and puts them 8.5 games ahead of Portland in the Eastern League's Northern division.

Scranton put together an impressive series, winning 4 of 5 from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The only loss was the first game, a completion of July 3rd's suspended game. But since that counts in the schedule on July 3, the Yankees actually have an 8-game winning streak.

They may have lost the completion of the first game, but Al Aceves stood out. He allowed just 2 hits and struck out 5 over 4 innings.

Juan Miranda continues to impress those in the organization, particularly when he faces right-handed pitching. He's hit .400 over his last 10 games and homered in Thursday's 6-5 nightcap win, and again in Saturday's 6-4 victory. Miranda is now hitting .346 with a .977 OPS against right-handers.

Ian Kennedy and Jeff Karstens are both trying to give Joe Girardi something to think about after their performances against Lehigh Valley. IPK threw 3-hit ball over 7 innings to earn the 2-1 win on Saturday and Karstens finished off the series by allowing 2 runs in 7 innings for a 7-2 win.

Scranton's hot streak has moved them to within 2.5 games of 1st place Pawtucket in the International League's North division.


It's been a tough road for the Tampa Yankees. They recently endured an 11-game losing streak before sweeping 4 straight from the Vero Beach Rays. They split the next 4 with the Jupiter Hammerheads, rebounding after losing the first two games. On Sunday they started a new series with the Brevard County Manatees, dropping a 5-3 decision.

Zach McAllister took the loss on Sunday, allowing 4 runs in 6 innings, with just one of the runs being earned. The 20-yr old from Chillicothe, IL has an impressive season at Charleston and Tampa. He was 6-3, 2.45 in 10 starts for the RiverDogs, with 53 strikeouts and just 8 walks in 62.1 innings pitched. Thus far for Tampa, McAllister is 4-5 despite a 2.50 ERA. Overall, he's posted a 10-8, 2.48 mark in 120 innings with 90 strikeouts and just 14 walks.

McAllister's teammate Ryan Pope picked up a 7-inning, complete game win on Saturday, 3-2. He's now 6-4, 2.35 in 13 starts.

The Yankees are 11-16 thus far in the 2nd half and sit 9.5 games back of Dunedin the Florida State League's Western division.


The Charleston RiverDogs had their 7-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, losing a tough 8-7 game to the Greensboro Bats. Prior to the loss, the RiverDogs had just finished a 4-game sweep of the Kannapolis Intimidators. Big right-hander Dellin Bettances was impressive on Saturday with 6 innings of 2-hit ball. He also struck out 5 and walked a pair.

18-yr old Jairo Heredia also continued to impress with his own 6 innings of 2-hit ball in a 2-0 Dogs win. Heredia has struck out 65 batters in 71 IP.

All-Star Jesus Montero has been the most consistent hitter in the Dogs lineup and he's been heating up again, hitting .385 over the last 10 games, with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.

After a 45-25 first half, the RiverDogs are just 14-14 out of the gate in the 2nd half.


The Staten Island Yankees have won back to back series and will look to make it three straight tonight when they face the Brooklyn Cyclones in the rubber game of the series.

3rd baseman Mike Lyon has been a model of consistency all season. He's among the league leaders with a .318 average and a .902 OPS. Teammate Ray Kruml is right behind him with a .313 average and is 4th in the league with 10 stolen bases. Dan Brewer has also put together a solid campaign with a .297 average and 17 RBI.

Casey Erickson has been the Baby Bombers top starter, putting together a 2-0, 3.31 mark in 7 starts. He has struck out 23 opponents in 32.2 innings pitched. And of course Pat Venditte has been a big story because of his ability to throw with both arms, but he's put numbers up that are equally impressive. Venditte is second in the NY-Penn League with 8 saves and has posted a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 IP.

At 20-12, Staten Island has the second best record in the NY-Penn League.


The GCL Yankees have been heating it up like the Florida sun of late. They've won 6 of their past 7 games and 3 straight. Four pitchers combined on a 6-hit, 13-strikeout performance in Friday's 3-0 win over the Phillies.

Humberto Sanchez threw a 1 inning rehab assignment on Sunday and has now made 8 appearances for the GCL squad. In 7.2 innings pitched, he's allowed 4 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, and has struck out 11. The Yankees beat the Phils again 9-8 as shortstop Jimmy Paredes went 5-5.

The Yankees, 15-12, now trail the 1st place Phillies by just 1.5 games in the GCL North.

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Minor League Recap - 7/8

Here's a quick recap since we checked in last.

Triple-A
Scranton went 2-2 with one game suspended by rain. Among the highlights was Dan McCutchen's complete game shutout of the Syracuse Chiefs on July 5. McCutchen allowed 5 hits, walked none, and struck out 10. Eric Duncan helped him out a bit with 3 RBI in the 5-0 win. The Yankees also beat the Toledo Mud Hens 5-4 when Alberto Gonzalez hit his first home run of the season in the 12th inning.

On the downside, Jeff Karstens was knocked around by the Mud Hens last night, allowing 6 runs in 5.1 innings pitched. J.B. Cox also got tagged for 2 runs in 2.2 innings. Cox also got tagged for 4 runs in 2 innings Saturday in an 8-5 loss to Syracuse. Duncan belted a 3-run home run in that one

Double-A
The Trenton Thunder have won 4 of their last 5, including winning 3 of 4 from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. It started out with Jason Jones throwing 7 innings of 2-hit ball to beat the Portland Sea Dogs 4-0 on July 3. Phil Coke matched that effort with 7 innings of 2-hit ball against the Fisher Cats the next night in a 6-0 win.

More good pitching on 7/5 with 5 solid innings from Eric Hacker and a great job by the Thunder pen, in a 3-2 win over New Hampshire. And the Thunder won the series last night, 6-4, behind a pair of RBI each from Austin Jackson and Chris Malec. The lone set back was the third game of the series when George Kontos got knocked around in a 6-1 loss.

You wonder how long it will be until Anthony Claggett makes the jump to Triple-A. After 2 scoreless innings last night, his ERA is now 1.00 in 18 appearances for Trenton. His walk total, 16 in 36 IP, is a bit high, but he also has 33 strikeouts.

Jackson, meanwhile, has hit a bit of a slump with just 10 hits in his last 44 at-bats (.227). On the other hand, his fellow All-Star, Chris Malec, has been red hot, hitting .342 over the last 10 games.

Advanced 'A'
The Tampa Yankees are mired in a 7-game losing streak that started back on July 1st. For the most part the Yankees have gotten good pitching, but have had hitting woes. Ivan Nova gave up 2 runs over 7 innings on July 3, but the Yankees were beaten 2-1 by the Ft. Myers Miracle. The Miracle held the Yankees to 1 run in their 3 game series.

Then Tampa was swept by the Sarasota Reds. They were shutout for the third time in four games, 6-0 despite a great outing by Zach McAllister. He allowed 2 runs over 8 innings and struck out 9. Pitching was definitely not in the cards in the middle game of the series when Mike Dunn and the bullpen got blasted in a 12-5 loss. A 5-2 loss capped the series on Sunday (Monday's series opener with St. Lucie was rained out).


'A' Ball
The Charleston RiverDogs split their last four ball games, winning against Lexington last night 2-0. Wil de la Rosa struck out 9 and allowed just 2 hits over 6 innings. Jon Ortiz picked up his 22nd save of the season and Jesus Montero belted his 8th home run. The Dogs also beat the Augusta GreenJackets 6-3 on Sunday behind 3-hit ball by Jairo Heredia over 6-plus innings. Austine Romine went deep in that one.

Sunday's win would be the only game Charleston would take in the 4-game series with Augusta. They lost 5-4 on July 3 despite a pair of Brad Suttle home runs, and dropped a 5-2 game on July 4 despite a good rehab performance by Dellin Betances. The big right-hander, who didn't figure in the decision, allowed 2 runs over 5 innings and struck out 6. Betances allowed 3 hits and, more importantly, walked just one batter.

Short Season
No one is hotter than the Staten Island Yankees, who have won 10 in a row, including 5 straight since we last checked in. Luke Greinke didn't figure in the decision, but he tossed 4.2 shutout innings in the Baby Bombers 10-1 blow out of Mahoning Valley Scrappers on 7/3. Dan Brewer (hitting .351) and Mitch Albeita drove in 3 runs each.

The offense was at it again the next night in an 11-9 win over the Scrappers. Walt Ibarra hit a 3-run home runs and three players drove in 2 runs each.

Dave Phelps threw 5.1 innings to lead SI over the Auburn Doubledays, 6-2, on Saturday. Mike Lyon's (hitting .349) home run help propel the Yankees to a 4-2 win on Sunday and they finished off the Doubledays by the same score last night. Casey Erickson allowed 2 unearned runs over 6 innings and Albeita drove in another 3 runs.

Rookie Ball
The GCL Yankees dropped 3 of 4, their lone win being a 6-2 victory against the GCL Tigers. Chris Britton threw 2 shutout innings in a rehab stint. Emerson Landoni went 4-4.

Brian Bruney threw the first two innings of Saturday's game as he rehabs his Lysfranc injury. Humberto Sanchez also tossed one inning, striking out the side. The Tigers, however, were 7-1 winners.

Chad Gross hit a grand slam on Saturday, but the Yankees were out scored by the Phillies 10-9. The Philles won against last night 4-3 as Bruney and Sanchez each threw another inning. Landoni drove in 2 runs for the Yankees.

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Minor League Recap - 7/1

Games of 6/30

Scranton rallied in the 9th inning for 5-4 win, to salvage the finale of their 4-game series with the Buffalo Bisons. After a walk to Cody Ransom and a single by Eric Duncan, J.D. Closser hit a game tying 3-run home run, his first long ball of the year. Nick Green followed with a walk and moved to 3rd base on Greg Porter's single. Chris Basak's fly ball to right brought home Green with the game winner.

Dan McCutchen was outstanding in his start for the Yankees, allowing 1 run on 6 hits over 6 innings. He also struck out 5. Kei Igawa gave up the 3 runs in the 7th, but was still around in the 9th to pick up the win.

Chad Jennings has more on McCutchen's start and has an update on Alan Horne.

	June 30, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Buffalo 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 9 0 Scranton/WB 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 9 0 Recap | Box | W: K. Igawa (8-4, 3.64); L: J. Stevens (0-1, 5.40) HR: SWB: J. Lane (14), J. Closser (1).

Trenton made it three in a row over the Portland SeaDogs behind another big time effort from Eric Hacker. The right-hander allowed 1 run over 7 innings, scattered 6 hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out 3. He improved to 3-1 to go along with a 1.85 ERA. In 92 innings, between Tampa and Trenton, Hacker has allowed just 19 earned runs. Austin Jackson and Reegie Corona belted solo home runs for the Thunder.

Mike Ashmore has some notes on player comings and goings.

	June 30, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Portland 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 1 Trenton 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 X 6 11 0 Recap | Box | W: E. Hacker (3-1, 1.85); L: D. Gassner (0-4, 6.75) HR: TRE: A. Jackson (8), R. Corona (2).

The Tampa Yankees lost a tough one to the Palm Beach Cardinals 4-3. Starter Mike Dunn was charged with 3 runs in 5 innings, and a Yankees late rally fell short. Jose Gil was 4-4 and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Tampa offense.

	June 30, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 1 Palm Beach 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 X 4 7 1 Recap | Box | W: T. Norrick (1-1, 8.53); L: M. Dunn (3-4, 4.24); SV: F. Samuel (16) HR: PBC: L. Gorsett (2).

Jairo Heredia limited the Savannah Sand Gnats to 2 hits over 7 innings as the Charleston RiverDogs won their third straight, 5-3. Heredia allowed 1 unearned run and struck out 6 to improve to 3-2. Austin Romine and Brandon Laird both went deep.

	June 30, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Savannah 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 3 0 Charleston 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 X 5 8 2 Recap | Box | W: J. Heredia (3-2, 2.96); L: B. Rustich (1-4, 5.33) HR: SAV: J. Jimenez (8). CHA: B. Laird (8), A. Romine (2).

Staten Island won a pair of games with the Aberdeen IronBirds last evening. The Baby Bombers won the conclusion of Sunday's game, which had been suspended in the 2nd inning, 5-3. The game was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 8th when Jahdiel Santamaria singled in the go ahead run. Melky Mesa, who had earlier homered, added an insurance tally with an RBI single of his own. Walter Ibarra, who had just been sent down from Charleston, homered for the Yankees as well.

	June 29, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Aberdeen 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 6 0 Staten Island 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 X 5 9 2 Recap | Box W: J. Gonell (2-1, 3.38); L: H. Williamson (0-1, 5.79); SV: P. Venditte (3) HR: STA: M. Mesa (2), W. Ibarra (1).

S.I. made his 3 straight over the IronBirds with a supberly pitched 3-0 win. Dave Phelps won his first game of the year after allowing just 3 hits over 6 innings. He walked just 1 and struck out 6. Josue Selenes picked up his first save with a scoreless 9th.

	June 30, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Aberdeen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 Staten Island 0 0 0 0 3 0 X 3 5 0 Recap | Box W: D. Phelps (1-0, 2.77); L: P. Egan (0-1, 2.30); SV: J. Selenes (1) HR: None.

The GCL Yankees were knocked around by the GCL Braves, 10-3, as Dellin Betances had another rough rehab outing. Betances was charged with 4 runs, 3 of them earned, on 8 hits in 2.1 innings pitched. Tough rehab assignment for Ryan Pope too, as he allowed 5 runs in 4 innings.

June 30, 2008
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E GCL Braves 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 4 0 10 15 3 GCL Yankees 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 4 3 Recap | Box W: E. Spruill (1-0, 2.57); L: D. Betances (0-1, 8.53) HR: BRA: R. Brooks (1).

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