A look at the minor-league rotations
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 12, 2007 
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Tough night for Phil Franchise. He allowed five runs on seven hits with two walks and one (!) strikeout in five innings against Richmond.
Perhaps now this will quiet the talk that the Yankees should promote him right away. The kid needs to learn, give him time.
Meanwhile, for those of you interested in such things, I have the rotations for the top four minor-league teams:
AAA SCRANTON
RHP Tyler Clippard (overshadowed by the Franchise)
RHP Phil Hughes (next few weeks will be telling)
RHP Ross Ohlendorf (Torre was impressed by him all spring)
RHP Matt DeSalvo (making the most of a second chance?)
RHP Steven Jackson (sleeper in the Randy Johnson deal perhaps)
AA TRENTON
LHP Chase Wright (off to insane start)
RHP Jeff Marquez (2004 sandwich pick)
RHP Alan Horne (college journeyman, 11th round pick in 2005)
RHP Brett Smith (2004 2nd round pick from UC Irvine)
RHP Jason Jones (finished last season at Trenton)
HIGH A TAMPA
RHP Guillermo Villalona (24-year-old Dominican now in 6th season)
RHP Ian Kennedy (1st round pick out USC last June)
RHP George Kontos (5th rounder from Northwestern last June)
LHP Phil Coke (been kicking around since ’03)
LOW A CHARLESTON
RHP Tim Norton (7th round pick out of UConn last June)
RHP Eric Hacker (missed last season after shoulder surgery)
RHP Grant Duff (31st round pick in 2004 may be a find)
LHP Mike Dunn (former position player)
LHP Angel Reyes (1.71 ERA in 37 career appearances)
Note: RHPs Humberto Sanchez (elbow) and Joba Chamberlain (hamstring) are in extended spring training. Brian Cashman said Chamberlain is “two weeks out” from joining the Tampa rotation.
What happened to Dellin Betances?
Betances is in the Gulf Coast Yankees rotation. He is right out of high school, I think, and the Yankees are taking it safe and slow with his golden arm.
Thanks Pete, this is great. I bet Cashman is actually happy that Hughes is finally encountering some trouble for the first time in his short career. Better to have bad starts in AAA and be able to adjust than struggle in the majors and not be able to do anything about it.
Do you think if Chase Wright keeps this up and Igawa keeps up his struggles, that he could be called up as the second lefty in the rotation? It would be interesting to see what he can do.
It’s not good to have bad starts anywhere, imo. It IS possible that Hughes was overrated. And it wouldn’t be the first time a Yankee prospect had dominated at the AA level and then bottomed out.
Ohlendorf or Jackson better at least be a decent major league 3 or good 5, seeing Micah Owings pitch great for Arizona depresses me.
Phil Nobody is a total bust. get rid of him now!!
I too am somewhat happy that Hughes is facing some adversity now. If he’s the person that everyone says he is, he’ll understand what he needs to work on and he’ll do it. He won’t even be 21 until the end of June. Give him time.
IT doesnt make sense… Hughes pitched 5 innings, and allowed a 3 spot in the 4th. The other 2 runs were given up in the 6th. How did Hughes give them up??? I think the box scores are wrong.
Peter, do you know if Chase Wright was predicted to be this good? I know he did well in A Ball last year, but I feel like he’s been developing for a while and has sorta come out of the woodwork with this beginning.
OK never mind. He couldnt get an out in the 6th.
Another thing to keep in mind — He WASNT bad. He gave up several weak hits, but simply couldnt get his strikeout pitches going. He’ll be fine. And for the second stright start, he’s pitching in COLD temperatures.
On Hughes struggling –
He did this on each stop in the minors so far. He took a couple of starts to adjust and then did so.
In this case, he is probably pitching in cold weather for the first time in his ENTIRE baseball life.
Think about it – he is from SoCal, and since then he was playing in warm weather minor league sites until last year when he came to Trenton. However, he came up to Trenton halfway through the season, so it was already warm. I would bet that these last two appearances are the FIRST time he has EVER pitched in weather below 50 degrees, let alone below 40!
Lets not hop off the bandwagon yet boys!
Wow talk about Ross and I looking like we are taking over — LOL
Haha, well Hughes better get used to cold temperatures. New York isn’t exactly the tropical paradise of the world!
Yankee fans are the ultimate instant historians. Some of you guys base EVERYTHING on the last week of your life. Baseball is not a game where you suceed everytime. Franchise is not going to throw all no hitters just b/c he is one of the best prospects in baseball. Even the great Johan Santana gets lit up every once in awhile. Its early in the season and he might not have his mechanics or his arm strength where he would want it but lets not throw out him being a bust or a Hall of Famer quite yet.
Thanks very much for this rundown, Peter.
Betances is in extended spring training (where is working on repeating his delivery) and will most likely pitch short season ball. He is extremely raw still, so they want him to work on his mechanics and harness the big fastball while he grows into his frame. He will be fun to watch though.
Andrew — How many games a year do you think the Yankees play under 50 degrees? Baseball is a summer sport
Baseball is a summer sport but the playoffs and world series are played in late october when most game time temps are going to be quite chilly. As such, a pitcher who has an inability to pitch in cold weather would concern me as a Yankees fan b/c our season truly begins in October. That being said, I don’t read anything else into Hughes’ bad start tonight other then the fact that the kid is going to have to struggle a bit and will have to make some adjustments at every new level of competition. Like Andrew said, its probably good that Franchise deals with some adversity now and learns how to overcome it. That sort of experience is huge for a young pitcher to have.
Well, April and October aren’t always warm. It’s supposed to be below freezing again in NY when the Yankees come back and play.
They actually let Hughes pitch beyond the fifth tonight and over 80 pitches. Not exactly sure why that is (since he was supposed to be on a strict pitching/innings limit). It was not his best game, obviously, but the final looks a little worse than it was. He allowed two hits in the sixth, got taken out, and Ben Kozlowski allowed both runners to score. He didn’t have his best control and fell behind hitters all night. He also seemed to tire in the sixth inning.
Bad nights are going to happen — even to Phil. The important thing is that he bounces back without any effect.
Andrew, the average high temperatures in this area in April ios between 55-65, with average OVERNIGHT lows being 40-50. This year April has been EXTREMELY cold. Those averages are even higher in october heading towards november.
so this is not anything he should expect to pitch in normally.
Oh and by the way — The Yankees, in 2003, played until October 25 — the gametime temps was 55 degrees in Yankees stadium. Hughes pitched tonight in the low 40s!
Why would people judge on a pitcher based on one or two bad starts in AAA during an April game? These people are just retarded.
What is it with the people here and the weather excuse? Does Mother Nature ONLY come into play for the Yankees and their minor league players?
Should be warm tomorrow evening in Oakland…wonder what the excuse will be for Igawa when he still doesn’t have the “feel” for his pitches? Too cold? Too warm? Too humid? Too dry?
Sorry, but I just need to correct some people here.
1. Bringing Chase Wright up would be a very very terrible mistake. The Yankees should have learned from their past mistake (remember in 2005 when they brought Sean Henn up after he pitched a couple of masterpieces in the minor and see how it ends up?).
2. Don’t know why people would get depressed watching Micah Owings. At least not like the Yankees didn’t try to get Owings. It’s just the fact that the D-Backs aren’t stupid and they refused to give up their best pitching prospect for an old, unhealthy man like Randy Johnson. Just ask yourself a question: would you trade Phil Hughes for David Wells?
Phil Coke is such a made up Nintendo Baseball name.
OMG I mean seriously anyone who starts dissing Phil Hughes I’m sorry you don’t know what you are talking about, and it is a good thing he’s struggling in cold weather and in AAA that’s how he can learn to adjust and prepare for the majors. On Chase Wright I’m sorry but he has one thing Henn never had which is command , Henn was rushed and people thought he would be a LHP poorman’s version of RJ. He then learned it is good to let people make contact and get help from the 8 gloves behind him instead of walking batter after batter and forcing 95 mph pitches for K’s.
Hughes will be fine he is 20 years old and moving rapidly , if he were in Seattle w/ Felix people would be gushing and blushing over his arm , again no need to rush him. You bring him up when he gets into a rythmn in AAA which Wright is starting to do. The system is stacked w/ arms we’re always in the playoffs. GET OFF THE LEDGE !!!
Angel Reyes is nastey. IN his last start, he struke out 9 of the 10 batters he faced. The kids “stuff” is filthy, it’s just that, he’s considered to be a “raw” pticher at this point.
Impressive list. And not only Betances, but Zach McAllister is in EST as well. Chris Garcia is also a name to look out for when he comes back in 2008. Pretty sick collection of arms the organization has put together. Now if they could develop some more bats, things could get really scary for other organizations. Slim pickings for position players right now.
If the Yankees were willing to eat more of Unit’s salary they could’ve got Owings. If I was Josh Byrnes would I trade for an over the hill Randy Johnson period? No. Would I trade Josh Bard and Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli? No.
Who’s to say Chase Wright hasn’t gotten smarter, his walks have declined every year. He is 24 years old. He pitched well enough in ST. If he gets bombed then it’s not like we’ve traumatized our our best prospect.
Okay, you look at a line score and say he still needs to learn. I say you’re wrong. I say he’ll learn plenty more at the MLB level, and quicker. He got bombed last night because it was freakin’ cold, and got much colder as the game progressed. He couldn’t get his hook over consistently, so he feel behind counts and had to catch up with his fastball.
Notice how the runs started scoring in the third. Second time through the lineup. Anyone’s going to get hit the second time through if all they have working is the fastball.
It’s moot, since Moose is missing the DL. But Hughes should have been the guy to take his starts if he did.
Peter,
Cash say when Sanchez will be back?
I don’t know if anyone else pointed this out yet, but Hughes has struggled at the beginning at each minor league level. This is pretty much par for the course for him. Look at his game logs for each level and you’ll see the same trend: struggle for the first month, make a series of adjustments, and then begin to dominate the league. He did this in Rookie, A, and AA ball, why are people acting like we won’t make the adjustment at AAA?
Alan Horne isnt a college journeyman. He was a legit colleeg pitcher. They thought so much of him they gave him big money as an 11th rounder.
Hughes has pitched 2 games at Triple A. Can we give him til June before anyone calls him a bust?
Deric, Intelllctually disabled people — those you call “retarded” — tend not to be judgmental or crude.
The guy who seems the closest right now despite being in Double A is Chase Wright. I mean two starts is a little early to jdge, but damn, both games were 7 inning shut outs, 19 strike outs total and only 5 hits and walks allowed in 14 innings. Torre and Guidry were impressed with him in spring training and he’s a lefty. To me I’d rather have him than Rasner (and possibly Karstens or Igawa) that’s for sure. I don’t think we’ll see Phil Franchise until Sept.
Pitching coach Nardi Contreras is working with Sanchez on changing his delivery, specifically of his curveball, in order to alleviate the stress on his elbow. Right now, he is still throwing bullpen sessions. For a while, everytime he threw a session, his elbow would swell up, no structural damage has been found. Thus, Contreras is now getting him to change his delivery to a more fluid motion to take the stress off his elbow. I’d say he won’t pitch in a game until some time next month.
“If the Yankees were willing to eat more of Unit’s salary they could’ve got Owings”
we don’t know this. this was a rumor. just like the padres offer of Kouzmanoff for RJ was a rumor. a rumor that Alderson laughed out loud about when asked about on the radio.
i can’t stand when people report trade rumors as facts and blame Cashman for not executing this rumors. some examples from this board:
“Jeremy Bonderman was available, and Cashman should have gotten him in the Sheffield trade”. riiiiiiight.
“the Yankees should have traded Melky for Gonzalez when they had the chance”. really?
people treat mlbtraderumors.com as some sort of legitimate source, but it’s not. it’s good for gossip, but they are rarely right.
i don’t think Chase Wright is quite ready for prime time, he needs more time in the minors, but if these injuries continue at this pace, he *could* get called up for one reason: he’s already on the 40 man roster and the yankees wouldn’t have to make a roster move, which they would for someone like Clippard.
The people who don’t understand how cold it is in Northeast PA won’t understand that it is a legitimate excuse.
IT IS A RARITY THAT ANY PITCHER IN NEW YORK WILL EVER HAVE TO FACE THOSE KINDS OF TEMPERATURES.
Like I mentioned above, Phil has NEVER faced those temperatures in HIS LIFE so that is PROBABLY why he struggled. He was not only facing a new league, but he was battling the elements.
Once again, lets not jump off the bandwagon.
Keep this name in mind,Brett Smith,now at Trenton.A real sleeper,though his stats in the lower minors are not spectacular,he has the potential for a breakout year.Look for him to make it to Scranton this later this year.
what happened to Stephen White?
Didn’t realize that Wright was on the 40 man roster. Refresh my memory what that means. For example if Wright is removed, he can be claimed right? As for Clippard, he can’t be taken away even though he’s not on it right? Does that start the arbitration clock?
Pete, thanks for this post. Please keep us posted through the season on the progress of all of these pitchers. It’s truly the Yanks future, but just as importantly is the key to Cash’s future – those pitchers will represent the results of the power struggle between cash and the Tampa mafia.
i believe that players in the minor leagues only have a certain amount of time they can stay in the minors without being added to the 40 man roster and NOT get exposed to the rule V draft.
Wright was drafted in 2001, so i assume he had to be added to the 40 man to avoid exposure to the rule V draft this time around.
guys like Clippard still have some time before they have to be added to the 40 man.
when you are past that point and get removed from the 40 man, you are exposed to waivers and any team can claim you.
this is what happened to Colter Bean last year. he was DFAed to make room on the roster and passed through waivers.
this is generally why the yankees as an organization are opposed to giving major league contracts to draftees. a major league contract requires that you are on the 40 man roster immediately. i THINK, but could be wrong, means that you start using options right away. for example, the Yankees shied away from drafting Craig Hansen b/c he was demanding a major league contract, and the Sox gave him one. instead of going to the minors like other draftees for a few years without being on the 40 man, he is currently on their 40 man roster and using up option years though he is clearly not ready for MLB. giving a major league contract just speeds up the clock until the player has to be added to the 25 man roster permanently, or risk being exposed to waivers.
arbitration is different. arbitration is based on major league service time. it is not directly related to being on the 40 man roster, the 40 man is more about the rule V draft.
anyone feel free to correct me on any of this.
Hughes definitely needs more time in the minors. I was calling him up in the Majors in 2009 at the earliest. He still needs some time in AA,maybe starting again in triple in 2008 or just getting two years in Triple (2007 and 2008).
“He still needs some time in AA,maybe starting again in triple in 2008 or just getting two years in Triple (2007 and 2008).”
no offense, but this is crazy.
I was in Scranton for Phil Hughes’ first start, and he looked fantastic, throwing real hard and painting corners in sub-freezing temperatures. The fact is Phil doesnt usually start crankin it up into high gear until middle to late May as the temperatures get warmer. He had similar inconsistencies when he started in AA last year, and then became a world beater.
I have no doubt in this kid’s moxie or stuff.
Stephen White is currently on the DL, but will start the year at AA.
As for Chase Wright, once he refines his curveball, he is going to be sneaky good. His fastball, for a lefty, is already a plus, and his change-up is also already a plus pitch. Plus, he has an excellent track record as a groundball pitcher. I think it is going to be a race between Philly Franchise, T-Clip, Ohlendorf, and Wright for their 1st start in the Bx.
Anyone who says that a pitcher should repeat AAA knows little to nothing about how prospects are handled. AAA is generally used as an opportunity to fine tune some rough edges after cutting your teeth in AA (where the most talent and best competition is).
Also, for the doomsday posters, Phil Franchise started a game with the temp in the low 40′s that was eventually called due to rain and didn’t excel. Not exactly ideal conditions, even for battle-tested veterans. Ask Moose if he likes to pitch in the cold and rain and see what he says.
Cleveland Mike is also correct as Hughes has had minor adjustment issues at each level. Check his game log last year when he got promoted to AA. Dude is still legit and I can’t wait….
I wonder how long until Cash starts dealing some of the pitching prospect depth, there is obviously no room in the majors for more than 1 to 2 of them through next year. What becomes of middling guys like Karstens and Rasner?
Jeff – they become filler for injuries. Injuries will always happen, like what we’ve seen this year, and they’re capable, cheap major league pitchers. They’re also trade bait for pitching-starved teams (like the nationals, or KC).
Sally –
It is very silly to post obviously false and uneducated information when your information is going to be published on a blog and saved in Google cache forever.
As was already mentioned, it is pretty useless for someone to repeat Triple A and NOBODY has Hughes projected to make the bigs in 2009. Few even have him cracking the show in ’08. Most people feel he will make the club at some point this year and will never relinquish that spot.
Last night isn’t going to change anyone’s opinion on that!
notgaysalmon,
As hmmm said, those were just rumors. Who knows if the D-Backs were really stupid enough to be willing to trade their best pitching prospect for an old man like Randy Johnson. One thing I am pretty sure is that Brian Cashman must have already got the best out of that deal. I mean really, you don’t expect much out of an 43-year old, unhealthy man to have any trade value, anything back would be a bonus.
As for Chase Wright, I don’t really care how old he is and how well he is doing in the minor, he isn’t ready yet so I won’t mess with him. A prospect is a prospect, you never know what you are gonna get and how he is gonna turn out. Who knows if he is gonna be another Johan Santana or just an Oliver Perez. So the best way to do is you don’t mess with him. Protecting a propsect is always better than killing a prospect.
notgaysalmon,
There’s an article by EJ over at Pending Pinstripes on why we shouldn’t call up Chase Wright. Go take a look if you would.
I, for one, am not worried about Phil Hughes, at all. So he got styled on… it happens.
Also, I can’t wait to see how Betances develops… You can’t teach 6’9″.
I saw Ian Kennedy pitch at USC several times over the past two seasons. He was overpowering and one of the best pitchers in the country two years ago but didn’t pitch as well the next season. He might have had some elbow issues.
I also saw Mark Prior pitch at SC before his shoulder problems started and Kennedy was, at times, as dominating as Prior.
Chris NY –
Not to over nitpick cause your point on Reyes is sound, but he got 9K’s in 10 outs while giving up 2 runs on a hit and 3 BB. Still pretty impressive, just not quite so Brendan Fraser like.
On Wright, these are his first 2 starts above A ball. He’s still got a way to go. He’s on the 40 man for Rule 5 protection as others have pointed out, not because he’s closer than the guys at Scranton.
With Hughes my hope is we don’t see him until late August or September – the kid’s young, there’s no rush. And that would mean that the starting 5 was performing fine, or we signed Clemens, or Karstens , Rasner, and/or Sanchez got healthy and productive filling in. The optimal postscript is that Hughes is very solid in 3-4 late season callup starts and Eric Duncan goes Shane Spencer in the same role – meaning we have a comfortable playoff position in September – and lets Cash consider his considerable options while sipping his Dom (with Series MVP opt-out decliner A-Rod) after championship #27! Maybe we get a decent catcher for the near future and another good prospect for Pavano as his first postseason act.
Okay, so I got a little carried away there!
Any updates on Sanchez? I’m more worried about his health than Pavano’s right now.
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