(piece originally ran on MinorLeagueBall.com)
The New York Yankees and Houston Astros finally struck a deal after more than a week of rumors flying around about Brian McCann. The Astros got their second former Atlanta Braves catcher, acquiring McCann to play alongside Evan Gattis. In exchange, the Yankees (who also sent some money) acquired two young fireballing prospects in Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.
Keep reading for my thoughts on the prospects the Yankees acquired.
While Mark Teixeira helped bring a World Series ring back to the Bronx in his first year in pinstripes, there is no denying that his career had seen better days entering 2016. Instead of figuring out how to move Tex and his big contract, he stepped off quietly out of the spotlight and retired, leaving behind an outstanding career.
The timing couldn’t be better for the Yankees, as Greg Bird is back out in the desert and it seems he has found his groove for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
Dillon Tate has officially become quite the enigma as a pitcher. The righty with the electric arm was drafted as a starter by the Texas Rangers in 2015 and a year later was dealt away to the New York Yankees and put into the bullpen. Where he winds up is anyone’s guess.
Thus far in our Baseball Bloodlines series, we have taken a look at how two fathers — Dante Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero — passed down their legendary big bats to their bouncing baby baseball-playing boys. Today we look at a pitcher, and although he may not have inherited the infamous deadly cutter from his dad, he is learning the ropes as a closer behind a 2016 All-Star season.
Yesterday, we began our look at the rich, family tradition in the MLB. Baseball DNA is alive and well, and has long been passed down from generation to generation. One former Colorado Rockie has passed his genes down twice.
(From Wednesday 9/7/16 at Today’s Knuckleball)
This evening from State Mutual Stadium, the Rome Braves host the Charleston RiverDogs in the first round of the South Atlantic League playoffs. While it highlights one of the biggest turnarounds in the minors — the Rome Braves went from a 27-42 sixth-place record to the hottest team in the Sally — it also features two systems that are successfully undergoing the rebuild process in seemingly polar opposite styles.
When the New York Yankees decided to flip the page on their 2016 season and build for a better future, they did so at the expense of their bullpen. What was one of the most lethal shutdown bullpens for the better part of the last two seasons (let’s face it, with Mariano Rivera, it has been the last 20 or so years) has suddenly been searching for answers to bridge the gap from starter to closer.
This season has seen some strong debuts thus far come out of the second round. The Atlanta Braves’ Kyle Muller and the Chicago White Sox’s Alec Hansen have been nothing short of sensational on the mound. The New York Yankees have a second baseman making some noise in the NYPL as Nick Solak is getting it done at the plate.
John Sadak has a fun job. He is the voice of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, amongst many other announcing gigs. He has been on hand for an amazing transformation in the Yankees farm system, and has seen some of today’s stars at the big league level develop from question marks to the reigning AL Player of the Week.
He’s never been shy to talk Yankees prospects, as he brings an aspect to prospect talk little others can. He sees these prospects play every day, watching them grow in each at bat, or unfortunately sometimes never meet the lofty expectations that are placed upon them. This year, he saw a lot of positives.
Keep reading for more with John Sadak on the Yankees future.
Today we continue on our look at Today’s Knuckleball Almost Mock Draft Revisited. The first two profiles highlighted the top pick in the MLB Draft — Mickey Moniak — and the second pick, Nick Senzel. Both have performed very well in their debuts. Blake Rutherford, however, who went outside the top ten, may be performing the best of the first rounders.
Keep reading for more on the Yankees exciting first rounder.
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