Yankees 12, Boyertown Metz 3

The Yankees won again against Boyertown without 2 of our better hitters. I was 2-3 with 2 walks, 2 runs and 3 stolen bases. Our next game is Tuesday.

Chart Observations: TB @ FLA

• Andy Sonnanstine started for the Rays and is a 26 year old who stands 6-3 and weighs 190. Sonnanstine's medium frame can still add muscle, especially in the lower half. Sonnanstine attacked hitters with a cutter at 86-89, a fastball at 85-90, a slider at 77-80, a curveball at 73-81 and a changeup at 82 from a high 3/4 release. His cutter has good sink and cut and is an above average offering. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 that has solid bite and is a tick above average. His fastball is a 2-seamer with good fade and is a tick above average as well. His slider breaks early and has good depth, but is just an average offering. His changeup showed some good fade, but only threw it once and he will sometimes drop down to throw a cutter. Sonnanstine's control is plus, but his command is just above average as he has a tendency to leave cutters in the middle of the plate. He is a back of the rotation starter and is likely pitching at his ceiling now.
• Ricky Nolasco opposed him and got optioned to AAA after the game for his performance. Nolasco is just 25 and stands 6-2 and weighs 220 pounds, though he didn't look it. His medium frame still has room for more muscle and projection. From a high 3/4 release, he featured a fatball at 88-93, a curveball at 74-76, a slider at 83-84 and a changeup at 83-84. Nolasco's fastball was a 2-seamer with some sink to it and sat at 89-91. This has to be a concern, as I thought he was closer to 92-94 last season. His curveball is a 12-6 offering that shows good bite and can be a strikeout pitch. His slider shows good late break and tends to go hard out of the zone. It's a 3-7 type pitch that he only showed an ability to put in 1 spot: down and in at a lefties ankles (or down and out to a righties ankles). His struggles are more command related then stuff related (except for fastball velocity). Both his slider and curveball are still above average offerings and his changeup is average. His fastball is just average right now due to his lack of command. His control is fine, but he leaves too many fastballs in the middle of the plate. He tended to fall behind hitters and that caused him to throw more hittable fastballs. He also struggled to throw his off-speed stuff for strikes. He should be fine to return to his role of a # 2 starter after a quick refresher course. He is similar to Brett Myers in that he is having the same type of issues and the Marlins are hoping this course of action works.
• Reid Brignac is a 23 year old who is 6-3 195 pounds. The lefty hitter, righty thrower has a medium frame that still has projection and can likely add at least 10 more pounds of muscle. He features a slightly crouched stance and is open. His trigger is a step in followed by a toe turn and brings the bat up and cocks it back. Brignac (only saw 2 at bats) has the looks of a guy that can control the strike zone and is a line drive hitter. He doesn't project for too much power and probably at his best will have average power for a SS. His issue is can he stay at SS? Didn't see enough of his glove to know for sure, but if he doesn't, his only real option is 2B or utility. I personally see a utility player, but one that can be used well with a platoon. Want to see him some more to get a better read on him, he is almost the hitting equivalent of Justin Masterson to me and am not sure where he fits best.
• Brett Hayes is a 25 year old who stands 6-1 and weighs 200 pounds. The righty hitter has a medium frame with room to add a little more muscle. He has a slightly closed and slightly crouched stance that looks similar to Dustin Pedroia's setup wise. Moves bat up and strides as a trigger. He came up as a catcher, but subbed in at 1st base last night. His bat will not play at 1st, as he lunged to get his 1st base hit in the only at bat he had. He doesn't look to have much power potential and would have below average power for a catcher and poor power for a 1st basemen. All his usefulness is going to be tied up in his ability to catch, as his bat won't play well at 1st.
• Dave Davidson took over a new role as the bain of my existence. Davidson is a 25 year old left hander who stands 6-1, 200 pounds and has a medium frame that is pretty close to maxed out. After being waived by the Pirates (not a good sign), the Marlins picked him up. He showed a fastball at 90-93, a changeup at 80-88 and a curveball at 76-79 from a 3/4 release. The changeup was the tough pitch to identify, as most sat at 86-88 and that is terrible separation. It looks like a fastball out of his hand, but that's because it is only two miles per hour slower and doesn't have much action. Curveball is an average offering and is a little too loopy for my taste. His command is below average and he had trouble getting ahead and staying ahead. His best case scenario (needs a big bump in command) is to be a LOOGY, but he is likely a 4-A pitcher, but at least he has a hit in the majors.
• Brian Sanches is a 30 year old with a 6-0, 195 pound frame. His frame has room to add a lot more muscle, but it likely won't be happening. He featured a fastball at 87-90, a slider at 77-83 and threw one split (81) and one curveball (74). His fastball is an average 2-seamer that has some fade to it. His slider is a 3-7 pitch and is slightly above average with solid bite and depth. His split showed good dive and fade, but he appeared to only use it as a show to a lefty, preferring to attack most hitters with FB-SL. 4-A reliever to me, as he has above average command but no true plus pitch to turn to.
• Renyel Pinto attacked from a 3/4 release with a fastball at 87-92, a changeup at 79-81 and a slider at 78-81. His fastball is a 4-seam that has some run on it due to his release point. His changeup has plus drop and looks like a fastball out of his hand, but he struggles to command it. The slider is a frisbee slider that is a little loopy, but is a good pitch to lefties.
• Kiko Calero was 88-90 with his fastball and 77-80 with his slider. His slider continues to be sharp and is a plus pitch, but his fastball is just average.
• Dale Thayer made his big league debut for the Rays. The 28 year old who stands 6-0, 195 pounds has a medium frame that still has room to add about 5 more pounds of muscle. He has a low 3/4, almost sidearm release and showed a fastball at 91-94, a slider at 80-83 and a changeup at 84. Thayer's slider was inconsistent and sat anywhere from below average to above average. The above average sliders were sharp late breakers with great bite and depth, while the below average ones just hung. His fastball has great fade and looks like a plus pitch. He pitches to the middle of the plate too much. He starts his fastball on the outside corner and it finds its way to the middle of the plate. Changeup is just a show pitch. Looks like a middle reliever to me who is best utilized in 1 inning stints (pitched 3 innings in this one, was 93-94 in the 1st, 91-92 in the 3rd and his bad sliders were later).
• Ross Gload was 76-80 with his fastball. Future Hall of Famer.
• Have to love interleague play for something like this: Ross Gload vs. Dale Thayer. But Gload was pitching and Thayer was hitting. Gload got Thayer to break his bat (he is a rookie just called up yesterday, so he is going to have to apologize to someone for breaking one of their bats) and hit a comebacker. Very entertaining stuff that is funny to think that it is actually happening.
• Good day to be a pitcher hitting, every pitcher that had their spot in the order come up got to hit for themselves. I can go without seeing a guy like Pinto or Davidson (even though he got a hit) swinging for themselves every game. At least they proved why they didn't make it to the bigs as hitters.

ARI @ OAK

• Trevor Cahill is a 21 year old who stands 6-3 and weighs 210 pounds. He has a medium to big frame that can add a lot more muscle. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a 2-seam sinker at 85-92 (typically sat around 89-91), a slider at 83, a curveball at 77-79 and a changeup at 77-81. His fastball showed great sink and fade and is the first I have seen that is comparable to Brandon Webb's when it is on. His changeup is his best off-speed offering and is above average/borderline plus with it great fade and it looks like a fastball out of his hand. His slider was flat and he only threw one. His curveball is a 12-6 offering that is more of a get ahead pitch then a put away pitch. Cahill still has some issues in regards to commanding his stuff within the strike zone and will likely have a little steeper learning curve for command then his peers due to the sheer movement of his fastball. He is a groundball machine with a plus fastball and changeup. He liked to use FB-CU the 1st time through the order and then began mixing his breaking pitches in. Cahill profiles best as a middle of the rotation starter for a contender. It isn't hard to project him to be sitting at 92-94 with his sinker with his frame. It isn't blasphemous to say he could be the next Webb.
• Billy Buckner opposed him. The 25 year old who stands 6-2 and 215 pounds has a medium frame with a lot of room to add muscle. From an over the top release, he showed a fastball at 87-92, a curveball at 76-82 and a changeup at 80-85. His changeup shows some consistent sink, but the fade is inconsistent. His fastball has some movement, but the sink is generated more from him generating a great downhill plane to throw his pitches. His curveball is a 12-6 pitch that shows some bite, but doesn't consistently finish it causing it to hang up in the zone. A classic tweener, I think he is best suited as a swingman in a pen giving you some spot starts. He is still projectable, but you have to wonder just how much more could be there. Likely a guy that bounces between the majors and AAA.
• Craig Breslow made his 1st appearance with the A's and showed a fastball at 87 and a slider at 83 to get his hitter to hit into a double play.
• Esmerling Vasquez is 25 years old and stands 6-1, 175 pounds. His medium frame has a ton of room to add muscle and he is very lanky with long arms, which could make it difficult for him to consistently repeat his mechanics. He threw one fastball at 93 to get his man out.
• Clay Zavada features a mustache that would make Rollie Fingers proud. He is 24 years old and is 6-1 195 pounds with a medium frame that can add more muscle, especially in the lower body. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball at 87, a slider at 78 and a changeup at 78-80. Zavada's changeup shows good fade and sink and is an above average offering. His slider is a 10-5 type of pitch, but choked the only he threw. Looks like a rare lefty that may be able to get out both righties and lefties due to his above average curve. Profiles best as a middle reliever and could be a teams # 1 lefty out of the pen.
• Santiago Casilla is 28 years old and has a medium (6-0, 200) frame that is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball at 91-95, a slider at 83-86 and a changeup at 85. Casilla's changeup is a show pitch and he likes to go his sharp, late breaking slider to get strikeouts with 2 strikes. His fastball shows a little 2-seam movement. His command is average and that is what is holding him back from being a strong set up guy.
• Jon Rauch is a 30 year old imposing presence (6-11, 290). For such a big guy, he doesn't show great velocity from his maxed out frame, sitting at 91-93 with his fastball, throwing a curve at 75 and a changeup at 85-87. He generates a great downhill plane for his pitches, but his fastball is a straight 4-seam. His changeup is fairly straight and doesn't have a lot of action to it other then the velocity difference. His curveball is a 12-6 offering. He shows above average command and is a solid middle reliever who can set-up and close every once in awhile.

NYM @ BOS

• Johan Santana got the start for the Mets and is a 30 year old who stands 6-0 and 21o pounds. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball at 89-93, a slider at 80-86 and a changeup at 79-84. His fastball has great movement and goes away from right handers. It is a plus offering. His changeup looks exactly like a his fastball out of his hand and then just disappears. It has great sink and fade and is truly a plus plus pitch. He has enough command of this pitch to throw it in any count, which really isn't fair. His slider has good late break and has some depth to it. He works from the 3rd base side of the rubber. Amongst the top 3 starters in baseball and may very well be the best.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka was back from the DL and pitched fairly well. The 28 year old who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 185 pounds featured a fastball at 91-94, a slider at 81-85, a changeup at 82-84, a splitter at 81-83 and a cutter at 86-90 from a high 3/4 release. He has a typical Japanese windup, pausing at the balance point and when he takes a step back to start his windup. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is slower then his cutter and has some good side to side movement, but the downward break is inconsistent. His cutter has good movement and moves enough to avoid hitters from squaring it up consistently. His changeup has some good drop and a little fade. Probably fits best as a # 4 on a contender due to his high pitch counts. If he could ever figure out how to throw quality strikes and not walk a lot of guys, he has the pitches to be an above average # 3 starter.
• Justin Masterson fired 3 innings of relief today. The massive (6-6, 250) right hander featured a fastball at 89-95 and a slider at 82-85 from a low 3/4 release. Masterson has a big frame that appears to be maxed out and this is probably all you get from him from a stuff standpoint. He has a very quiet delivery until he breaks, where he gets his whole body into it and uses his 250 pounds to generate his velocity. His fastball has tremendous side to side movement and also shows some sink. He shows a rare ability to both command a pitch with that type of movement and to add and subtract to it for more movement or more speed as he desires. His slider is an above average offering with good depth, but it can be inconsistent. Masterson works painfully slow once runners reach base, but showed quicker to the plate then I thought, as I had him at 1 second on a fastball. Masterson's best role is probably that as a bridge reliever from the starter to the closer.
• Daniel Murphy is a 24 year old who stands 6 foot 3 and weighs 210 pounds. The lefty hitter/righty thrower has a medium to big frame with room to grow. He has a slightly crouched stance and is hunched over. He leans back on his bat leg and wiggles his elbows around as the pitcher is going through his motion. He has the conventional trigger with a step and bringing his ahnds back. He holds the bat almost horizontal just above his shoulder. He is a talented offensive player, showing an ability to work a count to get a pitch he wants, plus bat control and projects to be a 15-20 home run guy in the majors at worst. His biggest issue is where to play him defensively. He has had a lot of struggles in the OF this season and will never have the required power to be a 1B (or the glove to offset the lack of power). A defensive tweener + being a professional hitter usually spells a pinch hitter. I anticipate him sticking in either an outfield corner or at 1B once Carlos Delgado is gone and look to see him hitting .280-.360-.450 with some stolen bases.
• Bobby Parnell throws gas. The 23 year old who stands 6-4 and weighs 200 pounds showed an explosive 4-seam fastball at 96-100 from a high 3/4 release. He may have thrown one changeup that was average. He has a big frame that appears to be maxed out. He shows very easy velocity from a very clean windup and looks to have the looks of a future closer. Special arm.
• Daniel Bard is a 23 year old who stands 6-4 and weighs 200 pounds. He has a long and lean frame that has room to add a lot more muscle. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball from 96-97 and a curveball at 81-82. He battles his command from pitch to pitch and from batter to batter. The curveball showed great bite when used as a strikeout pitch, but flattened out when he tried to throw it for a strike. The Mets got some good swings on him, telling me he may not be quite ready for late inning work, but he is another big arm who has a bright future, likely as a set-up man.