Arod started for the Triple-A Scranton Yankees last night as part of his rehabbing. He went 1 for 3 on the night with a hard hit single and a second hard hit fly-out, as well as a pop out. Arod played third base the entire night but only had one defensive play which consisted of one ground ball and him stepping on 3rd base for the out. Not exactly an action packed night for the star. He will play one more game with Scranton before joining the Yankees in Minnesota on Thursday for the Twins weekend series.
Arod may have been the story of the night for Scranton, but the bigger story in my opinion was the Starting Pitcher, Adam Warren. Warren pitched 5 innings last night allowing only 3 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 8. This is more or less what Warren has been doing the full season with the Scranton Yanks, yet he seems to have flown under the radar for most of the season. The only time I even heard his name mentioned by the Yankees was about a month ago when they were trying to figure out who was going to pitch the doubleheader against the Orioles, while Nova was on the DL. Warren probably hasn’t gotten much attention because the Yankees have 6 starting pitchers and he isn’t part of the ‘Killer B’s’
Warren was the Yankees 4th round draft pick in the 2009 draft after he graduated from UNC. He played ball at UNC, and in his first two years played with Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard, both Red Sox rising stars. After being drafted he played for the Staten Island Yankees and dominated the league with a 1.43 ERA. The talent probably wasn’t as strong as he was used to in college, but nonetheless he managed to impress.
For the start of 2010, Warren pitched in High-A Tampa for 15 starts before being promoted up to Double-A Trenton where he finished the season. During his time with Trenton, he set a franchise record of 15 strikeouts in one game. He finished the season with the Thunder boasting a 3.15 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 10 starts with a 9.8K/9IP strikeout ratio. This was enough to get a promotion to Triple-A this season.
Warren hasn’t been nearly as dominant this season as he was with the GCL Yankees, Tampa Yankees or Trenton Thunder, but he still has been a solid starter for the season which isn’t too shabby for a 23 year old. Since being promoted this season, his strikeout ratio has dropped from 22.3% in 2010 to 15.5% in Scranton. Warren is also hurt by his walk rate climbing from 5.8% in 2010 to 6.8% in 2011. It seems like the league has caught up with him this year which is somewhat typical when you get promoted quickly through the system.
Although his numbers have declined from Double-A, they are still pretty good for the young righty and he earned a spot on the Triple-A, All Star Team. Warren has started 24 games and has a record of 6-6, with a 3.33 ERA and WHIP of 1.30. Throughout this season he has held opposing batters to a .252 batting average which could be lower if he improved against lefties. Lefties are hitting .277 against him compared to righties at .230. To offset the lefties success against him, Warren boasts a strong Left On Base percentage up at 75%, which is above average. The key would be to not allowing men on base in the first place.
What I like about Warren the most is his repertoire. Even before he started pitched for the GCL, Warren had 6 pitches in his arsenal. He throws a 4 seam fastball and a sinking fastball, both of which sit between 91-93, but can get as high as 96 mph. Those two fastballs both have some late movement on them as the 4 seamer moves side-to-side while the sinker –sinks. Used together with his cutter, they keep the batter off the fastball by changing the eye level. Warren also throws a slider which is somewhere around 83-85mph and a curveball mixed in as well. He also throws a changeup which seems to be an issue for him this season as it hasn’t been effective against lefties, which could be why lefties have a .277 average against him.
If Warren can work on his changeup even just a bit, I think we will see him with the Yankees next season. Although I haven’t given up hope on him being called up this season, there are just too many starters for the Yankees rotation for him to be considered now. I do find it surprising that other teams haven’t tried to make a move for Warren. He may not be an Ace, but he certainly would fit with most teams as a #3 or #4 starter. If I was another teams GM, I would certainly be keeping an eye on him!
SIDE NOTE: On another tangent from yesterday’s Triple-A game, ‘Killer B’ Andrew Brackman pitched one inning in relief allowing 0 hits and 1 strikeout. He only needed 9 pitches for the inning and 7 were strikes.
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