Who is Buddy Carlyle ??

The Yankees just announced that Hector Noesi was being optioned back down to the AAA Scranton Yankees and moving Buddy Carlyle to the major league roster.  Noesi never actually had an opportunity to pitch after being called up by the Yankees last week when Luis Ayala went on the DL.  The closest Noesi got to pitching for the Yanks was on Wednesday night when he was warming up in the bullpen, but Pendleton was called in for the 9th inning instead.  It's probably a smart move to option Noesi back down to AAA as he is a starting pitcher and should keep himself fresh, rather than hanging around the bullpen waiting for an opportunity.  If Noesi continues to pitch well in AAA, it's likely he may be optioned back up for a rotation spot.  Find out more about Hector Noesi here

Calling up Buddy Carlyle seems like a somewhat unusual move for the Yanks.  Carlyle was signed as a free agent in December to a minor league contract.  He was yet another, low risk possible high reward signings by Cashman this offseason.  I think most people though Carlyle would just be used as a spot filler in AAA to eat up innings while the young prospects rest between starts.

Carlyle has pitched for three major league teams since 2007 and last year played in Japan.  He has not had much success in the Majors or Japan.  He has started 27 major league games and had an ERA of 5.61.  Last season in Japan, he only pitched 27 innings allowing 35 hits and went 0-3 with a 4.88 ERA.

This spring he only had one opportunity to throw 2.1 innings for the Yankees in the Grapefruit league.  He was not very succesful this spring allowing 7 Runs in those 2 innings on 5 hits, two of which were homers, against the Twins.  The Yankees had spent nothing more than a minor league contract so they held onto him.

Carlyle has done a bit better in AAA as a relief pitcher.  He has appeared in 5 games and pitched 7.2 innings.  He has struck out 11 batters in those 7 innings and only allowed 3 runs.

I suppose Girardi is calling him up to use as an extra relief pitcher out of the pen.  I doubt they will allow Carlyle to start a game like they did in spring training.  Between Pendleton and Carlyle, they can eat up some badly needed innings as the starting pitching hasn't pitched far into any games.

Side Note:  Carlyle actually pitched in the minor league system for the Yankees back in 2004.

WHO IS HECTOR NOESI  ??

WHO IS LANCE PENDLETON ?? 


UPDATED MAY 5, 2011:  Carlyle has been used sporatically by the Yankees for mop up duty later in games and has done pretty well.  He has pitched in 5 games with a total of 4.1 innings.  Carlyle has only allowed 1 hit and struck out three.  He retains the lowest ERA on the Yankees with a 0.00

UPDATED JUNE 22:  Carlyle has just been recalled from Triple-A Scranton to replace Marquez on the Yankees roster as Marquez is going on the DL.  Since being sent down to Scranton, Carlyle has appeared in 13 games, pitching a total of 27 innings.  He was used as the starting pitcher in two of those games and it didn't end well.  In his 2 starts he went 0-2 and since has been used in relief.  His Triple-A ERA is 4.67. 

On the bright side, he does strike out a lot of batters and has 25 strikeouts in the 27 innings pitched.  He is more effective against righties than lefties, so I would imagine he wouldn't be used too often against a lefty late in the game as lefties are hitting .314 off him compared to righties only at .204.

This isn't a big move and Carlyle probably won't last too long on the Yankees roster.  Last time he was called to the big leagues, he pitched in 7 games and only 6.2 innings.  Although he struck out 8 batters, he did allow 5 walks and 2 runs.  To be honest, he seems to be nothing more than a band aid for a bullpen that is bleeding, but somebody needs to do the mop-up duty!

Welcome To Scranton

The Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees are looking good so far in their first 11 games.  This Yankees system is filled with promising prospects, who may make an appearance at the Major League level soon.  Even if they Yankees don’t call them up, they can be used as trade bait for a starting pitcher.  Right now, these are the guys to keep an eye on! 

Jesus Montero:  Although he had a very slow spring, he has started to heat up in the first 11 games.  Girardi though Montero was pressing too hard in spring training to make the team, which hurt him offensively.  He was sent to AAA to get some confidence and build his offensive numbers.  He now is batting .423 on the season and is 22-50 at the plate.  His slugging percentage is at .558.  By far the most impressive stat is the amount of 3-Hit games he has, which is now 6!  Montero has 3 hits in more than 50% of the games he played so far.  He had a shot to make the Yankees as the backup catcher, which he blew in the Spring with poor offensive numbers.  It seems like he is trying to make a case for himself again before Cervelli makes his way back.  If Montero continues to hit like this…. Cervelli who?

Side Note: Cervelli is beginning his rehab assignment tonight in High –A Tampa.

Jorge Vasquez:  I don’t think anybody expected Vasquez to have such a strong spring or start to the season.  Vasquez was one of those players in spring training that was crushing the ball and was even leading the Yankees in batting average.  Prior to spring training, Vazquez was playing down in the Mexican league and hitting .346 witha  .647 slugging percentage.  Those numbers continued to climb as the AAA Season started.  In Scranton, Vasquez is leading the team with 7 home runs through 11 games, and is hitting .321.  Even more impressive is his slugging percentage which is .714!  Vazquez was named batter of the week, last week when he went 11-26 with 5 Homers and 11 RBI’s.  I don’t know where he fits with the Yankees, but if he keeps hitting like this, I am sure the Yankees will find a spot.

The only thing he needs to work on is the strikeouts.  He struck out 41 times in 36 games in the Mexican league and has already struck out 12 times in AAA.

Justin Maxwell:  Maxwell was another name that was floated around as a backup outfielder for the Yankees this season, but didn’t make the cut after the spring.  Maxwell is widely known for his speed on the bases, and has already stolen 4 bases in the first 11 games in AAA.  Although his batting average is mediocre at .267, his on base percentage is .400 and he has a .625 slugging percentage.  Maxwell has been on fire this past week hitting a home run in every game this week.  With Gardner totally crapping out so far, Maxwell may have an opportunity.

Andy Sisco:  Sisco is a lefty relief pitcher, and I have a strong feeling we may see him get called up at some point throughout the season.  Right now the only lefty in the Yankees bullpen is Boone Logan.  Luis Ayala who started as the other lefty in the pen, went on the DL last week and Lance Pendleton was called up.  Pendleton is a righty, which makes me think that Girardi will eventually drop Pendleton within the next month or two as the odd man out, when they really want to play the numbers and use a lefty specialist for a batter or two.  Sisco & Logan would be those late inning lefties.  Right now Sisco is on fire in his first 6.2 innings.  It may be a very small sample size, but he has a 0.00 ERA and only allowed 3 hits.  He has struck out 7 batters in those 6 innings and his WHIP is 1.05.  If Pendleton pitches like he did on Wednesday night against the Jay allowing one hit and walking a batter, Sisco will get called up sooner than expected. 

Hector Noesi:  Last week the Yankees called up Noesi and I wrote about him HERE.  Noesi has not been used yet by the Yankees, but he was warming up the other night in Toronto before Pendleton pitched the 9^th inning.  Noesi was in contention this spring as a possible 5^th starter, and has only pitched one game for AAA going 5 innings and allowing 2 earned runs.

UPDATE:  Noesi was optioned down to AAA today for Buddy Carlyle.  The Yankees want Noesi to be a starting pitcher and he wasn't getting any action with the Yankees.  Better to keep him fresh in AAA for now.

Lance Pendleton:  Pendleton was called up by the Yankees last week and has appeared in two games so far for them.  I wrote about him HERE, when he was called up.  He was used last Friday in mop up duty for three innings against the Rangers after Nova was pulled from the game.  Since everyone was wearing #42 that night, nobody really noticed Pendleton pitch three scoreless innings.  Pendleton looked great in that appearance, and was given another opportunity on Wednesday night against the Blue Jays.  His second appearance was much shakier when he was called in for the 9^th inning.  The Yankees were up by four runs, but Pendleton walked the first batter and allowed the second batter to hit a single.  Girardi didn’t mess around and quickly called in Soriano to put out a fire before it began.  Pendleton may have had an off night, but his control was poor and more notably, his fastball never hit 90 MPH.  Normally he pitches 90-92, but the highest it hit on Wednesday was 89.  If Pendleton continues with those control issues and lack of velocity for a relief pitcher, he will surely be replaced. 

Adam Warren:  Warren started Wednesday night for Scranton and pitched 8 shutout innings.  He was totally dominant and even when he began to get himself in trouble in the 4^th inning, he pitched his way out of it.  The leadoff batter in the 4^th laid down a bunt and the second batter his a single, allowing the first batter to reach third.  With no outs and a man on first and third, Warren forced two ground outs and a strikeout to get out of the jam.  He allowed 5 hits on the night, and walked one batter.  If he continues to pitch like this, I know a team that needs a few starting pitchers!

Warren has quite a few pitches in his reportoire, with superb command.  He throws a mid 90's fastball, cutter, two seamer and a changeup in the low 80's. 

More updates to come soon on the Killer B’s, but the sample size is too small at this point.  You can check out the Killer B’s HERE until we get some updates.

Taking On the Jays

After taking 2 of 3 games from the American League champs, the Yankees have today off and will be flying up to Toronto this evening for a two-game series.  The Yanks are coming off a homestand where they went 4-1.  They are now the ONLY AL East team with a winning record at 9-5.

The Blue Jays are in second place in the AL EAst, but have not been playing well.  The Blue Jays have now lost 7 of their last 9 games including losing 3 out of 4 games to Boston this past weekend in Fenway.  They made the struggling Red Sox look great over the past few days.  In fact, the Jays were outscored 21-3 in the past three games, scoring only 1 run in each of those games.

Toronto needed to make a change after last year, after going 85-77 and not making the playoffs again.  The Jays have only finished a season better than 3^rd place, once since 1993, when they won the World Series.  During the offseason, they hired a new manager, John Farrell.  Farrell was the former pitching coach for the Red Sox.  His first year with Boston was 2007 when they won the World Series.  Farrell is credited for the success of the Red Sox young pitchers, Lester, Buchholz, & Papelbon.  He has some young players on the Jays and will be looking to continue his success with the Jays.    

YANKS NOTES

The Yankees have been hitting for power to start the season.  They now have 27 home runs over the past 14 games.  This past weekend, 10 of their 14 runs scored against Texas were from homers

Cano has a 9 game hitting streak and is now hitting .351 over these past 9 games.

3000 Hits Countdown – Jeter only needs 61 more hits.  He should reach this milestone in early to mid June.

JAYS NOTES

The Blue Jays had a winning record against the Yankees last season going 10-8.

Over this past weekend the Jays stole 9 bases against Boston.  They have now stolen 21 bases over the first 14 games of the season!

The Jays have a young very hyped catcher behind the plate this season, JP Arencibia.  He is batting .308 this season.  He has 4 multi-hit games with 2 Home Runs and 6 RBI’s. 

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Tuesday :  AJ Burnett (3-0, 4.67 ERA) vs. Kyle Drabek (1-0, 1.93 ERA)

Burnett has a win for each start he has made this season.  Although he hasn’t been lights out, AJ has been looking pretty good. 

Drabek is a young stud of a pitcher.  Baseball America ranked him #12 best prospect in the 2006 draft.  His father is former Cy Young winner Doug Drabek.  Drabek managed to get through his 3 starts with minimal damage, but his control has become an issue in each game.  He has allowed 11 Walks over 18 total innings, but he has struck out 17 batters in those 18 innnings.  I watched him pitch in spring training and believe that he will have a great future with the Jays.  Drabek had one start against the Yankees this spring, pitching 4 innings and allowing only 2 runs after struggling early.

He throws a cut fastball and a sinker, but his best pitch is his curveball which sits in the low 80’s.  Last year he added an offspeed/changeup pitch as well, which he uses on lefties often.  In the minors he had a difficult time getting lefties out, but has been more successful since using the changeup.

Wednesday:  Bartolo Colon (0-1, 3.97 ERA) vs. Brett Cecil (1-1, 6.19 ERA)

It has been 633 days since Colon started a Major League game, so this should be pretty interesting.  Worst case scenario they can bring in Hector Noesi or Lance Pendleton for middle/long relief if Colon gets into trouble.  Colon has only pitched 11.1 innings so far in 2011, but has 13 strikeouts.  He should only be stretched out to 85 pitches, so hopefully he can get into the 5^th or 6^th inning.

Cecil started this season with a lack of velocity on his fastball.  This was originally a cause for concern but this past weekend in Boston he regained some of his mojo and was hitting 92 mph.  Over the past 16 innings he has thrown in 2011, he struck out 11 batters.  Last year in his first full season, Cecil won 15 games going 15-7 with a 4.22 ERA.  Cecil had four wins against the Yankees last season, going 4-0 on the season in five starts!

Who Is Lance Pendleton ??

On Friday the Yankees put Phil Hughes on the DL with a "dead arm" and Lance Pendleton was called up from AAA Scranton.  Pendleton was not called up as a starter to fill in for Hughes, as Bartolo Colon will make the spot starts.  Pendleton will be used as a relief pitcher and possible long man, as he did on Friday night against the Rangers.  On Friday Pendleton didn't even get to Yankee stadium until a couple hours before game time.  He didn't let that affect him and pitched 3 scoreless innings allowing no hits and striking out two.  It was an impressive first Major League Appearance.

Pendleton was drafted by the Yankees back in 2005 in the amateur draft.  He has worked his way through the minors over the past few years after receiving Tommy John surgery.  Last season he made the jump from AA Trenton to AAA Scranton.

In 2010 he went 12-5 with a 3.61 ERA in AA & AAA.  He only appeared in 6 games in AAA Scranton for a total of 34 innings.  The majority of the season he spent with AA Trenton going 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA over 120 innings.  He hasn't been talked much about in the minor leagues and seemed to be just another pitcher on the minor league roster.  It was somewhat surprising seeing Pendleton getting the call on Friday.

During the offseason, Pendleton was drafted by the Astros in the Rule 5 Draft.  The right hander was named the 29th best prospect in the Astros organization by baseball america this past winter.  They called him a fifth starter/long/middle reliever type pitcher.  He throws a fastball, sinker, curveball, slider and changeup.  Pendleton generally works off a fastball which is somewhere in the 90-91 mph range, and uses a curveball consistently.  Last year in the minor leagues he added a slider to his reportoire.

This spring Pendleton contended for the 5th pitcher spot on the Astros, but Nelson Figueroa beat him out for the job.  Pendleton's spring was somewhat lackluster as he had control issues.  He went 1-0 in the Grapefruit League with a 5.87 ERA in seven appearances (1 start).  Ultimately, Houston had no use for him and Pendleton was returned to the Yankees.

• He is 31-22 with a 3.42 ERA over the past three seasons, with 382 strikeouts and 149 walks in 431 innings.  
• This season Pendleton has gone 1-1 in Scranton with a 1.59 ERA.  
• He has only allowed 3 hits in his two starts. 

Who Is Hector Noesi ??


UPDATED MAY 5, 2011:  Lance Pendleton has been used by the Yankees as a long reliever/mop up duty similar to Buddy Carlyle.  Pendleton has pitched 5.1 innings in 3 games so far.  He has only allowed 3 hits and struck out 2 batters.  He has a 0.00 ERA.