Arod's Rehab & Getting to Know Warren

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 3^rd 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 4^th 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.

Trying to Pitch His Way Into the Rotation

Right now the Yankees starting rotation is CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Ivan Nova.  In the last week they have been extremely successful.  I was not expecting Colon to last very long as a starting pitcher, but he has been a pleasant surprise since Hughes went on the DL.  Garcia has pitched well too, although only in a limited capacity since he has only pitched 2 starts.  Ivan Novo has struggled but continues to show potential and his last start was great.  Unfortunately though, the season won't work out as perfect as the first month and at some point one of these starters will falter.  Since Hughes is out of the picture right now, the Yankees have already started to use their backups.  So it's time to look at a possible mid-season call-ups

Adam Warren has been the most successful starting pitcher for the AAA Scranton Yankees.  Although he has only started 4 games this season, he has posted a 3.75 ERA over 24 innings, allowing 22 hits and striking out 13 batters. 

Warren's last start was this past Tuesday and he went 5.1 innings allowing 7 hits and 5 Earned Runs.  Although he did allow 5 runs, he had a very strong start to the game.  Over the first 4 innings of the game, Warren only allowed 3 hits and no runs.  He had a terrific first inning putting the side down 1-2-3 in 9 pitches.  7 of those 9 pitches were strikes too.  Warren got himself in a small jam in the 5th inning allowing 2 singles.  He was one pitch away from getting himself out of the inning, when he threw a fastball in the zone allowing a 3 run home run.  This home run basically ruined Warren's line for the day, but if it was not for the home run, it could have been a very successful start.

Warren's last start was similar to his second start of the season.  In the second start he allowed only 1 run over the first 5 innings, but got himself in a jam in the 6th inning.  He allowed two batters on base then hung a curveball which allowed the 2 runners to score.  Warren said after the game it was just a bad pitch.  He finished the day going 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits.  Again, it was only one inning he got himself into a jam after a strong start.


Warren's third start was extremely successful and is the reason I believe he is the 'star' of the Scranton Yankees.  He went 8 shutout innings allowing only 5 hits.  He struck out 3 batters in the process.  Warren is stretched out and throwing roughly 100 pitches a game now.  Warren throws a fastball in the mid 90's, a cutter in the low 90's a two seam fastball in the low 90's and a changeup in the low 80's.  He has quite an arsenal!  He also throws a curveball, but it is his weakest pitch.  If he continues pitching like this, I would bet the Yankees call him up for a spot start or two throughout the season.  Keep an eye on Warren.

That being said, I'm sure that Cashman is trying to work out a trade for another proven starting pitcher.

UPDATED MONDAY MAY 3

Adam Warren pitched this past weekend against the Braves minor league team and had another succesful outing.  Warren pitched 4 scoreless innings before getting himself in a little trouble.  He allowed two home runs in the 5th and 6th innings, but managed to limit the damage to only three runs.  He finished the day going 6 innings allowing only 3 hits and 3 runs.

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.