Wednesday, January 29, 2020

The Yankees' minor league affiliate in Scranton should be stocked with talent this year; morale might be another matter

Disregarding the gonads out there that are yet to tweak, you don't need more than a cocktail napkin to picture the 2020 Yankees opening day roster. The starting lineup, the rotation, and the bullpen - right now, they look rather inscribed into stone. A few pitchers will fight for the last staff opening, and several will compete to be Utility Man. Everybody else will disappear to Scranton, where the 2020 lineup could be powerful - and demoralized. 

Close your eyes, and let's imagine the April 1 Scranton lineup.

ss Tyler Wade.
2b Thairo Estrada. 
lf Clint Frazier. 1b Mike Ford. 
rf Trey Amburgey.
dh Chris Gittens.3b Mandy Alvarez.
cf Zack Granite. c Erik Kratz. 

Pitchers: Deivi Garcia, Micheal King, Jordan Montgomery, Jonathan Loaisiga, the cast of The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel. 

Yeesh. What you see is a surge of ripened talent that is at or past its sell-by date. This could make Scranton a Triple A powerhouse or the suicide watch wing of the Lackawanna County Jail. The keys are Frazier, Wade, Ford and Estrada - each of whom has already proven himself worthy of The Show. But circumstances could send them back to Triple A. Again.

Look, all this is a positive sign: The Yankees are stocked, down to Triple A. Still, I wonder about this. I'd hate to think of those four players - plus King or Montgomery - dying on the vine. (I worry less about the pitchers, because they will surely be called up as the season progresses.) Mostly, I fear that the Clint Frazier story is spiraling toward an unhappy conclusion. Everywhere you look, Frazier seems locked out of a future with the Yankees. (And they're not even able to get honest value for him in a trade.) Even with Aaron Hicks gone for half the season, Frazier might lose his corner OF slot to the one person on the roster who might be worse on defense: Miguel Andujar. Even if Frazier knocks down walls in spring training, without a wave of injuries to other outfielders, his ticket looks punched to Scranton. Same with Wade, whom you would think - as the Yankees' fastest player, could win a spot as pinch runner. 

In the next few days, the Yankees will announce the list of players who will be invited to spring training. On that list will be a no-name or two that could matter a lot in the course of the season. For the most part, though, it will be a list of newcomers who will be destined to play in Scranton. The Yankees could have a talent problem: Too much of it. 

First World problem, no?

10 comments:

TheWinWarblist said...

First world problem, yes. But there is never enough pitching. Ever. The position players? Well, one outfielder will come up in May when Giant Stan blows out his hammy (they will say that the report could be heard all the way in north Jersey). And then Clint will need therapy because he won't be the one coming up. Probably on an inpatient ward; the Yanks seem committed to destroying his career.

Oh the joy of drama in the Bronx.

Fuck you Cash.


Fuck you Hal.

JM said...

We'll have too much talent, not enough pitching, and key players who strike out at the worst possible times.

Just another year in Yankeedom.

13bit said...

A crackhead will walk into a room full of nice stuff - furniture, electronics, etc - and think, "what can I pawn immediately for a washed up power arm or a used-to-be, almost, kind of elite, once was, former all start right-hand-hitting outfielder?"

13bit said...

amen, winnie - FUCK YOU CASH.

HALAL HAL gets a pass until April 1st.

ranger_lp said...

@Winnie...Yanks have a history of destroying careers...Google Joba...

TheWinWarblist said...

Yes, ranger-lp, I am well aware of the Yankees history of destroying careers. It is said (mostly by me) that Dusty Baker learned his young pitcher destroying skills from Billy Martin. I'm so happy he's going to Houston.

HoraceClarke66 said...

The Red Menace's stock will rise the moment Stanton's model-lifting injury is revealed, which should be right about...now.

With the 26-man roster, chances are good that both Estrada and Tyler Too will be on it.

The guy I worry about getting an even shake is Mike Ford, the Lion of Scotland.

Anonymous said...

We can help with the logjam by unloading Luke Voit and giving the 1B job to Mike Ford/Miguel Andujar.

The Hammer of God

sum guy said...

Have you seen this

http://signstealingscandal.com/

Some guy went and watched every single 2017 Astros home game and listened for the banging. You can look at the stats every which way. Per player, per team.

A nice high-level summary of the total cheating:
"I’ve logged over 8,200 pitches and found banging before over 1,100 of those pitches."

Conveniently 1 of the Astro's home wins against the Yankees has no video available. But considering there were 41 and 48 bangs in the two games prior...

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