Happy Tanaka Day, everyone. Tonight might be our best chance for a win in this series, even if the Mets are throwing out top prospect Rafael Montero to make his major league debut.

Tonight's lineup: Gardner 7 Jeter 6 Ellsbury 8 Teixeira 3 McCann 2 Soriano 9 Solarte 5 Roberts 4 Tanaka 1

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 14, 2014

The Yankees lineup is still feeling the effects of all those injuries from the other night. Carlos Beltran, and Ichiro Suzuki continue to sit out while the bench consists of John Ryan Murphy, Kelly Johnson, and Zoilo Almonte. Tonight's lineup includes Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Jacoby Ellsbury at the top of the order. Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, and Alfonso Soriano make up the middle of the lineup, while Yangervis Solarte and Brian Roberts follow. With the last two games at Yankee Stadium, the Subway Series moves to Citi Field, meaning that Masahiro Tanaka will have to bat once again.

You might have seen our own Matt Provenzano's write-ups (here and here) about who the Yankees are looking to sign during this year's international amateur free agent signing period. Along with Dermis Garcia, Nelson Gomez, Juan DeLeon, Jonathan Amundaray, Chris Torres, and Diego Castillo, the Yankees have also shown interest in Venezuelan catcher Miguel Flames.

As Ben Badler of Baseball America describes him, the 6-foot-2, 205 pound 16-year-old moved from a questionable third base to behind the plate and now looks to be a big score on the international market. As Badler describes it "scouts who liked Flames were impressed by the 16-year-old’s raw power, ability to work the count and put together consistent game at-bats. Others saw strength and power but didn’t see consistent game results." He also points out that his big build is much less of a concern now that he's a catcher and he has the hands and arm strength to make it.

A power-first, defense-second catcher sounds like a Yankees specialty at this point, considering their development of Jesus Montero, Gary Sanchez, and Peter O`Brien in recent years. It looks like Flames could be looking at at least a $1 million signing bonus, which, if rumors are accurate, New York will have no problem handing out to him as well as multiple other prospects come July.

There is no meniscus tear but Sabathia will require surgery to address cartilage breakdown.

New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia has emerged from a visit with Dr. James Andrews without a torn meniscus, but lacking a clean bill of health as well, according to George King of the New York Post. He's going to require a procedure that will clear out the breakdown of cartilage and address the effects of what were termed "degenerative changes."

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman noted "former Yankees Hideki Matsui, Randy Johnson, Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones went through the procedure." Carlos Beltranwas also mentioned per the New York Daily News' John Feinsand.  A review of the players named by Cashman shows an average of 78 games missed, but no official timeline has been offered as of this writing.

Sabathia was 3-4 on the season with a 5.28 ERA and 48 strikeouts against 10 walks in 48 innings. He will be replaced in the rotation by something called a Chase Whitley, as the Yankees are already scrambling with Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova on the shelf. The 24-year-old was a 15th-round selection in the 2010 draft, out of Troy University. He had a 2.39 ERA in 26⅓ innings with 32 strikeouts at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Hey, at least it's not a UCL tear, right?

Tanaka records his first complete game shutout, as well as his first big league hit!

After dropping the first two to the Mets in the Bronx, the Yankees finally broke their six-game losing streak against their crosstown rivals (dating back to last year) as Masahiro Tanaka thoroughly dominated tonight's game. Tanaka notched his first complete game shutout in the majors, giving up just four hits while striking out eight and walking none. After the first inning when the Mets smoked a few balls that happened to go straight to Yankee outfielders, Tanaka was on, and when he's dealing like was tonight, he's simply one of the best pitchers in the league.

After a scoreless first inning, the Yankees got on the board in the second. Yangervis Solarte worked a walk, and then scored as Brian Roberts ripped a triple to left. While Robert's certainly hit the ball well, he got a lot of help from the Mets defense, as Mets leftfielder Eric Young Jr. dove for Robert's dying liner and caught nothing but air. The ball rolled untouched past him all the way to the wall, and by the time the Mets got it in to the infield Roberts was standing on third.

Tanaka found a groove quickly, at one point retiring 11 straight batters, and the Mets never really threatened during the first half of the game. In the fourth, the Yankees tacked on another run. After Mets rookie Rafeal Montero retired McCann and Soriano, Solarte absolutely destroyed a 3-1 fastball, ripping a line drive over Curtis Granderson's head and over the right field wall for a solo home run, making it 2-0 Yankees. Roberts followed this up with his second triple of the night, but sadly, Tanaka couldn't knock Roberts in (I mean, Tanaka can't do everything, can he?).

In the sixth, the Yankees made it 3-0 as Mark Teixeira hit a towering home run, continuing his hot hitting of late. This marked Tex's eight homer of the year, and his fifth so far in the month of May. While he might not be the player he once was, the 30 home run, 100 RBI campaign he said he expected from himself during spring training might not be completely out of reach.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Mets had their best chance to score. Tanaka retired the bottom two hitters of the Mets lineup before Young Jr. hit a two-out double. With Daniel Murphy at the plate and David Wright on deck, the Mets had to score one here to really get back in the game. Luckily, Tanaka was dealing, and he induced a chopper to first from Murphy that Teixeira easily handled.

In the seventh, the Yankees added one more run. With two outs in the inning, Brett Gardner hit a broken bat infield single to second. While he waited way too long to steal, he eventually stole second, and then, after Mets catcher Anthony Recker mishandled a low pitch from reliever Carlos Torres, Gardner stole third without a throw. Derek Jeter then beat out a slow roller back to the mound, and Gardner sprinted home, making it 4-0 Yankees after seven.

From there on, it was all Tanaka. He even picked up his first big league hit in the top of the ninth with a single up the middle before returning to the mound in the bottom half of the inning and finishing off the Mets (although, after Jeter dropped a throw that should've led to a game-ending double play, it was a bit more tense than it should've been). Still, Tanaka pitched terrifically, and once he got a little bit of run support, it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion. He clearly gets more comfortable as he gets deeper into games, and he looked absolutely dominant after the second inning this evening.

Rookie Rafael Montero pitched well for the Mets tonight (even striking out the Captain for his first big league K), but unfortunately, he was up against Tanaka, who mowed down a rather anemic-looking Mets lineup. Hopefully this is the start of winning streak. Tomorrow's game will match up two rookies in their first big league starts, as the Yankees' Chase Whitley will match up against the Mets Jacob deGrom.

Box score

@PSA_GIFs

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• Yankees 4, Mets 0: Tanaka goes the distance
• Yankees lineup vs. Mets - Yankees interested in international prospect Miguel Flames
• Meet your Thursday starter: Chase Whitley
• Pinstripe Alley Podcast Episode 47: It's just a flesh wound!
• Daily Yankees Predictions 5/14/14: Save us, Tanaka
• Yankees Draft Preview 2014: What does the system need
• Baby Bomber Recap 5/13/14: Luis Severino pitches six scoreless innings
• Around the Empire: New York Yankees News - 5/14/14

Yankees News

It's About the Money | Michael Eder: Are Jeff Samardzija and Brandon McCarthy really worth acquiring to fix the Yankees' pitching problem?

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty:CC Sabathia will have to have a procedure done to try and help a degenerative condition in his knee.

ESPN New York | Shingo Horie: Masahiro Tanaka's interpreter talks about the Japanese right-hander.

Rotographs | Marc Hulet:Yangervis Solarte is in the conversation for Rookie of the Year candidates.

ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews: Thanks to all the injuries the Yankees have suffered, they have run out of pitching depth.

An A-Blog For A-Rod | Brad Vietrogoski: It's time for Yangervis Solarte to be moved into the two-hole in the lineup.

It's About the Money | Susan Lulgjuraj: Get to know new Yankees starter Chase Whitley before his start.

Beyond the Box Score | Chris Teeter: See how Joe Girardi compares to other managers when it comes to really annoying intentional walks.

Channeling Joe's Woodstock theme. Sure, it was two years before Woodstock, but close enough.

Back-to-back wins. Groovy.

Jake Odorizzi dominated yesterday, taking a no-hitter into the sixth, and though the Rays offense only managed three hits, the two runs they scored were enough to back Odorizzi's impressive outing.

Unfortunately yesterday wasn't all sunshine and butterflies, as Ben Zobrist dislocated his thumb and is likely headed to the DL with two weeks of recovery time needed. See the play here, as we now have fancy GIFs to help you rewatch the best (and worst) parts of games. DRaysBay, movin' on up.

With that turn of events, Cole Figeuroa got his call to the big leagues and will join the team in Anaheim today.

Wheels up for the West Coast, Woodstock style. Some of the better-dressed from the #RaysWoodstock traveling party: pic.twitter.com/w5134Jh5zI

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 11, 2014

I'm jumping on Joe's themed bandwagon. Throwing up the peace signs and positive vibes all the way to LA.

Links:

- "Why Do the Preseason Darling Rays Suddenly Look Like the Devil Rays?"

If you want to relive Monday night's beauty of a game, Jonah Keri was kind enough to rehash the loss in full detail, reminding us that "the loss dropped the Rays to 16-23, the first time they'd fallen seven games under .500 since starting the 2011 season at 1-8."

Womp womp womp.

Keri continues, pinpointing the voodoo doll collection of Rays pitchers in a bitter Yankees fan's basement as the root of 2014's struggles thus far. He does mention that the silver lining in this season is this year's AL East being is the weakest in quite some time, allowing, despite the dismal start, the last place Rays to only be 3.5 games out of first.

- A high schooler threw 194 pitches in 14 innings. A high schooler. In a high school baseball game. 194 pitches.

David Price wasn't a fan of the feat (understandably):

@DAVIDprice14 just trying to get a much needed win for my team and wouldn't want no other coach then the one I have

— Dylan Fosnacht (@DFosnacht5) May 15, 2014

But Dylan seems pretty pleased with his performance, and a wee bit sassy too:

Some people think it's awesome, some people think it's ridiculous. I personally loved every minute of it and it's a great memory to have

— Dylan Fosnacht (@DFosnacht5) May 15, 2014

So I won't be able to pitch in 5 years? Well it's a good thing I'm a pretty solid middle infielder which is where I play 90 % of the time

— Dylan Fosnacht (@DFosnacht5) May 15, 2014

- When the polar ice caps melt, the Rays are no more. Why does this matter? Well, Justin Bopp decided to see what teams would remain if the oceans rose tomorrow. The Trop would be dunzo, obviously, along with all of Florida, though it's not like "anybody goes to games there anyway."

- The Mets bullpen is struggling, and Kyle Farnsworth's numbers weren't awful by any means (3.18 ERA over 17 innings), yet he was released on Wednesday and wasn't too pleased, at all:

Mets release Farnsworth. "Hopefully I'll find a team where I can play against this one."

— Danny Knobler (@DannyKnobler) May 15, 2014

- Josh Reddick is just smooth jazzin' his way to the plate these days. Take it away, George:

Oh, and if you've never seen this...Happy Thursday:

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from May 14th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 2-3 vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs

LF Antoan Richardson 1-3, BB
3B Scott Sizemore 0-3, RBI, E5 - throwing error, third of the season
SS Dean Anna 0-4, K
CF Adonis Garcia 2-4, triple - batting .317 this season
1B Kyle Roller 1-4, 2 K
RF Zelous Wheeler 3-4, RBI - batting .338 this season
DH Russ Canzler 1-3, BB
2B Jose Pirela 0-3, BB, K
C Austin Romine 1-2

Joel De La Cruz 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R/2 ER, 0 BB, K, E1 - 59 of 90 pitches for strikes
Branden Pinder 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 1-2 vs. Erie SeaWolves

LF Taylor Dugas 0-4, K
CF Ben Gamel 2-4 - batting .293 this season
3B Rob Segedin 1-4, K
C Gary Sanchez 1-4, 2 K
1B Tyler Austin 1-4
RF Peter O'Brien 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 K - fourth Double-A homer
2B Rob Refsnyder 0-4
DH Yeral Sanchez 0-3, K
SS Dan Fiorito 1-3

Bryan Mitchell 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - 28 of 45 pitches for strikes
Tyler Webb 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, K
Manny Banuelos 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB
Manny Barreda 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Pat Venditte 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

High-A Tampa Yankees: W 7-1 vs. St. Lucie Mets

CF Jake Cave 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K, 2 SB - second homer of the season
SS Cito Culver 1-5, triple, 2 K
3B Eric Jagielo 1-3, 2 BB, K, E5 - throwing error, eighth of the season
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-5, double, 2 RBI, 2 K
1B Matt Snyder 1-5, 3 K
RF Zach Wilson 2-4, BB, K
LF Anderson Feliz 1-5, double, K
C Trent Garrison 1-4, RBI, BB, K
2B Claudio Custodio 2-5, RBI, K, 2 SB

Dan Camarena 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K - 9 GO/3 AO
Kyle Haynes 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: L 3-5 vs. Hickory Crawdads

SS Tyler Wade 1-4, double, BB, 2 K
CF Brandon Thomas 0-4, 2 K
RF Aaron Judge 0-4, K
DH Mike Ford 1-4, RBI - batting .317 this season
LF Michael O'Neill 1-4, 2 K
3B Miguel Andujar 1-4, RBI, 2 E5 - throwing & fielding error (12th and 13th)
1B John Murphy 2-3, RBI, BB, SB - batting .284 this season
C Kale Sumner 0-3, BB, 2 K, passed ball, E2 - throwing error, first of the season
2B Gosuke Katoh 0-3, BB, K

Ian Clarkin 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R/1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K - 55 of 79 pitches for strikes
Omar Luis 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, WP

CC Sabathia will receive a cortisone shot and a stem cell injection in his right knee. In the meantime, the Yankees will have to scrap together what they have to try to fill out the starting rotation.

After a checkup with Dr. James Andrews, it has been revealed that CC Sabathia has no meniscus tear in his right knee, says George King of the New York Post. Due to degenerative changes in his right knee, the Yankees' left-hander will receive a cortisone shot and an injection of stem cells instead. There is no timetable for Sabathia's return, however.

"You drain the knee, inject cortisone and stem cell into the knee, and you see how it responds," Yankee GM Brian Cashman said. "That's the typical protocol for that. There have been a number of successes through the process," Cashman concluded. Those successes include Carlos Beltran, Hideki Matsui, Andruw Jones, Raul Ibanez, and Randy Johnson.

Even though Sabathia looks a lot like the guy from 2013, this is still a big loss for the Yankees. The results have been very rocky for Sabathia so far, but he has tried to make the adjustments from being a power pitcher to more of a finesse pitcher; there is still hope that he can complete that transition, instead of turning into Barry Zito for good. Hopefully this knee procedure will help Sabathia get back on track, and I'm sure a little two-week or so break in the middle of the year wouldn't hurt.

In the meantime, the Yankees will have to deal with the rotation while Sabathia (plus Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova) is on the shelf. Chase Whitley will make his Major League debut tonight against the Mets and I have no idea what to expect. Just 14 of Whitley's 151 career minor league appearances were as a starting pitcher and he went unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft after being unprotected by the Yankees. He has always had good minor league numbers, even when he was starting, but there's much more to a minor leaguer than the stats. We'll see how he does.

Unfortunately, there just aren't that many attractive options at all in the organization to fill out the rotation. David Phelps could possibly pass as a number five starter, and I think we've so far seen why Vidal Nuno was in independent ball just three years ago. Not to mention, teams around the league aren't going to open up shop to trade players (like the Phillies with Cliff Lee) since it's still pretty early in the season. The Yankees will have to get by with what they have for now though, and hope whatever they have can help keep them afloat in the standings.

It's pretty clear that our pitching staff is Tanaka and four people not named Tanaka. However, suddenly a new challenger has appeared. Chase Whitley will make his major league debut tonight. Also, it's a pointstravaganza in the PSA DP thread today!

Masahiro Tanaka saw that the Yankees had not won since he last pitched. The Yankees were in need of a win to end their four game losing streak. So, he pitched a complete game, four hit, eight strikeout, no walk shutout. Tanaka's pretty good at this pitching thing. Sigh, why does it take so long for him to pitch again?

Meanwhile, let's break some records!

5/14/14 Daily Prediction Answers

The Aarons were 100% sober for the math yesterday, as the game was enjoyable enough to not require booze. It's a good thing they were not drunk, as yesterday was record setting for the Pinstripe Alley Daily Predictions Thread. We had, and this is not a typo, seven people score 4,000 points each. Those seven are Yankees199, Billy W, Tanya, paulo, noonoo, kshah, and Lilly.

However, that would not be enough as the 4,000 point threshold has finally been breached by one Andrew Mearns. Andrew scored a resounding 6,000 points yesterday for the win. The only questions he did not answer correctly were innings pitched and Yankees left on base. Andrew, congrats. PSAers, you have a new goal!

5/15/14 Daily Predictions & Fun Questions

Favorite puzzle video game? (This includes cell phone games for some of you non-gamers out there)

Choose one mode of transportation: bicycle, skateboard, or rollerblades/rollerskates?

How spicy do you like your food? Not at all, Mild, Medium, Hot, Torturous.

Name 1-3 songs you love to drive to!

It's a battle of the rookies on the pitching mound at Citi Field tonight. Chase Whitley will make his major league debut for the Yankees while Jacob deGrom will make his major league debut for the Mets. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm always excited to see a kid's major league debut. With all the injuries, and the fact that Vidal Nuno and David Phelps are iffy at best, Whitley has a chance to make a case for himself to remain in the majors with a good start tonight. Here's hoping for the best, and a series split.

Let's Go Yankees.

After eight unimpressive minor league seasons, Yangervis Solarte has broken out in a big way in 2014. Although the sample's pretty small, there's reason to believe Solarte's more than a flash in the pan.

Many of the Yankees' regulars have scuffled so far in 2014. Carlos Beltran, Derek Jeter, Brian McCann, Brian Roberts, and Alfonso Soriano have all struggled out of the gate, which has held back the team's offense. Six weeks in, the Bombers rank seventh in the American League in runs scored. Not terrible, but a bit of a let-down given some of the names in their lineup. Several players have fallen short of pre-season expectations thus far, but third baseman Yangervis Solarte has exceeded them by a wide margin.

Even for die-hard baseball fans, Solarte was a complete unknown three months ago. The 26-year-old had never managed to crack the majors, and frankly it's not hard to see why. Solarte spent the last two years playing for the Round Rock Express -- the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affilliate -- in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Yet despite the favorable offensive environment, Solarte only managed to hit a tepid .282/.332/.404. To put his performance in perspective, 15 players logged at least 150 plate appearances for the Express last season, and Solarte ranked 13th in wOBA. Not only was Solarte a career minor leaguer, but he wasn't even a good one. He was just another face in the minor league crowd.

But after an impressive spring training, Solarte beat out Eduardo Nunez for a spot on the Yankees' Opening Day roster and hasn't looked back. Through 33 games, Solarte's been easily the team's best hitter, slashing .336/.414/.521 and amassing a 157 wRC+ -- tops among qualified third basemen. Solarte's BABIP currently sits at .356, so some of his success has been driven by lucky bounces on balls in play, but not all of it. He's one of only 14 players in baseball who's managed to walk (12.1%) more than he's struck out (11.4%). Strikeout and walk stats stabilize pretty quickly, which sparks hope that Solarte's breakout might be for real.

It's hard to fluke into good strikeout and walk numbers over a six week stretch, but those numbers could certainly crater if pitchers find ways to exploit Solarte's weaknesses. But based on what we've seen so far, there don't seem to be many holes in Solarte's approach. Although he doesn't have the keenest eye, Solarte is far from a hacker, and has shown decent ability to lay off pitches out of the zone. Solarte has swung at 63% of pitches in the zone and just 27.7% of pitches outside of it -- both slightly below the league average

Where Yangervis has really excelled has been putting the ball in play. He's been particularly adept at connecting at pitches in the zone, which explains why he's struck out so infrequently. Solarte's made contact on 96% of the balls he's swung at, placing him 9th out of 179 qualified hitters. He's been no slouch on pitches out of the zone either, where his 77% contact rate ranks 30th out of 179. It's not like this is coming completely out of nowhere, either, as he struck out just 9.9% of the time in 1,145 PA's in 2012-2013. Solarte's always been a high contact guy.

Ok, so Solarte's shown some ability to put the ball in play. You might be wondering what's going to happen when pitchers stop throwing him fastballs. Surprisingly, it looks like that's already happening -- and Solarte's been unphased. Just 54.1% of the pitches thrown to Solarte have been fastballs, a good bit below the league average of 58.4%. And although the sample's tiny, Solarte's hit .333/.385/.479 in 52 PAs that have ended in something other than a fastball --including a ridiculous .435/.480/.783 line in 25 PAs against breaking balls.

Solarte's bound to come back to earth at some point. Not only is his BABIP trending high, but his 11.8% walk rate smells a little fishy as well. He was never much of a walker in the minors, and lacks the mix of power and plate discipline to post double digit walk rates. Still, he's a player who can put the ball in play -- and can do so while hitting for a non-negligible amount of power. There's no way that Solarte will continue being one of the best hitters in baseball, but I could very easily see him hitting .275/.325./400 from here on out, which would make him roughly a league-average hitter. That's nothing special, but is more than adequate for a third baseman -- especially when the likes of Mike Moustakas (42 wRC+) and Marcus Semien (68 wRC+) can hold down starting gigs. One way or another, the Yankees found a diamond in the rough in Solarte. He was just some obscure minor leaguer three months ago, but today it's clear that, at the very least, he's worthy of a big league roster spot.

Could opening the Steinbrenner wallets be the key to aiding the injury-riddled pitching staff?

The Yankees' front office showed a willingness to blow past their $189 million payroll goals this offseason to bring in players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran. Almost half a billion dollars later, the Yankees are still looking for upgrades due to a rash of injuries among their starting pitchers. Ivan Nova won't be see again until sometime in 2015, CC Sabathia has been diagnosed with a degenerative knee injury that will only continue to worsen for the remainder of his contract, and Michael Pineda is out with a muscle injury until June at least. A weak AL East has allowed the Yankees to keep their heads above water with the likes of Vidal Nuno and David Phelps getting regular starts, but betting on that lasting would not be smart. Even getting Sabathia back is no guarantee for future success considering how the supposed ace has pitched of late. Hopefully that improves once he's healthy, but it seems unlikely that a knee issue caused the multitude of problems the lefty faced.

Hal Steinbrenner told the New York Post that he's willing to spend what is necessary at the trade deadline to make necessary upgrades. Unfortunately, money alone won't solve the problem. The Yankees need to hope that their farm system continues to play well, unlike last year, so that they have some hope of finding a worthy trade chip. The insane number of pitchers falling victim to torn UCLs won't help the Yankees on the trade market either. Teams will be desperate for pitching and others will be desperate to hold onto the healthy pitching they have. Add that to the fact that it seems like other teams are always ready to fleece the Yankees in trades (remember Manny Banuelos, Ivan Nova, Jesus Montero, and Dellin Betances for Ubaldo Jimenez, anyone?) and you have a bit of a dilemma.

The Post speculates that names like Cliff Lee of the Phillies, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel of the Cubs, and Bronson Arroyo of the Diamondbacks could be available at the deadline. If the Yankees are willing to take on salary, as Steinbrenner claims they are, then it should put them on a more even playing field with teams that have better prospects to give up. Lee is under contract through 2015 and shows no signs that age is starting to slow him down. Attempting to land him would mean trading prospects for a year and a half of control, which is better than giving away players for nothing more than a rental. Samardzija is in his second year of arbitration with the Cubs, pitching very well on a team that isn't going anywhere this season. He has a 1.45 ERA in 56 innings this year, but he has never shown the ability to be that good over a full season. He pitched to a 4.34 ERA in 213.2 innings a year ago.

Acquiring Hammel would be a rental situation with his one-year contract being up at the end of 2014. He currently has a 2.45 ERA with the Cubs in 47.2 innings this year, but his numbers didn't look so good last time he was in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles in 2013 with a 4.97 ERA in 139.1 innings. Arroyo would also be under team control in 2015 after signing a two-year, $23.5 million contract with the Diamondbacks this offseason. He has a 4.15 ERA so far this season, but had found a bit more success with the Cincinnati Reds over the last few years. Arroyo is the oldest of these options at 37 years old, while Samardzija would be the youngest at 29.

Whether or not any of these options are worth trading away the likes of Gary Sanchez or another top prospect remains to be seen. There is still a lot of baseball to be played before trade season really heats up. Pitching is obviously the team's greatest need right now, but with Beltran's elbow possibly requiring surgery and Brian Roberts' noted fragility, who knows how the landscape will change in the meantime. Luckily, it sounds like those writing the checks realize that they may need to make necessary upgrades to keep the team competitive in a season where the AL East could be anybody's to take. Bringing in Alfonso Soriano at the deadline last year was a move that really boosted the anemic offense. Hopefully they can find a similarly good deal to help out a depleted and struggling pitching staff this time around.

What would the Yankees' all-draft pick all-time team look like?

There's no getting around the fact that the Yankees have had mixed success with the MLB draft over the years. Since they have been so good for most of the draft's existence, they rarely had top picks to obtain top talent, and they lost even more picks due to free agent compensation. Fortunately, there have still been numerous diamonds in the rough over the years. Last year, I ran a list of my top 10 Yankees draft picks of all time, but to add a ripple to it, I posed the following question: If one was to assemble a team of the Yankees' greatest draft picks, who would play each position? Some of these players will be quite mediocre, but some of them are among the best to ever don pinstripes.

Catcher: Thurman Munson

Drafted: 1968, 1st round, #4 overall (Kent State University)

Munson was an absolute icon in New York despite his gruff personality, and he was probably the Yankees' best all-around catcher since the days of Elston Howard and Yogi Berra. He quickly made a splash by winning the 1970 AL Rookie of the Year just two years after being drafted, and over an eight-year stretch from then until '77, he hit .292/.349/.420 with 183 doubles, 103 homers, a 121 wRC+, and a terrific 40.0 rWAR. By FanGraphs measures, only Johnny Bench was a better catcher over this dominant stretch. The Yankees captain was named to seven All-Star teams, earned three Gold Gloves for his superb defense (career 38% CS%), and won the '76 AL MVP as the Yankees returned to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.

To add a cherry on top, Munson was a career .357/.378/.496 hitter in 30 playoff games, winning back-to-back World Series titles in '77 and '78. Munson started to decline a little bit, but who knows what numbers he could have posted had he not tragically lost his life in a plane crash on August 2, 1979? It was perhaps the darkest day in Yankees history, and the Yankees lost a remarkable human being as well as their first truly great draft pick.

First base: Don Mattingly

Drafted: 1979, 19th round, #493 overall (Reitz Memorial High School, Evansville, IN)

The most successful Yankees first baseman since Lou Gehrig was the hero of a generation and arguably the best hitter in baseball for a few years during the '80s. Yet Mattingly was drafted all the way down in the 19th round, between such luminaries as Wayne Kellam and Bob Birrell. No one else in Mattingly's draft round reached the majors, but "Donnie Baseball" surpassed all expectations and simply hit everywhere he went in the minors. By late June of '83, he was in the majors for good and immediately made an impact by winning the AL batting crown over superstar teammate Dave Winfield, winning the '85 AL MVP, and setting franchise records with 238 hits and 53 doubles in a career-best 7.2 rWAR season in '86. He was named to six AL All-Star teams in a row, won nine Gold Gloves, set a record with six grand slams in '87, and he tied a record with a homer in eight consecutive games that year, too.

Alas, back injuries robbed Mattingly of his prime years and a more substantial Hall of Fame case, leading to an early retirement after his first playoff series in '95 at age 34. Nonetheless, Mattingly will always be the hero to a generation of Yankees fans and the go-to example of why late draft picks should not be overlooked.

Second base: Pat Kelly

Drafted: 1988, 9th round, #235 overall (West Chester University)

Woof. What a giant step down in quality from two amazing captains to Pat Kelly. Second base has been a position of basically no success at all for the Yankees in their drafting history. Their two best second baseman of the past several decades were not draft picks--Willie Randolph was a trade acquisition at age 21 from the Pirates, and Robinson Cano was an international free agent signing. Pretty much every second base draft pick has been a washout.

Kelly was drafted as a shortstop, but the Yankees made him a second baseman in the minors. He joined the big club in May of '91 at age 23 and hung around for parts of seven seasons with the Yankees. Unfortunately, as PSA's Greg Kirkland is always quick to point out, Kelly could never seem to stay healthy. He topped 100 games just twice in his career and played only 13 games during the Yankees' championship season in '96, as he was replaced by the capable Mariano Duncan. Kelly's career year was probably the '93 campaign, when he hit .273/.317/.389 with 24 doubles and a 92 OPS+ in 127 games, good for 2.4 rWAR. Kelly was far from a slugger, but he did come up with arguably the Yankees' biggest hit of their run to the Wild Card in '95. The Yankees were essentially in must-win mode throughout late September, as they could not afford to lose any ground on the Angels and Mariners for the Wild Card spot that could have gone to the loser of their AL West division title race. With the Yankees trailing the Blue Jays 4-3 in the ninth inning of the third-to-last game of the season, Kelly, a dismal 68 OPS+ hitter in '95, stunned Toronto with a go-ahead two-run homer:

It was the most important hit of Kelly's career, and the Yankees went on to win the Wild Card, though they of course lost a tight Division Series to the Mariners. Unfortunately, Kelly continued to struggle with injuries and the Yankees let him walk in free agency after the '97 season. Kelly's career didn't make it into the new millennium. Yet his 4.7 rWAR with the Yankees remains easily the best for their draft picks who became second basemen. Hopefully, Rob Refsnyder or Gosuke Katoh can change this one day.

Third base: Mike Pagliarulo

Drafted: 1981, 6th round, #155 overall (University of Miami)

Yeah, third base hasn't seen much success either, though "Pags" did have a few more healthy and productive seasons. Offense was never the Yankees' problem in the '80s, and Pagliarulo was certainly a crucial part of the wrecking crew. His lefty swing was well-suited for Yankee Stadium, and he hit 79 homers over three seasons from 1985-87, including a career-high 32 in '87, which tied with Cleveland's Brook Jacoby for best in the league among third basemen. A poor man's Curtis Granderson, his big flaws were hitting for low average (.229 career as a Yankee) and striking out a fair amount (20.1% K% as a Yankee).

However, the dingers certainly helped make up his production, and when Pagliarulo was dealt to the Padres in a deadline deal in '89, he ended his six-year career as a Yankee with a .229/.300/.427 triple slash and 105 homers, good for a 98 OPS+ and 5.0 rWAR. Pags later won a World Series ring in '91 as the Twins' third baseman, so his patience missing out on the playoffs with the Yankees paid off. Like Kelly though, it would be nice to see one of the Yankees' recent draft picks (Eric Jagielo, perhaps?) meet the not-too-formidable goal of passing Pags as their best draft pick third baseman.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter

Drafted: 1992, 1st round, #6 overall (Central High School, Kalamazoo, MI)

What more can you say about Jeter? He's easily the Yankees' best draft pick of all time and ranks up there with Cal Ripken Jr. and Barry Larkin as the greatest shortstops to ever spend the vast majority of their career at the position. To date, he's a 13-time All-Star, owner of 3,349 hits, 529 doubles, 257 homers, and a remarkable .312/.381/.445 triple slash, tremendous for a shortstop. Add in five World Series rings, the 2000 World Series MVP, exactly 200 career playoff hits, 20 playoff homers, and an .838 career playoff OPS (slightly higher than his regular season .826 OPS) and you have a truly tremendous player.

Just imagine--if Astros scout and Hall of Fame pitcher Hal Newhouser had his druthers, we would probably be talking about the double-play combination of Jeter and Craig Biggio as perhaps the best in baseball history. Maybe the Astros would have actually have a championship to their name. Hell, maybe they would have more than just the one pennant. Maybe they wouldn't be trudging along right now in miserable rebuilding mode. Fortunately for the Yankees, the Astros decided to take Phil Nevin with the top pick of the '92 draft, and Jeter fell to the Yankees at number six. Furious, Newhouser quit his job and never returned to the game. He sent him a note that said "Al Kaline bought a tee and ball and swung at it all winter. Look where it got him, the Hall of Fame." The rest is history.

Left field: Dan Pasqua

Drafted: 1982, 3rd round, #76 overall (William Paterson University)

The outfield is another bit of a weak area in Yankees drafting history. Most of the greats on the championship teams were either MLB free agents , trade acquisitions, or international free agents. Soooo it's a bit disappointing to see a guy like Dan Pasqua on here. Pasqua wasn't a slouch though. He was in the majors at age 23 three years after being drafted and had a solid 95 OPS+ rookie campaign before breaking out in '86. That year, Pasqua hit .293/.399/.525 with an impressive 151 OPS+ in 102 games. That was worth 2.5 rWAR and makes up most of the value he gave them during his brief three-year stint in the Bronx.

Pasqua slipped back to his rookie year form in '87, which he ended with a 96 OPS+ in 113 games. In the off-season, the Yankees tried to improve their pitching by sending Pasqua to the White Sox in a package to acquire starter Richard Dotson and swingman Scott Nielsen. Neither panned out, and Pasqua notched a fine 119 OPS+ over his next four seasons in Chicago--just another in a long string of deals that backfired on the Yankees in the '80s.

Center field: Brett Gardner

Drafted: 2005, 3rd round, #109 overall (College of Charleston)

Believe it or not, Gardner is already the Yankees' most accomplished home-drafted outfielder since the pre-draft days of Bobby Murcer and Roy White. Gardner's quickly moving up the Yankees' all-time list in stolen bases with 170 at this point, which ranks ninth in Yankees history--he just needs 15 more steals to move up to sixth all-time, a mark easily attainable this year. Gardner has one of the best defensive reputations in the game, though he strangely still does not own a Gold Glove Award. He does own two Fielding Bible awards for advanced defensive statistics, earned in 2010 and 2011.

Gardner has also evolved from low expectations about his bat to hit .272/.358/.388 with 78 doubles and 26 triples since 2010, a stellar 7.3 rWAR season by itself. Gardner is already a 20.3 rWAR player in just 657 career games, which averages out to a little over a mere four seasons despite being in the seventh year of his career. Here's hoping the Southern Comfort continues flowing through his veins and Gardner continues his outfield excellence throughout the four-year extension he signed prior to the 2014 season.

Right field: Shane Spencer

Drafted: 1990, 28th round, #750 overall (Granite Hills High School, El Cajon, CA)

Like Pasqua, another bit of an underwhelming choice for this team, but Spencer was still a fine player. It took Spencer a long time to reach the major leagues, as he was still in High-A at age 23 in '95. Desperate to reach the majors, he even crossed the picket line during the 1994-95 Players' Strike and played spring training as a replacement player, earning him the scorn of many of his fellow players, even though he probably just needed the money. (Life isn't easy as a minor league player.) Thus, he could never appear on any MLB merchandise since he was not allowed in the MLB Players' Association. That sucked, but Spencer persevered and finally made a splash in the Yankees' tremendous '98 season.

Spencer was just another remarkable story of that season, joining the team as a late call-up and playing absolutely out of his mind by hitting .373/.411/.910 with 10 homers in just 27 games. He set a MLB rookie record with three grand slams, all in September (also a record). Although he began to slump in the ALCS, Spencer still hit a pair of homers in the playoffs, and the Yankees won the World Series. Meeting the enormously high expectations caused by the small sample size proved to be a challenge throughout the rest of Spencer's career, though. He could never prove himself worthy of consistent playing time and never topped 100 games in a season with the Yankees. He slumped badly in '99 but rebounded in 2000 to hit .282/.330/.460 with a respectable 99 OPS+. Spencer slipped to a 93 OPS+ in '01 and an 86 OPS+ in '02, though he did slug a crucial solo homer in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series against Curt Schilling. The Yankees let him walk as a free agent after '02, ending his five-year tenure with the team at .263/.324/.444, 43 homers, a 98 OPS+, and 3.9 rWAR. Once again, I must say that it would be delightful if one of the young minor leaguers in the farm system now could replace Pasqua and Spencer on this team.

Designated hitter: Jorge Posada

Drafted: 1990, 24th round, #646 overall (Calhoun Community College)

Yeah, yeah, Posada wasn't really a DH for most of his career, but in order to make it onto this team, I think it's fair to put Posada at DH. He's not catching with the defensively superior Munson behind the plate anyway. Besides, Posada's bat is what carried him to the majors and helped him excel as arguably baseball's best catcher of the 2000s. A native of Puerto Rico, Posada moved to Alabama to play in a community college at age 18, and the Yankees took a flyer on him in '90. Posada hit at every level he played, but it was a struggle to adapt to catching. Posada's hitting was enough to earn him a couple cups of coffee in the majors in '95 and '96 before becoming Joe Girardi's full-time backup in '97. Despite a season-long slump in '99, Posada's bat and progress with the glove were enough for the Yankees to let Girardi go and make Posada the full-time starter in 2000.

For the rest of the decade, Posada proved to be an invaluable force in the lineup, hitting .283/.386/.492 with 288 doubles, 208 homers, and a 129 OPS+ from 2000-09. Although never the best defensive catcher, he became passable for a point during the mid-2000s and his strong arm even helped him throw out 37% of baserunners in '05. Most importantly, he was durable, playing 142 games per year from 2000-07, a hefty workload that took its toll through concussions that combined with declining defense to force him out from behind the plate in 2011. The switch-hitter was a five-time All-Star who also tied Yogi Berra's team record for homers from a catcher in a single season with 30 in 2003, a third-place AL MVP finish for him. He reached a career-high with a .338/.426/.543 triple slash in '07, good for a 153 OPS+ and a sixth-place AL MVP finish. In the end, Posada actually has a decent Hall of Fame case, if not a lock for a Monument Park plaque and perhaps a retired number. Definitely a career worthy of this team.

Starting pitcher: Andy Pettitte

Drafted: 1990, 22nd round, #594 overall (Deer Park High School, Deer Park, TX)

How incredible is it that two of the most important players in Yankees history were drafted within two rounds of each other long after the 500th overall pick of the 1990 MLB Draft? Like Mattingly, Posada and Pettitte are reasons why late-round talent cannot be too easily dismissed. In fact, Pettitte just narrowly beat out '71 third round pick Ron Guidry for the starting nod on this team. ("Louisiana Lightning" should not be forgotten, as the lefty actually finished third on my rankings last year, but with competition so fierce, he will have to settle for a reserve nod here. Maybe he can just play second base instead of Pat Kelly.)

Pettitte was soft-spoken but the ultimate competitor on the mound. The southpaw was quite durable, making 438 starts and pitching almost 2,800 innings in pinstripes. After a third-place Rookie of the Year finish in the Yankees' Wild Card run in '95, Pettitte had his two best seasons as a Yankee in '96 and '97, which combined for a 3.36 ERA 3.49 FIP, 141 ERA+, and 13.9 rWAR. He was an All-Star and finished among the top five in Cy Young votes each season. After a couple down years in '98 and '99 (when he still never dipped below a 100 ERA+), Pettitte remained steady throughout the rest of his Yankees career, ignoring the three-year detour he took to the Astros when the Yankees were too lazy to actually pursue him in the 2003-04 off-season.

Remarkably, Pettitte pitched to 3.81 ERA in the playoffs that was nearly identical to his career 3.85 ERA regular season mark, not an easy feat considering the heightened level of competition in the playoffs. Like Jeter, he was a part of five World Series championship teams and rarely came up small in big games. One day, he will also be in Monument Park. Pettitte was a beloved member of this team, and even though he was 41 and showing signs of age last year, he still posted a steady 108 ERA+ in 30 starts. Think the Yankees couldn't use that now? I miss Andy.

Closer: David Robertson

Drafted: 2006, 17th round, #524 (University of Alabama)

It might be surprising to learn that D-Rob is already the best draft pick reliever in Yankees history. It makes sense though--Sparky Lyle and Dave Righetti were trade acquisitions, Mariano Rivera was an international free agent, and Goose Gossage was a regular ol' free agent. Robertson is just another late-round success story, and he just barely missed the cut on the top 10 draft picks last year. If the list were being made now with another successful year in the books, he would certainly crack the top 10.

D-Rob's rise to prominence has been a pleasure to watch as he mastered his control and has proved to be arguably as important to the bullpen's success over the past few years as the great Rivera himself. He fanned 13.5 men per nine in an All-Star 2011 campaign that ended with a sparkling 1.08 ERA and 1.84 FIP, and that was while he was still walking the ballpark! Since then, he's sacrificed a bit of his strikeout numbers in exchange for far superior control--his BB/9 since 2012 stands at 2.6, and he's remained strong with a 2.32 ERA and 2.58 FIP. Robertson is not under contract past 2014, but hopefully, him and his curve will stay with the Yankees for a long time.

***

So yeah, more draft picks like these guys would be nice. Hopefully more Mattingly than Pagliarulo, though. Get it done, Cash.

Chase Whitley makes his Major League debut tonight as he starts against the Mets in the last game of the Subway Series.

Tonight's lineup: Gardner 7 Jeter 6 Ellsbury 8 Teixeira 3 McCann 2 Soriano 9 Solarte 5 Roberts 4 Whitley 1

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 15, 2014

Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Jacoby Ellsbury continue to make up the top of the lineup. Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann, and Alfonso Soriano are in the heart of the order, while Yangervis Solarte and Brian Roberts continue to hit at the bottom of the lineup, despite them being two of the team's best hitters right now. Chase Whitley not only gets to make his first start, but he also gets to bat because of National League rules. Yay.

Carlos Beltran is not listed on the active roster for tonight's game so it looks like he has been placed on the disabled list because of his bone spur injury. He was given a cortisone shot to hopefully keep the pain down and allow the right fielder to get through the season relatively pain free. It is believed that surgery to remove the spur is inevitable, it's just a matter of whether it happens now or after the season. It seemed like the plan was to wait a few days to see if the shot was effective before making a DL decision, but now it looks like that decision has been made. Word is, they'll wait until the end of the 15 days to decide on surgery.

Moving Beltran to the DL gets Chase Whitley onto the active roster, but there's still no word on how he has fit onto the 40-man roster. With a full roster, someone needed to be designated for assignment or placed on the 60-day disabled list to make room. Matt Daley and Alfredo Aceves were prime candidates to be cut from the roster, but the presence on tonight's roster says otherwise. Bruce Billings could have been transferred to the 60-day DL as he begins his rehab assignment, but if Beltran has been placed on the 60, it must mean that surgery has already been scheduled and he could miss anywhere from 6-8 weeks.

UPDATE: Bruce Billings has been designated for assignment to get Whitley onto the 40-man roster. There, that wasn't so hard.

The Yankees could find themselves in a precarious situation offensively if Beltran needs surgery and Ichiro's back doesn't hold up.

Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran will be placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a bone spur in his right elbow, according to LoHud.com's Vin Mercogliano.

Beltran plans to see if the injury will heal over the next two-plus weeks in an effort to avoid undergoing elbow surgery, which would keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. The 37-year-old veteran has not played since Monday, when he removed himself from a game against the Mets after an 0-for-3 start. A day later, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reported that Beltran may need surgery to correct the issue.

Ichiro Suzuki is expected to see more playing time while Beltran is out of the lineup, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told Mercogliano. Suzuki has recently dealt with a back injury and has been out of action since Sunday, so in the event he's not ready to go when the Yankees resume playing games in which the designated hitter is in place, second-year outfielder Zoilo Almonte could be called upon to fill Beltran's shoes.

Almonte posted a 59 OPS+ in 113 plate appearances a year ago, and counting on the 40-year-old Ichiro to sustain the 130 OPS+ he's achieved in his first 58 plate appearances of 2014 doesn't seem wise, especially if his health doesn't hold up. As a result, the Yankees a month from now could find themselves in the familiar position of establishing themselves as aggressive buyers on the trade market if Beltran requires surgery.

Beltran hit .234/.286/.430 with five home runs in 140 plate appearances prior to the injury. The eight-time All-Star is in the first year of a three-year, $45 million deal.

The 37-year-old outfielder could miss a significant amount of time due to a bone spur in his right elbow.

Veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a bone spur in his right elbow. The Yankees' slugger may require surgery if his situation does not improve in the next two weeks. The move is retroactive to May 13th, meaning the earliest Beltran can return would be on May 28th against the Cardinals in St. Louis, though it appears unlikely that he will be fully healthy by then.

#Yankees place Carlos Beltran on 15-day DL with right elbow inflammation, retroactive to May 13.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 15, 2014

The injury was sustained during batting practice on Monday, and a subsequent MRI revealed the bone spur. Beltran took a cortisone shot to try and avoid the DL, but it appears that it failed to do the trick.

Beltran signed a three-year, $45 million deal with New York in December. So far this season, the rightfielder and occasional DH has hit just .234/.286/.430, and he has been atrocious in the field with a -26.0 UZR/150. Beltran has been an All-Star in each of the past three seasons (and seven of the past nine), but it appears that his advanced age (he turned 37 last month) is finally beginning to catch up with him. He hit .296/.339/.491 with a 132 wRC+ in 600 plate appearances with the Cardinals last season.

In the absence of Beltran, Ichiro Suzuki will likely see a significant boost in playing time. Kelly Johnson and Zoilo Almonte should also see more time in the field.

The Yankees replaced Beltran on the 25-man roster with 24-year-old right-hander Chase Whitley, who is starting tonight against the Mets at Citi Field. Whitley has a 2.39 ERA and 4.57 K/BB in 26.1 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York designated right-hander Bruce Billing for assignment to make room for Whitley on the 40-man roster.

After dropping the first two games in the Subway Series, a strong debut by Chase Whitley and a dominant bullpen performance helped give the Yankees a series tie.

For the first time since October 6, 1908, the Yankees played in a game in which both starters made their Major League debut. For the Mets, Terry Collins gave the ball to Jacob DeGrom, ranked by FanGraphs as the Mets' seventh best prospect coming into the season. Coming into his debut DeGrom put up a 4-0 record with a 2.58 ERA, 3.72 FIP, and a 2.90 K/BB in Triple-A. For the Yankees, Joe Girardi gave the ball to Chase Whitley, a relatively unknown pitching prospect who was drafted in the 15th round of the 2010 Draft out of Troy University. He got a look in Spring Training, but the Yankees were not satisfied with his performance. He pitched in Triple-A to the tune of a 2.39 ERA, 1.75 FIP, and developed his slider which forced the Yankees' hand to give him a shot, especially with the depleted rotation.

They certainly capitalized on their shot at The Show. For the first four innings, both starters matched each other blow for blow. Whitley recorded his first Major League hit, and recorded that hit before he even allowed one. DeGrom too recorded a hit, the first hit for the Mets' pitching staff. In the bottom of the fifth, the Mets threatened and forced Whitley out of the game. He walked both Ruben Tejada and Juan Centeno; DeGrom then sacrificed to move the runners to second and third. At 74 pitches, Girardi pulled Whitley from the game and brought in Dellin Betances. Whitley finished his evening at four and two thirds innings, allowing only two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. For a rotation that has seen pretty disappointing performances across the board (except for Masahiro Tanaka), this was a nice boost. Betances subsequently got Eric Young Jr. to ground out and the threat was neutralized.

Then we got to see the Dellin Betances show. In the bottom of the 6th, he struck out the side. Then when he came in in the bottom of the 7th, he... struck out the side again. He was pumping gas and the curveball was just downright filthy. He now has 15.55 K/9, with more strikeouts than Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, and Hiroki Kuroda. He's been that good. Here is the obligatory GIF, courtesy of Andrew Mearns:

In the top of the 7th, the Yankees finally broke the deadlock. With one out and Mark Teixeira on first, Brian McCann grounded into what should have been the inning-ending double play, but the throw got away at first and McCann was safe. Alfonso Soriano came to the plate, and in the midst of a season where he has looked dreadful at times (80 wRC+)--he showed a pulse. Soriano laced a liner to the left-center field gap for a double, driving in McCann all the way from first. The defensive miscue at first really came back to bite them. DeGrom was finished after that inning, but what a night he had: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. The Mets are definitely happy about that outing.

The Yankees threatened to score in the top of the 8th but were unable to convert; there were two one-out walks from Brett Gardner and Kelly Johnson, but they were unable to score even after a wild pitch advanced them as Derek Jeter forced a fielder's choice at the plate and Jacoby Ellsbury flied out. The Mets did their own threatening as well in the bottom half of the frame. Adam Warren came in, and although he struck out both Centeno and Young Jr., he allowed a walk to Bobby Abreu (!!) and a single to Daniel Murphy. With runners at the corners and two outs, Joe Girardi brought in his closer David Robertson to face the ever-imposing David Wright. Robertson did what reliable closers do and got Wright to ground out to end the threat. That was the highest leverage situation of the game (5.19 LI) and Robertson handled it marvelously.

In the top of the 9th, the Yankees tried to tack on an insurance run via Teixeira and Soriano singles, but Yangervis Solarte grounded into a double play to end the inning. Then in the bottom of the ninth, David Robertson came in to close out the game by retiring the Mets in order.

After dropping the first two games of the series in a sloppy fashion, the Yankees have turned it around to win two close and well-played ball games. It's just what the doctor ordered. The Yankees will now face the Pittsburgh Pirates at home for a three game set before going on the road to Chicago. Tomorrow's starters will be Edinson Volquez for the Pirates and David Phelps for the Yankees. There's supposed to be significant rain in the area, but if they do play the game will start at 7:05 PM EST. You can catch the game on YES or MLB.tv.

Box Score | Game Graph

The Mets got shut out at home for the second night in a row.

Jacob deGrom and his obnoxiously long hair owned the Yankees tonight but it went for naught because the Mets' lineup shit the bed again. Alfonso Soriano's RBI double in the seventh inning was the difference in a game that deGrom should  IN NO WAY be faulted for.

GameThread Roll Call

Nice job by Terry_is_God; his effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• Yankees 1, Mets 0: Whitley shines in his debut
• Yankees lineup vs. Mets - Carlos Beltran placed on the disabled list
• 2014 MLB Draft: Top Yankees draft picks of all time by position
• Yankees rumors: Hal Steinbrenner willing to spend to improve pitching staff via trade
• It's time to start believing in Yangervis Solarte
• Daily Yankees Predictions 5/15/14: A Clash of Rookies to end the Subway Series
• CC Sabathia injury update: No meniscus tear in knee, but now what?
• Baby Bomber Recap 5/14/14: Peter O'Brien hits fourth Double-A home run in loss

Yankees News

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski:Chase Whitley and Zoilo Almonte are two fringe prospects that have a chance to prove themselves in the majors.

SB Nation | Tyler Drenon: See Brett Gardner according to his onomastics baseball name.

An A-Blog For A-Rod | Brad Vietrogoski: Proof that Masahiro Tanaka's splitter and slider were nearly unhittable in his last start.

Beyond the Box Score | Scott Lindholm: Here is an interesting way to hypothetically improve the Win stat.

New York Times | Tyler Kepner: Masahiro Tanaka has a very similar delivery to Tom Seaver.

Fangraphs | Tony Blengino: A look back at how impressive Masahiro Tanaka has been in the first quarter of the season.

Hardball Talk | Craig Calcaterra: MLB is using a pretty weak defense against the possibility that they bought stolen documents during the Biogenesis investigation.

It's About the Money | Michael Eder:Mark Teixeira has had a power surge that is basically carrying the offense.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: The Yankees talk about who Chase Whitley is.

Sports Illustrated | Cliff Corcoran: Masahiro Tanaka is leading the charge for the Cy Young award.

New York Post | George A. King III:Carlos Beltran still can't swing a bat, but he hopes his elbow improves enough to avoid surgery.

Two of the five best pitchers in the NL in 2014 were in the news on Thursday for different reasons.

Giants starting pitcher Tim Hudson will not make his next scheduled start due to a hip strain, the team announced via Twitter on Thursday. Yusmeiro Petit will start on Friday in place of Hudson, whose condition isn't serious enough at this point to warrant a trip to the disabled list, according to CSN Bay Area's Andrew Baggarly.

Hudson pitched through the issue last Sunday against the Dodgers, allowing two runs on eight hits in six innings while walking a batter for the second consecutive game, the first time he'd done that all year. Skipping the 38-year-old right-hander's spot in the rotation is no small deal; Hudson is the best pitcher in the National League at limiting walks and owns a 2.09 ERA through 60⅓ innings of work.

Still, his replacement is no slouch. Petit has 26 strikeouts and has walked only seven batters in 26 innings of work and was brilliant in his other emergency-start situation, tossing six scoreless innings against the Padres on April 29.

The Giants are normally one of the more fortunate teams in the league as far as health of their starting pitchers is concerned, but they've dealt with a bit of bad luck in that area so far this season. Hudson is the second Giants pitcher to miss a start in the early going, joining Matt Cain, who recently spent a couple of weeks on the disabled list after cutting himself while making a sandwich.

Cueto makes history

Johnny Cueto struck out eight and allowed only three hits and two walks in a complete-game shutout against the Padres in the Reds' 5-0 victory on Wednesday in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Cueto became the first pitcher in 105 years to begin a season with nine consecutive starts in which he lasted seven or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs.

The last pitcher to open a campaign with eight starts of at least seven innings with two or fewer runs allowed was Harry Krause of the Philadelphia A's in 1909.

Cueto has three complete games already this season and is averaging eight innings per start. He has not allowed more than five hits in any of his outings and leads the NL in ERA, complete games, shutouts, WHIP and hits per nine innings.

Mets pitchers end hitless streak

Last Sept. 25, Daisuke Matsuzaka reached on an infield single in the seventh inning of the Mets' 1-0 win over the Reds. That was the last time a Mets pitcher got a hit ... until Thursday:

Jacob deGrom line single to center field. Snaps 0-for-64 drought for Mets pitchers, tied for second-longest in MLB history.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) May 16, 2014

The hit was one of only three for the Mets' offense, which spoiled a solid performance from deGrom in his first big league start. The 25-year-old rookie allowed only a run on four hits while striking out six batters in seven innings in his team's 1-0 loss to the Yankees.

Thursday scores

Reds 5, Padres 0
Padres 6, Reds 1
Twins 4, Red Sox 3 (10 innings)
Brewers 4, Pirates 3
Cardinals 5, Cubs 3
Blue Jays 4, Indians 2
Yankees 1, Mets 0
Orioles 2, Royals 1
Angels 6, Rays 5
Giants 6, Marlins 4

Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from May 15th.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: L 1-7 vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs

SS Dean Anna 0-4 - batting .194 with SWB
LF Adonis Garcia 1-4, double
CF Ramon Flores 1-4, double - 10th double of the season
3B Scott Sizemore 0-3, K
1B Kyle Roller 1-3, HR, RBI, K - second homer with SWB
RF Zelous Wheeler 0-3
DH Corban Joseph 1-2, BB
2B Jose Pirela 0-3
C Francisco Arcia 0-3

Shane Greene 5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K - 55 of 84 pitches for strikes
Danny Burawa 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K
Fred Lewis 0.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB
Mark Montgomery 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Double-A Trenton Thunder: L 2-4 vs. Erie SeaWolves

LF Ben Gamel 1-4, double
CF Slade Heathcott 0-4, K - season debut
3B Rob Segedin 1-3, RBI, BB, K
C Peter O'Brien 1-4, K, 2 passed balls
DH Tyler Austin 0-4, K
2B Rob Refsnyder 1-3, double, BB, K - batting .281 this season
RF Taylor Dugas 3-4 - batting .316 this season
1B Dan Fiorito 1-4, RBI, K
DD Ali Castillo 0-1

Bruce Billings 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB
Graham Stoneburner 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, WP - 46 of 84 pitches for strikes
Cole Kimball 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, K
Aaron Dott 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

High-A Tampa Yankees: W 10-5 vs. St. Lucie Mets

CF Jake Cave 2-6, 3 K - batting .315 this season
SS Cito Culver 2-6, K
1B Greg Bird 2-4, HR, RBI, BB - second homer of the season
DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4, RBI, BB, K
3B Eric Jagielo 3-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI - eighth and ninth homers of the season
RF Zach Wilson 2-3, triple, 2 BB
2B Angelo Gumbs 2-4, double, RBI, BB
C Trent Garrison 1-5, K
LF Claudio Custodio 2-4, double, 2 RBI, BB, E7 - fielding error, first of the season

Rafael De Paula 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
Stefan Lopez 2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB
Nick Rumbelow 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3 WP
Alex Smith 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs: Postponed for rain

Which highly-touted amateurs were the biggest busts in Yankees history?

As noted by the previous post recounting the Yankees' best draft picks, the Yankees have made their share of wise first round selections, in particular Derek Jeter and Thurman Munson. Unfortunately, as with most teams, there are in fact few bright spots in the enormous patch of draft picks over the years. That's why it's usually quite silly to hope your team bottoms out and ends up with a top-10 draft pick--they're not much more of a secure pick than anyone else.

Some draft picks linger in fans' minds more than others for their high potential that ultimately led to nothing. So in contrast to the all-time best draft picks team, who would be on the Yankees all-time worst draft picks team? My evaluation of busts on this article most often observes top draft picks failing, not so much later draft picks who became more relevant prospects failing (case-in point: Drew Henson was a third round pick, and though he was ranked on more Top 100 Prospects list than the person I chose, he was a third round pick in the first place, not as highly regarded initially as a first round pick). Also keep in mind that everyone's definition of "worst draft pick" varies--for instance, I don't consider Phil Hughes or Nick Johnson big busts since they actually made it to the majors and did briefly have a modicum of success. Most of the players in this post either never saw the majors or if they did, flopped there.

I apologize in advance for the frustrating look down memory lane, but if anything, perhaps it will weave a cautionary tale about pinning too many hopes on prospects. Only the elite should be remotely considered truly untouchable in trade talks, and often, even they don't work out.

Catcher: David Parrish

Drafted: 2000, 1st round, #28 overall (University of Michigan)

In their franchise history, the Yankees have selected precisely two catchers in the first round. The first was one of the top picks of the draft and someone who became a franchise legend: Thurman Munson. The second was Dave Parrish, and although he was the son of eight-time All-Star catcher Lance Parrish, few other executives and scouts felt that the younger Parrish should be considered anywhere remotely close to the first round. Unfortunately, George Steinbrenner declared that with Jorge Posada nearing free agency (a trial that was of course avoided when Posada agreed to a five-year, $51 million extension prior to the 2002 season), the Yankees needed a catcher. So the Yankees drafted Parrish. With the next pick, the Atlanta Braves selected Adam Wainwright.

Parrish proved to be an awful hitter. After two years of A-ball where he couldn't top a .750 OPS, he was consistently batting below a .700 OPS in higher levels, including an awful '04 campaign, when he only managed a .248/.297/.313 triple slash in 70 games split between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Columbus. Parrish did spend a couple days on the big league roster in May of that year as a phantom player when Posada broke his nose, but that was only out of necessity. He never played and returned to the minors less than a week later. Parrish never did make the majors and he was released from the organization in early 2006. The Yankees are still searching for the first good draft pick catcher since Munson. (Maybe John Ryan Murphy can change that.) Parrish retired from professional baseball in 2008, before he turned 30. He now serves as reason number one why an organization cannot marry itself to drafting a specific position--go for the best talent available.

First base: James McDonald

Drafted: 1975, 1st round, #19 overall (Verbum Dei High School, Los Angeles, CA)

Aside from 19th round jackpot Don Mattingly, the Yankees have most frequently gone to outside sources to acquire quality first basemen over the years. Chris Chambliss, Tino Martinez, Jason Giambi, and Mark Teixeira were all brought in to provide a presence in the lineup. It's not as though the Yankees haven't tried to draft first basemen though. In '75, they decided to take 17-year-old lefty Jim McDonald with their top pick in the draft. They dreamed of his swing maturing with power and eventually sending bombs to the short porch in right field. After a few so-so teenage years in A-ball, it looked like the Yankees might get it when McDonald launched 18 homers (three off the Eastern League lead) in a superb .281/.333/.458 season at Double-A West Haven in '78.

It was not meant to be though. McDonald followed up his promising campaign with a disastrous 19-game, .479 OPS stint in '79 as he battled injuries. He lost his job to some kid from Mississippi State named Buck Showalter. McDonald only managed a .679 OPS in 91 games with Triple-A Columbus in '80, and he left the organization for the Mexican League afterward. His professional career was over before he turned 26; at least the Yankees had Mattingly come in to save the day for their organizational first base depth.

Second base: Alfonzo Neal

Drafted: 1967, 2nd round, #21 overall (Womack High School, Longview, TX)

The Yankees have rarely taken second basemen high in the draft--in fact, last year, Gosuke Katoh became the highest-drafted second baseman in franchise history. Teams don't usually draft pure second basemen since it's easier to shoot for shortstops and third basemen and convert them to second if needed. One of these such examples was Alfonzo Neal, selected with the 21st overall pick of the draft as a third baseman in '67, who played all but four of his games with the organization at second base. The Yankees thought highly enough of the kid that they took him ahead of future All-Stars like Don Baylor, Dave Kingman, Vida Blue, and Jerry Reuss.

Neal was regrettably a disaster. He only hit .238 with a .291 slugging percentage in 46 Rookie League games with the Johnson City Yankees of the Appalachian League, and it somehow got worse. Promoted to A-ball and the Florida State League, he hit a shockingly bad .134 with a .173 slugging percentage in 66 games. He demonstrated patience at the plate with a .355 OBP to counteract his .217 batting average split between the Instructional League and the FSL in '69, but it was definitely not enough. He still wasn't hitting for any power as indicated by his .285 slugging percentage. Neal never played professional baseball again, ending his career prior to his 21st birthday.

Third base: Eric Duncan

Drafted: 2003, 1st round, #27 overall (Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, NJ)

Fun fact: Growing up, I remember hearing about Eric Duncan. He was originally from Florham Park, just a town over from my hometown of Madison. I never saw him play, but the local papers frequently seemed to report of his power at Seton Hall Prep. Thus, it was pretty exciting when the Yankees decided to take Duncan with their top pick in the '03 draft, giving him $1.25 million. The future at third base was quite unclear at the moment, and it seemed like a kid from around my neck of the woods would become the next big star. Even though the trade for Alex Rodriguez during the 2003-04 off-season put his future at third into question, he was certainly hitting enough to be relevant. Duncan hit .258/.357/.473 with 43 doubles and 16 homers between Low-A Battle Creek and High-A Tampa in '04, earning him the #36 spot on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list prior to the '05 season.

Given a promotion to Double-A Trenton in '05, Duncan hit .234/.330/.405, but he did slug 19 homers, good enough to keep him on the same Top 100 Prospects list in '06, though he did tumble 50 spots to #86. It was all downhill from there. In four seasons at Triple-A, Duncan only hit .226/.290/.343, never enough to impress the Yankees for a call-up to the pros. After a dismal .527 OPS season at age 24 in '09, the Yankees let him go. Duncan bounced around a few organizations before retiring midseason in 2012. He also never made the majors and now serves as a coach at Seton Hall prep.

Shortstop: Dennis Sherrill

Drafted: 1974, 1st round, #12 overall (South High School, Miami, FL)

The first round of the '74 draft was filled with talent the Yankees could have chosen, even after Dale Murphy was picked before they had a chance. Garry Templeton, Lance Parrish, Willie Wilson, and Rick Sutcliffe were all on the board when the Yankees made their 12th pick: shortstop Dennis Sherrill. Cito Culver or C.J. Henry might have been picks for the all-bust shortstop team, but Sherrill was taken much higher in the draft than Henry or Cito (drafted one round before Andrelton Simmons /rage mode/).

Much like Cito, Sherrill couldn't hit a lick. He failed to top a .575 OPS in his first three seasons and only managed one good one--a .292./330/.426 year at Double-A West Haven with McDonald in '78. He even appeared in two MLB games of little consequence that year. He never approached those totals again and left baseball after 1980 with just five MLB games to his name.

Left field: Shea Morenz

Drafted: 1995, 1st round, #27 overall (University of Texas)

Center field: Bronson Sardinha

Drafted: 2001, 1st round, #34 overall (Kamehameha High School, Honolulu, HI)

Right field: Andy Brown

Drafted: 1998, 1st round, #24 overall (Richmond High School, Richmond, IN)

Designated hitter: Matt Winters

Drafted: 1978, 1st round, #24 overall (Williamsville High School, Williamsville, NY)

None of the outfielders (including Winters) on this list have much information on them other than their minor league records, which were unimpressive. The tale was the same with pretty much all of them--the Yankees were captivated with their skills at the plate and in the field, and they were taken late in the first round (where the Yankees have most often picked due to their regular season success) before several future All-Stars. Unfortunately, they were all disasters. Some highlights:

• Morenz was out-OPS'd as a 23-year-old in High-A Tampa by the likes of Les Dennis, Carlos Yedo, and D'Angelo Jimenez.
• Sardinha was selected five picks before David Wright. His minor league career best in OPS with the Yankees was the .872 he posted as a rookie in the Gulf Coast League. He never sniffed it again.
• Brown spent four and a half years in A-ball. He had a decent .772 OPS in 2000 with Low-A Greensboro that was about 100 points higher than any other season he ever had in the Yankees organization. He was released after an atrocious .157/.213/.314 triple slash in 26 games with Trenton to start to the '05 season.
• Winters had a couple gaudy home run seasons, including 29 with Triple-A Columbus in '83 at age 23. He never played that well for the organization again, and he was let go after a .169/.296/.314 stint in Double-A in '86. He did go on to top 30 homers four seasons in a row... in Japan.

This quartet combined for a grand total of 10 combined MLB games with the Yankees, all of which were by Sardinha as a September call-up in 2007. (Winters also had a forgettable 42-game stint with the Royals in '89).

We can only hope that Slade Heathcott does not one day find his name among these players too because his minor league career to date has been equally disappointing.

Starting pitcher: Brien Taylor

Drafted: 1991, 1st round, #1 overall (East Carteret High School, Beaufort, NC)

Sigh.

Only twice have the Yankees held the top overall pick of the draft. The first time, in 1967, they chose Ron Blomberg, a first base/future pioneer DH who made it to the majors and had some success before injuries slowed him down. He wasn't what the Yankees had hoped, but "Boomer" was still a popular player who had an excellent .302/.370/.486 triple slash and a 148 OPS+ in parts of 400 games from 1969-76. Brien Taylor was the other top overall pick, and his story is something else altogether. That link above is a must-read from FanGraphs about Taylor's story.

Agent Scott Boras called the tall lefty the best high school prospect he'd ever seen. In the first possible major prospect list he could appear on after being drafted, Baseball America ranked him #1 overall prior to '92. After a 2.57 ERA, 10.4 K/9 campaign in 27 starts with High-A Fort Lauderdale, he was ranked the #2 overall prospect before the '93 season, trailing only Chipper Jones. He had a fine season at age 21 in Double-A Albany. Then... it was suddenly all over after a fight in the 1992-93 off-season:

A few weeks after the end of the season and a few days before his 22nd birthday, an argument between Taylor’s older brother Brenden and his girlfriend’s family turned into a fight, and the best pitching prospect in baseball threw a punch that didn’t connect. Boras initially called the injury a bruise, but the reality of the situation was much more dire. Brien basically ripped his left arm right out of the socket, dislocating his shoulder and tearing both his labrum and capsule.

"I can remember [Dr. Frank Jobe] sitting me down," recounted Boras back in 2006. "He said, This is one of the worst shoulder injuries I’ve ever seen,’ and I believed it. The way he tore it was unnatural."

Indeed, Taylor was never the same. The high-90s fastball and power curve were essentially gone. He missed the entire '94 season recovering from shoulder surgery, and he never got out of A-ball or lowered his ERA below 6.00 over the next four seasons. To this day, Taylor remains one of only a handful of top overall picks to never make it to the majors. Say what you want about Matt Drews, Andrew Brackman, and other Yankee starting pitcher prospect flameouts. Taylor was the biggest blow. The Yankees of the late '90s were dominant but just imagine how they could have been if Taylor reached his potential.

Relief pitcher: J.B. Cox

Drafted: 2005, 2nd round, #63 overall (University of Texas)

Cox was one of the highest-drafted relievers ever selected by the Yankees, taken after a successful career as the closer for the University of Texas. The former Longhorn was even projected by prospect books at one point as being the successor to Mariano Rivera. He seemed decent at first when he pitched to a 2.60 ERA and 0.904 WHIP in 16 games with High-A Tampa in '05, then a 1.75 ERA and 1.013 WHIP in 41 games with Double-A Trenton in '06. Then... it all went wrong due to bad right elbow. Cox's 2006 season ended in August, and he underwent elbow surgery. How was he when he came back? Well...

Yeah, Cox did not turn out to be Mo's successor. Pray for pitcher elbows, always and forever.

***

Let these draft picks gone wrong be a warning sign before setting expectations too high. For as many successful prospects as there are out there, there are probably at least 10 more who were equally acclaimed that failed. I love tracking prospects too, but so often, they'll break your heart. To Greg Bird, Eric Jagielo, and company: Don't be like these guys. Please.