The Yankee captain was the subject of mass appreciation from the fans at Target Field before his first at-bat and rewarded them with a leadoff double.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter didn't have to wait long for a memorable moment in his 15th and final All-Star Game.
The leadoff hitter for the American League received a loud and lengthy standing ovation after being introduced via recording from legendary Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard while walking to the plate in the bottom of the first inning. Jeter, who made an impressive diving stop to his left in the top half of the inning but was unable to throw out Andrew McCutchen, followed the ovation with a double down the right field line on the second pitch he saw from National League starter Adam Wainwright.
Jeter got a nice reception in the pregame introductions as well, and before that, the Yankee captain delivered this quote during his speech to teammates in the AL clubhouse prior to taking the field:
"Remember every time you put your uniform on, because trust me, it goes quickly."
Fifteen years ago, Jeter appeared in his second career midsummer classic, and before the game on Tuesday, he discussed his memories with FOX Sports' Harold Reynolds.
"I remember in '99 being in Boston when all the great players came," Jeter said. "I had a tap on my shoulder and it was Hank Aaron saying, 'Hey I was looking for you, I wanted to meet you.' It's like 'what, what's wrong with you bud? You wanna meet me? You're Hank Aaron!'"
Jeter moved into second place in All-Star Game history batting average and on-base percentage with his third-inning single.
It wasn't quite as impressive as his first-inning double, but Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter notched another hit in his final All-Star Game at-bat, lofting a bloop single into right field to lead off the third inning.
With the hit, Jeter finishes his career 13-for-27 in All-Star contests. His .481 batting average and .517 on-base percentage are second to only Charlie Gehringer, the longtime Detroit Tigers second baseman who hit .500 and got on base at a .655 clip in 29 plate appearances. Jeter is also tied for fifth all-time in All-Star Game hits, behind only Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Ted Williams and Nellie Fox.
Jeter was stranded at second after Mike Trout hit a loud flyout to left field followed by Robinson Cano's strikeout and Miguel Cabrera's inning-ending lineout. The 40-year-old superstar was replaced by White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez in the top half of the following inning and received a massive ovation from fans, teammates and opposing players.
Jose Altuve drives in a run with a sac-fly and flashes the leather at second. Major League says good-bye to Derek Jeter.
There are many things that could take away from the greatness that is the MLB All-Star Game - the constant pitching changes, the excessive camera shots of Derek Jeter, or the fact that an exhibition game now 'counts' towards the playoffs. But, those lingering dark specters are forgotten when the teams take the fields clad in white and grey. The pageantry of the game takes over as a packed Target Field celebrated the halfway mark in the baseball season like it was Christmas at the halfway mark of winter.
Jose Altuve to center-stage for the Astros as a whole, and the Houston couldn't have asked for a better respective - I mean just look at that smile - (Thanks, Tim for the GIFs).
We will get back to Altuve in a moment. The Astros hoped to continue their rather unique winning streak in the All-Star game with three wins in the National League and one win the American Leagues since switching leagues. The AL jumped out early on National League starter Adam Wainwright as Derek Jeter lead off of the game with a double. Mike Trout did Jeter one better with a triple drive home the Yankee Captain. Miguel Cabrera closed out the inning with a home run to put the AL up 3-0.
The NL responded with three straight hits in the second to bring the game within one - a Aramis Ramirez single, Chase Utley double, and a Jonathan Lucroy double. The score was still 3-2 when the top of the forth rolled around. The American League team took the field once again, but Alexei Ramirez trotted out shortly after them to relieve the captain. The Minnesota crowd gave Derek Jeter a standing obviation that lasted three whole minutes, and probably could have been long if not for Jeter cutting it short by ducking into the dugout. The first person that was there to greet Jeter in the dugout was Jose Altuve. Altuve this week had a called Jeter, not just the Captain of the Yankees but the Captain of baseball.
The National League would tie the game in the fourth as Jonathan Lucroy added a second double to drive Dee Gordon.
Jose Altuve entered the game in the top of the fifth, replacing Robinson Cano. Altuve got his only at-bat in the game after the AL once again roughed up a Cardinals pitcher. This time it was Minnesota-native Pat Neshek. Neshek surrendered three-straight hits - a pair of singles from Derek Norris, Alexei Ramirez, and a double from Mike Trout to put the AL up one.
The Astros second-baseman, Jose Altuve, stepped into the box with a new pitcher on the mound Tyler Clippard. Altuve put a charge into the third pitch he faced from Clippard. Off the bat it looked like a textbook Crawford Boxes home run, but it died on the warning track. It was still enough to get a fifth run home for the AL.
Jose Altuve's night was not done, he would flash the leather the next inning. Dodgers second-baseman Dee Gordon slapped a ball to the right of Altuve, he quickly gathered it and in one fluid motion threw out the Gordon.
Another Minnesota-Native and Twins closer Glen Perkins was able to close out the game for the American League, final score 5-3.
Baseball was able to say good bye to the Captain tonight, even if the level of worship was excessive. Major League Baseball missed the boat by not having a moment for Tony Gwynn during tonight's game. Gwynn and Ted Williams at the 1999 All-Star was probably one of the greatest moment in All-Star history, not to mention the fact Gwynn one the greatest hitters in baseball history. Mike Trout was finally named the Most Valuable Player in something. More importantly for Astros fans, the world got to see the brilliance and magnums nature of Jose Altuve.
We continue to pass the time with, well, America's Pastime.
Now that the World Cup has (finally) concluded and the flood of Catholic jokes and memes about "Benedict vs. Francis" has died down, we here at TSW can now return to our regular offseason programming, of, umm...what exactly would you say we do here in the offseason? [Ed. note: Look, FDM, you can tell them pretty much anything at this point. Follow your heart.] Oh, right. Ahem...A MAN AND HIS SON WANDERED ONTO A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FIELD, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT! OMG LIKE AND SHARE!!! [Ed. note: Okay...don't follow your heart if it's been seeing too many clickbait-y Buzzfeed headlines.] Umm...how about The Eight Most Insane On-Field Family Moments of All-Time? [Ed. note: No Cracked headlines, either. C'mon, man!] Eh, I suppose when we're this late in the offseason, TSW turns into more of a Choose Your Own Adventure thing, right?
Speaking of choosing one's own adventure, it certainly seemed that Ichiro Suzuki did exactly that when he leaped up the wall and into last week's edition of Trick Shot Wednesday. This week, we're sticking with the baseball theme. However, since we already had "Yankees Appreciation Day" last week, we're going to buck the All-Star Game's Derek Jeter spotlight and focus instead on the next generation of baseball superstardom. And although Miguel Cabrera is certainly an ELITE baseball player, I really do mean the next generation--as in little Christopher Alexander Cabrera, who's pictured above trotting around the field before the Home Run Derby with dear old Dad trailing close behind. So dust off your mitt, find a clean baseball, and join us for a friendly game of catch--er, commenting--to pass the time. Play ball!
Heart of the Order
--Much like a championship lineup, last week's top comments were all about teamwork and building off each other's efforts. In the leadoff spot, NDJuiceBox got things rolling with a crowd-pleasing triple that (love it or hate it) expressed what many (well, at least 10) members of the commentariat think about dem Yankees:
--After a few dry innings, things heated up when ConcreteCharliee drove a double to right field.
--Burger23 quickly followed that up with an RBI double of his own (although I admit I'm not really sure what he was referencing...), and NDJuiceBox miraculously (and illegally) moved from leadoff to cleanup so he could smack a 13-run shot over the wall in center field.
--But, lo! what is this madness? In the bottom of the ninth, just when the situation was looking dire, clearwall brought in a surprise closer to save (heh) the win for the Commentariat! (Cut me some slack here--I can only stretch my baseball metaphors so thin, okay?)
Poll Results
Ha ha, oh man, if only the LeBron to Cleveland thing had happened before we did this poll. Well, it was still an intriguing past week, no?
Go Irish, beat the heat (with an ice cold beer or an Arnold Palmer or something)!
Gulf Coast Yankees 1W 6-2 vs. Gulf Coast Yankees 2
GCL Yankees 1:
SS Abiatal Avelino 2-3, double, RBI, BB - batting .444 LF Jose Rosario 0-4, RBI, HBP CF Leonardo Molina 1-4, RBI, K DH Alexander Palma 0-4, RBI, K 3B Drew Bridges 0-3, 2 BB, CS 2B Bryan Cuevas 4-5, double - batting .301 1B Miguel Mojica 1-4, 2 K, HBP C Brian Reyes 2-3, double, 2 RBI RF Dominic Jose 1-3, BB, K
Gean Batista 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K - 8 GO/1 AO Dayton Dawe 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K Jose Mesa 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB Jonny Drozd 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Matt Marsh 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Gulf Coast Yankees 2:
2B Junior Valera 3-5, triple, RBI, SB - batting .366 LF Ericson Leonora 1-4 1B Bo Thompson 0-3, RBI, BB, K, HBP, E3 - missed catch(1st) DH Jake Hernandez 1-5, K 3B Allen Valerio 0-3, 2 K, HBP - batting .323 SS Tyler Palmer 0-3, BB, 2 K RF Wilmer Romero 1-3, BB, K, E9 - fielding error(1st) C Rainiero Coa 0-1, BB, CS CF Jordan Barnes 1-4, 2 K, SB
Melvin Morla 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R/2 ER, 1 BB, pickoff - 9 GO/4 AO Lee Casas 1 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, 2 hit batsmen Alex Polanco 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Felix Santiago 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
The Yankees' starting rotation is in dire straits. Four of the five starters from the Opening Day rotation are gone due to injury and the de facto ace is either Hiroki Kuroda or Brandon McCarthy. Fierce. They have gone through numerous offensive struggles, but that starting rotation is a bigger concern with both Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda on the shelf indefinitely. However, they could turn to an old friend for support.
Veteran righty Bartolo Colon was seemingly done with baseball by 2010, but on a hunch from bench coach Tony Pena, the Yankees ended up resurrecting his career in 2011 after giving him a non-roster invite to spring training. Colon parlayed his success into a deal with the Athletics, and he was even better in 2012 and 2013 as Oakland won back-to-back AL West division titles. Colon then received a two-year, $20 million contract with the Mets in the off-season, and after a slow start, he's been great despite being in his forties. Colon has a 3.99 ERA, 3.66 FIP, and a minuscule 1.26 BB/9 in 18 starts with the Mets. Without Matt Harvey, the Mets' rotation seemed very shaky, but Colon has brought stability.
Colon's future with the Mets is uncertain though, given his advanced age, the Mets' youth movement, and the plethora of talented pitching prospects. Does Colon really have a place in their 2015 team? Rumors were already abound over the All-Star Break about the Mets putting him on the market. If he is indeed for sale, the Yankees might want to inquire on their former pitcher. Colon has been amazingly consistent, and like he has with the Mets' rotation, he would offer some stability to the Yankees' jumble. He's not under a hefty contract, either.
The elephant in the room with this possible deal though is that the Yankees and Mets almost never trade with each other. Even if the Yankees have prospects the Mets might like, it just seems unlikely that anything would actually get done. Nonetheless, if the two crosstown rivals did decide to collaborate, it would make some sense on both sides.
Would you decide to pull the trigger on a Colon deal? If so, what is the most you'd give up for him? Sound off in the comments, and let us know what you would do to get this beautiful man back in slim-fitting pinstripes. He was a lot of fun three years ago; could he recapture that magic?
The Orioles have a good thing going with their left field and designated hitter rotation. Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce have provided excellent production while sharing the two positions. How does the rest of the division stack up?
Since the Orioles have been rotating players between left field and designated hitter, we figured that we'd combine the two positions for our mid-season review. I wrote the season preview for left field while Steve Damerell wrote the preview for designated hitters. We both predicted Nelson Cruz to be the second best in the division.
Before the season, Buck Showalter said that Nelson Cruz would play left field against lefties and DH against righties indicating a platoon was in the works. It hasn't exactly worked out that way. Showalter has decided to keep Cruz in the field about half of the time no matter which hand the opposing pitcher throws with. So far this season, he's played 41 games as the left fielder and 45 as the designated hitter.
It's pretty similar across the A.L. East. Three out of the five clubs have employed a significant timeshare in left field this season. The only two that haven't have been the Yankees with Brett Gardner and the Blue Jays with Melky Cabrera. Here's how they've done so far this season.
Judging on an individual basis, Gardner has been the best left fielder in the division so far in 2014. However, when we put the total contributions of the position together, Pearce and Cruz have put up the most WAR by a substantial margin. They've accrued just about 5 WAR together this season. About half of that production has come at the DH position but they've combined to form the best tandem so far. Gardner has put up a typically good season while showing a little bit more power than he has in the past with nine home runs, six of which have come at home so Yankee Stadium is helping him. Cruz has been better than anyone could have reasonably expected at the plate this season but has given back some of his value in the field.
His value would be even greater if the Orioles would just let him man the DH position every day. That said, he's hit so well this season, maybe the Orioles should just leave the current plan in place. Perhaps playing the field just less than every other day allows him to stay more connected to the game between at bats and hit better. He does have a .435 wOBA while playing left field and only a .366 wOBA while DHing, which is still very good. On the other hand, DHing more often may keep him healthy.
Who knew that Steve Pearce had this in him? Even I won't take any credit for this. I did write earlier this year that he should be playing instead of Delmon Young but I had no idea he had THIS in him. Pearce already has a career high in home runs with 11 while putting up a .412 wOBA and a 163 wRC+. He's been producing offense at a rate that's 63% better than league average so far.
Matt Joyce has been running hot and cold so far this season. He started hot in April, cooled off in May, picked it back up in June and has been slumping again in July. Joyce is still a disaster against lefties but he's hit righties about as well as ever. His strong on base percentage has led to a productive season so far.
Surprisingly, Melky Cabrera has bounced all the way back to his pre-2013 form. I didn't expect him to bounce back so strongly after an injury marred season and a steroid suspension. He's producing at just about the same rate as his 2011 season when he had a 118 wRC+ with a 120 number this year. 2012 saw him put up a crazy .379 BABIP which led to inflated numbers he'll likely never see again. Despite that, he's been productive this season at the plate. His defense hasn't been nearly as good.
Brandon Guyer has been the other half of the left field platoon in Tampa Bay. It figures that I predicted the platoon to be David DeJesus and Sean Rodriguez before the season. DeJesus has been hurt so Joyce slid over to pick up the slack with Guyer as his sidekick. Guyer has been just below a league average hitter while playing solid defense so he's accrued almost a win above replacement.
The combination of Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes bring up the rear in the division. Nava started the season so poorly he had to be sent to the minors to right himself. They've both gotten on base at acceptable rates but not done much else.
My original prediction before the season went Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays. It was hard enough to predict who was going to actually play the position for each club let alone which pair of players was going to be best. So far, I'd say the order has been Orioles, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox. I did ok at the top but the bottom three are a mess.
The designated hitter position in the division has a few of the same characters as left field so let's take a look at them too.
Nelson Cruz shows up at the top of this chart too. He's spent 45 games at DH so far this season and has been excellent while playing the outfield or not. In our DH preview, we predicted Cruz to spend almost all of his time at DH and be the second best DH in the division. He'll have to settle for being the best DH in the division while spending just over half of his time there.
Matt Joyce comes in next on our list but he's only played 19 games so far at DH for the Rays. He's a solid defender so he plays the outfield more often than not, but only when a righty is on the mound for the opponent. Adam Lind has had a solid season from a slash line perspective but his power has gone missing. After hitting at least 23 homers in four of the last five seasons, he's only got four at the break. Despite that, he's been pretty good this season on the back of a .389 on base percentage.
David Ortiz's numbers look to be substantially down from last season except for the 20 home runs he's already put up. But if you correct for his .255 BABIP so far, his numbers would look right in line with his last few seasons. He's still walking a lot and barely striking out, which is impressive for a power hitter. We haven't seen the decline we've all expected quite yet. Joyce's WAR number is pushed up by the time he's spent in the outfield so Ortiz may well have been the second best DH in the division so far this year.
David DeJesus has played the most games at DH for the Rays this year with 37 but he's now on the DL so he won't be increasing that number any time soon. He's been pretty good when he's played.
Delmon Young has played 21 games at DH for the Orioles this season. Despite some timely hits from Young this season, he should continue to take a back seat to Cruz and Pearce in the Orioles Left Field/DH rotation. He still doesn't have much of a role on this team.
The Yankees DH tandem of Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano has been awful this season, accruing a combination of -2.0 WAR between them. Soriano was so bad he was recently designated for assignment and then waived by the club. Unfortunately, Carlos Beltran hasn't been much better. His elbow injury has restricted him to the DH role and now he's on the DL after hitting a ball off the batting cage that broke his nose AND gave him a concussion (seriously). That three year, $45 million contract the Yankees gave him in the offseason isn't looking so hot right now.
If I had to put the teams in order for 2014, I'd go Orioles, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, Yankees. Before the season, we predicted the order to be Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays. Just like left field, Nelson Cruz leads the Orioles to the front of the pack. The most interesting discussion in the comments section of the DH article was about the Rays DH situation. Commenter AndrewTorrez bet Steve a beer that "some guy" for the Rays would outhit Alfonso Soriano. Considering that Soriano put up a .264 wOBA before getting released, I'd say you better get ready to buy a round Steve.
Mitchell was sent down to Triple-A, likely to make room for Beltran to be activated. Several minor leaguers have been promoted as well.
Now that the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game are over, we've reached the boring part of the break. The Yankees have made some roster moves, though, and some prospects have been promoted, so that's somewhat exciting.
Bryan Mitchell has been optioned back down to Triple-A. He's been called up a few times this season, but has yet to make an appearance out of the bullpen. The move leaves an open spot on the Yankees' 25-man roster, which is probably for Carlos Beltran. If all goes according to plan, Beltran should be activated from the 7-day DL on Friday, which he was placed on after a ball ricocheted into his face during batting practice last week. If there's a plus side to this, the concussion was well-timed to match up with the All-Star break in order to give him some extra rest.
Several minor leaguers have been promoted, as well. Pitchers Matt Tracy and Tyler Webb are both moving from Double-A to Triple-A. Tracy has a 3.24 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and .286 BAA on the season. While Tracy has previously made brief stints in Triple-A, this is the first time for Webb, who started the season in Tampa. Overall, Webb has a 3.70 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 12.6 K/9, having struck out 68 batters through 48.2 IP.
Finally, recent draftee Jacob Lindgren is headed up to High-A Tampa. Though he's only pitched six innings total as a minor leaguer, he has already notched 13 strikeouts. That's a casual 19.5 K/9. Give that man some stiffer competition.
With a career-high 9 home runs, Brett Gardner's hitting for more power than ever before. A more aggressive approach seems to have been the difference-maker.
Brett Gardner is having a very good year at the plate in 2014. Through 91 games, the 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .279/.353/.424, good enough for a career-best 116 wRC+. The most exciting -- and most uncharacteristic -- part of Gardner's offensive performance has been his power output. Historically a punchless slap hitter, Gardner's hitting for above-average power this year: His .424 SLG and .145 ISO are both well above his career norms and he's already set a new career-high nine home runs.
Gardner's new-found power can be traced back to a change in approach that started in spring training 2013, when he decided to be more aggressive at the plate in the hopes of barreling more hittable pitches. Ever since, he's swung at a higher percentage of pitches -- 39% vs. 33% -- and has been especially aggressive on pitches in the zone, where his swing rate has jumped from 45% to 54%. Although this has led to fewer walks, both his power numbers and offensive output have increased in lock-step:
Gardner's bat has never been his claim to fame. In fact, he relied on just about everything other than actually hitting the ball–speed, defense, and drawing tons of walks–to make it to the big leagues. But now he's benefiting from relying on his hit tool a little more often rather than simply waiting for the pitcher to throw him ball four. Walks are great, but at the end of the day, a walk isn't quite as valuable as a hit, and boatloads of walks could end up doing more harm than good if they're coming at the expense of extra base hits.
The Yankees should be pleased with this offensive spike from Gardner, who they signed through 2018 -- his age 34 season -- last winter. Gardner's defense is unlikely to remain elite much longer, so he'll need to hit a little bit to be a useful player over the last two or three years of his contract. But based on what he's done so far this season, that 4-year, $52 million extension might end up looking like a bargain for the Yankees when all is said and done.
The big storyline for this year's All-Star Game was that it was Derek Jeter's last, and while everyone was excited to see him take one final curtain call, Yankees fans were also interested to see Dellin Betances get some attention on the national stage after such an amazing first half. Unfortunately for Dellin, and for us, he never got into the game, but should he have?
There's always going to be someone left out on the bench in an All-Star Game. For such a large roster it's tough to get everyone time to shine in only nine innings, but as it turns out, Betances was the only reliever from the American League side that didn't get into the game. Obviously closers take precedent when it comes to being added to the roster and getting into the game and he was the only non-closer reliever on the team, so of course he'd be the odd man out.
Still though, manager John Farrell was able to squeeze everyone else in, giving Koji Uehara, Sean Doolittle, and Fernando Rodney portions of innings in order to get them a chance. The perfect time to get Betances in would have been the seventh inning when, instead, he allowed Greg Holland to pitch a complete inning. Why not let Betances get an out somewhere in there? He was the only rookie pitcher on the squad, so was this some kind of right of passage nonsense where he needed to "earn" his All-Star appearance? Maybe not, but it was still a disappointment to the fans, which is what this game is supposed to be all about, even if there is some importance to the game now.
On the flip side, Dellin didn't seem all too broken up about it, though what else was he going to say:
Betances said it's OK he didn't get in. "I'll take the extra days off and be ready to help the team win the division in the second half."
If he's not upset, who are we to be annoyed either? And he brings up a great point too. Betances has already been worked hard in the first half, not just because he's been so good, but because the Yankees rotation has been bad. If not getting him into a exhibition game means an extra day of rest for him than so be it. We've already lost Masahiro Tanaka, we don't need to lose Betances either. Despite being just a middle reliever, losing him too would be devastating to the entire pitching staff. At the end of the day he was still an All-Star, still got recognized for his performance, and it all still counts. It just would have been nice to see him go up against some of the game's best players. I wanted to see a few All-Stars buckle at the sight of his curveball and I wanted other fans who may not be aware of it's utter devastation to know about it.
In the end it's likely not the end of the world. I'm not outraged, I'm more disappointed, especially for him, because you know he wanted to pitch. Maybe he gets another chance next year, but I think Tanya sums it all up perfectly:
It's likely good for the Yankees that an overworked Dellin didn't pitch in the ASG, but I am sad for him that he didn't get to. That is all.
The Rockies shortstop could request a trade if his team continues to lose, and he's already expressed his readiness to leave. But there might be too many barriers for a Tulo trade to actually happen.
Troy Tulowitzki might be the logical choice to replace Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter as the face of Major League Baseball, or at least of the shortstop position, but that will be an awfully difficult task for Tulo to accomplish if he continues to play on the losing Colorado Rockies out west.
Trade speculation has begun to surround Tulowitzki during the past few weeks, mostly due to his comments about his interest in moving out of Colorado. But how realistic would that be? Reports indicate not to expect a deal anytime soon, though it's admittedly not out of the realm of possibility.
Indeed, Tulowitzki is beginning to show unrest, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The Rockies shortstop met with team higher-ups to give them the message that he's interested in being traded if the team's fortunes don't improve, and he also recently told the Denver Post that he wants "to be somewhere where there's a chance to be in the playoffs every single year."
All-Star Game appearances and Home Run Derby captainships are nice, but a title would sure look good on Tulo's resumé. Elsa/Getty Images
But even if the team actually decides it wants to swing a deal involving Tulo, putting something together would be challenging, to say the least. The question, of course, would be what the Rockies could get in return, given that Tulowitzki will in all likelihood finish the season as one of the top players in baseball (a position he currently holds). Perhaps his asking price will be steep enough to steer everyone away.
It's a tricky situation for the Rockies, who presumably have no interest in continuing to lose as their star hitter grows more and more disgruntled. But they would also have to find the right trade involving Tulowitzki (no easy task), on top of perhaps resigning themselves to several rebuilding years if the return for the All-Star shortstop would consist of only top prospects—a very likely scenario.
It's also a tough situation for Tulowitzki, who'd love to stay with the same team throughout his career but would also surely leave Colorado in a heartbeat if he knew he could find his way to a winning team.
In terms of potential destinations, several teams would be obvious fits because of impending shortstop vacancies, with the Yankees, Orioles and Dodgers coming to mind. The Yankees farm system resembles a barren wasteland, so they'd be hard pressed to put together an equitable trade package for Tulo, but the Dodgers and Orioles could have enough young talent to entice Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd.
★★★
As Rosenthal notes in his column, injuries have hampered a Rockies team that could be much better than its record indicates. The team actually started off relatively hot, sitting half a game out of first at the end of April, but with five starting pitchers suffering from various ailments in addition to the losses of key bats like Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cuddyer and Nolan Arenado, it's hard to imagine any team succeeding with so much talent out of the lineup.
Players like the slick-fielding Arenado might keep Tulo around for the long haul. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Rockies are effectively out of the playoff race this season, but a few key offseason acquisitions combined with some better injury luck next season might just give them hope, which could dissuade management from considering a Tulo trade.
★★★
Don't forget, despite all signs pointing otherwise, Tulowitzki isn't perfect. The discrepancy between his home and away statistics (.417/.497/.748 at Coors Field vs. .265/.367/.463 elsewhere) shouldn't be overlooked, and that's not unique to this season.
Of course, an .830 road OPS is nothing to scoff at, and there's no telling which slash line Tulowitzki would tend toward if he were to play for a different team, but there's still the issue that he'll command a massive asking price despite almost certainly seeing his numbers fall if he doesn't play half his games a mile above sea level.
There's also the issue of Tulowitzki's fragility, given his five DL trips throughout his career. He'd averaged just over 120 games per season (excluding his inaugural 2006 campaign) heading into the season, and he last played 150 games in 2009. So, on top of the difficulty of finding a deal that works out for all parties involved (a hugely complicated matter with a player of Tulowitzki's caliber), teams might be unenthused by some of the warning signs surrounding a player with such a hefty price tag.
CF Danny Oh 1-4 SS Cito Culver 1-4, K, E6 - fielding error, 14th of the season 1B Greg Bird 0-4, 3 K DH Dante Bichette Jr. 1-4, double - batting .333/.395/.538 over his last 10 games 3B Eric Jagielo 1-4, RBI, K RF Aaron Judge 2-4 - .752 OPS over his last ten games 2B Angelo Gumbs 2-4, triple, HR, RBI - second homer of the season C Trent Garrison 1-3 LF Claudio Custodio 1-3
Rafael De Paula 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 hit batsmen - 5 GO/4 AO Brett Gerritse 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/1 ER, 0 BB, E1 - pickoff error
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 5-7 vs. Lexington Legends
RF Mark Payton 2-4, triple, BB, 2 K - batting .367 this season SS Tyler Wade 3-5, RBI, SB, CS, E6 - fielding error, 16th of the season CF Dustin Fowler 1-4, triple, 2 RBI, K 1B Mike Ford 1-2, RBI 3B Miguel Andujar 2-4, double - batting .306 over his last 10 games LF Michael O'Neill 0-3, 2 K DH Eduardo de Oleo 1-4, HR, RBI, K - 11th homer of the season 2B Gosuke Katoh 0-3, BB C Jackson Valera 0-4
Gabriel Encinas 2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K - 26 of 43 pitches for strikes Omar Luis 3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, hit batsman Angel Rincon 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Chad Taylor 1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, K, 2 WP
Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 7-3 vs. Williamsport Crosscutters
CF Devyn Bolasky 1-4, double, 2 RBI, 3 K C Luis Torrens 2-3, double, BB - batting .393 2B Ty McFarland 2-4, double, RBI, K LF Chris Breen 0-2, 2 BB, K RF Austin Aune 1-4, RBI, K SS Vince Conde 1-3, RBI, BB, SB 1B Connor Spencer 1-4, K, CS DH Nathan Mikolas 2-4, double 3B Renzo Martini 1-3, RBI
Luis Niebla 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K - 7 GO/2 AO Justin Kamplain 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K - 5 GO/1 AO Ethan Carnes 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Since Soriano's been released, and Beltran is not allowed to throw, the Yankees could be in the market for a fourth outfielder.
Remember when the season started and the Yankees had an abundance of outfielders? Now they have two, plus Ichiro Suzuki. Although Ichiro has been serviceable in right field, and playing better than anyone really could have hoped (.297/.347/.337 90 wRC+), he might actually keel over if the Yankees plan on starting him every day for the rest of the season. The team clearly needs a fourth outfielder, and if they're looking outside of the organization, Matt Kemp could be of some help.
After a slow start to the season, Kemp has turned it around and is batting .269/.330/.430 with 117 wRC+ and 8 HR. These numbers are obviously down from his landmark 2011 season when he hit .324/.399/.586 with 168 wRC+ 39 HR and was worth 8.4 fWAR. At least some of the decline is due to the fact that Kemp has struggled mightily with injuries since then. In 2012 he missed two months with a hamstring injury. Later in the season he crashed his shoulder into a wall, and ended up having offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum and minor damage to his rotator cuff. 2013 was a never-ending string of injuries: hamstring injury, setback, DL trip for shoulder pain, ankle injury, hamstring again, ankle again. The final ankle injury required surgery to repair the problem. He somehow found his way into 73 games and finished the season at .270/.328/.395. Aside from shortened seasons in 2012 and 2013, Kemp played full seasons from 2008-2011. Sure, he could be an injury risk, but who on the team isn't at this point?
He may be having a down year, but he would still be an upgrade for the Yankees. If Kemp was currently on the team, he would have the sixth highest batting average, seventh highest OBP, second highest slugging percentage, and third highest OPS among Yankees who have played 50 or more games. Kemp put together several good years, so it's easy to think that he has the potential to be great again, even though it's hard to say whether the injuries will have a lasting impact. He's been healthy so far this season, though.
So, is Kemp actually on the market? It seems that he could be. Just yesterday, his agent said that Kemp wants to play every day, which might not be possible with the Dodgers, as they are dealing with an outfield logjam. Kemp has about $116 million remaining on his contract through 2019, so any kind of deal would involve the Yankees taking on a lot of that. The Dodgers are supposedly looking for starters and relievers, if they were to trade him.
What kind of deal do you think it would take for the Yankees to get Kemp? Do you think his potential outweighs the injury risks and his remaining salary?
Although Luis Severino has received plenty of deserved hype lately, Law feels Judge has been overlooked.
The midseason Top 50 Prospects lists have been rolling out over the past few weeks, and as Jason reported awhile ago, pitching phenom Luis Severino broke through to make Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America's top 50. ESPN's Keith Law released his own midseason list this morning, and it has a different take. Severino did not make it, but another high-flying Yankees prospect did, at number 45: Aaron Judge.
Apologies on the Selig pic, but it's always amusing to see how much the 6'7'" Judge towers over most people around him. Some people were unsure what to expect of Judge in 2014 since he didn't play in the organization at all last year after his first round selection due to a quad issue. However, the talent that made numerous prospect evaluators like him at Fresno State prior to the draft has burst through in 2014.
The 22-year-old began the year with the Low-A Charleston RiverDogs, where he destroyed Sally League competition. He hit .333/.428/.530 with 15 doubles, nine homers, and a 165 wRC+ in 65 games. For as awesome as those numbers look, they were even more ludicrous on the road away from the pitcher-friendly Joe Riley Park: .407/.481/.637 in 30 games. That, uh, doesn't suck. Around this time, Yankees on Demand did a nice feature on him:
For his efforts, Judge was rewarded with a promotion to the High-A Tampa Yankees after the Sally League All-Star Break in mid-June, and he has continued to mash in the Florida State League. In 25 games, he's batting .287/.426/.506 with nine extra-base hits and a 172 wRC+. He's struck out around a 22% clip thus far, but he's also demonstrated impressive plate discipline with a 15.4% overall walk rate that's only jumped up since his promotion to Tampa (18.5%).
I'm not going to include all of Law's comments since it's an ESPN Insider piece behind the paywall and has tons of great information on other prospects, but here's a sample:
Judge is a beast at 6-foot-7 and 230 (or more) pounds, but with a surprisingly short path to the ball for a guy his size and plenty of loft in his finish for power. He's also quite mobile for someone his size and should be an above-average or better defender in right, with plenty of arm to stay there as well.
Although we've heard plenty about his bat, it's good to see some words on his defense, and the fact that Law appears to think highly of it is definitely refreshing. Additionally, while Peter O'Brien and probably Gary Sanchez have more pure power than Judge does, his overall game at the plate arguably makes him the best hitter in the system. Given his college pedigree, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to see Judge make one more jump this year to Double-A Trenton later on, if not only at the very end of the Eastern League season, as Tyler Austin did a couple years back. The key difference between Judge and Austin of course is that Judge's minor league success has not been too surprising.
The Yankees have seen plenty of hitters rise to prospect prominence over the past several years for their feats in the low minors, so Judge's success should still be taken with an air of caution. Nonetheless, it's been excellent to watch him meet the high expectations from last year head on and catch the eye of an acclaimed prospect evaluator like Law. Here's to Judge continuing his superb performance as the minor league season winds down.
There's precious little room for error for the Yankees and they can't waste it on hoping Carlos Beltran will be helpful.
The Yankees clearly still have all intentions of making the playoffs, and as long as the Baltimore Orioles don't go on an excellent run right out of the All Star Break the team's hopes will be kept in the realm of possibility until at least the trade deadline. One thing that's certain when sitting five games out of first place is that the Yankees have very little room for error, whether it be managerial decisions, roster choices or something as simple as a baserunning gaffe. I bring this all up because as soon as Friday the Yankees will be granting high-leverage at bats to Carlos Beltran. Considering his performance to this point in the year the team would probably be best served to not just grant him unlimited opportunities to turn his season around like they have been.
Now in fairness to what they eventually team decide to do, this team is probably dead in the water if Beltran doesn't come back as some semblance of the hitter he has been over the last few years. He was brought aboard for this season (and the next...and the next) to be one of, if not the premier power hitters in this lineup. Mark Teixeira has been a pleasant surprise, but besides him it looks like there's a legitimate chance for there to not be another 20 home run hitter in the Yankees lineup in 2014. That's a ghastly lack of power from a team that plays half their games in a park with a right field porch that's at Little League distance. This lineup needs a good Beltran, but even desperate teams need to cut their losses at some point.
A 78 wRC+ thus far combined with shaky knees and a bone spur make for not a lot of optimism surrounding Beltran's return. Compound the offensive concerns with the fact that he cannot play the outfield and is taking up a DH spot that might be better saved for other veterans needing a rest and I think it's in the team's best interest to only give Beltran a brief period to start hitting. If he turns things around, obviously you take the bad aspects and deal with them in order to have a legitimate threat in the lineup. If it doesn't happen soon, though, the team should look into putting him on the shelf for the rest of the year and having that nasty bone spur removed. No sense in having the man suffer while he's not helping the team. In his absence, I'd probably prefer a DH by committee in order to keep the veterans fresh, with a default to a Francisco Cervelli/ Brian McCann DH/catcher combination when nobody needs a rest. It's obviously not ideal since you want a plus hitter slotting in as your DH, but short of Beltran's resurrection or a trade that's probably the best current use for the position.
Beltran's going to get plenty of opportunities to revert to his old form in 2015 and 2016, so this certainly would not be the last we see of him. But at some point this year even a team barely clinging to the edge of playoff contention cannot solely wait around and hope. They need to field the best possible team they can. So here's wishing that Beltran comes out of the gate swinging a hot bat and this all becomes moot.
— Charlotte Knights (@KnightsBaseball) July 17, 2014
Wang has seen his production fall off significantly since his 2006-2007 heyday with the New York Yankees, bouncing around the league and spending time with the Blue Jays, Nationals, Reds, and Yankees, again. At a time when much of the Yankees' early-aughts rotation was succumbing to age, Wang posted two consecutive 19 win seasons, accruing 11.0 WAR from 2006 to 2007, and finishing second in AL Cy Young voting in '06. Since missing much of 2009 and 2010 due to injury, Wang has thrown just 121.2 big league innings over the past three years, with disappointing results (5.55 ERA).
Wang was pitching in the Reds' organization this season until opting out and being released earlier this week. He has yet to pitch in the majors so far this year, and had a 3.70 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Louisville.
The 28-year-old Axelrod has pitched for the White Sox in each of the past three season, but has yet to make an appearance this year. He finally earned a full-time gig with Chicago last year, but posted a 5.68 ERA, 5.44 FIP, and 1.7 K/BB in 128.1 innings, leading to a Triple-A role in 2014. In 88 innings for the Charlotte Knights, Axelrod has a 4.50 ERA and 2.11 K/BB.
In another move, the White Sox released right-hander Deunte Heath, who will be heading to Japan. The 28-year-old has thrown 9.2 major league innings over the past two, allowing 11 runs and walking 13. He has been quite good at the Triple-A level, serving as somewhat of a swingman. Heath has a 3.22 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9 in 64.1 innings this season.
New York Post | Joel Sherman: A recollection back to the days when Yankees prospect Luis Severino first impressed team scouts.
Forbes | Kurt Badenhausen: The Yankees are one of the most valuable teams in all of sports and are the most valuable non-soccer franchise in the world.
New York Post | Joel Sherman: The Yankees can't continue to look toward the Core Four as a recipe for success because it's never going to happen again.
LoHud | Chad Jennings: A look at all the gifts Derek Jeter has received on his farewell tour so far.
Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 17th.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:L 5-9 vs. Charlotte Knights
LF Jose Pirela 0-5, RBI, K, outfield assist 2B Rob Refsnyder 1-5, 2 K RF Zoilo Almonte 1-5, 2B, RBI, K 3B Adonis Garcia 1-4, 2 RBI, throwing error (4) DH Kyle Roller 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 K 1B Austin Romine 1-4, K, fielding error (5) - hitting .382 over last 10 games C John Ryan Murphy 0-4, 2 K CF Antoan Richardson 2-3, CS, HBP SS Carmen Angelini 2-3, BB - hitting .300 over last 10 games
Bryan Mitchell 4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 4 HR (!) - 40 of 74 pitches for strikes, 5 GO/3 AO Danny Burawa 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, HR - 12 of 23 pitches for strikes Pat Venditte 2.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K, HR, balk - 21 of 27 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/0 AO Matt Daley 1.0 IP, 2 K - 13 of 20 pitches for strikes
Double-A Trenton Thunder:L 4-8 vs. Binghamton Mets
CF Jake Cave 1-5, 2B, K - hitting .304 on the season DH Mason Williams 2-5, 2 RBI, K - hitting .178 over last 10 games 3B Rob Segedin 1-4, BB, K C Gary Sanchez 1-5, 3 K, error (11) - hitting .293 over last 10 games 1B Peter O`Brien 0-4, 2 K RF Tyler Austin 1-3, BB, K 2B Dan Fiorito 1-3, BB, K LF Jose Toussen 1-3, 2B, BB SS Ali Castillo 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
Manny Banuelos 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, HR, HBP - 37 of 65 pitches for strikes, 5 GO/1 AO Jairo Heredia 1.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R/4 ER, 2 BB, K - 27 of 44 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/3 AO Francisco Rondon 1.0 IP, BB, 2 WP - 6 of 16 pitches for strikes, 0 FO/2 AO Phil Wetherell 1.0 IP, 2 H, K - 12 of 18 pitches for strikes Nick Rumbelow 1.0 IP, 2 K - 11 of 18 pitches for strikes
CF Danny Oh 1-4, K SS Cito Culver 1-3, BB, K 1B Greg Bird 2-4, HR, RBI 3B Dante Bichette Jr. 2-4 - hitting .350 over last 10 games DH Eric Jagielo 0-4, 2 K RF Aaron Judge 2-4, K - hitting .342 over last 10 games 2B Angelo Gumbs 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, K LF Yeicok Calderon 1-4, 2 K C Wes Wilson 0-4, 2 K
Conner Kendrick 4.0 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, BB, 6 K, WP, HBP - 3 GO/3 AO Chris Smith 2.0 IP, 2 K - 2 GO/1 AO Jacob Lindgren 1.0 IP, 3 K Cesar Vargas 1.0 IP, H, 2 K
CF Mark Payton 2-4 - hitting .382 over last 10 games SS Tyler Wade 1-4 RF Dustin Fowler 1-4, 2B 3B Miguel Andujar 2-3, 2 2B, RBI, BB LF Michael O'Neill 2-4, SB, outfield assist - hitting .316 over last 10 games C Eduardo de Oleo 2-3, RBI 2B Gosuke Katoh 1-3, 3B DH Jackson Valera 3-3, 3 RBI - hitting .424 over last 10 games 1B John Murphy 1-3, RBI, K
Rookie Davis 5.2 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K - 5 GO/4 AO Evan Rutckyj 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 K
LF Michael O`Neill 3-4, SB SS Tyler Wade 0-2, BB, 2 K 3B Miguel Andujar 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI - hitting .294 over last 10 games CF Dustin Fowler 1-4, K, CS DH Jackson Valera 2-2, 2B, 2 RBI 2B Gosuke Katoh 0-2, BB, 2 K C Kale Sumner 1-2, K, PB 1B John Murphy 0-3, 2 K - hitting .294 over last 10 games RF Brandon Thomas 2-3, K, SB
Ian Clarkin 2.0 IP, 3 K Giovanny Gallegos 4.0 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K - 5 GO/2 AO Stefan Lopez 1.0 IP, H, 2 K
Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:W 5-4 vs. Williamsport Crosscutters
CF Devyn Bolasky 2-4, 2 RBI, K C Luis Torrens 1-4, 2B, K, PB - hitting .439 over last 10 games 2B Ty McFarland 0-4, K DH Chris Breen 0-2, 2 BB, K RF Austin Aune 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, K, CS - hitting .325 over last 10 games SS Vince Conde 1-4, RBI 1B Connor Spencer 1-3, K LF Nathan Mikolas 0-3 3B Renzo Martini 0-2, BB, K
Jordan Foley 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 K, HR, HBP - 2 GO/ 0 AO Jonathan Holder 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K, 2 WP - 1 GO/2 AO Andury Acevedo 1.0 IP, K, HBP Conor Mullee 1.0 IP, 3 K
SS Bryan Cuevas 0-3, K CF Leonardo Molina 0-3, throwing error (1) 3B Drew Bridges 0-2, BB, K, throwing error (3) DH Alexander Palma 1-3, 3B, RBI 2B Dalton Smith 1-2, RBI, K RF Miguel Mojica 0-2 LF Dominic Jose 1-2 1B Roybell Herrera 0-2, K C Brian Reyes 0-2, K
Manolo Reyes 3.0 IP, 4 H, BB, K, pickoff - 3 GO/1 AO Orby Tavares 3.0 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 3 K Francis Joseph 1.0 IP, H
CF Jose Figueroa 0-4, K LF Frank Frias 1-4, RBI, SB SS Angel Aguilar 0-3, BB, K 1B Bo Thompson 2-4, RBI, K 3B Allen Valerio 1-4, K, SB, throwing error (6) DH Jake Hernandez 2-3, RBI RF Wilmer Rodriguez 2-3, HR, RBI, BB 2B Tyler Palmer 0-2, RBI, BB, K C Kevin Alexander 0-1, RBI, BB, K
Jhon Morban 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K - 7 GO/2 AO Hector Martinez 2.0 IP, H, K - 5 GO/1 AO
All-Star Game appearances and Home Run Derby captainships are nice, but a title would sure look good on Tulo's resumé. Elsa/Getty Images
Players like the slick-fielding Arenado might keep Tulo around for the long haul. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports 
