Written by Greg Fertel | 14 May 2009

According to Mike Ashmore, Christian Garcia is being called up from extended spring training, and most likely for Trenton. Garcia is known for his ridiculously stuff and being equally ridiculously injury prone. Being that he was added to the 40-man roster this past offseason, and remains on it, the Yanks expect him to contribute in the majors at some point. If he can pitch well in Trenton and remain healthy(a big if), he could pitch his way into Scranton by the end of the year. His upside is still tremendous and I hope he can stay healthy for an extended period of time.

Kevin Russo has been put on the DL with the same hamstring injury that forced him out for a long time. Looks like my prediction of him being the Yankees utility man at some point this season isn't going to come true, especially with the way Ramiro Pena is playing. Taking his spot is Mariners Rule 5 pick Reegie Corona, another utility candidate. His career minor league OPS is .678, so don't expect much there.

DJ Mitchell, the Yanks 10th round pick last season, started out great in Charleston and was promoted to Tampa to start yesterday. His ERA for the game looks awful, but the peripherals were still there. He pitched 4.1 innings, giving up 6 ER on only 6 hits, while walking only 1 and striking out 8. He has really impressed me so far this season. Coming in, I thought he was more of a relief candidate but now I'm starting to think he may have some more upside.

Baseball America has a subscriber-only piece up about Alfredo Aceves suggesting he should be able to stick in the Majors as at least a long-reliever/spot starter for the rest of the season. I agree, Aceves is definitely a useful arm to have, BA likes him, and its nice to see the big market Yanks showing a propensity to find useful players off the scrap heap.

< Prev		Next >