Written by Sean P | 10 April 2010

Scranton lost to Buffalo 7-6 on a blustery night. The bullpen really came up empty last night for the Yankees. Despite the terrible weather, Zach McAllister pitched decently but not great. Walks sunk the Scranton Yankees last night. This notebook also includes updates on Jesus Montero and Kevin Russo. Concerns about the attendance are plaguing PNC park.

The Thunder won 2-0 thanks to Brandon Laird and Ryan Pope. Today, Jeremey Bleich is hoping for better results in his second go round in Trenton. Still no word on Christian Garcia or his injury. We'll hope to know more on Saturday.

The Tampa Yankees lost 6-0 after another lousy Andrew Brackman start. The offense was missing for Tampa. Corban Joseph, who was 2-4 last night with a double, is looking to progress at the next level.

In Charleston, Graham Stoneburner's got the loss but pitched well. Lexington ended up winning 7-2 after the Legends rallied late.

Here's the organizational recap from last night, courtesy of Minor League Splits. http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/yankees-recap.html

Written by Sean P | 09 April 2010

Thanks to a reader comment, we wanted to take a crack at a sort of "link dump" from stories around the organization. The tips and suggestions were extremely helpful, so if you haven't already, please let us know what else you'd like from Pending Pinstripes this season.

David Winfree made the difference in a 1-0 win for Scranton on Thursday night. Thanks to the rain delay, the Scranton bullpen had a chance to show off- and they were terrific. Reid Gorecki got a tough break and was sent down to AA.

The Trenton Thunder's 4-0 opening day win was overshadowed by an unfortunate injury. Mike Ashmore provides his post game thoughts. Jon Nalbone has details on the MRI and expresses his incredulity at another Garcia injury.

Hector Noesi helped the Tampa Yankees cruise to a 4-0 win to start the year. Torre Tyson, the Tampa manager got his first win and was born to be a manager. A profile from the Sun Journal notes the career of UNC product Adam Warren.

The Charleston Riverdogs opened the season with a 5-2 win with some surprising guests in attendance. Didn't know Bill Murray was a co-owner of the Riverdogs? Neither did I. Former rivals from the University of South Carolina and Clemson will be be teammates this season.

Photo Credit: Charleston Post and Courier

Written by Greg Fertel | 08 April 2010

As I pretty frequently prove, I don't really know what I'm talking about. Here are three predictions or statements I made within the last few days:

• Regarding the Trenton rotation, I said that Wilkin De La Rosa was a lock for the rotation.
• I speculated that Brad Suttle could play first base, since he is just now returning from labrum surgery.
• I suggested that the Yankees use Jimmy Paredes as the everyday Charleston shortstop, since I didn't see a clear cut choice.

Well, today we learned that I was wrong about all of these things. De La Rosa is not starting the season in the Trenton rotation. Suttle started the first game of the season at third base, and Paredes started the first game of the Charleston season at second base.

Onto the big story of the day, Christian Garcia left today's Trenton game in the sixth inning with what was described as elbow soreness by pitching coach Tony Franklin. He had pitched 5.2 shutout innings and then was taken out of the game. Garcia's injury history is well documented, but he looked good in spring training and had high hopes for the 2010 season. It's very disappointing to see him go down with an injury so soon; hopefully, it isn't too serious.

Ivan Nova got the opening day start for Scranton, but his outing was shortened to just four innings because of rain delays. In Jesus Montero's Triple-A debut, the pitching was the story. Montero doubled in his first at bat and then went hitless. The Yankees pitched a shutout with two innings apiece from Mark Melancon and Boone Logan, and Jonathan Albaladejo finished it off with a scoreless ninth.

The story down in Tampa has to be Hector Noesi. After posting a K:BB of 10 in the FSL last season, the Yankees decided to send him there to start this year as well. In his first start, he continued to dominate, pitching 6 shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking just one, and striking out six.

The injury to Trenton's Garcia opens up a spot in their rotation, but I'm not sure the Yankees will sent Noesi there so hastily. Both Lance Pendleton and De La Rosa could step in to Trenton's rotation if the Yankees need.

This could be a running theme this season, but there wasn't much to see down in Charleston. Their opening day starter was a guy named Shaeffer Hall, who the Yankees drafted in the 25th round last season. He pitched six shutout innings, but he is probably more of an organizational guy.

Overall, the pitching was ridiculous today. Only two runs allowed by the whole organization. Lets hope they can keep that up.

Photo Credit: Mike Ashmore

Written by Greg Fertel | 08 April 2010

Minor League opening day is upon us. The Yankees' four full season affiliates have their first games this evening, and we'll finally get a peek at what the lineups will look like. All four teams will be debuting at home at 7:05 PM. I'm sure we'll get some good reports from the beat writers at Trenton and Scranton and I'll pass along any information they have.

I figured now would be a good time to run down all of the things we've been discussing over the past few weeks.

We discussed what you all would like from Pending Pinstripes this afternoon. If you didn't comment there already, please chime in with your suggestions; they're much appreciated.

I posted an updated Top 30 prospect list with links to every profile that we have posted. You can also always find the profiles on the right hand sidebar for reference.

Quite a few reputable bloggers took part in a minor league roundtable that I hosted. Once again, I thank all of them for contributing and you can find their answers, along with mine, in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

I've taken a brief look at each affiliate's opening day roster, something that is worth checking out if you're wondering who is starting where:

I also want to commend Mike Ashmore on the hard work he's been doing to provide us with great information. First, he did a multitude of interviews at media day and then ran down both the position players and pitchers on the 2010 Trenton Thunder roster.

Enjoy following along the games tonight or watching on MiLB.TV. We should have an exciting season ahead of us so keep coming back to Pending Pinstripes for the latest news and analysis.

Written by Greg Fertel | 08 April 2010

The Tampa Yankees roster has been posted:

Catchers(3): Mitch Abeita, Ryan J. Baker, Myron Leslie

Infielders(6): Walter Ibarra, Corban Joseph, Trent Lockwood, Addison Maruszak, Jose Pirela, Brad Suttle

Outfielders(4): Abraham Almonte, Neil Medchill, Melky Mesa, Jack Rye

Pitchers(12): Manny Banuelos, Philip Bartleski, Brandon Braboy, Andrew Brackman, Jairo Heredia, Craig Heyer, Daniel Kapala, Trenton Lare, Hector Noesi, Jonathan Ortiz, Pat Venditte, Adam Warren

If you're looking for pitching prospects, this is the team to follow. The Rotation shapes up to be some combination of Banuelos, Brackman, Heredia, Noesi, and Warren, all legitimate starter prospects. This is the most interesting rotation in the system, and will surely keep opponents at bay.

Pat Venditte is always interesting; I mean, he throws with both hands. Hopefully, if he pitches well, he'll be quickly promoted to Trenton. The numbers he has put up so far have been extremely impressive, so I'm not sure why the Yankees are having him repeat A-ball.

On the offensive side of the ball, the team has some question marks. Joseph, Medchill, and Suttle should make up the heart of the lineup. Suttle is listed at 3b, but I wonder if he'll be playing first base as he continues to recovery from labrum surgery. Beyond those three, Almonte and Mesa could develop and put up big years but have yet to excel offensively. The rotation is really who we'll be watching this season; it's about as good as I've seen in the Yankee system.