The first inning started off pedestrian enough; the Bucs went down in order against Clayton Richard and the Padres wrangled a walk off Kevin Correia. The second had a little more sizzle.
The Pirates drew first blood with hardly a ball rolling beyond the dirt. Neil Walker drew a walk and so did Dewey after a pop-up. The Pittsburgh Kid stole third, and it paid off when Brandon Wood beat out a potential DP bleeder to bring Walker home. It could have been more, but Cameron Maybin made a nice running grab of a rope into center off Ronny Cedeno's bat.
Correia walked another guy with one away in the second, but a 6-4-3 twin killing cleaned that up. The Bucs, with a big assist from the Friars, were about to ice the game.
The third started off quiet as a mouse when Correia struck out. McCutch lined a single into center, and the fun was about to begin.
Xavier Paul laid down a bunt. Catcher Nick Hundley tried for the force at second, but his throw was off-line and McCutchen beat the rap. The bases were juiced when Matt Diaz's ball was grounded to third and booted; this time Chase Headley couldn't handle the biscuit.
Walker lined a two-run knock into center and Pearce walked to load the sacks again. Ryan Doumit worked the count full, got a fastball and drove it out of the deepest part of PETCO in left center for a grand salami. Three hits, six runs...how often does that happen?
The Padres got a run back in the fourth on a triple and ground out. Then both teams sat on their bats until the seventh, when a leadoff single followed by an RBI double chased Correia. He went six frames, giving up two runs on five hits with two walks and three K's, another workmanlike outing for the righty. Chris Resop took over and shut down the Padres.
Pittsburgh tried to get some runs back in the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out, but Ernesto Frieri, who couldn't find the dish last time out, whiffed McCutch and Paul; the X-Man went down after a nine-pitch battle. Daniel McCutchen continued his solid work, holding SD to a two-out single.
The Bucs went down in order in the ninth, and Jose Veras took the ball to finish up. He might have been a little too much in a hurry to hit the post-game buffet. Veras gave the first three hitters heaters down the middle; one ended up in Xavier Paul's mitt and the other two ended up in the stands.
Then he went 3-0 on Rob Johnson before coming back to K him on a curve. A walk put the tying run in the hole, but Veras got Wil Venable to fly out to the warning track, and the Bucs notched yet another road series win, their fifth, already topping last year's season total of four.
The Buc offense put up plenty of runs against the Padres tough pitching staff, though the key in San Diego wasn't a steady attack but piling up big innings; Pittsburgh scored three or more runs in a frame during each game, and those three innings accounted for thirteen of their sixteen runs.
When and if they start to get consistent both at the plate (11 Ks today; that's a lot of empty outs) and on the bases (they're developing the right mindset on the base paths, but need to temper their enthusiasm some) often enough to tack some one and two run innings on the board, this could become an interesting attack.
The Bucs are off tomorrow. They start a homestand against Houston and then the Dodgers on Friday.
-- One reason the road warriors have suddenly developed fangs: Kevin Correia is the first Pirates pitcher to win his first five road starts since Don Robinson in 1982.
-- We think that if Ohlie came back tomorrow, Mike Crotta, not Daniel McCutchen or Daniel Moskos, would be the odd man out. Moskos hasn't been thrown in the fire yet, but keeping a second lefty has to be tempting.
And McCutchen has been steady and solid since his call up. In twelve innings, he's yet to give up a run and has surrendered just seven hits. His secret? His control, highly touted in the minors, has been superb this season; he's walked just two batters with a 92/42 strike-to-ball ratio in 2011.
McC has also altered his pitching playlist a little; he's using more sinker action and less of his slider. It shows in his GB/FB ratio. He's gotten 19 ground outs to 12 fly outs, the first time in three Pirate seasons that he's gotten 50%+ of his outs on the ground.
Showing posts with label daniel mccutchen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daniel mccutchen. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Buc Battles: McCutchen vs Hart
As the Bucs prepare to pack up the bats and balls and head to Bradenton for spring training, there are are couple of position battles to be waged in the Florida sunshine. The final spot of the rotation is one such match-up.
It's almost a given that Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, and Charlie Morton will take the first four spots in the 2010 rotation. That leaves Dan McCutchen and Kevin Hart as the mano-a-mano gunslingers for the final position.
McCutchen, 27, brings steady performance; Hart, also 27, features tantalizing stuff.
In a brief audition last season, McCutchen went 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA in six starts. He lasted 36-1/3 innings, and gave up 11 walks and had 19 K's to go with a WHIP of 1.349. His biggest bugaboo was yielding six long balls, or 1.5 per nine innings.
McCutchen also throws a few too many pitches. He only lasted seven innings once (and less than six only once; he notched four quality starts and is consistent if nothing else), but still averaged 94 pitches per outing.
He did put it together during his last three starts. His ERA was just a hair under three, and he earned his first win even though the Bucs hit the ball behind him like what they were - the worst offense in the league. The secret was he began to quit nibbling and throwing first-pitch strikes.
McCutchen depends on his fastball, which averaged a tad over 90 last season, and a split-fingered heater with nasty sink that comes in at 81 and serves as his off-speed ball; those two pitches account for about 88% of his offerings, according to Fan Graphs. He also throws a slider, and very rarely shows a change-up.
As a result, he has good control, but doesn't have the velocity to get away with a mistake. The good news is he makes very few of them.
Kevin Hart was transitioned from a spot starter/reliever with the Cubs, where he was 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA, to an everyday starter with Pittsburgh. In ten trips to the hill, he was smacked around quite a bit.
He finished up 1-8 with a 6.92 ERA. Hart whiffed 39 batters and walked 26 in 53-1/3 innings, with a WHIP of 1.875. The righty never went past six innings, and tossed 102 pitches per outing that lasted 5-1/3 innings on average.
Hart showed a more extensive repertoire, tossing a mix of 59% fastballs, 23% hooks, 14% cutters, and 4% change-ups. His trouble was getting the ball over the plate; he regularly fell behind in the count and had to come in with a meatball; that's how you give up 74 hits in 53 frames.
For once, the outcome won't be determined by team control. McCutchen has all his options still in play, and Hart has one remaining. The Pirates see both pitchers right now as starters (although both have been mentioned as possible closer material down the road), so the loser will in all likelihood take a trip to Indy to work on getting that first pitch over the plate and learning to pitch more effectively to get deeper into contests.
Our take is that McCutchen is more MLB ready at this point and has the upper hand in this battle; he's shown the consistency that you look for in a back-ender.
But the battle will continue; Brad Lincoln will be breathing down someone's back, possibly as soon as this coming season.
It's almost a given that Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, and Charlie Morton will take the first four spots in the 2010 rotation. That leaves Dan McCutchen and Kevin Hart as the mano-a-mano gunslingers for the final position.
McCutchen, 27, brings steady performance; Hart, also 27, features tantalizing stuff.
In a brief audition last season, McCutchen went 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA in six starts. He lasted 36-1/3 innings, and gave up 11 walks and had 19 K's to go with a WHIP of 1.349. His biggest bugaboo was yielding six long balls, or 1.5 per nine innings.
McCutchen also throws a few too many pitches. He only lasted seven innings once (and less than six only once; he notched four quality starts and is consistent if nothing else), but still averaged 94 pitches per outing.
He did put it together during his last three starts. His ERA was just a hair under three, and he earned his first win even though the Bucs hit the ball behind him like what they were - the worst offense in the league. The secret was he began to quit nibbling and throwing first-pitch strikes.
McCutchen depends on his fastball, which averaged a tad over 90 last season, and a split-fingered heater with nasty sink that comes in at 81 and serves as his off-speed ball; those two pitches account for about 88% of his offerings, according to Fan Graphs. He also throws a slider, and very rarely shows a change-up.
As a result, he has good control, but doesn't have the velocity to get away with a mistake. The good news is he makes very few of them.
Kevin Hart was transitioned from a spot starter/reliever with the Cubs, where he was 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA, to an everyday starter with Pittsburgh. In ten trips to the hill, he was smacked around quite a bit.
He finished up 1-8 with a 6.92 ERA. Hart whiffed 39 batters and walked 26 in 53-1/3 innings, with a WHIP of 1.875. The righty never went past six innings, and tossed 102 pitches per outing that lasted 5-1/3 innings on average.
Hart showed a more extensive repertoire, tossing a mix of 59% fastballs, 23% hooks, 14% cutters, and 4% change-ups. His trouble was getting the ball over the plate; he regularly fell behind in the count and had to come in with a meatball; that's how you give up 74 hits in 53 frames.
For once, the outcome won't be determined by team control. McCutchen has all his options still in play, and Hart has one remaining. The Pirates see both pitchers right now as starters (although both have been mentioned as possible closer material down the road), so the loser will in all likelihood take a trip to Indy to work on getting that first pitch over the plate and learning to pitch more effectively to get deeper into contests.
Our take is that McCutchen is more MLB ready at this point and has the upper hand in this battle; he's shown the consistency that you look for in a back-ender.
But the battle will continue; Brad Lincoln will be breathing down someone's back, possibly as soon as this coming season.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
#6 - Daniel McCutchen
Daniel McCutchen, 27, was born in Texas and bred an Okie. He was 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA as a senior at Norman HS, hitting .357, and he also played football.
McCutchen began his college days at Central Oklahoma in 2002, going 4-0 with 3 saves and a 2.76 ERA, striking out 38 in 28 innings. He then transferred to Grayson Community College, where he won one game before being hurt and was redshirted. The New York Yankees took McCutchen in the 27th round of the 2003 amateur draft, but he passed on their offer.
He moved on to the University of Oklahoma, where McCutchen went 4-3 with 5 saves and a 3.47 ERA, striking out 60 in 57 innings as a sophomore. He was Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Conference.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays picked him in the 28th round of the 2004 draft; he passed again. In the summer, McCutchen pitched for the wooden-bat Cape Cod League Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, posting a 5-1 slate with a 1.58 ERA, holding opponents to 32 hits in 45-2/3 frames.
In 2005, Daniel was 4-5 with 2 saves and a 4.18 ERA, striking out 84 in 84 innings as he made the jump from reliever to starter for the Sooners, and was again Honorable Mention All-Conference.
The St. Louis Cardinals became the third team to draft him, in the 12th round of the 2005 draft; again he didn't sign. He went to Cape Cod for a second go-around with Y-D Sox. McCutchen was 3-6 with a 3.43 ERA and fanned 63 in 60-1/3 innings, walking just 12 batters.
McCutchen had a 10-8, 4.06 record with one save in 2006 as a senior for Oklahoma, striking out 147 in 148-2/3 innings. He led the Big 12 in strikeouts, tossing 45 more Ks than Joba Chamberlain did at Nebraska.
He was sixth in NCAA Division I in strikeouts; only Tim Lincecum, Eddie Degerman, P.J. Walters, David Price and Brad Lincoln fanned more college batters.
He was chosen by the Yankees again, this time in the 13th round of the 2006 draft (404th overall) and finally signed, not that the senior had many other options.
The right-hander made his debut at short-season Staten Island and moved on to Sally League Charleston, where combined he went 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA, 29 Ks in 29 innings, and a 0.793 WHIP.
But he was busted and suspended for 50 games for using a performance-enhancing substance that he said was a medication for attention deficit disorder. The Bronx Bombers believed him, and that's good enough for us.
In 2007, he split time with the High A Tampa Yankees and AA Trenton Thunder, where overall he posted a 14-4 record with a 2.47 ERA, though his K rate dropped to 6.5/nine innings.
Baseball America rated him as having the best control in the Florida State League and the Yankees #30 prospect in 2007, while he made the FSL All-Star team, one of six pitchers selected.
McCutchen opened 2008 with the Thunder and was 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 53 innings. He was promoted to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and went 4-6 with a 3.58 ERA and 11 walks in 70-1/3 IP.
McCutchen was then traded with José Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens to the Pirates for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, and was sent to Indy. At the time, he was the Yankees #14 prospect, according to BA.
He and Jeff Karstens were late substitutes in the deal for pitchers George Kontos and Phil Coke. It's thought that the Pirates wanted a couple of guys that were closer to being MLB ready, and that's why the ol' switcheroo was made.
McCutchen wasn't quite ready for prime time then, and he was back with Indianapolis to begin 2009. After a slow start, he finished 13-6 with a 3.47 in 24 starts and 110 strikeouts in 142-2/3 innings.
He was penciled in to pitch for Team USA in the 2009 Baseball World Cup and was on their final roster. But the Bucs had a change of heart, and decided to make him a September call-up, sending Brad Lincoln to Team USA instead.
McCutchen made his debut on August 31st, starting against the Cincinnati Reds in a double-header. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings and got a no-decision. He finished the year with six starts, a 1-2 slate, and 4.21 ERA. Not great, and not terrible.
And that's sort of his MO. McCutchen rarely overwhelms anyone, but he's rarely beat up, either. It makes him a perfect back-of-the-rotation kinda guy. He has great control, and gets deep into games, but he's a fly-ball pitcher that gives up gopher balls.
And that draft dance may come back to bite him. McCutchen turned 27 in September, and has just four seasons and fewer than 500 innings in the minors. He's taken the hill for 34 starts in AAA, and is 14-14 with a 4.17 ERA.
And he has a couple of organizational hoops to jump through. McCutchen is a newby on the 40-man roster, so he has all three options left. That gives the control-obsessed Pirates every opportunity to move him down as insurance instead of losing him.
And he has a trio jostling with him in earning that last starting spot - Kevin Hart in camp, and eventually Brad Lincoln and Jose Ascanio (although a trade or two could change that quickly enough).
Baseball America wrote that his future was in the bullpen because of his control and the way he goes right after hitters, and others share their opinion. But we think that at least for now, he should be part of the rotation. The Bucs need a guy that gives them a fighting chance every outing.
McCutchen throws a fastball in the low 90s, a splitter, and a viable curve. Four of his six outings were quality starts, including his last three, and he only failed to go six innings once (he lasted five frames). And when you're rebuilding an offense and bullpen at the same time, that kind of dependability from the bottom of the rotation is a lifeline.
(Next - #5 Tim Alderson)
McCutchen began his college days at Central Oklahoma in 2002, going 4-0 with 3 saves and a 2.76 ERA, striking out 38 in 28 innings. He then transferred to Grayson Community College, where he won one game before being hurt and was redshirted. The New York Yankees took McCutchen in the 27th round of the 2003 amateur draft, but he passed on their offer.
He moved on to the University of Oklahoma, where McCutchen went 4-3 with 5 saves and a 3.47 ERA, striking out 60 in 57 innings as a sophomore. He was Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Conference.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays picked him in the 28th round of the 2004 draft; he passed again. In the summer, McCutchen pitched for the wooden-bat Cape Cod League Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, posting a 5-1 slate with a 1.58 ERA, holding opponents to 32 hits in 45-2/3 frames.
In 2005, Daniel was 4-5 with 2 saves and a 4.18 ERA, striking out 84 in 84 innings as he made the jump from reliever to starter for the Sooners, and was again Honorable Mention All-Conference.
The St. Louis Cardinals became the third team to draft him, in the 12th round of the 2005 draft; again he didn't sign. He went to Cape Cod for a second go-around with Y-D Sox. McCutchen was 3-6 with a 3.43 ERA and fanned 63 in 60-1/3 innings, walking just 12 batters.
McCutchen had a 10-8, 4.06 record with one save in 2006 as a senior for Oklahoma, striking out 147 in 148-2/3 innings. He led the Big 12 in strikeouts, tossing 45 more Ks than Joba Chamberlain did at Nebraska.
He was sixth in NCAA Division I in strikeouts; only Tim Lincecum, Eddie Degerman, P.J. Walters, David Price and Brad Lincoln fanned more college batters.
He was chosen by the Yankees again, this time in the 13th round of the 2006 draft (404th overall) and finally signed, not that the senior had many other options.
The right-hander made his debut at short-season Staten Island and moved on to Sally League Charleston, where combined he went 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA, 29 Ks in 29 innings, and a 0.793 WHIP.
But he was busted and suspended for 50 games for using a performance-enhancing substance that he said was a medication for attention deficit disorder. The Bronx Bombers believed him, and that's good enough for us.
In 2007, he split time with the High A Tampa Yankees and AA Trenton Thunder, where overall he posted a 14-4 record with a 2.47 ERA, though his K rate dropped to 6.5/nine innings.
Baseball America rated him as having the best control in the Florida State League and the Yankees #30 prospect in 2007, while he made the FSL All-Star team, one of six pitchers selected.
McCutchen opened 2008 with the Thunder and was 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 53 innings. He was promoted to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and went 4-6 with a 3.58 ERA and 11 walks in 70-1/3 IP.
McCutchen was then traded with José Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf and Jeff Karstens to the Pirates for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, and was sent to Indy. At the time, he was the Yankees #14 prospect, according to BA.
He and Jeff Karstens were late substitutes in the deal for pitchers George Kontos and Phil Coke. It's thought that the Pirates wanted a couple of guys that were closer to being MLB ready, and that's why the ol' switcheroo was made.
McCutchen wasn't quite ready for prime time then, and he was back with Indianapolis to begin 2009. After a slow start, he finished 13-6 with a 3.47 in 24 starts and 110 strikeouts in 142-2/3 innings.
He was penciled in to pitch for Team USA in the 2009 Baseball World Cup and was on their final roster. But the Bucs had a change of heart, and decided to make him a September call-up, sending Brad Lincoln to Team USA instead.
McCutchen made his debut on August 31st, starting against the Cincinnati Reds in a double-header. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings and got a no-decision. He finished the year with six starts, a 1-2 slate, and 4.21 ERA. Not great, and not terrible.
And that's sort of his MO. McCutchen rarely overwhelms anyone, but he's rarely beat up, either. It makes him a perfect back-of-the-rotation kinda guy. He has great control, and gets deep into games, but he's a fly-ball pitcher that gives up gopher balls.
And that draft dance may come back to bite him. McCutchen turned 27 in September, and has just four seasons and fewer than 500 innings in the minors. He's taken the hill for 34 starts in AAA, and is 14-14 with a 4.17 ERA.
And he has a couple of organizational hoops to jump through. McCutchen is a newby on the 40-man roster, so he has all three options left. That gives the control-obsessed Pirates every opportunity to move him down as insurance instead of losing him.
And he has a trio jostling with him in earning that last starting spot - Kevin Hart in camp, and eventually Brad Lincoln and Jose Ascanio (although a trade or two could change that quickly enough).
Baseball America wrote that his future was in the bullpen because of his control and the way he goes right after hitters, and others share their opinion. But we think that at least for now, he should be part of the rotation. The Bucs need a guy that gives them a fighting chance every outing.
McCutchen throws a fastball in the low 90s, a splitter, and a viable curve. Four of his six outings were quality starts, including his last three, and he only failed to go six innings once (he lasted five frames). And when you're rebuilding an offense and bullpen at the same time, that kind of dependability from the bottom of the rotation is a lifeline.
(Next - #5 Tim Alderson)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Pellas On The Pirates: Daniel McCutchen At A Crossroad
It's no secret that I have been a fan of Daniel McCutchen ever since he arrived in the Pirates' system last year as part of the Xavier Nady - Damaso Marte trade with the Yankees. After taking a closer look at what sabermetric wonks call his "peripherals", I concluded that he was an even better prospect than he first appeared to be, which is saying something.
"The Other McCutchen" has been a premiere control pitcher throughout his minor league career, with very strong BB/9 and WHIP figures; he even posted fairly good strikeout numbers, at least when compared with most "hit your spots" pitchers. Even a so-so year at triple-A in 2008 didn't cause any alarm. McCutchen's ERA of just over 4 was probably the result of giving up a few too many long balls, but that can be attributed to his exceptional control---he's always throwing strikes---and he still logged nearly 200 innings, which is a respectable milestone for any big league pitcher, let alone a guy in triple-A.
So, everything was in place for McCutchen to seize the day and grab a spot in the Pirates' retooled starting rotation in 2009.
Only now I can't figure him out. The guy has been an absolute terminator througout his minor league career, with a fearless, old school style. Granted, he's been a control pitcher terminator rather than the power pitcher version, but he's been extremely effective nonetheless. Unfortunately he's been getting his head handed to him pretty regularly during spring training. That spells "triple A" for him, but the thing is, there doesn't seem to be much more he can---or should---prove in the minors. What gives?
Two suspicions come to mind: one, that he is a control guy and that many pitchers of his type take longer to get their stuff together every year, since their margin for error is small and they have to hit their spots and it takes them time to hone their game.
The other thought is that maybe McCutchen is one of those guys who has really good breaking stuff compared with most young pitchers and so looks dominant in the lower minors, but because he doesn't throw hard enough, starts getting hit at the triple-A level and then gets killed at the big league level. In other words, the classic "four A" pitcher.
I am really disappointed in McCutchen's performance this spring, the more so when a spot in Pittsburgh's starting rotation was clearly his for the taking and he failed to take it. While it's not over for him yet by any means, his star has definitely dimmed, at least until we see what he does at triple-A Indianapolis.
If he hits the ground running at Indy and turns in a dominant half season---which is still well within his capabilities---we'll no doubt see him in Pittsburgh sometime in the second half of 2009. If he falls back from here, though, it could be his Waterloo as a pro baseball player, as he is in his mid-20s now and it's time for him to make it if indeed he can make it.
Four A, or future cornerstone? We'll find out this season.
(Will Pellas is a regular contributor of the GW, and we're glad that he's back in the saddle after taking an off-season hiatus)
"The Other McCutchen" has been a premiere control pitcher throughout his minor league career, with very strong BB/9 and WHIP figures; he even posted fairly good strikeout numbers, at least when compared with most "hit your spots" pitchers. Even a so-so year at triple-A in 2008 didn't cause any alarm. McCutchen's ERA of just over 4 was probably the result of giving up a few too many long balls, but that can be attributed to his exceptional control---he's always throwing strikes---and he still logged nearly 200 innings, which is a respectable milestone for any big league pitcher, let alone a guy in triple-A.
So, everything was in place for McCutchen to seize the day and grab a spot in the Pirates' retooled starting rotation in 2009.
Only now I can't figure him out. The guy has been an absolute terminator througout his minor league career, with a fearless, old school style. Granted, he's been a control pitcher terminator rather than the power pitcher version, but he's been extremely effective nonetheless. Unfortunately he's been getting his head handed to him pretty regularly during spring training. That spells "triple A" for him, but the thing is, there doesn't seem to be much more he can---or should---prove in the minors. What gives?
Two suspicions come to mind: one, that he is a control guy and that many pitchers of his type take longer to get their stuff together every year, since their margin for error is small and they have to hit their spots and it takes them time to hone their game.
The other thought is that maybe McCutchen is one of those guys who has really good breaking stuff compared with most young pitchers and so looks dominant in the lower minors, but because he doesn't throw hard enough, starts getting hit at the triple-A level and then gets killed at the big league level. In other words, the classic "four A" pitcher.
I am really disappointed in McCutchen's performance this spring, the more so when a spot in Pittsburgh's starting rotation was clearly his for the taking and he failed to take it. While it's not over for him yet by any means, his star has definitely dimmed, at least until we see what he does at triple-A Indianapolis.
If he hits the ground running at Indy and turns in a dominant half season---which is still well within his capabilities---we'll no doubt see him in Pittsburgh sometime in the second half of 2009. If he falls back from here, though, it could be his Waterloo as a pro baseball player, as he is in his mid-20s now and it's time for him to make it if indeed he can make it.
Four A, or future cornerstone? We'll find out this season.
(Will Pellas is a regular contributor of the GW, and we're glad that he's back in the saddle after taking an off-season hiatus)
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Other McCutchen
It took the Yankees two grabs to finally get their hands on RHP Daniel McCutchen. The Evil Empire drafted him straight out of Norman (OK) high school in 2003, but he chose to attend the University of Oklahoma instead. He was a reliever, but took off as a starter during his junior year as a Sooner.
After turning down offers from the Rays (2004) and the Cardinals (2005), the Yankees proved the third time was the charm, drafting him in the 13th round of the 2006 draft and finally getting his name inked on the dotted line.
McCutchen worked in nine games that year, two for short-season Staten Island where he started, and then at A Charleston, where he worked out of the pen. He posted a combined ERA of just over 2.00 in 30 innings, going 2-0 with a save.
McC derailed after that, testing positive for amphetamine; it was in the meds he had taken ever since college to control ADDS. The 50-game suspension continued into 2007.
After serving his time (the Pinstripe suits didn't hold the drug rap against him, believing it was a mistake of carelessness, not habit), McCutchen started at High A Tampa, where he had an 11-2 record, 2.50 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP.
The Yankees bumped him up to AA Trenton Thunder, where he finished the season 3-2, with a 2.41 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. And he spent the season in the rotation, where he's been ever since.
He continued to steadily advance, beginning 2008 at Trenton (4-3, 2.55 ERA) and then getting the call to Scranton-Wilkes Barre in AAA. He went 4-6 for SWB, with a 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and two complete games. And he apparently caught the Buc's eye while he was there.
When they began their July housekeeping, he was part of the return package in the Nady-Marte deal. Originally it was supposed to be pitchers George Kontos and Phil Coke joining Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata, but for an unknown reason - probably because the Pirates wanted guys nearly MLB ready rather than projects - he and Jeff Karstens got the tickets to Pittsburgh instead.
So it was see ya' to the coalfields and howdy to mid-America, as McCutchen joined Indy. He wasn't all that there, going 3-3 with a 4.69 ERA - the first time it had ever gone north of four as a pro - though his WHIP was still a respectable 1.17 with the Indians.
The problem at Indianapolis was the longball - he gave up a dozen in 48 innings of work. It could have been his workload catching up to him; he went from 142 innings in 2007 to 171-1/3 in 2008. But more ominously, it could be that his rep as a strike thrower got around, and guys were happily hacking away at his offerings.
McCutchen is a control pitcher, yielding just 2 walks per nine. And taking into account his minor league line - 2.97 ERA and 1.09 WHIP - it could have just been a small sample of work being skewed.
His pitching arsenal consists of a 4-seam fastball that gets to the plate at 91-93 MPH (top at 94) that he locates well; a 2-seam fastball clocked at 89-91 MPH, but without much movement; a curveball that's considered his best pitch, thrown in the low 80s with a bite, and a splitter that features a late tail and sink.
He's also working on a change that he threw some in Indy, a must for every Pirate pitcher under the new regime, and actually wanted to develop a slider, but the Bucco brass said enough was enough for the time being.
The 26-year old McCutchen has one other thing going for him - he's a fierce competitor. While that fearlessness is generally a good thing, sometimes it leads to him challenging a batter that he has in a pitcher's count, and it also rushes his delivery at times, a problem that dates back to his Yankee days. Some think that his mental bulldog attitude makes him a natural to close.
According to Baseball America's 2008 prospect handbook, McCutchen's future may be in the bullpen. They think that aggressive energy channels better during a short outing rather than over nine innings. We'll see; the Pirates have him penciled in as a starter, and that's how he'll make or break his name in the organization.
McCutchen got an invite to camp, and hasn't been terribly impressive yet. But the suits think he has an outside chance of making the roster - after all, it's good to be a righty that throws strikes in this organization.
But the more likely scenario is for him to join the rotation at Indy after camp. Though he is 26, he only has 53 starts and 340 pro innings under his belt. McC is Rule 5 eligible in 2010, and while his goal in the long term is to nail a spot on the staff, in the short term he has to make sure he knocks somebody off next year's 40-man roster.
* The Bucs lost 8-5 to the Rays today. They banged out five extra base hits, and Neil Walker had three knocks while Freddy Sanchez, Ryan Doumit, and Andy Phillips collected a pair, but they couldn't overcome Jimmy Barthmaier. He gave up six runs in 1-1/3 innings, and Virgil Vasquez gave up another deuce in the fourth.
It just reinforces the suit's mantra that you need starting pitching to win. But there was a bright side to the day's work: six Pirate relievers threw 5-2/3 frames of shutout, one hit ball, so there was some good mixed in with the bad.
The Pirates will travel to Fort Myers tomorrow to take on the Twins at 1:05 p.m. Zach Duke is scheduled to start, with McCutchen, Tyler Yates, Craig Hansen and Chris Bootcheck in the queue. Bootcheck and Hansen have made four scoreless appearances so far this spring; the bullpen guys on the whole have been sharp in the early going.
* Hey, you'd think Gift Ngoepe, a recent international Bucco signee, would be all goo-goo about Pittsburgh. You'd think wrong. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle found out during an exhibition game against Oakland that he's a big A's fan.
After turning down offers from the Rays (2004) and the Cardinals (2005), the Yankees proved the third time was the charm, drafting him in the 13th round of the 2006 draft and finally getting his name inked on the dotted line.
McCutchen worked in nine games that year, two for short-season Staten Island where he started, and then at A Charleston, where he worked out of the pen. He posted a combined ERA of just over 2.00 in 30 innings, going 2-0 with a save.
McC derailed after that, testing positive for amphetamine; it was in the meds he had taken ever since college to control ADDS. The 50-game suspension continued into 2007.
After serving his time (the Pinstripe suits didn't hold the drug rap against him, believing it was a mistake of carelessness, not habit), McCutchen started at High A Tampa, where he had an 11-2 record, 2.50 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP.
The Yankees bumped him up to AA Trenton Thunder, where he finished the season 3-2, with a 2.41 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. And he spent the season in the rotation, where he's been ever since.
He continued to steadily advance, beginning 2008 at Trenton (4-3, 2.55 ERA) and then getting the call to Scranton-Wilkes Barre in AAA. He went 4-6 for SWB, with a 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and two complete games. And he apparently caught the Buc's eye while he was there.
When they began their July housekeeping, he was part of the return package in the Nady-Marte deal. Originally it was supposed to be pitchers George Kontos and Phil Coke joining Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata, but for an unknown reason - probably because the Pirates wanted guys nearly MLB ready rather than projects - he and Jeff Karstens got the tickets to Pittsburgh instead.
So it was see ya' to the coalfields and howdy to mid-America, as McCutchen joined Indy. He wasn't all that there, going 3-3 with a 4.69 ERA - the first time it had ever gone north of four as a pro - though his WHIP was still a respectable 1.17 with the Indians.
The problem at Indianapolis was the longball - he gave up a dozen in 48 innings of work. It could have been his workload catching up to him; he went from 142 innings in 2007 to 171-1/3 in 2008. But more ominously, it could be that his rep as a strike thrower got around, and guys were happily hacking away at his offerings.
McCutchen is a control pitcher, yielding just 2 walks per nine. And taking into account his minor league line - 2.97 ERA and 1.09 WHIP - it could have just been a small sample of work being skewed.
His pitching arsenal consists of a 4-seam fastball that gets to the plate at 91-93 MPH (top at 94) that he locates well; a 2-seam fastball clocked at 89-91 MPH, but without much movement; a curveball that's considered his best pitch, thrown in the low 80s with a bite, and a splitter that features a late tail and sink.
He's also working on a change that he threw some in Indy, a must for every Pirate pitcher under the new regime, and actually wanted to develop a slider, but the Bucco brass said enough was enough for the time being.
The 26-year old McCutchen has one other thing going for him - he's a fierce competitor. While that fearlessness is generally a good thing, sometimes it leads to him challenging a batter that he has in a pitcher's count, and it also rushes his delivery at times, a problem that dates back to his Yankee days. Some think that his mental bulldog attitude makes him a natural to close.
According to Baseball America's 2008 prospect handbook, McCutchen's future may be in the bullpen. They think that aggressive energy channels better during a short outing rather than over nine innings. We'll see; the Pirates have him penciled in as a starter, and that's how he'll make or break his name in the organization.
McCutchen got an invite to camp, and hasn't been terribly impressive yet. But the suits think he has an outside chance of making the roster - after all, it's good to be a righty that throws strikes in this organization.
But the more likely scenario is for him to join the rotation at Indy after camp. Though he is 26, he only has 53 starts and 340 pro innings under his belt. McC is Rule 5 eligible in 2010, and while his goal in the long term is to nail a spot on the staff, in the short term he has to make sure he knocks somebody off next year's 40-man roster.
* The Bucs lost 8-5 to the Rays today. They banged out five extra base hits, and Neil Walker had three knocks while Freddy Sanchez, Ryan Doumit, and Andy Phillips collected a pair, but they couldn't overcome Jimmy Barthmaier. He gave up six runs in 1-1/3 innings, and Virgil Vasquez gave up another deuce in the fourth.
It just reinforces the suit's mantra that you need starting pitching to win. But there was a bright side to the day's work: six Pirate relievers threw 5-2/3 frames of shutout, one hit ball, so there was some good mixed in with the bad.
The Pirates will travel to Fort Myers tomorrow to take on the Twins at 1:05 p.m. Zach Duke is scheduled to start, with McCutchen, Tyler Yates, Craig Hansen and Chris Bootcheck in the queue. Bootcheck and Hansen have made four scoreless appearances so far this spring; the bullpen guys on the whole have been sharp in the early going.
* Hey, you'd think Gift Ngoepe, a recent international Bucco signee, would be all goo-goo about Pittsburgh. You'd think wrong. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle found out during an exhibition game against Oakland that he's a big A's fan.
South Africa second baseman Npho "Gift" Ngoepe, 19, is a Sotho tribesman who grew up on a baseball field; his mother worked at the clubhouse in Randburg. He's also a longtime A's fan, and he wanted to see Giambi, Eric Chavez and Bobby Crosby.What, he never heard of Pops?
"On PlayStation, I'll be like, 'Giambi's up, he hits all the home runs, that's big!' " Ngoepe said.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Call 911
So much for bragging on the bullpen. The Zachster staggered through six innings, but left with the score still well in hand at 4-3. Denny Bautista and Sean Burnett made quick work of that, giving up 6 runs in the seventh as the Bucs fell 10-4.
Two walks, a beaned batter, four extra base hits - and it took a DP to get them out of the inning. Ouch.
> Ryan Doumit was yanked from the game in the seventh inning. The team says he either had a case of the flu or suffered from dehydration in the muggy Milwaukee night. We'll see tomorrow how serious it is.
> The Bucs optioned Romulo Sanchez back to Indy. They still have another move to make. We think that it's going to be a pitcher, maybe Jason Davis or less likely, Craig Hansen, though Nyjer Morgan's status may hinge on Nate McLouth's health.
EDIT - wrong again. TJ Beam got the bus ticket, and Jay Davis is going to the bullpen. The suits said Beam and Sanchez will be back in September. We thought they'd give Davis a start or two at Indy, but with only ten games to go, the Tribe will probably just trot out Mike Thompson a couple of more times.
> John Russell explained to Nick Zaccardi of MLB.com that holding Gorzo for tomorrow was mostly to give Jeff Karstens a blow. Karstens will be pushed back two days to start the series opener against the Cubs.
"His workload this year has been a lot more than last year," Russell said. "We're monitoring him, giving him a couple extra days here and there. It's just to make sure he's strong and he feels good."
Karstens' start on Monday pushes Ian Snell to Tuesday and puts Jason Davis' status in the air. Paul Maholm will still start Sunday.
If you're confused now, just wait until September, when they try to find starts for six or seven pitchers.
> Jordan Bastian of MLB.com talked to Joey Bats about his new gig with the Blue Jays:
Bautista will keep third base warm with Marco Scutaro until Scott Rolen comes off the DL, and is expected to see some work in the OF. He bounced out as a PH in his first Toronto plate appearance tonight.
On the minor league front: Indy rode a strong performance from RHP Daniel McCutchen (6-8, 3.94 ERA) to a 3-2 win tonight. McCutchen went seven innings, giving up four hits and two runs while striking out seven. He pounded the plate, with 62 of his 85 pitches being strikes.
His overall 2008 WHIP is a pretty good 1.17, but he's given up 18 HR's in 107-1/3 innings of work. We know strike throwers are prone to surrendering the long ball, but that's something he has to cut down a bit to be successful in the bigs.
To compare, Zach Duke leads the Pirates in HR's given up, with 19 in 151-1/3 innings (and no, we're not going near Gorzo's stats!)
CF Andrew McCutchen (.280) had two hits, including a double, and scored. The big blow was delivered by veteran RF Jorges Cortes (.167), who hit his first homer, a two run shot.
> Altoona blew a 4-3 ninth inning lead to lose 5-4 in ten innings. CF Jose Tabata (.274) went 3-4 with a double, RBI, and run. Jim Negrych (.325) had two hits and an RBI.
> Lynchburg won 2-1 behind LHP Anthony Watson (7-12, 3.67 ERA), who went 7 innings and gave up 2 hits, an unearned run, one walk and striking out six. 1B Kent Sakamota (.258) had two hits, including a double.
The Hillcats manufactured a run in the eighth for the win. SS Brian Friday (.292) led off with a double, moved to third on a bunt, and scored on a sac fly.
> Hickory took advantage of five Lexington errors to take home a 7-5 win. The Crawdads committed two of their own, allowing 4 unearned runs, to keep it close.
DH Keanon Simon (.241) went 2-4 with his third HR and a walk, scoring once and plating a pair. RF Albert Laboy (.244) hit his 5th homer and had 2 RBI and runs scored. C Aeden McQueary (.208) added a pair of hits.
> State College gave up runs in the ninth and tenth innings to drop a tough 2-1 decision. 3B (.301) Jeremy Farrell had three of the Spikes six hits.
RHP Yoffri Martinez (2-4, 3.62 ERA) took the loss for the second consecutive night, giving up two singles and a sac fly in the tenth. The tying run in the ninth scored on a two out error by LF Matt Payne. It's the Spikes second straight loss thanks to a last inning outfield misadventure.
> Bradenton lost, 7-3. SS Andury Acevedo (.227) had two hits, an RBI and run. 1B Alex Vargas (.272) had two hits and a walk.
Two walks, a beaned batter, four extra base hits - and it took a DP to get them out of the inning. Ouch.
> Ryan Doumit was yanked from the game in the seventh inning. The team says he either had a case of the flu or suffered from dehydration in the muggy Milwaukee night. We'll see tomorrow how serious it is.
> The Bucs optioned Romulo Sanchez back to Indy. They still have another move to make. We think that it's going to be a pitcher, maybe Jason Davis or less likely, Craig Hansen, though Nyjer Morgan's status may hinge on Nate McLouth's health.
EDIT - wrong again. TJ Beam got the bus ticket, and Jay Davis is going to the bullpen. The suits said Beam and Sanchez will be back in September. We thought they'd give Davis a start or two at Indy, but with only ten games to go, the Tribe will probably just trot out Mike Thompson a couple of more times.
> John Russell explained to Nick Zaccardi of MLB.com that holding Gorzo for tomorrow was mostly to give Jeff Karstens a blow. Karstens will be pushed back two days to start the series opener against the Cubs.
"His workload this year has been a lot more than last year," Russell said. "We're monitoring him, giving him a couple extra days here and there. It's just to make sure he's strong and he feels good."
Karstens' start on Monday pushes Ian Snell to Tuesday and puts Jason Davis' status in the air. Paul Maholm will still start Sunday.
If you're confused now, just wait until September, when they try to find starts for six or seven pitchers.
> Jordan Bastian of MLB.com talked to Joey Bats about his new gig with the Blue Jays:
Jose Bautista felt a sense of relief when he learned that the Pirates had traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays. An organizational change was precisely what the third baseman had hoped for after losing his job in Pittsburgh earlier this month.A pretty straightforward response to his situation, we think.
Declining to delve into specifics, Bautista said his relationship had soured with Pittsburgh manager John Russell.
"For some reason, it just wasn't a good fit for me," Bautista said. "Me and the manager and maybe the people that kept a direct relationship in the front office with him just couldn't see eye to eye on a couple things. It's just how the ball rolls sometimes."
Bautista said that joining the Jays, who entered Friday seven games back of the top slot in the American League Wild Card standings, is a welcome change of pace.
"I'm glad to be on a winning team," Bautista said. "It's been up and down for the last five years and I've never been on a winning team. So, it's going to be a great atmosphere for me to be in and, hopefully, I can contribute to keep getting more wins and closer to that playoff spot."
Bautista will keep third base warm with Marco Scutaro until Scott Rolen comes off the DL, and is expected to see some work in the OF. He bounced out as a PH in his first Toronto plate appearance tonight.
On the minor league front: Indy rode a strong performance from RHP Daniel McCutchen (6-8, 3.94 ERA) to a 3-2 win tonight. McCutchen went seven innings, giving up four hits and two runs while striking out seven. He pounded the plate, with 62 of his 85 pitches being strikes.
His overall 2008 WHIP is a pretty good 1.17, but he's given up 18 HR's in 107-1/3 innings of work. We know strike throwers are prone to surrendering the long ball, but that's something he has to cut down a bit to be successful in the bigs.
To compare, Zach Duke leads the Pirates in HR's given up, with 19 in 151-1/3 innings (and no, we're not going near Gorzo's stats!)
CF Andrew McCutchen (.280) had two hits, including a double, and scored. The big blow was delivered by veteran RF Jorges Cortes (.167), who hit his first homer, a two run shot.
> Altoona blew a 4-3 ninth inning lead to lose 5-4 in ten innings. CF Jose Tabata (.274) went 3-4 with a double, RBI, and run. Jim Negrych (.325) had two hits and an RBI.
> Lynchburg won 2-1 behind LHP Anthony Watson (7-12, 3.67 ERA), who went 7 innings and gave up 2 hits, an unearned run, one walk and striking out six. 1B Kent Sakamota (.258) had two hits, including a double.
The Hillcats manufactured a run in the eighth for the win. SS Brian Friday (.292) led off with a double, moved to third on a bunt, and scored on a sac fly.
> Hickory took advantage of five Lexington errors to take home a 7-5 win. The Crawdads committed two of their own, allowing 4 unearned runs, to keep it close.
DH Keanon Simon (.241) went 2-4 with his third HR and a walk, scoring once and plating a pair. RF Albert Laboy (.244) hit his 5th homer and had 2 RBI and runs scored. C Aeden McQueary (.208) added a pair of hits.
> State College gave up runs in the ninth and tenth innings to drop a tough 2-1 decision. 3B (.301) Jeremy Farrell had three of the Spikes six hits.
RHP Yoffri Martinez (2-4, 3.62 ERA) took the loss for the second consecutive night, giving up two singles and a sac fly in the tenth. The tying run in the ninth scored on a two out error by LF Matt Payne. It's the Spikes second straight loss thanks to a last inning outfield misadventure.
> Bradenton lost, 7-3. SS Andury Acevedo (.227) had two hits, an RBI and run. 1B Alex Vargas (.272) had two hits and a walk.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The New Bucs...
From MLB.com:
> Jose Tabata, OF: The headlines in the New York tabloids last season likened Tabata to Manny Ramirez. He's young, he's talented and he was supposed to be one of the prospects on whom the Yankees were keeping a firm hold. But along with being young and talented, he's also temperamental, so maybe the Manny comparisons weren't too far off.
Tabata bolted from the Trenton Thunder at the end of April in an incident that may have ultimately played a role in making him a future Buc instead of a future Bomber. He had been struggling through the first month of the season when his frustrations came to a head on April 26 at New Britain. After striking out for the second time against the Rock Cats in the Eastern League contest, Tabata went into the visiting clubhouse, picked up his belongings and left the stadium.
The Yankees suspended him for three days and welcomed him back after he apologized and copped to being immature and frustrated. He was hitting .200 when he walked out on the team. He's hit .270 since returning, raising his average to .248. Tabata has three homers, 36 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a bunch of unanswered questions that have cropped up about his makeup since the incident.
If he can put this behind him and continue to play the way he played early on in his career with New York, then the Pirates could have a nice young outfielder to build around. He hit .314 as a 17-year-old in the GCL in 2005 and was hitting .305 at Charleston of the Sally League the following July when he was hit by a pitch on the right wrist.
Doctors struggled to make a diagnosis and he played with a sore hand for much of 2007 before having the hamate bone removed in August. Still, he hit .307 in the Florida State League and had 54 RBIs.
While there was talk that he was the heir apparent to Bobby Abreu in right field, his inconsistencies and obvious immaturity have tarnished his reputation as being one of the brighter prospects in baseball.
> Ross Ohlendorf, RHP: Ohlendorf was with the Yankees the first three months of this season after appearing in six games for them last year. His claim to fame is that he was part of the trade that sent Randy Johnson back to the Diamondbacks in January of 2007.
Ohlendorf has seen considerable time at the AAA level over the last three seasons, and had appeared in 25 games out of the bullpen for the Yanks this year. He was 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA. He has been used mostly as a starter throughout his career since the Diamondbacks took him in the fourth round out of Princeton in 2004.
His departure from New York coincided with Sidney Ponson's arrival. Ohlendorf was 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the Triple-A International League.
> Jeff Karstens, RHP: Karstens was selected by the Yankees in the 19th round of the 2003 Draft out of Texas Tech. He snaked his way through the system, eventually reaching New York in 2006, when he went 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in eight games (six starts) for the Bombers.
He appeared in only seven games for the Yankees last year because of injuries. Karstens suffered from a tender elbow near the end of spring training and then went down after suffering a broken right leg at the end of April against the Red Sox.
Karstens appeared to have the best shot at earning the long man spot in the New York pen this season, but pulled his right groin - incidentally it was on a pitch to Nady - and didn't return to action until the middle of May. Since his return, he's made 12 starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, posting a 6-4 record with a 3.80 ERA. He's won three consecutive starts.
> Daniel McCutchen, RHP: The big right-hander from Oklahoma experienced some early hiccups after the Yankees made him a 13th-round selection in 2006. He was hit with a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's performance enhancing drug policy, but laid the blame on some prescription drugs he took while in school.
The Yanks seemed satisfied with his explanation and he came back strong last year, going 14-4 with a 2.47 ERA while splitting time between the Florida State and Eastern Leagues. He was 2-0 in two playoff starts for the Thunder as they won the EL title.
McCutchen is 8-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 20 starts split between Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He's won his last three outings and has a 2.39 ERA over his last 26 1/3 innings. There was some discussion about moving him to the bullpen because of his aggressiveness and attack-the-hitter style on the mound.
Overall, he's got a good low-90s fastball that moves, whether it's a two-seamer or four-seamer. His curveball remains an effective out pitch.
> Jose Tabata, OF: The headlines in the New York tabloids last season likened Tabata to Manny Ramirez. He's young, he's talented and he was supposed to be one of the prospects on whom the Yankees were keeping a firm hold. But along with being young and talented, he's also temperamental, so maybe the Manny comparisons weren't too far off.
Tabata bolted from the Trenton Thunder at the end of April in an incident that may have ultimately played a role in making him a future Buc instead of a future Bomber. He had been struggling through the first month of the season when his frustrations came to a head on April 26 at New Britain. After striking out for the second time against the Rock Cats in the Eastern League contest, Tabata went into the visiting clubhouse, picked up his belongings and left the stadium.
The Yankees suspended him for three days and welcomed him back after he apologized and copped to being immature and frustrated. He was hitting .200 when he walked out on the team. He's hit .270 since returning, raising his average to .248. Tabata has three homers, 36 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a bunch of unanswered questions that have cropped up about his makeup since the incident.
If he can put this behind him and continue to play the way he played early on in his career with New York, then the Pirates could have a nice young outfielder to build around. He hit .314 as a 17-year-old in the GCL in 2005 and was hitting .305 at Charleston of the Sally League the following July when he was hit by a pitch on the right wrist.
Doctors struggled to make a diagnosis and he played with a sore hand for much of 2007 before having the hamate bone removed in August. Still, he hit .307 in the Florida State League and had 54 RBIs.
While there was talk that he was the heir apparent to Bobby Abreu in right field, his inconsistencies and obvious immaturity have tarnished his reputation as being one of the brighter prospects in baseball.
> Ross Ohlendorf, RHP: Ohlendorf was with the Yankees the first three months of this season after appearing in six games for them last year. His claim to fame is that he was part of the trade that sent Randy Johnson back to the Diamondbacks in January of 2007.
Ohlendorf has seen considerable time at the AAA level over the last three seasons, and had appeared in 25 games out of the bullpen for the Yanks this year. He was 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA. He has been used mostly as a starter throughout his career since the Diamondbacks took him in the fourth round out of Princeton in 2004.
His departure from New York coincided with Sidney Ponson's arrival. Ohlendorf was 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the Triple-A International League.
> Jeff Karstens, RHP: Karstens was selected by the Yankees in the 19th round of the 2003 Draft out of Texas Tech. He snaked his way through the system, eventually reaching New York in 2006, when he went 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in eight games (six starts) for the Bombers.
He appeared in only seven games for the Yankees last year because of injuries. Karstens suffered from a tender elbow near the end of spring training and then went down after suffering a broken right leg at the end of April against the Red Sox.
Karstens appeared to have the best shot at earning the long man spot in the New York pen this season, but pulled his right groin - incidentally it was on a pitch to Nady - and didn't return to action until the middle of May. Since his return, he's made 12 starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, posting a 6-4 record with a 3.80 ERA. He's won three consecutive starts.
> Daniel McCutchen, RHP: The big right-hander from Oklahoma experienced some early hiccups after the Yankees made him a 13th-round selection in 2006. He was hit with a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's performance enhancing drug policy, but laid the blame on some prescription drugs he took while in school.
The Yanks seemed satisfied with his explanation and he came back strong last year, going 14-4 with a 2.47 ERA while splitting time between the Florida State and Eastern Leagues. He was 2-0 in two playoff starts for the Thunder as they won the EL title.
McCutchen is 8-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 20 starts split between Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He's won his last three outings and has a 2.39 ERA over his last 26 1/3 innings. There was some discussion about moving him to the bullpen because of his aggressiveness and attack-the-hitter style on the mound.
Overall, he's got a good low-90s fastball that moves, whether it's a two-seamer or four-seamer. His curveball remains an effective out pitch.
Breaking news...
Peter Abraham of the NY Post, in his LoHud Yankees Blog reports the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal has been reconfigured (EDIT - it's official now. The final pieces weren't put together until this morning. Ohlendorf and Karstens join the 40-man roster, and Steve Pearce was called up from Indy.)
The Yankees are sending RHP Dan McCutchen, RHP Jeff Karstens, OF Jose Tabata and RHP Ross Ohlendorf to Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. LHP Phil Coke and RHP George Kontos are out of the mix now.
We sort of wondered when the teams refused to name names whether the deal was still in flux. Pick one from column A, another from column B...
Karstens, 26, throws a 90-91 MPH heater with an improving splitter, a change up he uses for his out pitch, and a curve he rarely shows. He's 6-4 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 3.80 ERA. In two years with the Yankees, Karsens is 3-5 with a 5.65 ERA as a starter and long man.
McCutchen, 25, is highly considered in the Yankee organization and was generally thought to be untouchable. He throws both a four-seam and two-seam fastball, a curve and change - and it's said he's developed a pretty mean slider at Scranton, where he's 4-6 with a 3.58 ERA.
He was also suspended 50 games for steroid use between 2006-07. McCutchen denies that allegation, saying it wasn't the juice but an ADD med he was taking.
Both guys are starters and good control/low hit pitchers. McCutchen has a WHIP of 1.19, Karstens 1.18. We really liked Kontos, but this duo is an upgrade over the discarded pair. Older, but nearer to being MLB ready, even if they're part of the second tier of Bronx Bomber pitching.
It also shows how vital depth is in an organization. The Yankees didn't put a dent in their list of their top pitching prospects and landed a pair of proven MLB players. But while it didn't hurt their system a twit, it immediately upgraded Pittsburgh's. The Pirates are still years away from that ability to reload or deal.
Our take? While many fans point enviously to Billy Beane's booty bag, he traded pitching, and everyone was willing to bid high for that commodity. The Pirates needed pitching, and it was obvious no one was parting with their elite. The Bucs were offered AA arms across the board, and that was as good as it would get.
So they got a talented headcase in Tabata, who they can groom to replace Bay someday if he lives up to his potential. McCutchen is a top flight AA arm and more than holding his own in AAA.
Ohlendorf and Karstens can toss MLB ball, even if at the back end of the rotation or as long men, and the recent implosion of Pirate pitching attests to their need for that. Of course, they could became part of the Indy crop of AAAA pitchers, too, so the jury is out on them until they put up or shut up.
Face it - Nady and Marte were dead men walking as far as the Pirate suits were concerned. Tampa and the Mets wouldn't or couldn't beat the Yankee deal.
So Pittsburgh pulled the trigger to hopefully get some pitching depth at the upper levels with Ohlendorf and Karstens - remember, Indy's rotation was in shambles, too - and some down-the-road potential with McCutchen and Tabata.
Could they have done better holding out to the deadline? Maybe, but obviously they thought not. A couple of days won't tell the tale, anyway. A couple of years will.
Now it's Jay Bay's turn on the hot seat. According to the MLB.com Pro Blog:
Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News reports:
Could shape up to be an interesting week of rumors ahead of us, but we think Bay stays and any deals would be of smaller pieces.
As Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes about future wheeling and dealing:
The Yankees are sending RHP Dan McCutchen, RHP Jeff Karstens, OF Jose Tabata and RHP Ross Ohlendorf to Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. LHP Phil Coke and RHP George Kontos are out of the mix now.
We sort of wondered when the teams refused to name names whether the deal was still in flux. Pick one from column A, another from column B...
Karstens, 26, throws a 90-91 MPH heater with an improving splitter, a change up he uses for his out pitch, and a curve he rarely shows. He's 6-4 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 3.80 ERA. In two years with the Yankees, Karsens is 3-5 with a 5.65 ERA as a starter and long man.
McCutchen, 25, is highly considered in the Yankee organization and was generally thought to be untouchable. He throws both a four-seam and two-seam fastball, a curve and change - and it's said he's developed a pretty mean slider at Scranton, where he's 4-6 with a 3.58 ERA.
He was also suspended 50 games for steroid use between 2006-07. McCutchen denies that allegation, saying it wasn't the juice but an ADD med he was taking.
Both guys are starters and good control/low hit pitchers. McCutchen has a WHIP of 1.19, Karstens 1.18. We really liked Kontos, but this duo is an upgrade over the discarded pair. Older, but nearer to being MLB ready, even if they're part of the second tier of Bronx Bomber pitching.
It also shows how vital depth is in an organization. The Yankees didn't put a dent in their list of their top pitching prospects and landed a pair of proven MLB players. But while it didn't hurt their system a twit, it immediately upgraded Pittsburgh's. The Pirates are still years away from that ability to reload or deal.
Our take? While many fans point enviously to Billy Beane's booty bag, he traded pitching, and everyone was willing to bid high for that commodity. The Pirates needed pitching, and it was obvious no one was parting with their elite. The Bucs were offered AA arms across the board, and that was as good as it would get.
So they got a talented headcase in Tabata, who they can groom to replace Bay someday if he lives up to his potential. McCutchen is a top flight AA arm and more than holding his own in AAA.
Ohlendorf and Karstens can toss MLB ball, even if at the back end of the rotation or as long men, and the recent implosion of Pirate pitching attests to their need for that. Of course, they could became part of the Indy crop of AAAA pitchers, too, so the jury is out on them until they put up or shut up.
Face it - Nady and Marte were dead men walking as far as the Pirate suits were concerned. Tampa and the Mets wouldn't or couldn't beat the Yankee deal.
So Pittsburgh pulled the trigger to hopefully get some pitching depth at the upper levels with Ohlendorf and Karstens - remember, Indy's rotation was in shambles, too - and some down-the-road potential with McCutchen and Tabata.
Could they have done better holding out to the deadline? Maybe, but obviously they thought not. A couple of days won't tell the tale, anyway. A couple of years will.
Now it's Jay Bay's turn on the hot seat. According to the MLB.com Pro Blog:
Before Friday night's game against the Phillies, many of the Braves players were asking whether Jason Bay was going to be one of their teammates at some point this weekend. On Thursday night, some of them were under the impression that a deal with the Pirates was imminent.
In fact one player said he had expected to wake up on Friday and learn the deal was complete. But when asked on Friday night, the Braves said they weren't close to making a deal for Bay.
Still as Braves GM Frank Wren continues his search for a power bat, Bay remains a definite candidate.
Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News reports:
The Mets have narrowed their trade focus to acquiring a corner outfielder, and one team insider expressed optimism that Cleveland's Casey Blake, Seattle's Raul Ibanez or Pittsburgh's Jason Bay could be obtained next week.
The belief is that those teams' demands, currently exorbitant, will relax as Thursday's trading deadline approaches. GM Omar Minaya wouldn't discuss individual players, but acknowledged the organization has started to focus on particular targets.
The Pirates' trade of Xavier Nady last night might change Pittsburgh's plans about trading Bay.
Could shape up to be an interesting week of rumors ahead of us, but we think Bay stays and any deals would be of smaller pieces.
As Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes about future wheeling and dealing:
There is not believed to be any deal imminent. And because of the steady financial state of the team and the contract situations of the remaining players, the Pirates would have to be blown away by an offer to cut a deal. As a result, it remains plausible, but unlikely, that any other big deals will come down in Pittsburgh over the next week.
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