The speedster has struggled to breakthrough, but his peripherals look reminiscent of a very good major leaguer.
Baseball is back, and the New York Yankees won in Washington on Thursday’s Opening Day. Order has been restored. And while we couldn’t watch the whole nine innings thanks to the rain, it was enough for some takeaways.
Tyler Wade looked very good out there in a couple of plate appearances, in the field and on the basepaths. He drew a walk and had a bunt single, and he scored all the way from first base on an Aaron Judge double, showing once again that he can change a game with his speed.
What would a full season from Tyler Wade look like if he were a regular and played up to his ceiling? It sure is fun to imagine, isn’t it? It’s an entertaining exercise because he isn’t your typical Yankee slugger — he is a different kind of player.
He’s been bad, but we need a bigger sample
So far, Wade hasn’t been able to succeed at the major league level. He has a putrid .201/.274/.301 line with a .256 wOBA and a 55 wRC+. That comes in a small sample size of 110 games and 243 plate appearances, with an 8.6 BB% and a 28.8 K%. He’s been plain bad.
However, in a much larger sample size in the minors (694 games) Wade is a .274/.351/.370 hitter with a .721 OPS. Not excellent, not great, but decent. And if you add the fact that he is still young and projectable at 25, that he has game-changing speed, and that he has improved from being a -10.2 UZR/150 and -1 DRS defender at second in 2018 to a 1.0 and 2, respectively, in 2019, there’s the mold for a very interesting player.
I would say Wade’s ceiling would look a lot like Whit Merrifield. He is a ways away from performing at that level, but the two players are somewhat similar when we talk about their best attributes.
Merrifield, now 31 years old, has been among the Kansas City Royals’ best players for a couple of years. He has moderate pop (19, 12 and 16 homers in the last three seasons) but his best trait is his elite speed. He uses it in all facets of his game, including on the bases, stealing a total of 99 bases the last three years.
If you think about it, Wade’s minor league OPS of .721 is not terribly far off Merrifield’s .789 mark in the major leagues, although I concede that there’s still a gap to bridge. There is a lot of work to be done. To reach that level, Wade would need to increase his power output to at least 10-to-15 homers per year, and up his batting average.
Baby (Bomber) steps
Improving offensively is in the agenda, and last season, Wade performed at an 88 wRC+ level with a .245/.330/.362 slash line. That’s at least better than his career 55 wRC+ mark, though that’s a low bar to clear.
Merrifield is a career .296/.344/.445 batter. He edges Wade in virtually every aspect of the game, including defense. But could Wade develop into a similarly-rated player with time and at-bats? In theory, he could.
The practice, however, is another story. DJ LeMahieu will return any day and will bump Wade to the bench. He would need another injury or surprising trade to unlock regular at-bats, and even in that scenario, it is possible that the Yankees award those plate appearances to Thairo Estrada or another ballplayer.
For now, I am imagining Wade’s ceiling, and he sure looks like an exciting player. In 2017, he batted .310/.382/.460 with a 136 wRC+ in 85 Triple-A games. In 2019, he was at .296/.352/.425 with a 99 wRC+ in 79 games. Based on what he’s shown with consistent playing time, his best version in the bigs could look like a .285/.350/.430 hitter, with 10-12 home runs and 30+ steals. Let’s hope he reaches that Merrifield-lite status.
WASHINGTON — Gary Sanchez will always be defined by his powerful right-handed bat, but Thursday night the Yankees’ catcher talked about how far he has come with the new defensive stance introduced by catching instructor Tanner Swanson in February.
In the early days of spring training 1.0, Sanchez seemed uncomfortable with the low crouch that featured a leg kicked out and designed for him to turn borderline low pitches into called strikes.
Following Thursday night’s impressive 4-1 Opening Day win over Max Scherzer and the defending World Series champion Nationals, Sanchez described his progress.
“Getting better, much more comfortable and getting to the point where it is second nature to me,’’ Sanchez said of the setup that was in play working with Gerrit Cole. “I think it is a result of all the work we have been doing. It has been a lot of work dedicated to assimilate the stance and I think it is making progress.’’
As for the bat, Sanchez struck out against Scherzer in three at-bats, but that isn’t a rarity against the right-hander who fanned 11 but took the loss. Brett Gardner also had the strikeout hat trick.
Tyler Wade is on the Yankees’ 30-man roster for his ability to play shortstop, second, third and run.
Thursday night against the Nationals, the left-handed hitting Wade was in the lineup at second base because DJ LeMahieu continued to work his way back from COVID-19. Though Wade isn’t the accomplished big-league hitter that LeMahieu is, he did do something in the Yankees’ win that LeMahieu couldn’t have accomplished: he scored from first on Aaron Judge’s double to left in the third inning, with the help of third-base coach Phil Nevin sending him home.
“His speed, we saw the bunt game [Thursday night], he is a special kind of defender. It is one thing to have speed, but he is a great base runner,’’ Aaron Boone said of Wade, who in a sacrifice-bunt situation in the fifth got the ball past the mound and forced second baseman Starlin Castro to attempt a barehanded play that went for a single and helped build a run. “If he can get on base enough he is a guy who can affect the game and the versatility he has a chance to be really valuable.’’
In parts of three big-league seasons, the 25-year-old Wade had 218 at-bats in 109 games and a .197 batting average entering Thursday night. However, when he played regularly for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2017, he led the International League with a .310 batting average.
“I think he has it in him to be a guy who controls the strike zone which is critical for him, not chasing,’’ Boone said. “The difference between him being a really good major leaguer or struggling .’’
As for LeMahieu, he was scheduled to face Jordan Montgomery in a simulated game Friday. If that went well, there is a chance the All-Star second baseman starts against Stephen Strasburg on Saturday night.
The New York Yankees opened up the 2020 MLB season with a 4-1 win in a shortened five-inning game against the Washington Nationals in the nation’s capital Thursday night.
Gerrit Cole made his Yankee debut after signing a lucrative nine-year, $324 million contract during the off-season. He earned his first win in pinstripes, allowing only one hit and striking out five while pitching all five innings for the Yankees.
While much of the spotlight was on the Yankee debut of Cole, Giancarlo Stanton was also making his presence on the team available with an outstanding performance, going 2-for-3 with a mammoth two-run home run in the top of the first to give the Yankees the lead.
Although his second at-bat would result in a strikeout, Stanton would make his third at-bat count by driving a long single down the right-field line to score one additional run, giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead.
Stanton’s impressive debut might be considered an overreaction by many, but it is not in the slightest. The Yankees faced off against Max Scherzer, who is still considered to be one of the best pitchers in the game, even though he will be 36 years old on Monday. The matchup against Scherzer was tough for most of the lineup, as Scherzer struck out 11 in only 5.1 innings of work.
What fans saw out of Stanton was a great start to 2020, as Stanton only managed to play in 18 games in all of the 2019 season hitting only three home runs and driving in 13. He has received a lot of criticism due to his injury history, the inability to play the outfield full-time due to his injuries and his lucrative contract.
If Stanton can give the Yankees 55 games this season and the ability to hit at least .260, the Yankees will take those stats. The main focus is to keep Stanton healthy while also contributing to a deadly Yankee lineup.
Last night, the Yankees announced they optioned outfielder Clint Frazier and right-handed reliever Ben Heller to their alternate training site. The club plans to bring right-handers Nick Nelson and Brooks Kriske up to the active roster in their stead. They’ll add a pair of fresh arms to a pitching staff that saw James Paxton work just one-plus inning in Saturday’s loss to the Nationals.
So continues Frazier’s repeated journeys on and off the big league roster. The onetime top prospect has been decent offensively, albeit with some high-profile defensive issues, when he’s gotten MLB opportunities (career .254/.308/.463 line in 429 plate appearances). Still, he’s had a hard time cracking a loaded Yankees outfield.
Given his immense power potential, the 25-year-old has long been rumored as a potential trade candidate. Thus far, the organization has expressed little interest in giving him up. Given the club’s competitive outlook, though, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name floated in rumors again this season. Yesterday’s demotion doesn’t suggest the organization has soured on Frazier long-term, but it does underscore the difficulty for him in carving out an immediate, significant role in the Bronx.
Nelson and Kriske, meanwhile, will each make their MLB debut if/when they get into a game. Each posted strong strikeout and run prevention numbers in Double-A in 2019, albeit with slightly elevated walk rates.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Team bonding is as important as ever with the Yankees having mostly been away from each other for the last four months, and Gerrit Cole and Brett Gardner are leading the way. The two veterans splurged for a steak dinner in the team’s D.C. hotel, and the players hung out (while socially distant) and watched other Opening Day games with some good eats. It was a nice gesture by two Yankees leaders, and as Chad Green put it, you “can’t complain about a good steak!”
New York Daily News: Kristie Ackert: Zack Britton is not a fan of the expanded MLB playoffs. He argued that there should be a greater reward for division winners, and as a pitcher on a likely division leader, it’s hard to blame him. As it stands, there is almost no benefit for the one-, two- and three-seeds, other than home-field-advantage in the expanded playoff round. It creates more excitement, which Britton says is good, but the rushed nature of the rule’s implementation has seemingly caused more confusion with players than expected.
New York Post | George A. King III: Gary Sanchez took awhile to adapt to his new defensive stance, which features one knee almost permanently in the dirt, but he is comfortable in it now. Sanchez says he is getting to the point where it almost feels like “second nature,” which is exactly what new catching instructor Tanner Swanson wants. The goal of the new stance is to help Sanchez get better at framing the low pitch for a strike, while maintaining his improved blocking. It’s still early, but there’s been nothing but good reports on Sanchez’s defense so far.
The Yankees have two Princeton Alumni on their opening day roster.
Select universities around the country are known for producing future major leaguers on a yearly basis. Princeton University is not one of these schools. This season, however, the Yankees boasted two alumni, David Hale and Mike Ford, from the Ivy League school on their opening day roster.
Princeton’s long time coach Scott Bradley is a former Yankee, and despite playing just 28 games as a Yankee is in the regular rotation for Old-Timers day. As a coach at Princeton, he has won seven Ivy League titles and over 400 games in 22 seasons. His work and the current Princeton roster is likely well known to the Yankees coaching staff, as it sports Aaron Boone’s nephew Jake as their starting shortstop.
Bradley’s professional career began when he was drafted by the Yankees in the third round of the 1981 draft. While in college he was the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year starring for the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill).
Taking advantage the opportunities afforded to him, Bradley asked legendary UNC basketball coach Dean Smith if he could attend basketball practice as an observer. He crafted his future coaching philosophies by taking notes on everything Smith did, later saying “Dean Smith had this amazing way of making everybody feel good about themselves and that their role was important.”
He rose quickly through the minors, making his major league debut as a September call-up in 1984. Bradley was part of the Yankees opening day roster in 1985, but never earned a regular major league spot and playing time with the franchise. He was traded to the White Sox before the 1986 season. Bradley played nine seasons in the majors and caught Randy Johnson’s first career no-hitter as a member of the Mariners.
Once established as a college coach, he was able to convince Georgia native David Hale to join his program. While in college, Hale split time on the mound and playing center field. Despite never putting up an ERA under 4.00, scouts saw a player with impressive raw stuff that could reach 97 mph. The Atlanta Braves selected Hale in the third round of the 2009 draft.
Hale reached the major leagues in 2013, and found success working as both a starter and reliever over the next few season for the Braves. Following a trade to the Colorado Rockies prior to the 2015 season, Hale’s baseball career turned into an odyssey as he sought a steady landing spot. He spent time bouncing around the Dodgers, Yankees and Twins organizations. He finished the 2018 season in Korea after being designated for assignment multiple times that season.
As a Yankee, Hale has produced a 2.98 ERA in 48.1 innings at the major league level. He has provided a flexible option out of the bullpen who can go multiple innings and keeps runs off the board. The expanded rosters to start the 2020 season will give him a chance to lock down a long-term role in a crowded Yankees bullpen.
Like David Hale before him, Mike Ford excelled on both sides of the ball while attending Princeton. Coach Bradley had seen Ford compete against his son growing up in New Jersey and loved his ability. The promise of being able to play on both sides of the ball lured Ford away from more established baseball schools like Stanford University and the University of Miami.
Named both the Ivy League pitcher and hitter of the year in 2013, Ford was still passed over in the MLB draft that June. Disappointed with the lack of attention from major league teams, Ford went to the Cape Cod summer league and proceeded to hit .407 with five home runs in 26 games against some of the best college talent in the country. By the time Ford left the Cape, he had offers from multiple majors league teams as an undrafted free agent.
Working through the Yankees system, Ford displayed the excellent plate discipline and left-handed power that has become his trademark. Selected by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule-5 draft prior to the 2018 season, Ford made a strong push late in spring training but was ultimately returned to the Yankees.
When injuries pummeled the 2019 Yankees, Mike Ford was ready to step in and produce. After leading the Triple-A International League in OPS for qualified hitters at the time of his last call-up in early August, Ford showed that he was more than a minor league hitter by posting a .953 OPS for the remainder of the season. Bradley sees something that he has seen for years now saying “He’s got that aura; he’s got that swagger... The way he puts his helmet on, the way he stands at the plate. It was the same thing when he was 13-years-old.”
No matter what Ford and Hale accomplish on the field, Princeton University will always be known for its academics ahead of their sports. Both Hale and Ford finished their baseball-related senior theses after being drafted. Hale examined pitching statistics which may be used an an indicator of arm injuries. The Yankees’ encouraged Ford to finish his thesis on the rise of baseball in the Dominican Republic. After signing, Ford said the Yankees “gave me free access to anyone for interviews down in the Dominican Republic complex.”
Princeton University has carved out a successful program inside of the Ivy League. Led by former Yankee Scott Bradley, the program has seen multiple alumni end up with the New York Yankees. While not the stars of the team, players like Mike Ford and David Hale have proved capable at the major league level after taking an uncommon route to the bigs.
The Yankees may rely on Nick Nelson’s advanced feel, and he showcased it Monday night.
Heading into a 2020 season unlike any other, the New York Yankees will have to utilize their prospect depth in ways they never intended to.
Without a minor-league season, some of the team’s high-ceiling pitching prospects may need to follow the Joba Chamberlain path for one strange summer only, joining the big league bullpen, moving from the 60-man pool to the bigs.
Some of the Yankees’ relief prospects, too, might need to prepare to jump a level or two, especially after proving a little something during Summer Camp.
Expect the unexpected this season. These four Yankees might be a bigger part of your summer than you thought they’d be.
4. Nick Nelson
The Yankees may rely on Nick Nelson’s advanced feel, and he showcased it Monday night.
Nick Nelson likely wasn’t a hot commodity for many fans prior to his emergence in Monday night’s exhibition finale, but the moderately-heralded pitching prospect put himself on a lot of fans’ radar. It goes without saying that his inclusion in Monday’s game also said plenty about the way the organization views him.
Currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the team’s 16th-best prospect, Nelson could become essential in the big league bullpen in a hurry.
A starter by trade, he dotted 98 at the corners and followed with a side-winding changeup in 1.2 scoreless innings against the Phillies.
Nelson turned heads on Monday and, until Mike Ford sent the game into oblivion, surprisingly dominated the social media conversation. New York will probably find a way to use him on their shuttle.
3. Luis Medina
Luis Medina was ticketed for Trenton, but he could be an option for the Yankees.
Luis Medina’s arm is his calling card.
In a just world, with a minor league slate and full complement of time at his disposal, the 21-year-old Medina would be spending 2020 building on his ’19 progress at the lower levels, harnessing the repeatable delivery that led to the best control stretch of his career (15 walks in 45.2 innings to end the campaign).
Instead, it’s quite possible his 96-99 mph fastball gets unleashed at the big league level, instead.
The best-case scenario for Medina’s 2020 season definitely had nothing to do with the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, but we’ve wandered far from that path by now.
Ranked 10th on the team’s prospect list by MLB Pipeline, Medina sits behind favorites like Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia, as well as the very polished Luis Gil. But armed with a fastball that ranks 75 on a best-of-80 scouting scale, the Yankees may take their chances and let Medina rip it in a pinch.
2. Adonis Rosa
Adonis Rosa had an adorable cameo with the Yankees in 2019.
25-year-old Adonis Rosa got exactly one chance to show the Yankees what he was made of last year, closing out an 8-3 win over the Orioles with two one-run innings before being sent back to Scranton.
As tenuous as the “trust” he established there is, it still counts for something, and we wouldn’t be shocked if Rosa were called upon to make a similar “spot start” or something of the like in this unconventional season.
Rosa’s stuff isn’t overwhelming, and he’s conditioned to allow contact rather than wipe hitters away, but the stability he provides is good for something in 2020, with so many pitchers without MLB backgrounds fighting to fill gaps.
He appeared to harness something at Scranton last season, going 6-0 with a 3.88 mark in 13 outings (eight starts), walking just 14 men in 60.1 innings pitched. That command, control, and poise could definitely be worth something in a season unlike any other, even though he’s currently off the 40-man roster.
1. Brooks Kriske
The Yankees think they have a relief ace in Brooks Kriske.
Brooks Kriske shares something with Medina and Nelson: 40-man roster pedigree. However, unlike the rest of the top prospects who were added this offseason, Kriske was a relative unknown.
Protecting Kriske meant the Yankees left some previously prominent names exposed, and they certainly had their reasons. The 26-year-old got a late start to his career, but dominated at Trenton in 2019, whiffing 64 in 48.2 innings pitched to light a fire under the Yankees.
Kriske threw the eighth inning in Monday night’s spectacle at the Stadium, and made it clear this would not be his final impression on that stage.
If New York needs a more experienced bullpen arm from their shuttle squad at any point, we’d bet on Kriske arriving before Nelson. But in terms of dominating the narrative, these two men drew even on Monday, leaving Philadelphia in their wake.
Neither doing the exact same thing in September would surprise us.
On Thursday, the New York Yankees took advantage of a rain-shortened 4-1 win in the first game of the 2020 MLB season in the nation’s capital. After a day off on Friday, last night, the Nationals pounded the Yankees and pitcher James Paxton in a lopsided 9-2 victory for the Washington Nationals.
With the shortened 60 game season, winning each game is 2.7 times as important than in a full season of 162 games. The same applies to every loss; it’s like losing three in a row. Interestingly the Yankees, despite the loss, have lost no ground on their East Division, AL, and NL rivals. Every single team in the east has won a game and lost a game.
Today the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals will wrap up the three-game series at 1:05 pm. The game will be played at Nationals Park under baking sunny skies. With no chance of rain, the game-time temperature will be in the low to mid-’90s. The game will be broadcast on TBS (out of market), MASN, and on the YES Network.
When the Yankees come up in the first inning, they will face the Nationals Patrick Corbin. Corbin last faced the Yankees in 2013. Four Yankee players had faced Corbin before but were not with the Yankees 2013 team when Corbin visited Yankee Stadium. DJ LeMahieu has the most experience with Corbin, having faced him in 35 at-bats for a .429 average off of the lefty.
Last year Corbin was 14-7 with an ERA of 3.25 in 33 starts and one complete game. Corbin was the Nationals worst pitcher in their World Series Championship run. He was 2-3 with an ERA of 5.79. Corbin is a New York native.
The New York Yankees have not announced who will start the game today at the time of this writing. It would have originally been Masahiro Tanaka, but Tanaka was hit in the head by a comebacker from fellow player Giancarlo Stanton in an intrasquad game at the Stadium. He is under concussion protocol but progressing well. He will most likely make his next start on July 31st, as the Yankees meet the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
By using an “opener” in today’s game, the Yankees keep their pitching rotation intact. Last year with the loss of Luis Severino, the Yankees used the opening format frequently. In fifteen starts, the Yankees won 11 of those games opened by super reliever Chad Green. As Green has not been used in game one or two, he will likely pitch in today’s game.
In the first inning today, all eyes will be on Giancarlo Stanton, who has performed to his 2017 MVP year in summer camp and in the first two games of the new season. Stanton has homered in both games, one for 459′ and one for 417.’ Last night in the Yankee’s failed attempt at a win, Stanton reached base in all three of his appearances. The homer, a double and a base on balls. Stanton’s plate discipline is excellent and right now he is seeing the ball as if its a basketball.
It was agonizing for Yankees to demote Clint Frazier
WASHINGTON — Aaron Boone had to tell a player he believes can thrive in the big leagues there was no room on the Yankees’ roster late Saturday night.
That’s when outfielder Clint Frazier was sent to the Yankees’ alternate site in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with reliever Ben Heller to make room for relievers Nick Nelson and Brooks Kriske after Boone used five bullpen arms in a 9-2 loss Saturday night to the Nationals.
“Difficult. Clint is ready to be an impact player in this league, there is no doubt in my mind,’’ Boone said of the right-handed hitting outfielder who didn’t play in the Yankees’ first two games of the season. “Just unfortunately for him he is blocked by a lot of good outfielders. Unfortunately with options and our situation right now Clint was the odd man out, but that doesn’t make it any easier because he has done everything, from a work standpoint, from a focus standpoint. It is hard when you are sending down a big-league player who you know is ready to produce.’’
With left-hander Patrick Corbin starting Sunday for the Nationals, Boone put right-handed hitting Miguel Andujar in left (Frazier’s position) during the 3-2 win. It was Andujar’s first big-league game in the outfield. And had the Yankees wanted to, they could have sent out Andujar who has two options remaining.
Left-handed hitting Mike Tauchman, another outfielder ahead of Frazier on the depth chart, started in center field because Boone didn’t want to overdo it with Aaron Hicks.
“Coming back from the Tommy John, I just want to be smart in how we manage him and just felt like a long day [Saturday], day game after a night game, something he hasn’t done yet and wanted to get Tauchman in there even though it is a lefty,’’ Boone said. “I like his bat quality at the bottom of the order.’’
Across his 13 years in the big leagues, J.A. Happ has pitched with situations outside the lines that he has successfully blocked out while on the mound.
Monday night in Philadelphia, the 37-year-old lefty will try to repeat that process thanks to an unresolved dispute about a $17 million vesting option for next year. In a 162-game season, Happ would have had to make 26 starts or pitch 165 innings. In this 60-game schedule, Happ would have to make 10 starts or throw 61 ¹/₃ innings to trigger the $17 million option.
According to a July 15 report by The Post’s Joel Sherman, the March agreement between the sides committed MLB and the union to negotiate in good faith on special covenants such as vesting options, including covenants based on injured days and for players who were injured as of late March.
Happ was put in a category covered by that injury addendum by MLB/Yankees. Therefore, the league argues he does not fall under the umbrella and that he and the Yankees have to negotiate new thresholds for starts or innings and/or a new 2021 option total — or else the matter is sent to an arbitrator to decide.
