Phelps Update: X-rays Negative

David Phelps had to leave tonight's win over the Rays in the 8th inning after being hit on the arm by a line drive. Luckily, the x-rays were negative and the Yankees are saying it's just a right forearm contusion. As of now, his status for his next start remains unclear.

Nova Out, Phelps In For Tuesday's Game vs Boston

Smart move.

Nova To The DL With Shoulder Inflammation

From Marc Carig:

The Yankees placed starting pitcher Ivan Nova on the disabled list today, the team announced, when an MRI exam discovered inflammation in his right rotator cuff.

Nova will not play catch for at least five days. After visiting with team physician Christopher Ahmad in New York, Nova will be prescribed medicine and rest.

Placing Nova on the DL also clears a roster spot for ace lefty CC Sabathia, who is expected to be activated for Friday's series opener against the Indians.

This also allows the struggling Joba Chamberlain to stay on the active roster, which I believe is a mistake. David Phelps will also remain in the rotation until Nova returns.

Derek Lowe Should Be Available Out Of The Pen Tonight

From Dan Martin:

The Yankees made Derek Lowe’s signing official Monday and the veteran right-hander is expected to be added to the bullpen for the series opener against the Rangers in The Bronx.

...

Ryota Igarashi was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to make room for Lowe on the roster.

Lowe, who went 8-10 with a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts with the Indians, will be used as a long reliever while David Phelps replaces CC in the rotation.

D-Rob Activated, Phelps Sent Down

The Yankees activated David Robertson from the 15-day DL today. To make room on the roster David Phelps was optioned down to Single-A Tampa. He will stay in Tampa until he builds up his arm strength and is then set to join the SWB Yanks starting rotation. Phelps went 1-2 with a 2.94 ERA in 13 games for the Yanks.

Garcia to the Pen, Phelps to the Rotation

From Bryan Hoch:

Freddy Garcia has been dispatched to the Yankees' bullpen, with rookie David Phelps first in line to take the veteran right-hander's place in the rotation.

Garcia was battered by the Tigers for six runs in 1 2/3 innings on Saturday in a 7-5 Yankees loss, the second straight start Garcia only recorded five outs, and the change did not come as a shock to the hurler.

"When you're pitching [poorly] out of the rotation, what do you expect?" Garcia said. "When you don't do your job, what are they supposed to do? That's what happened. They're honest. I didn't pitch the way I was supposed to pitch. It's reality."

...

"I'll be OK, man. I know," Garcia said. "I've been playing this game for a long time, and a lot of things happened to me before, and I always came off on the top. It's not going to be different. So, we'll see what happens."

With his 12.51 ERA this was a move the Yankees pretty much had to make.

Betances, Banuelos, Phelps, & Warren Likely to Join Team

I would be utterly shocked if these four arms didn't pitch in the Majors in 2012 (be it for the Yankees or some unforeseen trade partner), so it makes sense to give them some exposure to life in the show. I also wouldn't be opposed to any of the four picking up some low-leverage innings down the stretch - especially when one considers the hectic September schedule and the likelihood that Sabathia et al will be rested, at least to some degree.

ESPN's Schoenfield Says David Phelps Could Get Call To Replace Colon

In David Schoenfields' latest article about prospects that may be 'coming to a park near you' he had this to say about Yankees prospect David Phelps:

David Phelps, RHP, Yankees
Who is he? 14th-round pick in 2008 out of Notre Dame. His fastball rates better than his draft round would indicate, into the 91-93 mph range with good control. He also throws a slider, curve and changeup.
Keith Law’s preseason top 100: Not rated.
Stats: 4-4, 2.95 ERA, 76.1 IP, 76 H, 20 BB, 66 SO, 8 HR at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

With Bartolo Colon heading to the DL, Phelps might get the call to start on Thursday. He throws strikes and pitches with confidence. Hector Noesi is still the favorite to start, but Phelps was scratched from his Triple-A start on Monday, with Brian Cashman saying they are "preserving all options" for Colon’s slot. Even if he doesn’t make his major league debut this week, Phelps is a good bet to appear at some point this season, considering the fragile state of health and age of the Yankees' rotation. As much as Yankees fans want to see top prospects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, neither is dominating Double-A and both need to refine their command before getting a big league call.

Nunez & Phelps Named Yankees Minor League Player & Pitcher of the Year

Here's the press release from the Yanks:

The New York Yankees today announced that infielder Eduardo Nunez and right-handed pitcher David Phelps were named winners of the Yankees' 2010 Kevin Lawn Award as the Yankees' minor league "Player of the Year" and "Pitcher of the Year," respectively. The two players will receive their awards prior to the Yankees-Blue Jays game on March 19 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m.

The annual awards are dedicated to Kevin O'Brien Lawn – the son of longtime Yankees Vice President and Chief of Operations Jack Lawn – who passed away in 1999.

Nunez, 23, batted .289 (134-for-464) with 55 runs, 25 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 50 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 118 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2010, earning a spot on the midseason and postseason International League All-Star rosters. He led all Scranton/WB batters in hits and stolen bases, ranked second in doubles and recorded the third-highest average among all Yankees farmhands. Nunez was promoted to the Major League level on August 19, where he hit .280 (14-for-50) with 12 runs, one home run and seven RBI in 30 games. Following the season, he was named by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect, the "Best Defensive Infielder" and possessing the "Best Infield Arm" in the Yankees organization.

Phelps, 24, combined to go 10-2 with a 2.50 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 26 games (25 starts) with Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2010. He began the season with Trenton and went 6-0 with a 2.04 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 14 starts before being promoted to Scranton/WB on July 2. At the time of his promotion, he led the Eastern League in strikeouts and ranked second in ERA, earning EL midseason All-Star honors. With Scranton/WB, Phelps went 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 12 games (11 starts). Following the season, the Missouri native was tabbed by Baseball America as having the "Best Slider" in the Yankees organization.

Here are the last five winners of each award:

Year	Player of the Year	Pitcher of the Year
2010	SS Eduardo Nunez	RHP David Phelps
2009	C Austin Romine	RHP Zach McAllister
2008	OF Brett Gardner	LHP Phil Coke
2007	OF Austin Jackson	RHP Ian Kennedy
2006	1B Cody Ehlers	RHP Phil Hughes

Newman on Montero, Romine, Laird, and some Triple-A Starters

This all comes from Chad Jennings...First, here what Newman had to say about the catching situation (logjam) at Triple-A:

Now that Russell Martin is on the roster, it’s likely both Jesus Montero and Austin Romine will open the season the minor leagues. In theory, each should each be in Triple-A, but that’s a logjam the Yankees don’t want.

“They need to catch, so that’s something we’ll deal with if we get there,” vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman said. “I wouldn’t want them to split right now.”

Montero and Romine split catching duties in the lower levels, but at this point, both need to get used to catching every day. They also need repetition behind the plate so that they improve defensively.

Obviously the Yankees won’t set anything in stone right now, but the arrival of Martin could force Romine back to Trenton, where last season he hit .268 with a second half that was worse than his first. I’m sure he’d rather move forward, but repeating the level might not be a waste of time.

Was signing Russell Martin really worth setting back Montero and Romine back this much?

Here's what Newman had to say about Brandon Laird:

So far so good with Brandon Laird’s work in the outfield. Newman said the Yankees are convinced he can play the corners. Left field at Yankee Stadium might be a little spacious for him, but they think he could play right field in the Bronx, and he could play left in most parks. “He’s going to do well enough out there that he’s going to be an option,” Newman said. The Yankees still think Laird is better defensively at first and third, but he could be a legitimate four-corners option as soon as 2011.

It'll be interesting to see how Laird does in Triple-A to start the season. After his promotion, he hit just .246/.268/.344 with 2 HR and 12 RBI in 127 plate appearances with SWB last year. If he can put up numbers like he did in Double-A last year (.291/.355/.523, 23 HR, 90 RBI) he may be an interesting midseason callup.

And some of those big name prospects who should be in Scranton to start the year (I suspect he's referring to Andrew Brackman, David Phelps, Hector Noesi, and D.J. Mitchell):

If the Yankees feel the need to move one of their prospect starting pitchers into the Major League bullpen next season, they can make that adjustment quickly. There’s no need to make that switch out of spring training. “When they get to Triple-A, they don’t need a full year doing that,” Newman said. “They need a month or two of adjustment. They still need innings. You don’t want to limit innings by putting them prematurely in the bullpen.”

The talented pitchers in the Yankees system are the only thing making this offseason hurt less, and the four pitchers expected to start at SWB are just the tip of the iceberg. Besides Brackman, Phelps, Mitchell, and Brackman, the Yankees also have the other two Killer-B's (Banuelos & Betances) and Adam Warren. Wilkins Arias, who is already a reliever, has had a very good winter in the Dominican and could open some eyes this year as well.

With all those arms in the top two levels of the pen (and I left out a few others) I would not be surprised at all to see at least a couple of them make some sort of impact, whether it's as a starter or reliever.

And Now, for Some Good News - Sickels on Phelps

The full article and other interesting links and tidbits can be found over at Minor League Ball, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in prospects and the minors in general. Here's what prospect guru John Sickels had to say about David Phelps today:

Double-A Transition Monitor

**New York Yankees prospect David Phelps had a very good 2009 season, going 13-4, 2.38 with a 122/31 K/BB in 151 innings in A-ball. I wrote him up as a sleeper and breakthrough candidate for 2010 in the book this year. Yankees Vice President Mark Newman gave me this rundown on Phelps when I interviewed him in March:

"We also like David Phelps, who we drafted out of Notre Dame (14th round, 2008). Like Bleich and Warren, he throws harder now than he did in college, 92-95 last year. He's improved his curveball and change, and if the secondary stuff keeps developing he will really emerge this year. He has a clean simple delivery, another thing we like."

Phelps' Double-A transition was an outstanding success: 6-0, 2.04 in 14 starts with an 84/23 K/BB in 88 innings, just 63 hits and two homers allowed. Promoted to Triple-A Scranton at mid-season, he remained very effective with a 3.07 ERA and a 57/13 K/BB in 70 innings, 76 hits allowed. His K/IP and H/IP deteriorated at the higher level, but overall his transition to top minor league competition was a big success: 10-2, 2.50 ERA, 141/36 K/BB in 159 innings, 139 hits, 2.94 FIP overall.

Even with strong pitching over the last two years, Phelps has received less attention than other pitchers in the Yankees organization. Dellin Betances and Manuel Banuelos get more press and have better pure stuff. But Phelps needs to be tracked closely too, and for most teams, he'd be in the mix for 2011. We could see him as trade bait this winter. I don't see any reason why Phelps can't be a solid number four starter for a lot of teams, given the progress he's made with his secondary pitches.