The 2011 'Pen (feat. Pat Venditte)

Over the past few years, it seems as if Yankees fans have been consistently unsatisfied with the construction and utilization of the bullpen. Oftentimes, it seems as if more concern is affixed to the 'Bridge to Mo' than to the rotation or the line-up, which seems ... well, silly is the first word that comes to mind, and it's likely the best. The Yankees bullpen has ranked among the top-five in most important categories over the past decade, and that trend has continued into this season - yet I may very well have stumbled across more articles about Chamberlain's struggles than I have about the futility of the rotation beyond Sabathia, or the struggles of Jeter. Perhaps inane would be a better word than silly...

Going forward, however, there is reason for optimism about the bullpen. Mariano Rivera appears to be an immortal Highlander, with no challenge to his throne in sight. Chamberlain seems to have figured out how to harness his stuff successfully (and with some semblance of consistency). David Robertson has been light's out over the past three-plus months, including 12.9 K/9 and 3.3 K/BB since the break. Boone Logan has become dependable, against what seemed to be unsurmountable odds earlier in the season. Some blend of Aceves, Mitre, and Nova looks quite good at this juncture, as well.

In my mind, the only real issue with the bullpen has been the organizational mismanagement of some promising arms. The four following pitchers have been dominant in the minors, yet the Yankees have been slow to promote them - and I'm not quite sure why.

Jonathan Albaladejo, Triple-A
62.0 IP, 37 H, 18 BB, 80 K, 1.31 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 1.35 FIP

Albaladejo was the butt of many jokes this Spring, due to his awful performance in Spring Training and surprising weight loss (not unlike last year's edition of Brian Bruney). Since then, however, Albaladejo has done nothing but impress. In addition to his dominant results, his stuff has never looked better. He apparently ditched his two-seamer, and now features a four-seamer that touches 95 MPH, a big breaking curveball (for which his control has improved dramatically), and a tight slider. He did well in limited action with the Yankees this year, and his 4.14 xFIP in the majors is solid in its own right. He's earned an extended look, in my opinion ... and it's a shame he hasn't received it at this point.

Jonathan Ortiz, High-A
50.2 IP, 37 H, 11 BB, 56 K, 2.49 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 2.21 FIP

While Ortiz is a bit old for High-A, that cannot be blamed on a lack of results - the diminutive righty performed well at Low-A two years in a row, and performed well in a half-season at High-A in 2009 ... why he's still languishing in Tampa, I'm not quite sure. I have heard Ortiz compared to Edwar Ramirez - both feature a plus change and a middling fastball, and little else. However, Ortiz's control is far superior, as is his ability to keep the ball on the ground.

Josh Schmidt, Double-A (Recently promoted to Triple-A)
55.1 IP, 38 H, 27 BB, 64 K, 2.77 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3.27 FIP

Schmidt's handling puzzles me, as he was dominant at Double-A in 2009 (spending the entire season in Trenton), yet spent the first two-thirds or so of 2010 at the same level. A side-armer, Schmidt features a low 90's fastball and a filthy, frisbee-like slider that is nearly unhittable for righties ... and eminently hittable for lefties. That being said, there is plenty of use for a righty specialist at the Major League level, and Schmidt's earned an extended look on the merits.

Pat Venditte, High-A
69.0 IP, 44 H, 12 BB, 81 K, 1.70 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 1.42 FIP

While I understand that baseball isn't anything resembling a meritocracy, I am baffled as to why Venditte remains at High-A at this time. He's been nothing but fantastic since being drafted and his stuff has drawn generally positive reviews - it's rarely as stellar, but he's hardly a junkballer. As a righty, Venditte throws an over-the-top fastball in the low 90's (with spectacular control) and an average-ish curveball in the low 70's. As a lefty, he's a side-armer, with a mid to high 80's fastball and a high 60's slurve. His change-up needs work on both sides, but I feel that his breaking stuff is more than enough for a short reliever. To me, Venditte could be a deadly lefty specialist ... with the advantage that he could do quite well against righties with poor platoon splits.

Van Benschoten Call Up Could Mean A Promotion for Venditte

According to Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times Tribune, the SWB Yankees have finally filled the roster spot created by the call up of Boone Logan. Righthanded pitcher John Van Benschoten was added to the active roster prior to Monday's game. Van Benschoten, signed with the Yankees as a minor league free agent on March 1st of this year. He was converted to a pitcher after he was the 8th pick in the first round of the 2001 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 29 year old has 90 major league innings with a 1 -3 record and a lofty 9.20 ERA. He spent the 2009 season in the White Sox system and pitched for Charlotte where he went 2-8 with a 6.35 ERA in 22 games, 13 as a starter. So far this year, Van Benschoten has been working out of the bullpen and was 1-0 in two games with the Thunder with a 0.00 ERA and allowed 2 hits in 4.0 innings with 2 strikeouts.

This now creates an open roster spot for the Trenton Thunder. If the Thunder decides to fill the bullpen slot, it could be with Cory Arbiso who is currently on the disabled list. However, this could be an opportunity to bring up switch pitcher, Pat Venditte, who has been excellent with Tampa. In 3 games he has pitched 7+ innings striking out 13, and pitching to an ERA of 3.68.

Having Venditte repeat in Tampa starting this year, was a sign the Yankees didn't recognize him as a true prospect. However, in EJ Fagan's post, Pat Venditte Finally Considered a Prospect, he makes the following observation:

Usually, you can tell who the Yankees consider a prospect and who they do not. The Yankees do something very specific with their prospect relief pitchers: they stretch them out and put them on a set rotation. That means that they will pitch every 3rd day for 2-3 innings. They’ve done it with David Robertson, Mark Melancon, Wilkins De La Rosa, J.B. Cox, Anthony Claggett, and Michael Dunn. No others on a real schedule come to mind. Those guys are far and away the seven most-valued Yankee relief prospects of the last 5 years. Guys like Jon Hovis, Eric Wordekemper, Josh Schmidt, etc have stuck around the Yankee farm system, but haven’t been given the playing time of the true prospects. Venditte was getting playing time similar to the latter group up until the end of last year, but the Yankees started stretching him out more following his promotion to High-A in 2009.

What happened on Saturday? Pet Venditte pitched a fairly unnecessary 3 innings, following Adam Warren’s 6-inning start. A well-rested Tampa bullpen had plenty of guys who could have used work to pitch a third inning, but the Yankees pushed Venditte back out, who was dominating and presumably going to go until he hit his pitch count.

Venditte followed up that 1st 3 inning appearance with two more outings of 2 innings each, 3 days apart. This seems to support the fact that he has been upgraded to a top prospect relief pitcher by the organization. A promotion to Double-A will further support that conclusion.

Switch-Pitcher To Make Debut Today!

Pat Venditte is set to make his Spring Training debut today in a split-squad game versus the Braves at the request of Joe Girardi.

For those not in the know, Pat Venditte can pitch both right and left handed. In 2009 the 24 year old relief pitcher was 4-2 with a 1.87 ERA, 1.069 WHIP, and 87 strikeouts in 67 innings. He split the year between Class A Charleston and Tampa. The 45th round draft pick out of Creighton University has amazed teammates, umpires, and opposing players alike with this unique ability.

Should definitely make for an interesting scenario if Chipper Jones comes to the plate to meet him! Girardi wants to get him in a game because he "has wanted to see him all spring. It's interesting" While he has no shot of making the club this year, at the VERY least, he would appear to be better than some of the other "specialists" that we have had in the bullpen for the past few years! (Read Farnsworth, Bruney, etc.)

ESPN's Feature on Pat Venditte

This clip is from ESPN (hat-tip to River Ave. Blues):