Minor League Recap - 8/13/14: Eric Jagielo hits another homerun in Tampa's win

Triple-A Scranton: 3-2 loss (F/14) vs Louisville Bats

2B-LF Jose Pirela: 2-for-7
DH Rob Refsnyder: 1-for-6, R, 2B, RBI, K
CF Francisco Arcia: 2-for-6, 2B, RBI, 2 K
RF-SS Zelous Wheeler: 1-for-6, K
1B Kyler Roller: 1-for-5, BB, 4 K

Pat Venditte: 3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Nick Rumbelow: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Jim Miller: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Double-A Trenton: 4-2 loss vs Altoona Curve

LF Jake Cave: 1-for-4, 2 K
DH Ben Gamel: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, K
C Gary Sanchez: 1-for-3, BB, K
RF Tyler Austin: 1-for-4, RBI
1B Greg Bird: 0-for-3, 2 K
3B Dante Bichette Jr: 0-for-4
CF Mason Williams: 1-for-4, R, K

Jairo Heredia: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
James Pazos: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Danny Burawa: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

High-A Tampa: 7-2 win vs Lakeland Flying Tigers

CF Mark Payton: 1-for-4, R, 2B, BB
SS Cito Culver: 0-for-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
3B Eric Jagielo: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB, 3 K
RF Aaron Judge: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
1B Matt Snyder: 2-for-2, 2 R, 2B, BB

Miguel Sulbaran: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Low-A Charleston: 13-9 win vs Hickory Crawdads

LF Michael O'Neill: 1-for-5, 2B, RBI
SS Tyler Wade: 2-for-4, R, 3B, BB
3B Miguel Andujar: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
1B Mike Ford: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB
2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-for-3, 3 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB

Rookie Davis: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

Short Season Staten Island: Game One - 5-2 win (F/7) vs Connecticut Tigers

CF Collin Slaybaugh: 1-for-3, R, RBI, BB
C Luis Torrens: 0-for-2, R, BB, K
3B Ty McFarland: 0-for-3, K
RF Austin Aune: 1-for-2, 2B, 2 RBI, BB
1B Chris Breen: 1-for-3, R, 3B, 2 K

Dillon McNamara: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Game Two - 3-2 win (F/7) vs Connecticut

SS Vicente Conde: 0-for-3, K
2B Ty McFarland: 0-for-3, K
DH Luis Torrens: 0-for-3, K
LF Chris Breen: 0-for-3, 2 K

Jordan Cote: 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Sean Carley: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Andrew Chin: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR

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Yankees and Padres discussing trade for Ian Kennedy

After having a scout at his latest scout on Wednesday, the Yankees and San Diego Padres are discussing a trade involving right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy coming back to the Bronx, where he begun his career, according to ESPN's Jim Bowden.

In return, the Padres would like to have two of the Yankees' Top 10 prospects, left-hander Ian Clarkin and third baseman Eric Jagielo. However, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman says the Yanks don't like that package, thankfully.

To say Kennedy for Jagielo and Clarkin is overload would be an understatement. I can see giving up one of those players for Kennedy -- maybe not even one of them -- but two? No way. Ever.

The Yankees really need more starting pitching help, and I would be on board for bringing in Kennedy, but not at that cost. He's been good, not great, this season for the Padres. They they thought, "he, why not at least ask?"

We'll see how this all plays out.

Update:

theres nothing hot at all with kennedy and yankees at moment. theyd like a SP but no match to date on Ian K.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 25, 2014

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Prospect Profile -- No. 5: Eric Jagielo

Eric Jagielo, 3B:

Eric Jagielo was the first of the Yankees first round picks, and the third baseman is the the safest pick of the three. Jagielo was previously drafted out of the 50th round coming out of high school. This shows just how far he's progressed in his three years at Notre Dame. Considering the teams need for a third baseman and their lack of top third base prospects he was the smartest choice at pick 26. If he is able to stick at third he could be the third baseman of the future. 

Vital Statistics:

Born:   May 17, 1992. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 195
Drafted: Notre Dame, 2013 (1st round).
2013 GCL Stats(1 GM): BA/OBP/SLG/WOBA/WRC+                              .000/.333/.000/.260/61
2013 NYPL stats(51 GMs)                                                                           .266/.376/.451/.390/153

Background:

Jagielo was never considered a good high school prospect. The Chicago native was not ranked as one of the states best prospects, and was only selected in the 50th round by the Chicago Cubs. Instead of signing with the Cubs, he decided to go to Notre Dame and became a much better player there. Like Aaron Judge, Jagielo earned many accolades during college including:

2011 New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star, 2012 Cape Cod League Post-Season All-League. In 2012 he achieved the following: 2012 Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star, 2012 Cape Cod League Home Run Derby participant, 2012 BIG EAST Second Team All-BIG EAST 2012 College Sports Madness First Team All-BIG EAST, 2012 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Second Team Mid-East All Region. 

Finally in 2013 he had biggest year earning the: 2013 Golden Spikes Award watch list, 2013 Preseason Baseball America Third Team All-American, 2013 Preseason Coaches First Team All-BIG EAST, 2013 Preseason Perfect Game First Team All-BIG EAST.

These honors made him a top rated draft prospect for the 2013 draft. Jagielo was rated as the 1 prospect in the Big East by Baseball America and Perfect game. His overall ranking ranged from 16(BA) to 49(MLB). The Yankees ended up taking him with the 26^th pick which was coincidentally right where Keith Law had him ranked. 

Jagielo is new to third base as he only has played the position since 2012. Because of his size and inexperience at the position, some question his ability to stick at third. However, many scouts believe he can play there. The pick was praised throughout the industry as the Yankees simultaneously took the best player available and addressed a major need within their system.

2013 Performance:

A hamstring injury kept  Jagielo out for some time and limited him to the NYPL last year. Despite his injury he was able to make a strong impression in the NYPL. He began the year slowly but turned things around quickly in part due to advice taken from injured Yankee star Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez's gave his future replacement advice that helped him change his approach for the better. Jagielo's season placed him 6th on BA's NYPL top 20 list. With the recent struggles of past Yankee first round picks, Jagielo's strong start is a bigger deal than it should be.

Scouting Report:

Jagielo has worked hard to learn third base, and as of now many believe he will become an average defender. His main weakness on defense is his range, however he has a strong arm and quick instincts. Because of his range some questioned his long term future at third, and suggested that he may end up at first.

If he ever has to move to first, he has a good enough bat to make the switch. Jagielo should be able to hit for a good average and plus power, and has shown a good eye at the plate, throughout his college career. In his three years at Notre Dame his walkout and strike out numbers were almost identical. His strikeouts were high in NYPL, but this may be due to the break he took after being drafted and the fact that he was coming off of an injury. 

Projections:

Jagielo's ceiling is a 20-25 homerun guy who hits for a high average and gets on base. A good comparison for Jagielo may be Matt Skole, who BA rated as the Nationals fourth best prospect. However Jagielo seems to have a better bat and doesn't have anyone blocking him at third base.

According to Keith Law, Jagielo has the ability to be "a 20-homer guy with mid-.300 OBPs who plays solid-average defense in a few years, which makes him an everyday guy who could make an All-Star Game or two. Because of his advanced plate approach, I could see him in pinstripes sometime in 2014, early 2015." ESPN's Christopher Crawford is also high on Jagielo and thinks he is polished enough to make the majors at some point in 2014 or early 2015.

2014 Level:

In a recent interview with Chad Jennings, Yankees executive Mark Newman said both Judge and Jagielo could start the year at High A Tampa. Because Jagielo is so polished and has seen game time he may be able to move up to Double-A Trenton after a hot start. 

This would help prevent a logjam of sorts, as Dante Bichette may be pushed to Tampa and Miguel Andujar may start the year in A-ball. Jagielo would need to a really strong showing to reach to reach the majors this year, but more realistically he will make it to the Bronx at the end of 2015.

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MLB Draft: The Yanks drafted well.

The MLB First-Year Player Draft kicked off on Thursday and the Yankees did themselves some good by selecting three times in the 1st round, thanks to some compensations help for losing Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano. Here are all three 1st round picks:

Pick #26: Eric Jagielo, 3rd baseman, Notre Dame.

Jagielo is a 6-foot-3, left handed third baseman coming out of Notre Dame. Below is what ESPN's Draft Expert, Keith Law, had to say about him:

Jagielo is one of the more polished college bats in the class, valuable even though he doesn't have the explosive tools of Hunter Renfroe or huge raw power of Kris Bryant. Jagielo loads his hands very high and deep, creating a longer path to the ball, compensating with strong hands and forearms that allow him to make solid contact even when he has to fully extend his arms to cover the pitch low and away. He's quick enough to keep his hands inside the ball and doesn't project to have trouble with better velocity. 

In the field, he's an adequate defender at third with arm strength, agile enough to stay at the position even though he's going to be among the bigger third basemen in pro ball. I could see him as a 20-homer guy with mid-.300s OBPs who plays solid-average defense in a few years, which would make him an everyday guy who could make an All-Star Game or two.

In other words, we could be looking as the guys who replaces Alex Rodriguez. Read my column from yesterday about if we've actually seen the last of A-Rod.

Pick #32: Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State.

With their 2nd pick in the late 1st round, the Yankees went big and draft a 6-foot-7, 255 pound center fielder from Fresno State. Here's what Keith Law thinks:

"Judge is taller than any outfielder in major league history except for Frank Howard (also listed as 6-foot-7, 255 pounds on Baseball Reference), but is very athletic for a guy his size, an average runner with a surprisingly short swing given his height. 

He wraps his bat behind his head when he's finished his load, which usually adds length to the swing, but the path for his hands from there to the zone is very short; it's more of a concern that he doesn't have his top hand fully extended until the bat is most of the way through the zone. Like a lot of taller hitters who set up high, he prefers the ball up in the zone, and the huge raw power he shows in BP doesn't always appear in games because he doesn't get under the ball enough to drive it out. Judge won't play center in pro ball but is an average runner who should have above-average range in either corner, with a plus arm to handle right, along the lines of Jason Heyward's defensive profile." 

Although he's very athletic for his size, I don't see him playing in center field much longer. He could be playing in left or right by the time he reaches the big league level.

Pick #33: Ian Clarkin, LHP, High School in San Diego.

For their final 1st round pick of the night, the Yankees selected 6-foot-2, 190-pound high school lefty pitcher out of San Diego. Here's Keith Law's thoughts:

"Clarkin doesn't do it easy, but he's a good-sized lefty who throws hard and can spin a breaking ball, so even with some serious inconsistency this spring, he's likely to go off the board in the top 50 picks, maybe even late in the first round. Clarkin is typically 90-93, getting on top of the ball well for some downhill plane, and sometimes showing some two-seam tailing action as well. His curveball is hard with tight rotation, 11/5 break, and good depth, now at higher velocity than it was last summer as well. His change is still a show-me offering, which he'll have to improve to remain a starter. 

His delivery isn't prototypical, with some effort involved, a very high leg kick followed by a kick-out stride and a stiff landing. The raw material is very strong, so even with some late-season inconsistency he should be among the first few prep lefties drafted."

Here's the kicker. Clarkin hated the Yankees as a kid. How bad did he hate him? Well his clip on MLB Networks Draft show, Clarkin stated that his favorite moment was when the Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees in the 2001 world series.

 "I cannot stand the Yankees so I was actually in tears I was so happy," Clarkin said.

Of course he said that he no longer hates them and he'll try to bring his father over the Yankee Empire. Come on over! You won't regret it. Unless you dislike A-Rod, of course.

What did you think about how the Yankees drafted in the 1st round? Comment below or tell me on Twitter, @GavinEwbank2013.

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