Hughes to Bullpen? Any other options?

Since it is a slow Friday, in which I am procrastinating a paper, I thought it would be interesting to see how the guys in the minor leagues are doing, more specifically guys on the team that could be some assistance to the current bullpen issue that the Yankees are facing. I am not a huge fan of putting Hughes in the pen (I understand it is to see how Wang manages to do) and I hope this is something that is a short-term endeavour, extremely short term.

Here are some of the guys that the Yankees currently have within their minor league system:

1. Mark Melancon- I may be biased because of the good experience I had in meeting Mark in Syracuse, but this guy has the stuff to be good. He did struggle while in the Major Leagues this season and I think it was important that the Yankees brought him back down to AAA to work on his stuff. Below are the stats of his 4 game appearances in NY and also his stats while in Scranton.

• The guys at RiverAve stated that "The biggest drawback for Melancon is his delivery. He’s a max effort guy that comes straight over the top, although the Yanks have been working to clean it up his motion since he signed. It does benefit him slightly however, because it adds deception and creates a steep downhill plane for his pitches. Until he smooths it out, he’ll always be an injury risk."

• While he did struggle while in the Major Leagues this season, I think it was important that the Yankees brought him back down to AAA to work on his stuff. Hopefully though the team will give him another chance at some point this year and he will become a key contributor and a guy that can hand the ball to Mariano. Below are the stats of his 4 game appearances in NY and also his stats while in Scranton.

Yankees Statistics

			TEAM		W		L		ERA		G		GS		CG		SHO		SV		SVO		IP		H		R		ER		HR		HBP		BB		SO
			1. M Melancon		NYY		0		0		5.40		4		0		0		0		0		1		3.1		2		2		2		0		1		5		2

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Statistics

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO	WHIP	HLD	GF
Mark Melancon	2	0	2.61	15	0	0	0	2	20.2	15	7	6	1	1	7	26	1.06	1	11

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2. Anthony Claggett: Came to New York and only lasted for one outing, in which he pitched 1.2 inning and gave up 8 ER, which gives him an ERA of 43.20 in the major leagues. Clearly he struggled while down in New York, but this is such a small sample size of his ability. I will be honest in saying I don't know much about the guy, so I guess it's a matter of time to see how he does in the minor leagues. So far, he seems to be doing pretty decent, and is leading Scranton in appearances.

3. Zachary Kroenke: I saw this kid pitch when I was in Syracuse, and he did a pretty decent job (2.2 innings, striking out 4 while giving up no runs). I can't see him being a factor at the major league level, but I am falling asleep and am trying to find decent guys in AAA that apparently aren't dont exist.
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Additional guys:

Amaury Sanit: AA Trenton. I have no idea who this guy is but his stats are pretty impressive. He was signed by the Yankees in 2008 and is pitching in his first year in AA. It will be interesting to see how he devleops. There is really no infromation out there about him so I hav eno idea if he is even any good or what his repotioire consists of.

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO	WHIP	HLD	GF
Amaury Sanit	1	1	0.77	11	0	0	0	6	11.2	5	1	1	0	0	4	9	0.77	0	10

Kanekoa Texeria: I saw this guy pitch when I was in Tampa. He is one of the players that was part of the deal to the White Sox in which we recieve him and Nick Swisher in exchange for Betemit, Marquez, and Nunez. Not sure how to really judge how he is going to pan out.

Kanekoa Texeira

5

2

3.25

15

1

0

0

2

36.0

29

14

13

3

1

15

24

1.22

0

5

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In sum, Mark Melancon is clearly the big up and coming guy for the team. I am sure I have missed some great minor league prospect(s) that is a relief pitcher. If that is the case please correct me as I love learning more about guys that are in the minor leagues. I am going to go over this at a later time tomorrow when I am recovered from this horrific illness that I recieved from eating at the Cheesecake Factory. Great place, but the food destroys my stomach.