Evil Empire Yankees Blog

  5-foot-10   162-pounds   Right-handed starting pitcher   24-years-old   Signed: 2018 out of the Dominican Republic   The key to being successful in minor league baseball is to show improvement every season. Blas Castano has done just that. Most recently he improved his ERA to 3.86 and set career highs in innings pitched (107.1), strikeouts (103), and average against (.256). He is a control pitcher, with just 34 BB in 107.1 innings.   The story of Castano’s career came from humble beginnings, but he has slowly but surely put himself on the map. Though not tall in stature, Castano has a bulldog mentality and tons of deception in his delivery. With a couple of tweaks, Castano could be in for a big season in Double-A.   Castano sports a 92-95 mph fastball and filthy secondary pitches. His slider and curveball have big spin, and the changeup has excellent fade. As previously mentioned, his delivery has deception. Still just 162-pounds as of last year, Castano c

  6-foot-4   220-pounds   Right-handed starting pitcher   21-years-old   Draft: 1 st round (34 th pick) in the 2020 draft   When the Yankees were looking to trade Luke Voit, I was surprised to hear they got a former first round pick in return. Sure, his numbers were bad in his first professional season, but Justin Lange had big stuff and a great arm. The Padres were ready to move on, however, and it may turn out to be to the Yankees’ benefit.   In his first year as a pro, he had a 6.95 ERA and 29 K : 15 BB in 22 innings pitched. He had a .217 average against. That offseason he was traded to the Yankees, and he had a similar season with a better strikeout rate. He finished 2022 with a 6.44 ERA and 51 K : 30 BB in 36.1 innings pitched. He again had an impressive .215 average against.   While these are not the numbers you want to see from a first-round pick, they portray a pitcher who simply needs to do one thing to be successful. Throw strikes. When in the z

6-foot-3 186-pounds Right-handed 21-years-old Last level: High-A Expected level: High-A Signed: July 2, 2018 Carela came out of the gait hot in 2022, sporting a re-tooled delivery with improved control. The Yankees worked with him to tighten his slider which got a ton of strikeouts. He mowed down the competition until August, when he hit the proverbial wall over his last 27 innings. At that point he was already 48 innings over his previous career high, so it’s neither surprising nor concerning that he tired out. Even with the forgettable last month, Carela finished with respectable numbers. He finished with a 4.21 ERA and 131 K : 52 BB in 107 innings. Opponents also batted just .192 against him. Considering that he was 20-years-old in Low-A and High-A for the entire season, those are not numbers to be scoffed at. Carela is working with a 92-94 mph fastball which already tops out at 97 and has sinking action. He has what is now a plus slider to go with the fastball. The next steps, per

  It is fun to imagine what would happen if the Yankees traded every player who was originally from another team and stuck only with homegrown talent. This is a fun exercise, and in no way is the author suggesting that the Yankees should do this. It’s just for kicks.   The criteria for this list are as follows:   1. The player must have spent at least one full season in the Yankees minor leagues. 2. The player must currently be in the Yankees system, including both the major and minor leagues. 3. Every player currently on the roster who does not meet the above criteria will be traded or released sometime over the next three seasons in this hypothetical scenario.   C – Austin Wells – If the catching skills are merely average, the Yankees are going to want his bat in the lineup. Slotting in a lefty starting catcher would provide great balance to the lineup, especially with Wells being a power threat.   Predicted line: .267/.345/.500/.845 with 24 HR, 32 doubles, 75

It’s about a week into the minor league season and there are some minor league pitchers who appear to have taken a step forward. Sean Hermann, Brock Selvidge, and Luis Velasquez all started their season at Low-A this year, and their stuff appears to have taken a step forward.   First up, Sean Hermann In Sean Hermann's start on 4/8/24 he threw 6 innings and let up no earned runs. He let up three hits, no walks, and struck out four. His sinker averaged 91.4 mph and topped out at 94. It had 24 inches of vertical break and 18 inches of horizontal movement. His cutter averaged 89.5 mph and topped out at 90.4, with 27 inches of vertical break and six inches of horizontal movement. The changeup averaged 87.6, peaking at 88.3. It showed 30 inches of vertical break and 16 inches horizontal. Lastly, his slider sat at 84.7 mph, peaked at 86.1, and had 36 inches of vertical break. Most importantly, Hermann controlled all of his pitches well and navigated the lineup while allowing just thre

  1. Keiner Delgado – 5-foot-8, 145-pounds, SS/2B, SH, 19-years-old – Soon to be everyone’s favorite prospect, the diminutive shortstop was dominant in the DSL in 2022. He hit .310/.504/.506/1.010 with three homeruns, 16 doubles, and four triples in 52 games. He had an incredible 58 BB : 28 K, and stole 34 bases. Delgado does everything well, including in the field. His maturity and talent should allow him to move quickly through the system. He’s drawn comparisons to Jose Altuve, though that is of course not fair. Of all the people on this list who may have a breakout season in 2023, he might be the most likely. He has been highly touted by scouts despite his size, which is both unusual and exciting. For talent evaluators to rave about a player his size as much as they have, he must be special.   2. Roderick Arias - 6-foot-2, 178-pounds, SS, SH, 18-years-old – Arias had a disappointing season in the DSL in 2022, but he was playing through an injury and adjusting to life as a profes

In news that surprises no one, Yankees’ fans have been tough on newcomer Anthony Volpe and veteran Aaron Hicks. A quick gander at their baseball reference pages reveals the reason behind the disappointment. Quite simply, both players have underperformed in the early season. Anthony Volpe is hitting .143/.273/.214/.487 with one triple and three stolen bases, while striking out 11 times. Aaron Hicks is hitting .091/.167/.091/.258 with a single and four strikeouts in four games. Volpe has not committed an error yet but there have been several plays he should have made that he didn’t. Hicks has been exactly what you’d expect from him in the field. Is the criticism of the fans justified? In one case no, and in the other yes. A rookie shortstop nine games into his career, under the microscope of New York City, debuting at the age of 21 with just 21 games under his belt is beyond reproach at this stage. To be able to get to this point was an impressive feat. With all the challenges Volp