By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
July 16, 2012
Dear Oppenheimer — Hey, I liked this guy a lot last summer. I did. So here’s a Wisconsin kid being drafted by the Yankees while my book about the Milwaukee Braves beating the New York Yankees is on the shelves. Oh, man, you gotta love the irony. I could start cracking Bob Zuk jokes that only you and I would understand, you know, the joke about John Young’s hat, but only you, I and three other scouts would get the joke. We’ll just let the rest of the baseball world guess, which is what Bob would love. You know it as well as I.
Dear Nate — Dude, I think you can hit. Make me right. This post is not affiliated with the Yankees, but it is sponsored by my witty sense of humor. Get to it, Wisconsin.
(more…)
Category: '12 Videos |
No Comments »
Tags: Nathan Mikolas, New York Yankees
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
July 13, 2012
Austin Aune is an Oppenheimer guy, high school guy with high offensive ceiling. So Opp breaks out the old man’s checkbook and takes the chance. It’s really the old Atlanta Braves way — um, the OLD Atlanta Braves way, ahem — you go hard at high school bats and build long term. Or you trade the dude away for bullpen help in three years, whatever comes first.
(more…)
Category: '12 Videos |
No Comments »
Tags: Austin Aune, Austin Aune Video, New York Yankees
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
February 21, 2012
Gumbs in the Day (Photo: Baseball Beginnings)
Angelo Gumbs wasn’t the first guy to show up in the Gulf Coast League fresh out of high school in 2010 and wonder, after a handful of games, what in the hell just happened to his batting average. But for those young players who strive to turn the corner from draft prospect to major league prospect, there often comes a moment in a young career that defines change. Not yet into his second full season, Gumbs thinks he’s seen that moment, and it came in the 2011 season. It’s one reason I think Yankee fans should pay attention to him. And since I know for a fact that somebody in the Yankee front office reads this site, come on guys, have I ever steered you wrong before? Why would I do that? That’s K-L-I-M-A, J-O-H-N, Los Angeles. Hey, I’m a Zuk guy, that ought to mean something to at least one of you.
In this interview, you can read a young hitter becoming aware of the finer points of becoming a professional hitter for the first time. He’s also gaining confidence as a young infielder. Perspective and maturity are coming quickly. And when you draft a high school kid, that’s exactly what you want to see as he becomes a mature pro. He is heeding something my old pal Zuk used to tell high school hitters: library the messages of your instructors, but trust yourself above all else.
(more…)
Category: 2010 Draft, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
No Comments »
Tags: Angelo Gumbs, Angelo Gumbs Interview, New York Yankees, Pro Interview
By Jen Marder
June 8, 2011
The New York Yankees selected Sam Stafford in the 2nd round (#88 overall) in the 2011 MLB Draft. Baseball Beginnings has been scouting Stafford from the start of the draft cycle. Enjoy links to the content we have published on him through the year.
Watch Sam Stafford Video
Read Sam Stafford Scouting Update
Category: 2011 Draft |
No Comments »
Tags: New York Yankees, Sam Stafford, Texas
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
August 30, 2010
The Yankees went away from college stiffs who are always under the ball and rolled the dice on high upside high school guys. It’s about time. They should develop better than anyone, because unlike anyone else, they have the money to plug at the big league level to absorb all sorts of mistakes. So they ought to gamble more. That’s just me.
(more…)
Category: 2010 Team Draft Recaps |
No Comments »
Tags: New York Yankees
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
June 27, 2010
You can tell what the Yankees are thinking. At some point, they need to think about replacing Derek Jeter at shortstop. Of course, just because another guy will play short in the future doesn’t mean you replace Jeter. But the Yankees, every now and then, go back to their roots and look for athletic high school players with tremendous upside. Yet there is one danger in this – don’t take away what a player does best just to fill an organizational need.
(more…)
Category: 2010 Draft, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
No Comments »
Tags: Angelo Gumbs, Cito Culver, Column, New York Yankees
By Jen Marder
June 7, 2010
Today the New York Yankees selected Cito Culver in the first round (#32 overall) in the 2010 MLB Draft. Baseball Beginnings has scouted Culver. Enjoy links to the content we have published on him through the year.
Watch Cito Culver Video
Category: 2010 Draft |
No Comments »
Tags: Cito Culver, New York Yankees
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
May 26, 2010
I had one last look at Torrance’s Angelo Gumbs before the draft.
The local knock I keep hearing on Gumbs is that he won’t hit. I’ve heard complaints that he has been beaten with soft pitching. Based on what I saw, that is not the case. I don’t care much for high school stats, but Gumbs hit about .450 this spring. I felt hitting for him was more important this spring than for many other players in Southern California, because I felt if he did, it would show more comfort and confidence in his hands. When I last interviewed Gumbs, he said he was pleased with how quickly he was getting his front foot down and how much deeper he was letting pitches get. Gumbs made good progress this spring, which is important, because when he signs, it’s going to get much tougher right away.
(more…)
Category: '10 Scouting Updates |
No Comments »
Tags: Angelo Gumbs, Angelo Gumbs Update, New York Yankees
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
February 28, 2010
The Yankees have a curious history with college left-handers in their recent drafts. They like to draft them, but not to pay for them. Here’s a look at Aaron Meade, a left-hander from Missouri State, who did not sign with the Yankees in the 28th round of the 2009 draft.
(more…)
Category: '10 Videos |
1 Comment »
Tags: Aaron Meade, Aaron Meade Video, Missouri State, New York Yankees
By The Baseball Beginnings Guy
August 21, 2009
Tyler Lyons, LHP (July 2009)
Oklahoma State University (2009 Draft)
6-2, 190
Game seen: 1, Innings: 5 (at Chatham, Cape Cod League)
10th round pick, Yankees, 2009
Updated Report
(more…)
Category: '09 Scouting Reports, '10 Scouting Reports, 2009 Draft |
No Comments »
Tags: New York Yankees, Oklahoma State, Tyler Lyons, Tyler Lyons Report
