Today was my last full day here. As they say on the Internets, I has a sad. It's not the most luxurious or glamorous hotel in the world, but I've grown to love my little work shack here at the Howard Johnson. It's quite homey and familiar. In fact, it's just two doors down from the room I stayed in last year. 

I love getting to the field at 9:00 every morning, watching the players get stretched out, do defensive drills, take BP and the like. It's like catnip for me, and it's something I'll miss once the regular season gets going. Granted, I generally get to the ballpark at 2:00 for a 7:00 game, but Waterfront Park lacks the simple intimacy of the Himes Complex. If I could, I'd stay here year-round and watch the T-Yanks and Extended Spring Training. 

But enough of that, here's what I did today. 

Unfortunately, the Thunder's game was rained out in the middle of the second inning. The skies looked oomy  from the moment I got there, but it held off for a few innings. Then the skies opened up and the Yankees banged the game in roughly two minutes. 

The pitching matchup for the day was Shaeffer Hall vs. Chad Jenkins, almost certainly what you'll on Thursday in Trenton. The Thunder held a 2-0 lead on Zoilo Almonte's laser beam of a home run in the first inning. 

Here's my story about what I think the Thunder will do this season. Basically, the team looks like it lacks power and on-base skills, and it definitely needs a big turnaround defensively from last season. The pitching should be solid enough, though. 

A couple of notes from the day that was:

- Pat Venditte and Abe Almonte will not be at the team's FanFest on April 3. Both will be with the Yankees while they finish up spring training. The pair will, however, be ready for Opening Day against the Fisher Cats on April 5.

- Rigoberto Arrebato was moved from Trenton's roster to Tampa's. The move was necessitated by Brandon Braboy heading to the rehab group. 

- Former Thunder pitcher Adam Olbrychowski has called it a career. He was briefly a member of the team toward the end of the 2009 season, and was dealt to Washington that offseason for Justin Maxwell. 

- There were rumblings today that Jorge Vazquez had left the organization. Not confirmed though.

Here are two videos from the brief game action today:

A few players -- mostly Charleston guys, for whatever reason -- tweeted their assignments last night, but the full lists are out this morning, and here they are:

First, the Thunder, because this is a Thunder blog:

TRENTON

PITCHERS
Cory Arbiso
Rigoberto Arrebato
Preston Claiborne
Ryan Flannery
Shaeffer Hall
Craig Heyer
Lee Hyde
Brett Marshall
Kelvin Perez
Josh Romanski
Graham Stoneburner
Pat Venditte
Chase Whitley

CATCHERS
Mitch Abeita
Jeff Farnham
Jose Gil

INFIELDERS
David Adams
Walter Ibarra
Rob Lyerly
Addison Maruszak
Yadil Mujica
Ronnier Mustelier
Jose Pirela

OUTFIELDERS
Abraham Almonte
Zoilo Almonte
Cody Johnson
DeAngelo Mack
Melky Mesa

That's 28 guys for 25 spots, so three have to hit the paper DL to start the year. I'll find out about that later, but I'd bet Farnham is one of them.

SCRANTON

PITCHERS
Manny Banuelos
Dellin Betances
Juan Cedeno
Manny Delcarmen
Adam Miller
Mike O'Connor
Ryan Pope
Kevin Whelan

CATCHERS
Ryan Baker

INFIELDERS
Brandon Laird
Steve Pearce
Ramiro Pena
Kevin Russo
Jorge Vazquez

OUTFIELDERS
Dan Brewer
Colin Curtis
Jack Cust
Cole Garner
Austin Krum
Ray Kruml

Obviously, there's a dearth of pitchers here. That'll get filled out when the Yankees figure out what they're doing with Pineda/Nova/Garcia and Mitchell/Warren/Phelps. Also, I'd expect to see Gustavo Molina join Baker.

TAMPA

PITCHERS
Manny Barreda
Sean Black
Aaron Dott
Shane Greene
Mark Montgomery
Zach Nuding
Vidal Nuno
Mikey O'Brien
Branden Pinder
Jose Ramirez
Francisco Rondon
Kramer Sneed
Nik Turley

CATCHERS
Tyson Blaser
J.R. Murphy
Hector Rabago

INFIELDERS
Kelvin Castro
Garrison Lassiter
Kevin Mahoney
Jose Mojica
Kyle Roller
Jose Toussen
Zach Wilson

OUTFIELDERS
Shane Brown
Ramon Flores
Neil Medchill
Rob Segedin
Eduardo Sosa

CHARLESTON

PITCHERS
Scottie Allen
Brandon Braboy
John Brebbia
Jose Campos
Mariel Checo
Caleb Cotham
Pedro Guerra
Fred Lewis
Dan Mahoney
Bryan Mitchell
Will Oliver
Ben Paullus
Wilton Rodriguez
Zach Varce
Phil Wetherell

CATCHERS
Francisco Arcia
Nick McCoy
Gary Sanchez

INFIELDERS
Dante Bichette
Cito Culver
Anderson Feliz
Angelo Gumbs
Rey Nunez
Casey Stevenson

OUTFIELDERS
Tyler Austin
Kelvin DeLeon
Ben Gamel
Mason Williams

EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING

PITCHERS
Andury Acevedo
Daniel Camarena
Jordan Cote
Rookie Davis
Evan DeLuca
Rafael DePaula
Gabe Encinas
Brett Gerritse
Chaz Hebert
Joey Maher
Taylor Morton
Reynaldo Polanco
Evan Rutckyj
Hayden Sharp
Adam Smith
Leonel Vinas

CATCHERS
Greg Bird
Eduardo De Oleo
David Remedios
Isaias Tejeda
Jackson Valera
Wes Wilson

INFIELDERS
Jake Anderson
Claudio Custodio
Matt Duran
Bubba Jones
Fu-Lin Kuo
Jose Rosario
Damian Taveras

OUTFIELDERS
Yeicok Calderon
Jake Cave
Exicardo Cayones
Cody Grice
Justin James
Daniel Lopez
Henry Pena
Ravel Santana

REHAB

PITCHERS
Zach Arneson
Jeremy Bleich
Dan Burawa
Reiner Casanova
Matt Daley
Steven Evarts
Giovanny Gallegos
Jairo Heredia
Tom Kahnle
Diego Moreno
Conor Mullee
Tim Norton
Matt Richardson
Matt Tracy

CATCHERS
Austin Romine
Kyle Higashioka

INFIELDERS
Carmen Angelini
Corban Joseph
Luke Murton

OUTFIELDERS
Damon Sublett
Slade Heathcott

Today was high-value arms day. I took video of, among others, Rafael DePaula, Reynaldo Polanco, Jose Campos and Daniel Camarena. All of the videos are embedded below. As you can tell from previous post, I'm pretty darn impressed with DePaula's curveball. The same goes for Campos, Camarena and Polanco. All looked like they had excellent life on their pitches. For Yankees prospect fans, the next few years are going to be quite fun. 

First, here are links to the two stories I wrote today. 

Story 1: Rafael DePaula makes an impressive U.S. debut. 

Story 2: Shaeffer Hall gets the ball on Opening Day

I also spoke to Jeremy Bleich for a little while today about his road back from labrum surgery. He's throwing bullpens, hitters are coming soon, and he hopes to find his way to a team before the year is out. You'll see that conversation later this week.

Without any further blather, here's the video:

When I walked into the minor league complex this morning, at around 9 a.m., I saw Rafael DePaula run by me out of the bullpen area. Crap, I thought, I missed him throwing. Turns out, I hadn't missed a thing. DePaula, the new 21-year-old, was among the pitchers scheduled to throw in a simulated game while the Scranton and Trenton games were being played. 

For whatever reason, the Trenton game was played on Field 2, which is the worst of the four fields as far as getting halfway decent vantage points for video. Getting anything from behind the plate is virtually impossible. There are poles, bars, benches and screens in the way. 

DePaula provided a pretty decent alternative, I think. 

In all, the half-million dollar man threw 24 pitches -- 14 fastballs, 7 curves and 3 change-ups. The fastball was mostly between 91 and 93, and topped out at 94 miles per hour. He was very wild, and nearly hit two batters. The curveball broke hard and late, was generally in the mid-70s and was pretty darn dirty, if you ask me. 

Isaias Tejeda caught the DePaula, and suggested that some nerves might be involved, especially given that this was DePaula's first appearance in the U.S. At one point, Tejeda went to the mound to talk to DePaula (how often do you see that during a sim game?). He said he told his pitcher to slow down and take it easy and let his stuff take over. 

The next pitch? His only 94 of the afternoon. Over the inside part of the plate, too, if I remember. 

Asked afterward how hard he expects DePaula to throw once he gets his legs under him, Yankees pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras, who watched the whole sim game from behind the batting cage, said "100."

Once he calms down, it's pretty safe to say DePaula can be added to the massive list of arms on which Yankees fans can dream. 

Good morning.

The Thunder are staying home today to play the Blue Jays' Double-A kids. So far, I've seen Graham Stoneburner and Brett Marshall pitch, and Shaeffer Hall took his turn in the Triple-A game on Monday in Clearwater so Phil Hughes could get his reps in back at the complex.

That means it's probably time for Craig Heyer to start. Sean Black, another dark-horse candidate, I thought, for the Thunder rotation, threw an inning in one of the intrasquad games yesterday, which probably means he's out of the mix. Steve Evarts also threw an inning yesterday (in relief of Black, as it happened), so he's unlikely to be a starter this year, I'd think. It also doesn't help that he drew a 50-game suspension toward the end of last year. 

Ivan Nova is supposed to be coming over to the complex to pitch, and Nick Swisher sounds like he'll return to take some more at-bats and generally bounce around the joint like the happy, half-man, half-Red Bull sort of creature he is. 

It occurred to me late last night that, in my end-of-day post, I forgot to link my articles. I've done so over there, but if you don't feel like scrolling backward on the ol' blog, then I'll do so here, too. 

I wrote about Graham Stoneburner's neck finally feeling pain-free. 

I also wrote about Nick Swisher taking hacks against Manny Banuelos and Brett Marshall. 

Additionally, I'm a terrible photographer. However, I got a few really good (for me) shots of Nick Swisher yesterday, so I'm going to share them with you: The last two are him during his home-run swing, and running around the bases after said home run.

Today was a camp day, which meant there were three games going on at once. I thought there were only going to be two games, but I was wrong. There was Scranton vs. Trenton (which had Nick Swisher playing for both teams), Tampa vs. Charleston, and the Bombers vs. the Yankees. That last game had a lot of younger players, including Taylor Morton and Jake Cave, Damian Taveras and Hector Rabago, and Claudio Custodio and Justin James. 

The marquee matchup, however, was between Scranton and Trenton, which featured five innings each of Manny Banuelos and Brett Marshall. That was quite a treat to video, let me tell you what. Banuelos hit as high as 94 and showed some really, really dirty offspeed stuff. If you don't believe me, watch the last pitch of him striking out Zoilo Almonte in the videos below. Almonte got revenge later when he sliced a triple into the right-field corner. Sorry, Zoilo, I didn't get video of that. 

I spoke to Graham Stoneburner for a small feature about his injury last year and what he expects from himself this season. Stoneburner also mentioned that he'll throw again on Sunday, the final day of camp, which would line him up nicely for the second game of the season against New Hampshire on Friday (gotta get down on Friday). 

I also spoke to Swisher afterward about what it was like to be on the receiving end of pitches from Banuelos and Marshall. He had some really nice things to say about Marshall's slider, which looked particularly dirty at times yesterday. 

The Thunder stay home tomorrow to tackle the Blue Jays' Double-A kids. Ivan Nova is supposed to be heading over to the Himes Complex. Frankly, if he winds up starting for the Thunder, I might just drive to Dunedin to watch the Charleston and Tampa kids some more. I guess that's a big ol' TBA.

I do know that no matter where I go, I'll be heading to the big league game at night. I did it on Tuesday, and it was pretty fun. I'm doing it again on Friday, too. 

Until then, here are a whole lot of videos to tide you all over until tomorrow. 

Good morning.

After yesterday's joyous day of marathon baseball, today will be quick and easy. It's a camp day -- which means two intrasquad games at the complex starting at 10 a.m. It also means tons of time to take actual game footage, instead of the endless BP reels, of the lower prospects.

Unfortunately for me but fortunately for them, Tyler Austin and Cito Culver will be with the big league club today in Orlando for some Yankees on Braves action.

Nick Swisher will also be in the house to get some ABs (I've heard five is the number he's looking for), which I imagine will be done with the Double-A vs. Triple-A game.

If you missed any of my stuff yesterday, it can be found here. That post includes links to two stories, some assorted notes and 14 (I think) videos.

Enjoy your morning, and I'll be back later.

Another great day in Tampa. I watched BP this morning, a game this afternoon, and the big league game this evening. All in all, pretty darn nice, if you'd ask me. But you want the information, so here goes:

Here are the two stories I wrote this afternoon, between the minor league game and the big league game. The first is short feature on Rob Lyerly and his efforts to better his defense. He'll be back with the Thunder this year, and he'll be spending some time in the field, so it would be for the best if he upped his game in the field.

The second story is a notebook, with tidbits about Mariano Rivera and Boone Logan hitting the minor league complex; Graham Stoneburner, Chase Whitley and Tim Norton throwing against the Phillies; Rafael DePaula showing up, and Manny Trillo looking for talent.

Spoke to George Kontos briefly after the game about something I'd been meaning to ask him in September, but simply forgot: I wanted to know what pitchers take after their first big-league outing. Obviously, he can't speak for everyone, but he took the ball from his first out, the ball from his first strikeout, the big lineup card, and both managers' cards. I'd have guessed some dirt from the pitcher's mound. I'd have been wrong.

Nick Swisher is coming over to the minor league complex tomorrow. They're doing a camp day, which means games start at 10 a.m., which means much less heat and a much happier me. It also means I actually get to watch Charleston and Tampa play, instead of simply recording endless BP sessions.

Tyler Austin and Cito Culver are among the prospects making the trip with Yankees to Orlando to play the Braves. Also going are Addison Maruszak, Juan Cedeno, Pat Venditte, and others.

I took 120 videos today between the game and BP sessions. Here are some of the juicier cuts.

Good morning.

It's the second full day of my trip to Thunder spring training, and I'd consider yesterday a success. I got a nice little feature from Cody Johnson, watched Trenton fall to Reading in Clearwater (though the parking situation was a nightmare with a capital nightmare), and took tons of videos of some of the system's brightest prospects.

Today, the Phillies come to Tampa to tangle with the Thunder, who'll have Graham Stoneburner going for them. I'm excited to talk to Stoneburner about last year's disappointment and what he'll do to help put his name back on the prospect map. If he can get things together, he has the potential to be a real wild-card for this team.

As always, I'll take tons of videos (I shot 77 yesterday) and upload them once I get back from the complex.

Additionally, I will be heading over to the big league camp after the minor league stuff to watch the Yankees take on the Blue Jays. Hopefully I can talk with some of the prospects still in big-league camp.

If you missed anything from yesterday, here's a handy-dandy link to all the action.

After about eight hours of baseball today, here's what I produced: 

First up is a short feature about Cody Johnson, the slugging outfielder who needs to cut down on his strikeouts, a lot. For all of his faults at the plate, Cody is an incredibly forthcoming and honest interview. He tells you exactly what is on his mind, and he does so rather eloquently, and without a great deal of cliches.

He'll probably be back with the Thunder this year, and that's good for the team, because the Thunder are always looking for someone to make Waterfront Park look small, and Cody can do that with jaw-dropping ease.

Now, here are some notes from the day: 

- Because Phil Hughes was pitching for Tampa this afternoon, Nik Turley was bumped from the High-A work group to the Double-A work group. This didn't appear to go well for him. He walked about a half dozen hitters and recorded one strikeout that I saw, and that was against the opposing pitcher, Jon Pettibone, who'll be with Reading this year.

-Walter Ibarra had himself a day. The infielder who's spent the past two seasons with Tampa popped a two-run home run and a triple and was generally one of Trenton's few bright spots this afternoon.

- Ronnier Mustelier started a double play at third base.

- Phil Wetherell relieved Turley. After striking out the first man he faced, Steve Lerud, he ran into big trouble in his next frame. He started by walking the pitcher Pettibone, then compounded it by walking the next three, forcing Pettibone around to score. The Phillies charting the game were flabbergasted.

- Cory Arbiso relieved Wetherell and induced an inning-ending DP. Nifty work from Arbiso on the whole today.

- Manager Tony Franklin said he expected Zoilo Almonte (no surprise) as well as Abraham Almonte and Mitch Abeita to make the trip north with the Thunder.

- Longtime Thunder reliever Grant Duff and former Thunder second baseman Reegie Corona were released by the Yankees. Best wishes to the both of them in their future endeavors. The Phillies need infielders. Maybe they could invest in a Reegie.

- Former farmhand Jonathan Hovis, a Thunder pitcher very briefly, was in camp today to talk to Dante Bichette. Why? Hovis is now the head of baseball promotions at Spalding Sporting Goods and was trying to snatch Bichette as a client.

Now, here are a bunch of videos I took over the course of the day. Enjoy:

























The Phillies make the drive to Tampa tomorrow to finish their home-and-home set with the Thunder. Graham Stoneburner will be on the bump for that one against either Trevor May or Tyler Cloyd. Should be fun.

Good morning.

After yesterday's disappointment, it's time to get back to work. The "Thunder" head to Clearwater this afternoon to take on their Phillies-counterparts, and, after hanging out at the complex this morning, I'll be there to cover it.

I'm hoping to land interviews today with, among others, David Adams, Rob Lyerly and Tony Franklin. I want to know about Adams' long road back, Lyerly's efforts to improve his defense, and Franklin's overall impressions about how the team has looked thus far.

I'll have plenty of video to show you later -- some from the morning workout at the complex, and some from the game.

Of course, Phil Hughes will be hanging out at the complex in the afternoon, I believe, but I'll be in Clearwater while that's happening. I'm pretty sure the normal Yankees beat writers will have you covered in that regard.

That's all for now.

Bio: Signed as a 16-year-old at the July 2nd deadline in 2005, Almonte has slowly worked his way through the system, flying mostly under the radar. He's a smallish, switch-hitting outfielder with a set of tools just now beginning to blossom. If he can build on last year's breakout, the Yankees might have a little more help when it comes to developing position players.

2011: The aforementioned breakout. With Tampa, Almonte hitting a whopping .293/.368/.514 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs in just 70 games. That earned him a July bump to Trenton. He didn't quite keep up his High-A pace, but he flashed enough potential to become, in my mind, the most intriguing piece of the potential Opening Day Thunder lineup.

What's Next: Almonte will probably bat cleanup with the Thunder and is a good bet to stay with Trenton all year. 

Well, today certainly didn't go as planned. At some point on the plane I realized that Camp Day games do not, in fact, begin at 1:00, as I'd referred to in the previous post. My plane landed at 10:45, meaning I thought I was going to have a chance to catch some of the games anyway.

Then I tried to rent a car.

I was fortunate enough to get in before the line got really crazy, but the Dollar kiosk had two agents working while seven stations went unmanned. This, of course, combined with a crazy glut of travelers, made for a very long wait.

By the time I got my car and got to the field, it was nearly noon, and the players were beginning to file out of the complex in their street clothes. That meant today became basically a travel day. No worries, though. There are two more Camp Days before I leave.

Things really kick off tomorrow, when the Thunder travel to Clearwater to play the Reading Phillies (or at least some incarnation of them). I'll be there taking tons of video, which I will later post to this very blog, and at trentonian.com

The day is finally here. After months of waiting for winter to turn into spring, and spring to turn into late spring, I'm headed to Tampa this morning for the final week of Thunder spring training. All this week I'll be providing stories, blog posts, (bad) pictures, videos, and some live chats as the minor league players go through their final seven days before heading to their new homes. 

On today's docket is a camp day. That's a day when all of the minor leaguers stay at the Yankees complex and play intrasquad games. The Charleston group will play the Tampa group, and the Trenton group will play the Scranton (Empire State) group. It's a really good opportunity to see all of the prospects in one place, and it means I don't have to get myself lost on the way to another city. 

My flight leaves just before 8 a.m., which means I'll get to Tampa in plenty of time for the games, which usually start at around 1 p.m.

That's all for now, but I'll have plenty of video later. Stay tuned. 

Bio: Out of Sterling High School, in Baytown, Tex., New York took Marshall with its sixth-round selection in 2009. He stands six feet tall and checks in at just less than 200 pounds. He uses a hard, heavy fastball to get his outs, with a good majority chunk of those outs coming on the ground. 

2011: That Marshall had an ERA of 3.78 -- the eighth best in the organization -- is something of a miracle, considering how badly he pitched in April, when he allowed 21 earned runs (23 runs overall) in 21 innings.

After the calendar changed, a switch flipped, and Marshall began to pitch like a prospect again.

From May 1 until the end of the season, the 21-year-old (he'll turn 22 on Thursday), he went 8-4 with a 2.87 ERA, allowed 116 hits in 119 1/3 innings, struck out 100 hitters against 40 walks, got grounders at a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, and held the opposition to a .264 ERA.

What's Next: Marshall is an almost certain lock for the Thunder's Opening Day rotation, and he'll more than likely spend most of the year with the team. 

The Yankees' minor leaguers are squaring off against the Blue Jays' minor leaguers today. The upper levels are playing in Tampa, and the lower levels are heading to Dunedin. Here's how each level will line up.

SCRANTON

Krum  - DH

Kruml - CF

Russo - 2B 

Brewer - RF

Pena - DH

Mack - LF

Mahoney - 1B

Stevenson - 3B

McCoy - C

Romanski - P (1-2)

Nuno - P (3-4)

Gil - P (5-6)

Flannery - P (7-8)

Hinojosa  - P (9)

Arrebato - Backup

Notes: Corban Joseph will enter the game at third base in the seventh inning, at which point Stevenson will move to first base. Kevin Mahoney will move to left field at that point. Dan Brewer will become a DH in the sixth. Pena will take Brewer's spot in right, and Mack will move to center field. 

TRENTON 

A. Almonte - CF

Mustelier - DH

Adams - 2B

Higashioka - C

Johnson - LF

Mattingly - DH

Brown - RF

Ibarra - SS

Lassiter - 3B

Taveras - 1B

Perez - P (1-2)

Rodriguez - P (3-4)

Allen - P (5-6)

Varce - P (7-8)

Castillo - P (9)

Black - Backup

Notes: Mustelier will move to third base in the seventh inning. Mitch Abeita will take his spot at DH. Also in the seventh inning, Exicardo Cayones will move to center field. From the eighth inning on, Jeff Farnham will catch, Jose Pirela will play second, and Jose Rosario will play shortstop. 

TAMPA

Williams - DH

Flores - LF

Calderon - RF

Valera - 1B

Sanchez - C

Sosa - CF

Mojica - SS

Anderson - 2B

Kuo - 3B

Blaser - C

O'Brien - P (1-2)

Reyes - P (3-4)

Hebert - P (5-6)

Acevedo - P (7-8)

Paullus - P (9)

Brebbia - Backup

Notes: In the sixth inning, Valera will move to catcher, Kyle Roller will step in at first, Zach Wilson will come in to play third, Kuo will move to second, and David Remedios will assume a DH's role. In the seventh inning, Williams will move to center field, Sosa will shift to DH, and Justin James will slide into right field. 

CHARLESTON

Feliz - SS

Gumbs - 2B

Bird - 1B

Bichette - 3B

Nunez - DH

DeLeon - RF

Duran - DH

Arcia - C

Lopez - LF

Cave - CF

Oliver - P (1-2)

Morton - P (3-4)

DeLuca - P (5-6)

Vinas - P (7-8)

Martinez - P (9)

Isabel - Backup 

Notes: In the seventh, Eduardo de Oleo will come in at catcher, Wes Wilson will head to left field, and Ben Gamel will play right field. Lopez will slide to center, Duran will move to first, and Bird will take on DHing duties. 

Photo from NY Times

Bio: The Yankees' 11th-round selection from 2011 started his college ball at Longwood University, where he began his career thinking his future was as a hitter. Things changed, however, and now he looks like he's on the fast track to the major league bullpen. For more on his transition, read this interview I did with him earlier in the winter.

2011: After signing, Montgomery spent the rest of the season between Staten Island and Charleston, and absolutely dominated. After fanning five hitters in his Low-A debut, he finished the year with an average between the levels of nearly 17 strikeouts per nine. He has a low-90s heater and a devastating slider that has drawn excellent reviews this spring.

What's Next: It's not certain, but there's a good chance that Montgomery begins the year in Trenton's bullpen. If he does, there's also a decent chance he might not stay there for very long. 

Photo from Andy in Sunny DB

Bio: Hard to come up with much of anything here, but here's what I do know: He's a 27-year-old Cuban defector whom the Baseball Reference bullpen refers to as "Ronnier Mustelier Bell." He left Cuba following a .281/.405/.421 season over 88 games. 

2011: The Yankees signed him on June 7 and sent him to the Gulf Coast League for starters. He hit .500 there over 10 games before moving up to the Florida State League. With, Mustelier continued his torrid ways. He hit .333/.378/.524, with a third of his 42 hits going of extra bases. 

More interestingly, Mustelier played at games at second, third, right field, center field and left field, where he saw the majority of his playing time.

Outlook for 2012: Thunder manager Tony Franklin often points out that he loves versatile players who can hold their own all over the diamond. If Mustelier can do that AND handle the lumber, then he'll work out just fine in the Eastern League. 

(Trenton, NJ) The Trenton Thunder, the Double A affiliate of the New York Yankees, will host a free event prior to Opening Night, the "Welcome North Fan Fest", on Tuesday, April 3 from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

 

"We're excited to continue the tradition of welcoming the new Thunder team to Trenton and giving fans a chance to meet the players before the season," said Thunder General Manager Will Smith.

 

At 3:00 PM, Waterfront Park gates will open and fans will be able to view the team's first practice of the year in Trenton and take tours of Waterfront Park.  From approximately 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM fans will have the opportunity to meet this year's team and seek autographs. Waterfront Park concession stands will be open throughout the event and there will be prize raffles.  This is a rain or shine event.

Members of the Thunder's 90% Club, a group of season ticket holders who attended at least 90% of the team's games last year, will have a special reception in the Yankee Club and Conference Center from 5:00 PM until 7:30 PM. The reception will feature a buffet dinner and an approximately 45 minute exclusive "meet and greet" with Thunder team members.

WELCOME NORTH FAN FEST

WHEN: Tuesday, April 3, 2012 (3:00 PM - 7:30 PM)
WHO: Open to Media, Sponsors, Season Ticket Holders and General Public
  Waterfront Park Gates Open For Fans: 3:00 PM
Stadium Tours: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Team Practice:  3:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Player Autograph Session:  5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Players visit 90% Club In Yankee Club (private):  6:30 PM - 7:15 PM
Ballpark Closes:  7:30 PM

Times are appoximate and may change.  

The 2012 Trenton Thunder season will begin on Thursday, April 5 at home against New Hampshire (Toronto).   All Trenton Thunder tickets are all on sale now at trentonthunder.com.  All Thunder games can be heard at 91.3 FM and online at trentonthunder.com

Bio: The Yankees' 14th-round selection from 2009 had a painful time before entering pro ball. He suffered a cracked vertebra and went through a torn ACL in college before signing with the Yankees. His brother, Davis, is in the farm system for the Texas Rangers. 

2011: After a mostly healthy pro career, the injury bug bit Stoneburner again last season. He missed about three months with a nagging neck injury and wound up pitching just 91 1/3 innings all year, 58 1/3 of which came with Trenton.

What's Next: With the Empire State Yankees' rotation stocked, Stoneburner is destined to return to Trenton to try to pick up the pieces from a lost season. 

Bad news from Newsday's Erik Boland, who reports that Dan Burawa, one of the Yankees' high-end relief prospects who was slated to start the year at Trenton, has a torn oblique muscle. Boland also reports that the recovery time for such an injury is two months, minimum. 

Given how cautious the Yankees are with their prospects, I'd look more toward June or the EL All-Star break. Terrible break for one of the organization's rising stars. Over the past year, scouts I'd spoken to had referred to   Burawa as a potential eighth-inning reliever or even a future closer. One went so far as to comp him to Seattle's Brandon League.

Here's a link to a feature I wrote about Burawa last spring. 

Why He's Here: Of Thunder players with more than 300 plate appearances, here are the categories in which Joseph led the team:

1. Hits

2. Doubles
3. Triples (tied with Ray Kruml)
4. Runs
5. RBIs

6. Walks

7. Batting average

8. On-base percentage

9. On-base plus slugging

10. Weighted Runs Created

11. Weighted Runs Created Plus

12. Weighted On-base Average

13. Weighted Runs Above Average

I say all that to say this: Over the course of what was ultimately a disappointing season, Joseph was the Thunder's offensive star. His defense left something to be desired, and he seems to have dropped off the prospect radar some this season, but in 2011, Joseph was the best hitter in the Thunder's lineup. 

Most Memorable Moment: On July 5 against Richmond, Joseph went 4-for-4 with a longball, two RBIs and two runs scored in the Thunder's 9-6 loss to the Flying Squirrels, which came courtesy of a walk-off grand slam from Giants prospect Francisco Peguero. The most amazing part of Joseph's day? It was accomplished in seven innings, because the game was part of a doubleheader.

Outlook for 2012: Despite the shiny numbers above, I think Corban Joseph is headed back to Trenton to start the year. Based on the way they're playing him in spring training, it seems there's a decent chance he splits time between second base and third base this year to try to maximize his value to the rest of baseball.

RECAP: If you missed any of them, and, because of their author's sporadic posting, I'm sure you did, here are all of the Thunder's top players from last season:

10. Dellin Betances
9. Manny Banuelos
8. Pat Venditte
7. Austin Krum
6. Josh Schmidt
5. Shaeffer Hall
4. Austin Romine
3. Ray Kruml 
2. Tim Norton
1. Corban Joseph

Why He's Here: Norton destroyed the Eastern League, period. Were he able to stay healthy, there's a great chance he would have been fighting for a spot in New York's bullpen this year. 

Armed with mid-90s heat and a devastating breaking ball, Norton tore up the competition. In 29 innings, he allowed just 12 hits, eight walks and two longballs. He fanned 44, held opponents to a .124 batting average, and was equally dirty against both right- and left-handed hitters.

Unfortunately for Norton, he made just one appearance with Scranton before hitting the DL for the rest of the year. He's up and throwing again in spring training, so perhaps this year could be the big one for the big man from the University of Connecticut. 

Most Memorable Moment: With so many good outings from which to choose, it's tough to pick a favorite. That said, I'll take his two-inning, four-strikeout performance against Richmond on April 19. His scoreless eighth and ninth innings kept the game tied and paved the way for Austin Romine's game-winning single in the tenth inning.

Outlook for 2012: Even with a glut of other relievers seemingly ticketed for Triple-A, it's hard to believe Norton starts anywhere but on the bus with the Empire State Yankees in 2012. 

Why He's Here: After he moved from the nine hole into the leadoff spot, his combination of slap-hitting, speed and defense helped propel the Thunder to a scorching-hot summer.

When in the leadoff spot (68 of his 114 games), Kruml hit .306/.354/.436/.790 with 10 doubles, eight triples, four home runs and 18 steals in 24 chances. Pretty darn good. 

Most Memorable Moment: On May 5, in the middle of the Thunder's wild comeback win over the Portland Sea Dogs, Kruml went 3 for 5 with a run scored and two stolen bases, which, to my eyes, looks like his bet individual day of the year.

Outlook for 2012: This one's a little confusing. With DeWayne Wise, Colin Curtis, Cole Garner, Chris Dickerson and Dan Brewer among others, in line for time with the Empire State Yankees, Kruml could feel a lot like Brewer did last year: Left out. The best-case scenario for him, I'd imagine, would involve a return to Trenton with regular playing time. Whether that happens is questionable. 

Romine is at right. 

Why He's Here: In repeating Double-A, Romine reinforced his image as a steady backstop, an excellent game-caller, and a solid hitter.

Although his power numbers dropped, Romine upped both his average and on-base percentage in his return engagement in the Eastern League.

Moreover, he got better behind the plate. As manager Tony Franklin liked to put it: "You didn't notice him back there." For a catcher, that's a pretty strong compliment.

Although a couple of injuries cost him time, Romine once again proved himself the team's de facto captain.

Most Memorable Moment: On April 20 against Richmond, Romine went 3 for 4 with two longballs, four RBIs and a walk. It's his only multi-bomb game at Double-A, and his first overall since July 20, 2008, as a member of the Charleston RiverDogs. As an aside, Giancarlo Stanton also homered in that game.

Outlook for 2012: With Russell Martin and Francisco Cervelli all but cemented as the Yankees' two catchers, Romine will head back to the Empire State Yankees to start the year, where he'll do the bulk of the backstopping. 

In  a series of texts last month between myself and Donnie Collins, who covers the Triple-A Yankees for the Scranton Times-Tribune, I remarked that this year had become by far the most difficult in terms of trying to come to even a rough sketch of what the upper levels of the system might look like come April. 

In fact, I said, I could put together a hypothetical Double-A outfield consisting solely of players who I think have a serious chance to be cut from camp before the season starts. There are simply too many machinations and moving parts, and too much clutter in the organization overall. 

By clutter, I'm referring to players who are done proving themselves at their respective levels,  players who have no real shot at making the major leagues with the Yankees and are biding their time until they can find either another organization or another job entirely, or players who were signed this offseason to provide major league depth on the Triple-A roster. 

In what had to look like a scene from a mental hospital, I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon putting together incarnation after incarnation of the 24 players who will open the season in Trenton. In the end, I came up with a list of 38 players whom I think have a shot at Double-A to begin 2012. Here, sorted by position, is that list:

Catchers:

1. Kyle Higashioka

2. Mitch Abeita

3. Jose Gil

4. Ryan Baker

Infielders:

5. Rob Lyerly 

6. David Adams

7. Corban Joseph

8. Walter Ibarra

9. Jose Pirela

10. Ronnier Mustelier

11. Brad Suttle

12. Addison Maruszak

13. Yadil Mujica

Outfielders:

14. DeAngelo Mack

15. Melky Mesa

16. Zoilo Almonte

17. Abraham Almonte

18. Austin Krum

19. Cody Johnson

20. Damon Sublett

21. Ray Kruml

Pitchers:

22. Brett Marshall

23. Craig Heyer

24. Graham Stoneburner

25. Shaeffer Hall

26. Cory Arbiso

27. Sean Black

28. Mikey O'Brien

29. Nik Turley

30. Dan Burawa

31. Mark Montgomery

32. Chase Whitley

33. Preston Claiborne

34. Pat Venditte

35. Grant Duff

36. Noel Castillo

37. Ryan Flannery

38. Josh Romanski

I went over the rotation the other day on the blog, so today we'll talk about what's likely to be the Thunder's weakest position (in the first half): catcher.

Until J.R. Murphy is ready after the Florida State League All-Star break, there will be, I imagine, four candidates for the Thunder's starting catcher. They are, in order of likeliness:

1. Jose Gil
2. Mitch Abeita
3. Kyle Higashioka
4. Ryan Baker

Gil has tons of experience as Trenton's backup, and with Austin Romine and Gustavo Molina the likely duo at Triple-A, it seems he'll finally get a few months to be the man at Waterfront Park. With Trenton last year, Gil hit .253/.344/.394 with six home runs and 35 RBIs.

Over the year, Gil put together In a couple of interesting (OK, maybe only to me) statistical notes:

-- Five of Gil's six bombs came against either the Portland Sea Dogs (Eammon Portice, Alex Wilson, Brock Huntzinger) or the Binghamton Mets (Robert Carson, Collin McHugh).

-- For whatever reason, he was Conan the Barbarian in the fifth inning. Over 24 at-bats in that frame, Gil hit .458/.535/.750 with a pair of longballs. That's pretty impressive and also very crazy.

If Gil is the starter, then who is his backup? To be totally honest, I have absolutely no idea. Higashioka, Abeita and Baker each have viable claims the job.

Abeita, while splitting time in his repeat of Tampa last season, threw out 35 of 75 potential basestealers. He's proven over his four minor league seasons that he can't really hit a lick, but that's to be expected of a potential second-string catcher at Double-A.

Higashioka, who is still in big league camp, has spent last season bouncing back and forth between Charleston and Tampa. Still, he's just 21 (he'll turn 22 on April 20, when the Thunder face Harrisburg at home), and has time to put it together.

Then there's Baker, who's spent a lot more time at Double-A than his Baseball Reference card shows. He was with the team for most of last year, but spent most of his time catching bullpens and working out while on the paper disabled list.

If I had to guess right now, and I made this post, so I do, I'd guess that Gil, Higashioka and Baker come north with the Thunder, while Abeita faces either a second repeat of High-A, or an outright release. 

Before the list, a preamble: Despite being named "Scranton," "Trenton," "Tampa," and "Charleston," these work groups have absolutely no bearing on which players will be assigned to which teams come April. They are simply the groups into which the Yankees have sorted the players for the day's work down at the complex. The lists change often.

What the list is good for is keeping track of all the players. I got it sent to me so I could take a better shot at predicting the Thunder roster.

With that in mind, here's the list from today:

CHARLESTON
Pitchers
Daniel Camarena
Jose Campos
Jordan Cote
Caleb Cotham
Gabe Encinas
Shane Greene
Joey Maher
Evan Rutckyj
Giovanny Gallegos
Rookie Davis
Evan DeLuca
Chaz Hebert
Bryan Mitchell
Taylor Morton
Will Oliver
Reynaldo Polanco
Hayden Sharp
Conor Mullee

Catchers
Francisco Arcia
Eduardo de Oleo
Wes Wilson
Isaias Tejeda
Greg Bird

Infielders
Rey Nunez
Dante Bichette Jr.
Cito Culver
Claudio Custodio
Matt Duran
Anderson Feliz
Angelo Gumbs
Bubba Jones

Outfielders
Tyler Austin
Jake Cave
Kelvin De Leon
Ben Gamel
Cody Grice
Daniel Lopez
Ravel Santana

Before the list, a preamble: Despite being named "Scranton," "Trenton," "Tampa," and "Charleston," these work groups have absolutely no bearing on which players will be assigned to which teams come April. They are simply the groups into which the Yankees have sorted the players for the day's work down at the complex. The lists change often.

What the list is good for is keeping track of all the players. I got it sent to me so I could take a better shot at predicting the Thunder roster.

With that in mind, here's the list from today:

TAMPA
Pitchers
John Brebbia
Tommy Kahnle
Dan Mahoney
Mark Montgomery
Zach Nuding
Jose Ramirez
Francisco Rondon
Nik Turley
Zach Arneson
Andury Acevedo
Fred Lewis
Mikey O'Brien
Ben Paullus
Branden Pinder
Adam Smith
Matt Tracy
Phil Wetherell
Reinier Casanova

Catchers
Tyson Blaser
Nick McCoy
Jackson Valera
David Remedios

Infielders
Jake Anderson
Carmen Angelini
Kelvin Castro
Fu-Lin Kuo
Jose Mojica
Kyle Roller
Zach Wilson

Outfielders
Yeicok Calderon
Ramon Flores
Justin James
Rob Segedin
Eduardo Sosa
Mason Williams
Slade Heathcott

Before the list, a preamble: Despite being named "Scranton," "Trenton," "Tampa," and "Charleston," these work groups have absolutely no bearing on which players will be assigned to which teams come April. They are simply the groups into which the Yankees have sorted the players for the day's work down at the complex. The lists change often.

What the list is good for is keeping track of all the players. I got it sent to me so I could take a better shot at predicting the Thunder roster.

With that in mind, here's the list from today:

TRENTON
Pitchers
Manny Barreda
Brandon Braboy
Gavin Brooks
Preston Claiborne
Cory Cowsert
Steve Evarts
Shaeffer Hall
George Isabel
Diego Moreno
Jairo Heredia
Scottie Allen
Noel Castillo
Mariel Checo
Francisco Gil
Pedro Guerra
Daniel Martinez
Josh Romanski
Zach Varce
Ronny Marte

Catchers
Mitch Abeita
Jeff Farnham
Damian Taveras

Infielders
Rob Lyerly
Walter Ibarra
Garrison Lassiter
Ronnier Mustelier
Jose Pirela
Jose Rosario

Outfielders
Abe Almonte
Shane Brown
Exicardo Cayones
Cody Johnson
Preston Mattingly
Neil Medchill

Before the list, a preamble: Despite being named "Scranton," "Trenton," "Tampa," and "Charleston," these work groups have absolutely no bearing on which players will be assigned to which teams come April. They are simply the groups into which the Yankees have sorted the players for the day's work down at the complex. The lists change often. 

What the list is good for is keeping track of all the players. I got it sent to me so I could take a better shot at predicting the Thunder roster. 

With that in mind, here's the list from today: 

SCRANTON

Pitchers

Cory Arbiso

Rigoberto Arrebato

Sean Black

Aaron Dott

Grant Duff

Brett Gerritse

Tim Norton

Kramer Sneed

Matt Richardson

Ryan Flannery

Craig Heyer

Joaquin Hinojosa

Vidal Nuno

Kelvin Perez

Yobanny Reyes

Wilton Rodriguez

Pat Venditte

Leonel Vinas

Jeremy Bleich

Catchers
Ryan Baker

Addison Maruszak

Hector Rabago

Infielders

Luke Murton

Kevin Mahoney

Yadil Mujica

Kevin Russo

Casey Stevenson

Jose Toussen

Reegie Corona

Outfielders

Dan Brewer

Austin Krum

Ray Kruml

DeAngelo Mack

Damon Sublett

With minor league spring training in full swing, I got my hands on the Yankees list of work groups this afternoon. For those who don't know, the work groups are simply the way the Yankees arrange their prospects for the day's prospect. There are four groups: Scranton, Trenton, Tampa and Charleston. Despite the names, the groups have absolutely no bearing on where a player will wind up once the season begins. 

After perusing the list this afternoon, I found three players of whom I simply had never heard. After a little research, however, I found out who they are:

Rigoberto Arrebato: This is a Cuban signee who just seems to have shown up without any fanfare, a la Yadil Mujica last year. From what I can gather, he's a left-hander who had a tryout with the Cardinals at some point, and has a cousin, Frank del Valle Arrebato, also left-handed, who also tried out.

Giovanny Gallegos: This appears to be the work of Lee Sigman, the scout who helps the Yankees pluck talent from Mexico. Gallegos, it seems, was part of a package of three players the Yankees signed this January out of the Mexican League. The other two, Luis Niebla and Jose Figueroa, do not appear on the work group lists. If you speak Spanish, this link will explain it.

Pedro Guerra: This one's a little easier. Guerra is a 22-year-old Venezuelan who pitched in the Twins' system last year. Between Elizabethton and Beloit, he went 4-2 with a 4.21 ERA in 66.1 innings. He fanned 80 against 18 walks. According to Baseball Reference, he's 6-foot and 180 pounds.

That's all I know about the trio, but I'll see them in Tampa in a few weeks.