nynasty

Terrific piece in the Hardball Times this week about the Yankees #1 draft pick. The author (Alex Eisenberg from Baseball Intellect) believes the Yankees made the first round's second best pick (after Justin Smoak) in grabbing Cole at 28.

The really interesting thing is the analysis of his mechanics, which are still quite raw. Eisenberg points to former #1 draft picks Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain as examples of when tinkering with mechanics can be counter-productive (Hughes' decreased velocity) and when it can help (Joba's improved curve and slider command).

His verdict is to leave Cole alone. After reading the article and watching the video, I tend to agree.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/breaking-down-the-draft-scouting-gerrit-cole/

Dan McCutchen threw a complete game shutout last night for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees.  He scattered 5 hits, didn't walk anyone, and struck out 10 Syracuse Chiefs. It was McCutchen's second CG SO since his promotion to AAA. He struggled some overall immediately after the promotion, (frequently plagued by the "one big inning", that often ruined an otherwise nice performance) but has now given up only 1 ER over his last 15 innings, and has lowered his overall ERA to 3.36.

Given the way Darrell Rasner has pitched of late, and the fact that Sidney Ponson still sucks regardless of what uniform he's wearing, I have to think they need to give McCutchen a look. Sooner rather than later please. Really, what do they have to lose?