Yanks Go Yard Mailbag #4

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Editor’s Note: This edition of Yanks Go Yard Mailbag will be the final piece for staff writer Hunter Farman. He has spent the past year writing excellent pieces and answering fan’s questions when it comes to everything Yankees-related. From the entire staff at Yanks Go Yard, we want to thank Hunter for his service to the site, and wish him the very best of luck in his future endeavors.~BB

Here at Yanks Go Yard, we like to interact with you guys – the readers. One way we do this is through the Yanks Go Yard mailbag. This edition is a little different, as this time, I took to Reddit for some questions.

/u/symbologythere asks: I’m one of the hopefuls still waiting on Michael Pineda‘s Yankee debut…I know he had a decent showing in the minors last year during his rehab, any word on where his velo was during those starts?

I believe that his velocity was in the low-to-mid 90s, but I’m not entirely sure on that. A few weeks ago, we heard CC Sabathia say that Pineda was looking strong and healthy after not pitching in a few years, so that should – hopefully – be positive news.

/u/belink asks: One of the biggest disappointments for the Yankees recently has been the lack of player development. A few questions around this:

• Do the Yanks have any plans to change their scouting/measurement to better judge who we’re picking up?
• How can the Yanks better develop players? Not just for on the field, which is of course critical, but let’s face it, Yankees get to deal with a lot of media/fan attention that can be crushing if you’re last name isn’t Jeter…
• Who are the up and coming Yankees we can put a little hope in?

There have been a few minor moves made in the scouting department lately, but nothing too serious. Unfortunately, many of the Yankees top young stars have been getting injured (see: Manny Banuelos, Ty Hensley, et al). That’s just bad luck, and hopefully they recover from them. Aside from that, the Yankees pretty much just let things play out when it comes to the young guys. They let them play their games, and if they’re good enough, they get called up. The one young guy that I look forward to is Eric Jagielo, who was one of the first-round picks last year. He’s a power-hitting third baseman who some say can even be in the majors by 2015.

/u/atastycarrot asks: What are the odds of Derek Jeter retiring after this season?

I would say that it depends on his performance. Jeter is not the type of player who will stick around if he is not producing. If he has an average Jeter year, then he probably stays on. If not, then the Yankees will have to start looking for a new everyday shortstop.

/u/Strangeglove asks: What do you guys make of signing Chris Capuano+Lance Berkman? With those moves, the Yanks put themselves in pennant contention at the very least.

First off, the Yankees should definitely stay away from Berkman. Remember what happened in 2010? Yeah, if history has shown us anything over the years, it’s that the Yankees shouldn’t give a second chance to players who didn’t perform well their first time around. Plus, Berkman supposedly hated his time in New York, so I’m not sure that even he would want to come back.

As for Capuano, I don’t think that he is worth going after either as he would be a decent #5 starter at best. I’m not so sure that he would be a good fit for the Yankees or Yankee Stadium at this point. He’s a 35-year-old pitcher with some injury history and gives up a lot of home runs. I would stay away at all costs. Plus, with the signing of Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees pretty much have their rotation set. With the emergence of Adam Warren last season, I doubt that the Yankees would even look at him as an option for a long-relief role out of the bullpen.

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