Evil Empire Yankees Blog

Let’s start by admitting something. Sonny Gray is good. He’s ace good. The reason for that is he has a strikeout and ground ball-inducing stuff. 2016 was a rough, injury-ridden year for him, and started slow after coming off the DL this year. Now he appears to be back to the Sonny Gray of 2014-2015, when he was one of the most coveted pitchers in the league. At 5-foot-10, Gray is definitely diminutive compared to his average colleague, but that hasn’t stopped him so far from being an ace caliber pitcher. His average velocity this season is 94.1 mph, which makes him 90 th among active starting pitchers. That’s not what makes him effective though. It’s his fastball movement and secondary pitches that make him the pitcher he is. Given his size, injury history, and inconsistencies, he is not the perfect target on the starting pitcher trade market, but he is the best option currently available. Yu Darvish is the most talented, but he does not come with two additional years of

I know the deadline isn't until Friday, but the Yankees aren't going to sign anyone who would make this list. Several guys have graduated to the major leagues, even if it was just in a short stint. My rule is anything other than a September call-up in the major leagues gets you off the prospect list. That means Aaron Judge, Jordan Montgomery, Giovanny Gallegos, Ronald Herrera, Jonathan Holder, Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Domingo German, Ben Heller, and Kyle Higashioka are all newly ineligible. 1. Gleyber Torres – 6-foot-1, 175-pounds, RHB, 20-years-old, SS – Everyone has heard of this guy by now. He’s a solid shortstop with an exceptional bat for his age. The Yankees moved him to third base recently in hopes that he would be Chase Headley’s rather immediate replacement, but he then hurt his elbow and needed Tommy John Surgery on his non-throwing arm. The prevailing view is that he will return around the beginning of next season. If so, he wouldn’t miss much time. He was in t