Minors Injury Updates:Cox, Garcia, Betances

JB Cox began throwing again Monday after being shelved with what was labeled as shoulder soreness a week ago. This is excellent news for the Yankees and proves Mark Newman was correct in implying Cox's injury was nothing serious after some miscommunication had Brian Cashman stating Cox would be out "at least three weeks." It seems this tired shoulder and soreness is something expected after such a long layoff from elbow surgery. It does not appear the Yankees are very worried about this injury as Newman's comments were bordering on dismissive.

Apparently Dellin Betances pitched in a simulated game today and is making his way back from a similar shoulder malady to what sidelined Cox. Betances is rumored to have hit the high 90's mph with his fastball and had no discomfort. The flamethrowing righthander may return to the Charleston rotation in the very near future. It may just be the conspiracy theorist in me, but the Yankees may have simply decided to give Betances a breather in an attempt to limit his innings this year. The same type of blueprint was mapped out for Phil Hughes when he was at Charleston.

Chris Garcia has been MIA of late and an injury has been the only possible explanation. Though the Tampa Yankees are about as forthright as the Bush administration, rumor has it Garcia is suffering from the same slight soreness which bothered him while working his way through Extended Spring Training.

That's a lot of tired shoulders. It's important to remember how precautionary the Yankees have become with their minor leaguers, particularly when those players are high ceiling pitching prospects.

Garcia and Betances both have #1 starter type ceilings and will therefore be handled with as much care as professional athletes can be - regardless of what Jim Kaat thinks. Is anyone else completely perplexed by Kitty's inability to put together a coherant written column? I loved the guy in the broadcast booth, but somewhere between the microphone and the keyboard Kaat knocked his head on a toilet bowl and thought pitchers should once again throw 200 pitches per start like he did.

Hughes Out Until August?Sore Shoulder For Cox

According to MLB.com, Phil Hughes may not return to the big leagues until early August:

Right-hander Phil Hughes is expected to be examined this week and his timetable for a big league return has been pushed back to early August.

Tough break for Hughes. The other Yankees beat reporters have yet to collaborate Bryan Hoch's report, so this may simply be a tentative date to shoot for. Until Yankees brass or other writers support the report I'll assume Hughes will be ready sometime in July.

Update on JB Cox: he was placed on the seven-day DL with shoulder soreness according to Chad Jennings. There's no word on how long he will be out or how severe the injury may be. Jennings did confirm that the injury was "not related to his elbow or his Tommy John surgery."

Garcia Impresses, McAllister Doesn't

There is bounty of young power pitchers spread throughout the Yankees farm system these days. Some are flying through the ranks, some are struggling with recent promotions and others are working their way back from injuries.

From the excellent writers at Saberscouting comes this glowing praise for Tampa starter Chris Garcia this season:

Garcia’s been up to 93 [mph] with life with a curveball that’s flashed 70, best one I’ve ever seen. So I’m on the bandwagon if he can stay healthy and put it together.

Meanwhile Garcia's rotation mate, Zach McAllister, had a humbling High-A debut for Tampa tonight, allowing four runs on seven hits in four innings. True to form, McAllister's impressive 2008 k/bb ratio remains intact, striking out four and walking one [intentionally] during his outing.

In Scranton, the story was Dave Robertson who struck out six [walking zero] over 2.1 innings to get the win. Chad Jennings offered his take on Robertson:

Robertson was outstanding and the coaching staff was raving about his curveball. That might have been the best it's been this season, and his fastball still cuts like crazy. Chaves used a different bit of terminology to describe the fastball movement, but we'll keep this a family blog.

As far as I know, Garcia is slated to start for Tampa tomorrow. Keep in mind, Alan Horne is supposedly pitching "somewhere" tomorrow in either Charleston, Tampa, Trenton or Scranton. Whether or not this effects Garcia I do not know.

Cano Walks Off, Garcia K's 10

Robinson Cano put a bow on the best performance from Ian Kennedy this year by hitting a walk off RBI single and giving the Yankees a 2-1 win. Kennedy tossed six innings, striking out four (but walking four) and allowing only one run on four hits. Escaping a bases-loaded with one out jam without yielding a run was the key point of the game.


IN PROSPECT NEWS:

Chris Garcia was an uber prospect out of high school but has since become an injury bitten enigma. This year, Garcia is making his way back into games and made his 2008 debut last week. Tonight, the 22 year-old Garcia tossed a gem by striking out 10 batters, walking one and surrendering two hits over six scoreless innings.

I haven't yet heard about Garcia's stuff or velocity, but when he was 100% healthy in years past he would use a plus fastball ranging from 92-95 mph and touching 97. Though his fastball is reportedly only at 91+ mph right now, Garcia will likely regain his velocity down the road. At 6'5 and 210 lbs. he has the perfect frame for workhorse power pitcher.

Pre Tommy John, Garcia also possesses dynamite off-speed pitches including a hammer power curveball 80-83 mph. Along with his knuckle curve Garcia also uses a devastating changeup around 80mph. It was said that when Garcia was healthy and could stay on the mound he had the best curve and changeup in the entire organization.

If Garcia dominates at A+ Tampa, he could move rather quickly. However, the most important part of Garcia's season will be proving he can remain healthy and log innings. Striking out 16 batters [to just 2 walks] through 10.2 innings this year is a step in the right direction.

Betances, Garcia Look "Very, Very Good." Over at the SWB Blog by Chad Jennings comes the author's comments regarding two more promising young pitching prospects.

A commenter asked Jennings about pitching prospects Dellin Betances, Christian Garcia and Mark Melancon and this was his answer:

I wasn't at the Class A games because I traveled with the Triple-A team, but I talked to Patrick from Pinstripes Plus before the game and I know he was there. On his site he's saying Betances and Garcia were both outstanding but doesn't mention Melancon. I don't want to go into specifics because he has it as subscriber only content. Since I wasn't there, I don't want to steal his stuff. To give a general idea, though, it sounds like those two were very, very good.

Betances, who has hit 99mph with his fastball as a teen, is coming back from an injury-shortened season, shutdown after less than 30 innings of work. His velocity dipped into the 89-91mph range, but he is apparently back on track, hitting 92-94 on the gun consistently and able to touch 96 at times. The question for Betances is mechanics. As long as he can consistently repeat his delivery and armslot, his stuff should flourish - as well as his health.

Garcia has all the stuff in the world to become an elite major league arm, but has been bitten by the injury bug since being drafted out of high school. He needed Tommy John and serious knee surgeries in successive years, bringing his development to a halt. If he returns to the old Garcia, he features a plus fastball in the mid-90s to go along with a devastating curveball and changeup. His career as a professional ballplayer [at least with the Yankees] may soon become a question mark since he will be eligible for the Rule V draft this year. Should he not make major steps forward, he may be out in the cold considering the bounty of talented arms the Bombers now have injected into their farm system.