Robertson Called Up

Looks like someone read my last post. Naw, but Mr. Robertson's neighborhood will now be the Bronx, NY and no longer the less desirable minor league station of Scranton Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Hat tip to Ed Price of the Star Ledger who broke the news on Robertson and also reported "no corresponding move yet." Looks like Dan Giese's stay in the majors will be a shortlived one.

Seems rather unjust considering of his two starts, one was very good [a accurate toss to second from pitching seven scoreless] and one was horrible. Giese may only have an abbreviated stay at AAA before being called up again, but I personally believe he deserved another shot at starting.

Not to say I expect much from Giese, but journeymen like him are worthy of a second chance. We saw what Sidney Ponson did with his last night.

Here's To You Mr. Robertson Or...It Can't Be Long Now

Dave Robertson just keeps getting nastier. Struck out the side Thursday night.

This year he's split time at AA and AAA, piling up 74 strikeouts over 51.2 innings-pitched.

Everyone within the Yankees organization realized the only thing holding back Robertson was his high walk rates. Enter the month of June. Over his last 10 appearances [beginning on June 3], Robertson has posted a 27-to-5 strikeout to walk ratio over 17 innings. Oh, by the way, he has a 1.06 ERA and only 7 hits allowed during that time.

When people talk about Nintendo numbers to describe a pitcher's statistics, just look at Dave Roberton's career minor league numbers. Just to keep you posted, that now makes it 136 career minor league innings without allowing a home run. As the former Alabama closer continues to shrink his bb/9 rate, the only question remaining is when?... as in when will he get the call?

At this point, is there anyone on Earth who would rather have LaTroy Hawkins pitching instead of Robertson? Well, besides Red Sox fans. Seriously, what a waste of a roster spot.

Meanwhile, JB Cox is back with the team and back to dominating late AAA innings.

Horne K's 7 In AAA Return

Alan Horne reportedly did not have good command Sunday night in his first AAA start since leaving his April 10th outing with a bicep injury. Horne did, however, show his great stuff and an uncanny ability to bare down by keeping the damage to a minimum.

Horne lasted only four innings, allowing three hits, one run and striking out seven to two walks. Over those four erratic frames Horne used 82 pitches with only 44 going for strikes. Impressively, Horne was able to strike out the side twice, both times coming during high pressure situations.

According to the SWB Yanks blog, Horne was gassed early on in the outing because of a rushed bullpen before the game began:

Alan Horne said he was really struggling to stay cool. He felt light-headed on the mound through the first two innings and things got so bad in the second that he thought he was going to have to tell the bench to take him out. It's not a matter of not being in shape -- "All I've been doing is lifting and running in the Tampa heat and humidity," he said -- but he had to rush his bullpen, then rush out to the field and he never had a chance to catch his breath.

Maybe even more impressive was the fact that Horne could not command his fastball, was unable to grip his curve and consequently threw sliders and changeups for the majority of his outing. Even without his best stuff and obvious discomfort on the mound, Horne was able to sit down Syracuse batters with regularity.

Apparently Horne's fastball was 88-90 mph Sunday night which certainly is not representative of his ordinary velocity - especially considering how little Horne utilized the four-seamer.

Following Horne on the mound was rising prospect Dave Robertson who tossed three scoreless innings of relief. Robertson allowed only one hit Sunday night, struck out four and walked zero.

Over his 44.2 innings split between Trenton and Scranton this year, Robertson has an aggregate ERA of 1.77 as well as a WHIP under 1.00 - to go along with 56 strikeouts and 17 walks. Allowing just 23 hits in his 44+ innings works out to a .162 opponents batting average.

These are sickly numbers. Another three weeks of this type of dominance from Robertson should lead to a big league call-up.

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.

Robertson Promoted To AAA

David Robertson, the former Alabama closer whose been storming up the minor league system, has been promoted to AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre and may soon be on the verge of contributing to the back end of the Yankees bullpen.

From the Thunder Blog:

The Yankees have promoted RP David Robertson from Trenton to Triple-A Scranton. He was 0-0 with an 0.96 ERA in nine games.

Last year, splitting time at three minor league levels, Robertson was untouchable and over 84.1 innings he allowed 45 hits, 9 earned runs, 32 walks while striking out 113. These statistics work out to a 0.96 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 12.09 k/9 rate.

Furthermore, over 44 appearances in 2007 and his 18.2 innings this year at Trenton, Robertson has yet to surrender a single homerun. That's dominance.

[Apologies in advance should I have hexed Robertson in the HR department]

The Joba Replacement ProgramCandidate #1 - Dave Robertson

From The Thunder Blog comes a look at Dave Robertson's outpitch. A filthy power curveball: