Yankees Bounce Back With Some Huff and Some Puff

David Huff knows what it's like to be Phil Hughes- a southern California prospect that is expected to pay off in wins and a long career with the team that drafted him. Hughes was picked 23rd overall by the Yankees in the 2004 amateur draft while Huff went 39th overall to the Cleveland Indians in the 1st round of the draft two years later.

Neither has had the career expected of them. Hughes is in the final year of his current contract with the Yankees and will get the opportunity to test the free agent market. His time in pinstripes is most certainly over. He won nearly one-third of his 56 career wins (18) in 2010. It appeared he was on the road to regular success when he won 16 games last season, bolstered by a strong second half.

Unfortunately for Hughes,this season he picked up from the first half of last season rather than the way he finished. Home runs have continued to be his bugaboo and Yankee Stadium is no place to pitch with that affliction.

The Indians gave up on Huff earlier this year and the Yankees plucked him off waivers on May 25. The left-hander holds the unique distinction of being drafted three separate times. The Angels took him in the 31st round of the 2003 draft out of Edison High School in Huntington Beach, CA, but Huff opted for Cypress College. He also passed on the Phillies when they selected him in the 19th round in 2005.

After Huff also attended UCLA and UC-Irvine, he went pro with the Tribe. But after a career mark of 20-26, 5.18, he was set free. After one relief appearance with the Yankees on May 26, he was sent down to Triple-A Scranton, but was recalled in August and has allowed one earned run in 15 innings.

His career and Hughes' converged on Sunday when Hughes' start (1.1 IP) against the Chicago White Sox was washed out by a nearly two hour rain delay. Joe Girardi called on Huff to take the baseball and the 29-year old gave his manager and teammates everything he had. His 5.2 inning relief stint was backed by an eight-run 4th inning that gave the Yankees a 9-1 win and Huff his second victory with his new team. A win was needed after Sunday's bullpen melt down that prevented a three game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. The outing also gave Girardi some options.

Should the Yankees manager decide to pull Hughes from the rotation, Huff has certainly earned an opportunity to take his place.

Notes

Huff's biggest connection to the Yankees prior to joining the team came in 2010 when Alex Rodriguez hit a line drive that careened off of Huff's head. He was helped off the field, but resumed baseball activities two days later.

Yankees Finish 1st Round With Center Fielder and Pitcher

A Yankees Pro? Aaron will be the Judge of that.

That's not a small forward playing center fielder for Fresno State, it's 6'7" Aaron Judge. He's also the 32nd overall pick of the MLB amateur draft and the second first-round pick for the New York Yankees.

Here's the MLB.com scouting report on Judge, a native of Linden, CA (MLB lists him as 240, the Fresno St. website as 255.)

Guys his size -- Judge is 6-foot-7, 240 pounds -- stand out on the baseball field. As one would imagine, Judge has considerable raw power from the right side of the plate, winning a college home run derby over the summer. That pop has not shown up consistently in games for Fresno State much, though he did flex his muscles for five homers on the Cape last summer. Judge has patience at the plate, runs pretty well and has a strong arm, all the tools for a future right fielder. How he performed during his junior season with the bat was going to determine where he lands on Draft boards. That performance was a bit up-and-down but a team that saw him on a good day -- and put stock in his strong Cape performance --might be willing to gamble he'll hit enough to tap into that power at the next level.

And from the Bulldogs website.

Two-time First-Team All-WAC (2011 & '12)
WAC All-Tournament Team (2012)
TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby Champion (2012)
No. 3 prospect in Cape Cod Baseball League - Perfect Game (2012)
No. 6 prospect in Cape Cod Baseball League - Baseball America (2012)
Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American (2011)

One pick later the Yankees took high school pitcher Ian Clarkin, a 6'2" left-hander.

MLB.com had this to say:

Like Stephen Gonsalves, Clarkin is an intriguing high school lefty from the San Diego area, and both are committed to the University of San Diego, should they go that route. Clarkin's power stuff may keep that from happening however, as he throws his fastall up to 92-93 mph and a power curve. His breaking ball and changeup are both average, giving him the makings of a good three-pitch mix. His results over the summer were a bit mixed, throwing well at the Area Code Games, but struggling with fastball command elsewhere. That didn't keep him from getting a ton of attention this spring, though he's dealt with some inconsistencies during his senior season as well. The raw stuff from the left side should keep many first-round teams interested on Draft day.

Clarkin attends Madison High School in the San Diego area and has committed to the University of San Diego. However, he told the U-T San Diego, "I had a good feeling that my dream would come true today," Clarkin said. "Now, I'm a Yankee. They're a historic organization."

 UPDATE 6/7 8 am: Here's what Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees VP of amateur scouting told the NY Daily News about the Yankees first round picks:

“Eric Jagielo is a physical, left-handed hitter with plus power,” said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ VP of amateur scouting. “He performed well in Cape Cod, and shows a good combination of plate discipline and power.”

(Jagielo is the first college player the Yankees have chosen since Andrew Brackman in 2007.)

“Aaron Judge is a big man, and obviously a great-bodied athlete who has a high upside,” Oppenheimer said. “He can run, he has a good work ethic, he can throw and has the potential to be a five-tool guy with some size and strength.”

“Ian Clarkin has a combination of the things we were looking for,” Oppenheimer said. “He is a left-handed pitcher with plus velocity and has a plus curveball. On top of that, he’s a tireless worker. We think we got something special with him.”