Knicks Add Reggie Bullock for 2/21

So the Knicks have finally added a 3 and D guy. Reggie will be an elder statesman at 28, and is a 2/3 tweeter at 6’7” and 205. He was the 25th pick in the first round in 2013 for the Clippers. He went to UNC.  This is a pretty generic FA haul. But as was pointed out earlier all the cap space comes back in two years from today. We need the kids to explode by that point.

Knicks Sign Bobby Portis for 2/13

So they found a guy taller than 6’9”, Bobby’s 6’11” and 250,  and has been traded around a bit, though he’s only 24.  He was the 22nd pick in the 2015 draft out of Arkansas. He’ll join a growing rotation of bigs with the Knicks.  At this point, they might want to focus on some shooters.

Update: This might just be 2/31. I’ve seen it both ways. With 2/31 seeming crazy. What are you gonna do?  Next year is a bad FA year, and the spaces all open back up in 2021.

Knicks Sign Taj Gibson for 2/20

Taj is 34 and been around since he was drafted out of USC in the first round of the 2009 draft. He’s 6’9” and 232 and a good defender who might just be a mentor to the defensively challenged Knicks. He doesn’t need the ball but is good for around 10 and 6 and will be valuable in the front court rotation, and will return the cap space in two years.  Nothing to not like, here.

Rangers Tomorrow

Okay, with NBA free agency already all over but the shouting, let’s remember that NHL Free Agency starts tomorrow, probably at noon or some other business hour.  Believe it or not, the Rangers, like the Knicks, don’t have an open window yet.  And although they control much more talent than the Knicks can by league design, all of it is really young, so no big stars need to be added. Artemi Panarin may be as possibility, but he’s just an opportunity, not a need. So if they don’t get him, they can go bargain hunting, and maybe even produce an offer sheet for one of the 21 year old C’s or for a cheaper RFA like Gusev, who won’t cost 4 1’s. They might also look to add even more talent or picks by trading Kreider, Vesey and Namestikov. And they still need o dump some D, because Fox, Libor and Rykov, at least, all seem ready or about to be. Let’s hope they stay smart.

Kicks Sign Julius Randle for 3/63

The Knicks just signed 24 year old PF Julius Randle, who was originally the 7th overall pick in the 2014 Draft.  Like Kevin Knox, he went to Kentucky and like KK, he is 6’9”. Provided KK has stopped growing,.  Julius weight 250, which KK probably won’t as a pro.In 73 games, this past season, he averaged 21.4  width 8.7 boards and 3.1 dimes.  His career numbers are 15.4, with 8.9 and 2.7.

Like the rest of the Knicks, other than Mitch and Frank, Julius has to improve his D.  They can learn together,.

Update: And the third year is a team option, so it’s an easy contract to move if he refuses to learn D.

Knicks Tonight

NBA Free Agency opens in a few hours, and the Knicks have room for 2 big contracts. Rightly or wrongly, I’ve been taking Duran as a given, so, as I said yesterday, the key is the other player.  If it’s Leonard, this really is a new day, and if it’s someone else, we’ll have to see. In general, I appreciate how close to the vest the Knicks are playing it.Who wants to see a train wreck in slow motion?  I’m only have kidding. It’s just really nice to not know the plan sucks going into things.  So let’s keep our fiongers crossed for Kawhi Leonard

UPDATE: Woj is already reporting that Duran is signing with Brooklyn. Glad to know the Knicks aren’t giving him a redshirt season. We’ll see what else happens, but the Knicks could be shutout. This wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as they have a fun young core that needs to play,  This is also true of the Rangers tomorrow.

This Week on the Blog

Okay, we’re mow heading into week two without my computer, on the blog (my needed part is on the East Coast, and they are apparently walking it West).  Anyway, onto our teams.  The Yanks kept winning then flew to England, the Giants stayed quiet, while the Rangers ran a development camp, and the Knicks got ready for a big tomorrow. Let’s take a look at what could be coming up.

Yankees: the Yanks are pointlessly in England to play the Sox, while still trawling for a pitching upgrade. They are continuallly working to improve their system, as shown by the Briend hiring. Of course, the best way to improve the system is by adding better prospects, and come Tuesday, they can do that again.  Jasson Dominguez the switch hitting CF would runs like the wind creates plus exits velocity is probably on the way, and who knows wbo or what else they’ll be able to add in this window. Remember, in 2017 the IFA signing window stayed open for almost a year. So this could be a slowish gather - opposed to the draft that has about two weeks left to get players signed - and for some reason - second round pick SS Josh Smih, out of LSU, hasn’t signed yet.  Weird.

GIants: The Giants are hopefully staying in shape.

Ramgers: The Rangers, this week, ran the buzziest Development  Camp (the org’s new n name for the Prospect Camp, thanks JD) in memory.  And it wasn’t just Kravstov and Kaapo blowing up Twitter, but Fox and a bunch of the recent draft picks showed they could skate, and had good hands.  Morgan Barron, the big 20 year old from Cornell, for example, buried an insane spinorama pass from Kravstov. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Ranger trailers flub or roof such opportunities.  So that was great.

Monday, the Rangers can start signing UFA’s and presumably RFA Trouba. That’s all well and good, but in order to add a big player like Artemi Panarin, or even poisin pill an offer sheet for  C Brayden Point or C Sebastian Aho, they have to clear more space. So, for the past week, I’ve been refreshing Twitter looking for Ranger trades. Btw if the Rangers whiff on Panarin (I don’t think they will) they should see how many future 1’s they can acquire then offer sheet one of the elite 21 year old C’s.

Knicks: the Knicks look like they had another strong draft.  Now, here comes the scary part.  I think KD has been a given all year, even with the bum wheel. What interests me is the other max.  If it’s K Leonard, let’s rock and roll, if it’s anyone else, let’s see how soon we can trade him. It’s as simple as that.  Leonard has bee he proper prize all along.  So get him.

And there it is.  The Giants in repose and our other three teams all looking to add. I hoper this week adds something great to your lives, and I adds my computer back to mine. Enjoy.

Yanks Contnue Re-Fangling Their System

Last Fall, the Yanks shook the world by making Dillon Lawson minor leaguer hitting coordinator for the system.  Lawson was not a Gary Denbo clone, rather he’s consisted dats driven and all about pitch recognition instead of loading, striding and swinging, his focus pitch recognition.  Yesterday, they left the Nargi Contreras’s of the world in the dirt, by hiring Driveline’s Sam Briend as Director of Pitching. Driveline’s been a wildly successful private coaching combine where they specialize in bio mechanics and cutting edge techniques and machines to get guys throwing harder and increasing their spin rates and maxing out.  This is fascinating because the Yanks had already been good at finding more velocity in draft picks, now their upping that operation.  Let’s hope he can revolutionize pitching health in the organization, too.

Knicks Stuff

The Knicks are giving qualifying offers to Emmanuel Mudiay or Luke Kornet. Neither is a huge loss.  Mudiay is a lottery bust, but Kornet had some productive games.  This is probably just some house keeping.  It’s annoying when they keep adding other folks lottery picks - just as it was when Zeke used to do it, but at least Perry doesn’t trade ones for them.

Something Almost Happened at the Draft

So it turns out the Rangers were close to moving Chris Kreider to Colorado during last Friday’s first round but the Avs wouldn’t turn over the #16 pick, and so the deal was off. This does tell us that the Rangers were willing to move Kreider even withou having to because of a Panarin signing or something like that. I wonder if they will revisit things with Colorado. If they do I hope they can get Newhook, or a future one. Of course, now that they’ve shown a willingness to move CK, they shouldn’t have trouble finding a market - and is can’t be a salary dump. Picks and prospects only.

By the way, Panarin was there or is still there today, not yesterday, so stuff might start happening soon.

And Vitaly Kravstov has been tearing up the prospect camp, through the first scrimmage.  Fox was also good.  They have two more scrimmages.  Last night, they went to the Yankee Game, and tonight, they are touring the Garden.

Rangers Reportedly Meeting With Panarin Tomorrow

Earlier, it was mentioned that the Rangers would be having a staff meeting tomorrow to re-affirm or re-adjust their way forward. While that might still be happening, they’re also meeting with Artemi Panarin, the point forward free agent.  Panarin played for JD in Cleveland so there is familiarity and, apparently interest on the Ranger side now.  They’ll have to some cap work, like trading Kreider and others, but it might be worth it and what Panarin will cost.  And they also have to fit Trouba.  And the RFA’s. So if there’s mutual interest tomorrow, a lot has to get done before they can sign anyone else on 7/1.  Should be interesting.

More Kaapo Stuff

Won’t have. My laptop back for a few more days, but got an external keyboard for my iPad. Anyway, before going out to get the keyboard, I watched all of Kakko’s goals from his draft season on YouTube, together they made sense of something he said Friday night. He said his two influences were Teemu Selanne, which every Finn says, then he said, Patrick Kane which made no sense to the announcers or, most likely the audience.  After all, Kane, is great but small relative to Kaapo.  But, if you watch all of Kaapo’s moves, your reminded of what Dave Gettleman said about Saquon - that he’s a power back, with the moves of a much smaller running back.  Kaapo Kakko is the same way and that’s how he was influenced by Patrick Kane. His tight radial moves in the corners, along the wall and around the net are like nothing we’ve ever seen from a power forward.  Prospect camp starts tomorrow, and it’s never been so loaded.

Rangers Stuff

Okay, I’ve turned these device sideways to see if it helps with the typing.  Not so much.  Anyway, Gorton said after the draft, that the Rangers saw nothing worth trading around for.  That’s unusual for the Rangers, who moved up last year - brilliantly it appears - to get K’Andre Miller, then trade back into the draft in round 7 to shock the crap out of that swift skating preppy kid. Over the entire Gordie/Gorton drafting era, they’ve made a bunch of draft trades. So did moving extra picks for Fox and Trouba satisfy their craving? Or did their recent acquisitions of Fox, Trouba and Kakko make them only interested in big game hunting? I think it’s most likely that after the group of 15 or so purple choppers, there was nothing worth Kreider or any of the other roster players - and everyone realized it, so there was no way to get back in - then no reason to. Either that, or JD fears gluttony and  pumped the brakes.

Rangers Take One from The O in 7

The Rangers took 5’11 170 RW Eric Ciccolini with their final pick. He spent 2 years in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, where he scored at a reasonably good clip. He’ll matriculate at Michigan for a few years, then we’ll see what’s up.

BLOG NOTE: My computer should be up and running tomorrow or early this week.  No draft review till then, but I will update any breaking stories and will probably do a Rangers to do list later, but ahead of the crush. I hate writing on this device.

Okay, as we know, the computer was dead and gone for 3 weeks and it could not be revived as of this past Sunday, so this is the new computer and I'll be catching up for a few days.

Further on Ciccolini, another good skater who showed up and wowed them at the Development Camp. This season the Rangers will have most of their amateur prospects over in Europe and College, and only about 1 in the Major Juniors.  I'm glad that they've favored pulling kids who have played against men or shown for their National Teams and not overvalued the OHL as I think teams did for awhile.

Rangers Take a Giant in 6

The Rangers just took 6’6” 209 Swedish C Adam Edström in the 6th.  He’s probably a few years away but that’s a big kid. Played juniors for Mora.

At the D camp, it looked like it might not be a few years and his skating was well better than you'd expect from a young kid this size.  So we'll have to keep an eye on big C's like Edstrom and Morgan Barron starting now.  Barron's back to Cornell for at least a year, but he showed sick chemistry with Kravstov at D Camp.

Rangers Pick Another Finn in 5

The Rangers just took Finnish RW Leevi Aaltonen.  He’s 5’9” and 177.  He played juniors, unlike Kaapo, but they can catch up during prospect camp. Corey Proniman says Leevi is the third or fourth best skater in the entire class.

Turns out that he and Kaapo are friends, and he also showed crazy speed and skills at the Development Camp.  He just has to finish growing and get stronger.

Rangers Take USHL D Hunter Skinner at 112

He’s 6’2 and 176. Right Shot. Headed to Western Michigan. Well we know they aren’t reaching for Forwards, but the pile of D’s far flung as they’ll be, is getting ridiculous.  I’m also surprised that they still haven’t made any trades. They’d been so proactive till now.

Okay, Hunter was the head scratcher that none of the pundits saw as great value till he looked like he belonged at the, now storied, Development Camp. Pursuant to that, Hunter, who's name sound like an Early American hyphenate, has decided to play major junior, where he'll be able to go pro at 19 instead of 20. Encouraging, if they ever clear out the logjam ahead of him in the Ranger org.

At 68 the Rangers Take LHD Zachary Jones

This kid is 5’10” 172 from the USHL. I imagine he’s another great skater and he’s going to college to marinate.  Yup, he’s going to UMass. Until the Rangers have their new development department set up college may be the best spot for prospects.

Speaking of development, this is another kid who looked like a steal at development camp.  Nice puck mover and I think he scored a goal or two. The camp really did seem to reaffirm what the Ranger scouts thought of the kids.

Rangers Draft Swedish C Karl Henriksson at 58

Karl is 5’9 and 176 with crazy speed. So we’ll add him to our pile of Swedes and see him in two or 3 years after he’s incubated. Okay, this was another one I gave short shrift to.  Karl centered a great line with a kid who will probably be top 5 in next year's draft, so teams didn't now how much of it was Karl and how much of it was Lucas Raymond.  His being shorter than some prefer also probably pushed him down, but he is fast and super skillsy and will only get better during incubation. Smart pick.

Rangers Take WHL D Matthew Robertson at 49

No pics, because there’s a problem with my computer and I’m on my tablet. Matthew is 6’3” 200.  He’s got a lefty shot and he’s both mobile and responsible.  Add him to our pile of great skating D’s.

UPDATE: This is where my old computer died, so I think I gave short shrift to day 2 of the NHL Draft. So, over the next few days I'll be rewriting the stuff I gave short shrift to during the interlude between laptops.

Anyway, Robertson was a great pick and he subsequently showed at Development Camp. Big Ranger fan, Jess, over at The Prospect Park (which is almost as mobile as Matt is) wanted the Rangers to target Robertson with the #20 pick,  as he is a perfect compliment to Adam Fox, complete with a booming shot and the requisite responsibility.  The Rangers were lucky to get this kid where they did.  I guess he was almost too old school for the way the draft is moving.  Of course, great skating is good school, not old school.

This Week on the Blog

Yanks went undefeated, the Giants went uneventful, the Knicks went uncomplicated and the Rangers went unbelievable.  So, good week all around for the teams.  Let's take a look at whats's to come.

Yankees: after stumbling for 12 or so games, the Yanks have snapped back into form and have one seven straignt. For some odd reason, it seems that getting Encarnacion has made the starting pitchers bettter and made Stanton and Judge come off the IL. I assume the Yanks will still add another pitcher, but they are loaded for bear right now as they are. The Sanchino and Gleyber are going off, and it will be contagious.  Did you realize that the Yanks are 9-0 when Sanchez and Torres homer in the same game?  This was a fun week.  Let's hope they can keep it going.

Also, this week, the GCL should finally start.  Their MiLB site said they were starting on June 18, like Pulaski. Nope.  Should get going this week and we'll see who's on the rosters.

Giants: the Giants are in repose. Camp doesn't start till the last week of July and unless they pluck someone from the supplemental draft, again, they shouldn't make much noise till then,

Rangers: Even though there was only one trade in last night's first round of the NHL Draft - it was still crazy, While picks one and 2 went as widely expected, the draft went off the rails when Chicago picking third took Candian C Kirby Dach over C Alex Turcotte and D Bowen Byram.  Things got even crazier when Detroit took German D Moritz Seider at pick 6. At least, crazy in the eyes of all the pundits and mock drafters. As I point out frequently: the market spoke, and the market has a lot more data than the pundits do when it comes to these kids. Anyway, was expecting more trades, maybe we'll see more today.

Our Rangers have 7 more picks today, sarting with pick number 49, 58, and 68.  They used to have 2 more inside the top 68, but instead they have Fox and Trouba.  So we'll see what else they can do, there are some buys like Bobby Brink and Arthur Kaliyev who "fell" out of day one.  We'll know soon if either is a Ranger target, or if the Rangers will just be content to hand it over to their scouts. Last year, they added a lot of speedy defensemen, could this be the year of speedy forwards?  We'll see.  Should be more fun than yesterday was.

Finally, I think the prospect camp starts later this week and that's always interesting.

Knicks: The Knicks FO had a second strong draft night in a row, take Duke's RJ Barrett at 3 and trading up for  Michigan's Iggy Brazdeikas in the second. Iggy's a terrific three point and spot up guy, but, like RJ he's also tough and fearless like RJ and will take it to the rack. Both picks have NBA bodies and toughness and that's a great place to start. I don't think the Knicks have a prospect camp between now and Vegas (which starts July 5th), but Coach Fiz does seem to be rolling a constant camp for the kids. Seriously, I don't know if it's cool with the players union, but we've seen a lot of film of Kevin Knox and the other Knicks working out this summer and Coach Fiz has been coaching in some of them.  Very different from the NFL.

So there we are.  Hopefully, the Yanks keep rolling, the Giants keep chilling, the Rangers keep improving and the Knicks keep with their plan.  Have a great one!

Rangers Got Their Man

Though the Rangers weren't able or unwilling to parlay roster players into picks in that "purple" area of the first round, they were still able to get their man.  Their transformative figure: Kaapo Kakko.

Kaapo is the most talented forward the Rangers have ever drafted.  And being such a gifted forward, he's left pundits reaching for some odd comparables.  Where Jack Hughes comfortably fits into the Patrick Kane - Connor McDavid continuum of greatness, Kaapo has already outstripped his Aleksander Barkov - Patrick Laine launch point.  He broke their teenage records, and is much more obsessed with getting better than the gamer Laine seems to be.  He could be the Finnish Jagr or something.  And that's why it's hard for people to come up with comparables.

We've talked about this before, but both Hughes and Kaapo have very special hands, eyes, and spatial gifts. And both of them really make the rest of their teams better. Hughes has been leading a team of teenagers and 8 of his teammates were drafted tonight. Kaapo dragged junior teams and then his men's national team to gold.

We saw him embarrass full grown NHLers in the World's last month, while 6 months earlier he was scoring the series winning goal against Jack's team in the World Juniors or was it the 18-U's?  They’ve both been all over the international stage for the last two years.

In this year of the centers in the draft, Kaapo was better than all of them - save or don't save one and we'll see how that develops over the next 15 years  What's more, both Kaapo and Vitali Kravstov have played C in meaningful games and tourneys and are terrific passers with center instincts to go along with their elite wingability.

It would be great if Kakko and Kravstov and Chytil and Buch, if he's still around, can bring out the best in each other's gifts.

Still, after they had picked Kaapo today, they seemed like they might have a chance to get him some more elitish help, but for whatever reasons it was not to be.

I think they have 7 picks left over the final 6 rounds, including 2 in second half of the second tomorrow.  Let's see what else they can do - but let's keep remembering, they got their man and thus the team has been immeasurably improved.

Rangers Draft Kaapo Kakko!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo hoo! The Rangers just took Kaapo Kakko with the second pick of the NHL Draft.  Easiest pick ever and they didn't blow it!!!! This is the best offensive player they've drafted since the NHL instituted the draft. We'll talk more about this tonight and over the years, but this is HUGE and I have to get back to watching the draft because I think the Rangers are getting back into it, tonight.

Rangers Tonight

Alright, tonight the Rangers are going to get a great player at #2.  Either Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko or American center Jack Hughes.  Whichever they get will immediately transform their future as well as push their prospect lists into the stratosphere.  That said, with tradeable assets, I think it's important that if they get Kaapo at 2, they are able to trade back into the first round and get a high upside C.  By the same token, if the Rangers get Hughes, they need to trade back in for a high impact winger.

A lot of drafts have blue chip and red chip areas, with blue meaning big tools and production and reds being guys with correctable flaws but nice upside. Tonight's NHL draft features two super blue chippers, and then sort of a level of purple chips, like Turcotte, Zegras, Cozens, Caufield, Byram, Newhook, Podkolzin, and a few others.  They all have carrying tools and elite pedigrees, and few questions.

Before the Rangers traded for Trouba, they were sitting at 2 and 20, and probably had a chance to catch a falling star with a move up from 20 or just sitting still and taking Tomasino or Seider.  Who are sort of at the end of the purple area.

But if the Rangers do take Kakko, they really need to move Kreider or Kreider plus for one of those centers.

On the slight chance they get Hughes, they should jump in and get him a winger.

We'll see what happens.

Knicks Sign 2 After the Draft

After making their two picks lasr night, the Knicks were quick to sign two more collegiate scorers.  Amir Hinton from Divisions 2 Shaw lead the nation in scoring at 29.4.  He's also a good and clever passer. Like all of them, if he tunes up his jumper, he'll have a chance.  He's 6'5",

Kris Wilkes is a 6'8" SG/SF out of UCLA who is a past Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana.  He'll turn 21 in September and isn't nearly as physical as RJ, Iggy or Amir. That said when he gets hot from outside, like RJ, he can put up 30.

So, the Knicks added 4 more scorers who need to keep working on their J's.  Vegas should be a blast.

UPDATE: The Knicks aslo signed VJ King, a 6'6" 215 F from Louisville.  No carrying tool.  Shoots free pretty well, but doesn't get to the line.  Just looking at the numbers, I don't see what they see here.

Wings R Us.

UPDATE:  Iggy, RJ and Wilkes were, in that order the 3 best spot up shooters in this draft class.  Look at the Knicks using admirable metrics!

UPDATE 2: At the introductory presser,  Perry said that their analytics guy told them that if there was a chance to go get Iggy, they should, so they did.

Knicks Take Iggy Brazdeikis at 47

Knicks just moved up to get a long 3 point specialist from Michigan.  Iggy hit on 39% of his threes this year, and is sort of sneaky athletic.  Not a Mitch Robinson at all, but everybody needs treys.

RJ Barrett is a Knick!!!

Woo hoo!  They didn't blow this!  The Knicks just took the Maple Mamba with the #3 pick in the draft.  RJ was the presumptive #1 pick before the season and before Zion freaked out.  This guy can fill it up, he also rebounds and distributes and is a terrific all around player and a great opposite wing for Kevin Knox.  Oh, and they know each other from growing up.  This is a great pick!  And a great start for the night.  Let's see what else we can get done!

Knicks Tonight

We're now several hours away from NBA Draft, where tonight the Knicks will have another chance to get better.  Last year. the Knicks were able to add Kevin Knox at 9, Mitchell Robinson at 36 and then signed undrafted Alonso Trier after the draft.  That was an excellent haul and assuming the Knicks won't be "tanking" again this year, we might get a better idea of what they have in those three.    They currently have the number 3 pick as well as a late 2.  If they have players they like, they might want to buy another second or make a trade.

Rumors abound that the Pelicans are trying to jump over the Knicks to get RJ Barret, that could explain why the Knicks hosted Darius Garland for a late workout. But whether that happens, or whether the Knicks end up taking Ja Morant or Darius Garland, they'll be adding more upside to their roster, same as if they get Barrett.  Given that Memphis, who currently hold the #2 pick traded Mike Conley to Utah yesterday, they may be set on Morant. By same token, if they make the trade with NO, they'll still either get Morant or Garland at 4, but it sure seeem like they've settled on someone specific if they're trading Conley. Interesting.

Interestly, while we've been more concerned with the player development departments of the Yanks and Rangers, the Knicks, who do not really have prospects - outside of some guys in the G leagues and overseas, while both the Rangers and Yanks have sytems  That said, the Knicks, under coach Fizdale, are crushing it in player d. All fo the kids got better last year, and the difference between Knox and Mitchell as players and as humans is startling.

Fiz maybe the perfect coach for this young team.  Let's hope they give him more kids, and don't go overboard on free agents.  Though, I guess is would be interesting to see if Coach Fiz can impact older players, too. But I'd prefer the Knicks stay young, and don't tank anymore.

UPDATE: The Knicks have arranged a workout for UNC G Coby White today. So something could be up in terms of picks 4 and 2, or eveb a trade down, which would be questionable in a 3 or 4 player draft.

UPDATE 2: According the the Athletic the Knicks are trying to buy another 2nd round pick.

CC Wins His 250th

CC Sabathia joined an elite group a starters with 3000+ K's and 250 or more wins, as the Yanks just obliterated the Rays.  Funny, but since they acquired another slugger instead of starter, the Yanks are now undefeated.  That's baseball, Suzyn.  El Gary 21's and plucky but not pouty 22 year old Gleyber Torres hit his first career grand slam, which was his 18th homer of the year.  Not to get ahead of our selves, but he is HOF precocious.  I thought they had an offday tomorrow, but nope.  Houston.  Judge is poised to come back Friday.  I suspect they'll add a starter on their next open date.

Knicks to Bring In Darius Garland

In a bit of a surprise that might just be smoke, the Knicks are having Vanderbilt PG Darius Garland in for a last minute workout tomorrow.  Garland is 6'3" and 175, and only played 5 game for Varndy this year before being injured. If he's healthy, this could be a possibility, more than smoke, and he can shoot the lights out.

Rangers Stuff

The Rangers weren't allowed to talk to Trouba before they traded for him, so they will begin their contract talks with his agent, today.  Also today, the front office is travelling to Vancouver, which is the site of this year's draft. They're going their early, with tradeable assets. Let's hope they can get back into the first half of the first round Friday Night.  Would love to see them get Zegras or Caufield or Newhook or a falling Podkolzin.  I'm not leaving out Turcotte, I just don't see him falling past 3 or 4.  If he does, the Ranges must pounce. Though I think Zegras might be their target. Few others, too. I really do hope they get someone from the USNTDP, which has turned into an amazing player development machine.

Speaking of player development, it's been a problem for the Rangers, so it's being revamped. Players weren't developing at all down there, so we saw the situation this year where Libor Hajek looked average in the AHL, then came up and lit the rink on fire for 5 games before getting injured.  Yankees were like that for awhile, too. Just using the minors to play games, while they hunted for other people's big leaguers. That changed several years ago, unless they get injured and miss time, the kids are just getting better in the minors and coming up when called upon and excelling - like Thairo Estrada did, and most others have.

The Rangers need the same kind of system, and it might be wise to try to hire someone away from the USNTDP, because it's been been developing so many first round type players lately. They need to find their Gary Denbo.  And it's sort of unclear where they're going in the revamping, but two years into his term, Ortmeyer hasn't accommplihed much. So did he not have the institutional support or is he just not up to the job?  I guess we'll see.

We do know that part of the program will involvine 3 or 4 development guys, most here and one in Europe, who will keep an eye on the college prospects, like a K'Andre Miller, the kids in Sweden like  Nils Lunkdvist, the Fins, like Tarmo, etc. We know that Tanner Glass is one of them, and he's probably handlind Europe.

Also the Harford Coach hasn't been named, and it's unclear if he or his staft have been chosen.  If only the Rangers and a guy like the Toronto Marlies, Sheldon Keefe.... Oh, yeah, they had Sheldon.  I guess they didn't see whatever it is that has Toronto continually extending him.

Anyway, the goal of revamping Player D has been articulated by Davidson and perhaps they'll announce something while they're in Vancouver.

Tanaka Time!

Masahiro Tanaka just pitched a complete game shutout against Tampa Bay in a huge game.  He went the full 9 and struck out 10 while only giving up 2 hits.  And man oh man did we need that. An ace-like performance from the Tanakster.  Homers from DJ and  Maybin provided the only 3 runs the Yankees needed.  HUGE.

UPDATE: And Giancarlo returns tomorrow!

Rangers Have Acquired Trouba!

The Rangers just announced to Twitter that they have acquired 25 year old, break out, right shot D Jacob Trouba from Winnipeg for Winnipeg's original 20th pick, that the Rangers had picked up in the Hayes trade and Neil Pionk.  This is far less than Larry Brooks predicted would be the price.  This guy could be a 60+ defenseman going forward.  Now, though we got rid of one of the log jam of defenders we needed to in this deal, we've the return was another D, and so the Rangers still have bodies to move. But holy crap what a deal!  Since the end of the season the Rangers have picked up the best amateur puck mover and now a top 5 pro puckmover.  And  this is a big kid at like 6'3" and 230.   Huge get!

Yanks Have Traded For Edwin Encarnacion

Holy crap, the Yanks have just traded for Edwin Encarnacion.  Thus they are not just adding two more righty power bats this week, they are adding 3.  This is crazy, so it must have been a deal that Cash could not turn down.  EE is like 300 years old (okay, he's 36)  but he's still among the league leaders in homers.  Wow.  Hope it was a bargain.

Update: It looks like Juan Then went the other way.  With Judge and Stanton coming back to play the corners, I wonder what this means for Frazier?

Update 2: This might be just one part of a larger 3 team deal.

Here Comes RJ Barrett

Above, RJ reacts to the Lakers Anthony Davis trade which means he'll be a Knick! There's literally no one else available on the trade market that is worth the #3 overall pick, and so the Canadian Mamba will become a New York Knicks.  Now, lately, picks have been spent wisely, but dough hasn't.  Let's hope they pursue the right and only healthy choices in free agency.  And Kawhi Leonard to lead them.  Let's go Knicks!

Sounds like KD and Draymond Green are camped out in NYC.

Rangers in Hot Pursuit of Jacob Trouba?

Okay, so on the first day of the buyout season the Rangers appear to be hot on the heels of Jets soon to be RFA Jacob Truba. This is one of the great things about hockey: the season ends and they don't wait even a weekend to start swapping and buying guys out.  Refreshing, given the start dates MLB and the NFL have, and the ridiculous secret dealings that go on every June/July with the NBA.  This is transparency and doesn't let the excitement of the season abate at all.

So, what should the Rangers do here? I think it's should depend on what else they can do.  In other words, sure they can move the #20 pick back to Winnipeg, but only, if first, they acquire another first for their own pursuits in the top 20 in this particular draft.  And they can probably do that with a trade centering around Kreider, but hopefully involving another veteran D, and stuff. With that first secured they should go after Trouba.

Trouba is a 25 year old, 6'3" 230 pount puck moving, scoring D. They'd be getting Jacob younger than they they got Yandle or Shattenkirk, and, frankly, every great Ranger team I have ever seen has had two great puck moving defenders, and pretty young ones like Greschner and Mike McEwen, or Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov.

It's a shame that Shattenkirk hasn't worked out particularly well, and though DeAngelo and Pionk have shown puck moving skills and some power play value,  Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba add both at a higher level, and they've already acquired Fox.

So if the Rangers secure another one before the draft, they can use the 20 and someone like Buch or Vesey or both or one of them with Pionk or DeAngelo. The Isles and Devils as well as other teams could be in on this, but I don't think either has 2 picks and the Islanders pick is #23, so I think the Rangers can get this done and probably should, but only if they already have another first secured or lined up.

That said Zucc and the Stars could announce an extension any minute now and that could give the Rangers even another asset to use in this draft if they want to move up.

This Week on the Blog

Glad this one is over,  but the one that's about to start should be a lot more fun.   While the undermanned Yanks may have turned back into pumpkins, reinforcements are on the way and if they dont re-call Staton soon, he'll make the all star team in 2 different minor leagues.  So that will get better.  Meanwhile, the Giants are off till late July, and the Knicks and Rangers will be picking new Knicks and Rangers. Let's take a look.

Yankees: so the undermanned Yanks have been scuttling.  They've still been a lot more fun and successful than could have been reasonably expected with Stanton and Judge on the shelf for most of April, all of May and now most of June. The good news is that they are getting Stanton back by Monday or Tuesday. with Judge returning later in the week. Adding two MVP type bats at any time is a phenomenal boost for any organization.

In other Yankee news, they've already locked up most of their top 10, and Staten Island began it's short season work last night. Pulaski starts Tuesday, as do the Yankee GCL teams.  They could be LOADED. And if there's time, I'll break them down, trouble is, we may not have rosters till the games start.

Giants: the Giants have now completed their offseason program and are off the field until Training Camp starts, which will start during the last week of July for vets, and the second to last week for rookies. The Giants FO doesn't get a break and we could still see some roster moves or even another supplemental pick during the break.  Let's hope Daniel Jones keeps working with his QB coach!

Knicks: Thursday, the Knicks finally get to make their picks. Last year, they made the most of them and had a truly great draft night.  This year, they start out higher at #3,  but their second rounder isn't until 55, so if they want to find another Mitchell Robinson, they need to find another late first or high second.  Don't be surprised if they do. Let's hope the Knicks just play it smart and take RJ Barrett, and one or two other new Knick types.

Rangers: Friday night, the Rangers can put an exclamation point on what has been a very exctiting rebuild. The Rangers will either pick Kaapo Kakko or Jack Hughes.  That will be huge.  Then they'll pick again at 20, or at least they're scheduled to. It's not especially clear that they will. The Rangers have not shied away from draft night trades, or even second day trades.  And we shouldn't be surprised if something happens this week in the days leading up to the draft or on draft night.  This talent pool certainly looks lie 2 at the top and then a group of 10 or 12 or even 15 guys who would all go higher but for the presence of Hughes and Kakko and, the Rangers should look for a top 15 pick, either by adding #20 or by outright aquiring another pick.  If the Rangers take Kakko, as expected, the target should be a Center like Trevor Zegras or Alex Newhook, if the Rangers take Hughes, they should go get Cole Cauffield.

Other Ranger stuff: today marks the opening of the first NHL Buyout period, and the Rangers have some candidates, like Brendan Smith.  We'll see what they do.  The Rangeers might also start making other trades, because they've been nothing other than industrious getting ready for this summer, and for the Rangers, summer starts now.

So there you have it: the Giants are off, but the Yankees, Knicks and Rangers are both getting massive talent infusions.  And that's always fun.  Have a great one.

Knicks Pick Up the Option on Trier

Today, the Knicks picked up the second year option on Alonzo Trier.  While, this momentarily clouds the double max picture, the Knicks plan to waive Lance Thomas before June 30th and that will restore the room. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have vast trepdidation over next week's draft and the upcoming trade and UFA seasons. I was alright with Durant, but not after that achilles. My dread was always Kemba, and I still hope that's not coming.  And I am glad that the Lakers will once again get the best C available when they trade for Anthony Davis - at least that sounds like what will happen.

As for Trier, he's an effective scorer who is a reminder of what the Knicks FO can do when it's "on."  Knox, Mitch, and Trier was a hell of a draft night.  Let's hope they can get the same kind of value.

Rangers Stuff

Reports started circulating yesterday that Tanner Glass was retiring from the French team he has been playing for, to join the Rangers front office in a player development roll.  This is interesting, before my little break, the Ranger beats talked to John Davidson about his plans for the AHL (where they still don't have and new coach) and Player Development.

In short Davidson sees what we see: a system that's not serving the prospects.  He obviously wants to create a development culture in Hartford, if they do, indeed, stay in Hartford. But he also talked about have 3 or so development coaches assigned to watch the amateur prospects in college and major juniros, as well as one that would work Europe.  That could be Tanner Glass.

Though no announcement has been made yet, and bunch of moves are coming and their should be a press release any time now.

What is kind of interesting is that,  literally 2 years ago, the Rangers hired former Ranger Jed Ortmeyer to run player development - working with Adam Graves - and it will be interesting to see if he keeps his job, given the focus JD is putting on a development system that seems broken.

Judge to Begin his AAA Rehab this weekend

Sorry.  I was over in England for a week and Google wouldn't let me log-in to re-set topics like I always do, and will again this Saturday morning. Anyway, the Yanks announced that Aaron Judge will begin his rehab at AAA over this coming weekend.  For his part, Giancarlo Stanton has been destroying High A and could be back some time next weeek. They are both desperately needed, even though the team has kept its head above water during their absence.  Just walked in and I'm sure there's a lot of other stuff to catch up on.

UPDATE: Stanton has been promoted to Scranton, so they'll both be there this weekend.

Yanks Sign 3rd Rounder Jake Sanford

That was quick.  The Yanks have already signed their third round pick Jake Sanford - he of the power shows!  Don't know what he got yet, so still don't see the plan.

Yankees Draft Review, Pt. 2

Alright, finding lefties was a throwback of sorts, but the peculiar picking of preps was unusual.  Last year, the Yanks picked preps in rounds 1, 3, 18, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, and 39. Now, wait a second. This year might not have been unusual, last year was, this year is the trend! This year, the Yanks took preps in 1,20, 26, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37 and 39.  So, last year they took 9 and this year they took 10.  I guess the difference we felt was, last year they took two on day 2, and this year they took none.  On Day 3 they confused us all by taking Jack Leiter at 20.  Too low to put a slot value under pooled savings, and probably too far out to save up for, and finally too soon to make a polite tribute pick, like they did for those other kid catchers last year and might have done with all the day 3 preps this year.  It was just peculiar and remains so.

Now the big question is where are all the signability kids?  The Yanks will definitely sign their top 10, they always do. The question is rounds 11 through 40. They took the 10 preps as well as some JuCo's and DES guys. I explain this every year: Draft Eligible Sophomores are the same age as college juniors - only they've had one less year of game experience. If they don't make a deal, their option is to be an old junior and then if they don't make a deal they get to be an old senior.  And those guys get 5000 dollar bonuses.

So DES guys are worth less that the typical 21 year old college junior that's probably the most picked brand in the draft each year - because they are the same age but less experienced.  The Preps and the JuCo's are the ones with real leverage, and if they want to turn pro badly enough, they can sometimes be a great deal.

So forgetting about the DES guys, the Yankees only have the  10 preps and 2 JuCo kids who's other option is not to be a college senior or a senior aged junior.  But are they going to sign any of them?  In a way this is reminding me of a few years ago when they backed up the truck for Blake Rutherford then ended up signing their top ten which also featured Solak and Nolan Martinez, but only signing 28 total and not much over slot at all after pick 10.

You just can't get a feel for this one because the signability kids were picked in odd places (round 20!) is there room for another nice contract or two in 11-40 or is whatever money they saved by taking only college guys after Volpe all going to Volpe?

Such an unusual draft by the distribution of signability picks.  We'll see what happens, but Volpe might be our only prep signing.  But Jasson Dominguez is less than a month away, and that's not a long wait, especially with the short seasons starting and the NHL and NBA drafts and UFA seasons starting between now and then.

Yankees Draft Review, Pt. 1

Let's start with an overview.  In general, the modern 40 round draft is an overly controlled market that penalizes good teams and rewards bad ones. Because each team is giving a differet pool number to use for their first 10 rounds of drafting, there is no meritocracy, which you are more likely to see in the other 3 drafts.  So what's a late picking good team like the Yanks really able to accomplish in one, especially when they're vast resources are whittled down to an enforced 10 round of pool + 5%  budget of 7,828.065?  It turns out quite a bit.

The primary job of the domestic amateur scouts is to beat the bushes for young talent, and use the 40 round draft is to grow the talent pool and market the team to the unsignable kids they select for either future drafting or future free agency.

The Yankees got a lot of both done. First, they addressed the organizational need for left handed pitching and power. Secondly, althugh the draft had an unusutal shape in terms of when they took preps, they will end up getting a lot of, at least marketing, done there, too.

Let's talk about lefties.

The original Yankee stadium was both the House that Ruth Built and the House Built for Ruth. With a short rightfield porch and a deep right center, that hurt but couldn't destroy the great DiMaggio, but helped the crap out of Gomez, Ford, Guidry and slews of others. Before there was a draft, the Yanks would search far and wide for guys that fit the stadium, and that's how they found Lou, Dickey, Keller, Yogi and finally, Murcer and traded for guys like Maris, Nettles. Chambliss, Spencer, Paulie and Tino.  Oh, and they also picked up Reggie, and Giambi along the way in FA.

So you get it.  Even as the park got smaller and steroids made all parks small for awhile, it kept rewarding lefties.

So two things happened when the Amateur Draft started, both of them bad for the Yankees. First, they could no longer use Tom Greenwade and Yankee greeen to cast a wide net around the country's lefties. Second, the draft made sure they would have to share the left talent with other teams, who most of the time got first crack at it.

The Yankees then, somewhat sefl-destructively, stared to over value left handedness in both hitter and pitcher and overdrafting the hell out of them during most of the drafts (though they did find Don Mattingly that way, though late, late, late and not an overdraft at all) until Damon Oppenheimer started running them.

Oppenheimer, importantly took the organizational focus off of handedness and put it squarely on talent and character. That's why we have righties like Judge and Betances having such a huge roll in the rebuild.

At the same time Damon stopped reaching for lefites he realized the balance was shifting the other way.   He knew that for years but had to wait for the right year to finally add some balance back into the lefty/righty prospect pool.

This was the year. The Yanks, starting with their competitive balance pick at 38, took 9 left handed pitchers. That's almost a quarter of their draft, and they haven't done that in forever, so you know that no compromises were made.  As for left handed hitter, starting with their second round pick, they took 7 left handed bats and one switch hitter. So they didn't completely balance things, which would have meant reaching, but they out did the general population's balance between lefties and righties, and substantially inreased the lefty talent pool in the organization.

In Part 2, we'll look at the Prep Picks.

Giants Add New Scouts

For those still doubting that this is a rebuild, the Giants today announced some hirings, consolidation and promotions in their scouting department.  First, Chad Klunder, formerly the football AAD at Notre Dame has been hired to coordinate both the pro and collegiate scouting departments.  It's a new position and a change from Giants as usual.  Secondly, the Giants have hired Brendan Prophett as an area scout.  Prophett was formerly the Director of Pro Scouting for the Lions.  Next they promoted Tim McDonnell from pro scout to assistant director of pro personnel, this also feels like a new position. Finally they promoted Corey Lockett form intern to pro scout.

These changes mostly effect the pro scouting side, which you'll recall, Dave Gettleman ran for years and years before leaving last time.

In other news, the Eli Manning/Daniel Jones coverage in already both funny and annoying, and it's only mini-camp.

Some on the scene feel like any compliment they pay Jones must be accompanied with a compliment for Eli.  That's the funny stuff, though, it's also a reminder of what happened to those who benched Eli in 2017. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but you cannot run an NFL team by overtly tiptoeing around a declining players feelings.

In 39 and 40 the Yanks Reaffirmed the Themes of their Draft

In the 40th the Yanks just took LHP Jack Garbrick out of Phil Simms' old schoo, Morehead State, after taking lefty slugging 1B Jake Farrell out of Northeastern.  If all these lefties sign, the competition at first and on the mound will be intense. In the sense that they went back to taking lefty hitters and pitchers, it was a throw back draft.  In the sense that the balance between collegiate kids and preps for the first 30 rounds was way about of kilter - something like 28-3.  So, we'll see what the method was as the signing period now begins.

And as I reming you every year, in the next week or so, some of our past picks and IFA's will be released and have to find new teams or end their careers. So take a moment to think of them.  Also, not every draft pick has to become a Yankee regular. Look at PJ Pillittere, and others who find all sorts of ways to keep helping the Yanks in careers that last far beyond those of big league players.  It's a great game and it tends to take care of its own.

In 38 Yanks Pop Another Prep CF

News of Dontae Mitchell seems largely surpressed.  Witness something he shouldn't have?  He's another prep CF and it's unclear if any of these kids will sign.  We're seeing a dearth of College here in the last 10 rounds.  If there was something more worthwhile the Yanks would have grabbed it.  Thanks to Mike Janes for the rare pic!

RD 36: The Yanks Take Another Big Prep

Yanks just picked Montana Semmel, a 6'4" RHP out of West Hill HS in Connecticut.  He already throws 92 and hasn't really filled out yet.  I don't know why they're taking all of these preps late or whether there is or isn't some money for a second prep or two.  We'll see in the coming days.  Last year after getting Seigler and Breaux, the Yanks picked some exciting prep C's late -- but didn't sign any of them.  Some of them seemed like great kids, too.

Yanks Pop a Lefty Prep in 35

The Yanks just went into the Red Sox backyard and picked out a plumb.  Nate Espelin is just 5'11" and 185, but he's getting it up there to 87 and that's good for this prep LHP class.  He's probably going to college, but isn't it nice to be drafting lefties again?  The Yanks used to over do it back in the day, but more balance is always nice if value is equal.  

Rangers Sign Tarmo Reunanen

While the Yanks have been looking for new Yanks, the Gants have been mini-camping out and the Knicks have done nothing, the Rangers locked up another past draft pick by signing Tarmo Reunanen, the Finnish D who was injured when they took him but really came around this year, and like Rykov became a must-sign or a missed opportunity,  Now let's see what they do with the D's on the roster, because something has got to give.

Yanks Take a Prep 3B in 33

Francisco Reynoso, whom the Yanks picked as a 3B is also listed as a SS elsewhere and under the name Javier on the Draft Tracker.  Mysterious stuff.  He's from PR and is already 6'2" 190.  I believe the Yanks drafted both Bernie and Po out of Puerto Rico back in the day, but it's been awhile. He's a switch hitter.

Yanks Take Prep RHP Ethan Hoopingarner in 32

Yanks just took another big righty prep, Ethan Hoopingarner in the 32nd round.  He's commited to USC, but let's see what the heck is going on here.  The Yanks usually spread the preps out more over the three days.  First day they took one, second day 0, now late they're loading up.

Yanks Take a Prep Catcher in 31

Chad Knight is a cather, who also pitched (arm strenght!) and was the Gatorade Player of the Year in CT, has a Duke commit, but we'll see what happens, Yanks love taking C's and have only taken 2 so far.  Can they find the old Romine deal for Chad? More sub 2 pop times and upper 90s exit velos.  He bats right and throws right.

Yanks Take a Huge Prep in the 30th

Zachary Maxwll is 6'6" and 245 and has hit 98 on the gun this spring.  Not as celebrated as Leiter, but more of a super destroyer with a Georgia Tech commit.  If they break one day three commit, I hope it's this one.

RD 29: the Yankees Finally Take a Catcher

And quite a Catcher, Chase Illig is a switch-hitting catcher swith sub 2 pop times on his very accurate throws. He's said to have power from both sides of the plate, but needs to improve his contact.  He's a good athlete with good size for the position at 6'1" 210, and should really blossom in the Yanks' catching program.  Nice pick.  Should make SI fun.

Yanks Grab Another Lefty Slugger in 27

Yanks just grabbed another lefty slugger.  It's really nice to see the Yanks getting back to their basics with some of these lefty hulks. Babe, Lou, Keller, Roger, Reggie and on and on. Luke Voit is a righty, but he should give hope to all of these big guys.

Yanks Pop Another Prep in 26

The Yanks might have just picked their Leiter insurance.  Ryan Brown is a 6'3" 190 pound RHP form South Salem HS in Oregon.  Sounds like an Oregon State commit.  Wouldn't be cool if the Yanks are starting their tribute picks now.  Just as it wasn't in round 20. Hopefully there's method to this madness.