Foul Tips

-Phil Hughes began his rehab assignment and it seems that whatever was bothering him is now gone because his fastball touched 95 MPH. He went 4.1 innings for Staten Island, throwing 61 pitches, 41 of them for strikes, striking out 7 and walking one. The Yankees could really use a healthy and effective Phil Hughes for the stretch run. If Hughes does come back healthy and effective, I don't think the Yankees need to run out and cough up prospects for a rental starter. It wouldn't make sense.

-Yankee prospect, Tim Norton, might be done as a baseball player. After making his AAA debut and striking out 2 batters in his one inning of work, Norton apparently suffered a severely torn shoulder labrum. This is really bad news as he was probably going to be a candidate for the Major League roster due to his 46 K's in 30 innings at AA and AAA.

-The Yankees came to terms with their first selection in the 2011 Draft, Dante Bichette, Jr. They paid him just over slot, a $750,000 signing bonus. I think the kid is really eager to get started. Hopefully his work ethic doesn't take a hit. He will start the year with the GCL Yankees.

-Jesus Montero is going to be a DH according to all the experts. Gary Sanchez? Well, his defense is worse than Montero's. Sure, the two guys are projected to hit like crazy but where do you play them? Is Sanchez fleet enough for an outfield spot? Right now, it looks like Austin Romine (currently on DL for a concussion) and J.R. Murphy are the Yankees backstops of the future. Murphy can also rip with the bat.

-The Pittsburgh Pirates are only 4 games out of first in the NL Central. They are flirting with .500 and, although this doesn't seem likely to continue, it might mean the beginning of a new era in a black hole of baseball. Maybe.

-The Seattle Mariners are only a half game out of first in the AL West. After last year's performance nobody would have guessed Seattle would have a winning record as of June 19th. But they do, at 37-35.

-The Minnesota Twins are 9-1 in their last ten games. Looks like this team is going to try to claw its way back into the thick of things.

-Eighty year-old Jack McKeon has agreed to become the interim manager of the sliding Florida Marlins. The Marlins are 1-18 in June. Good luck Jack.

-He may not be the best player in this year's NBA Draft, but Jimmer Fredette of BYU is certainly the most intriguing. He can either be a nice scoring option off the bench or he can fade into obscurity after a couple of ineffective years. I can see him doing a J.J. Reddick impersonation in the NBA but I don't know if that is worth a high draft pick. Chad Ford has the Pacers taking Fredette at #15. I don't know if I would take him that high. The Knicks are also an option at #17.

-Will the Mets be buyers or sellers? Or will they stand pat at the trading deadline July 31st? I definitely can't see the Mets as buyers and I don't think they will trade Jose Reyes either. To do so would infuriate a slowly reemerging fanbase. I see the Mets trying to unload a Jason Bay but don't think they will be able to. David Wright isn't going anywhere and if the MEts can hold their heads around the waterline they will be getting Ike Davis back which would sure up their defense and add some much needed pop in their lineup. If Beltran stays healthy and Davis comes back ready to play I can see the Mets sticking around. then again, this is the Mets and bad things seem to come in bunches these days. However, they owe it to their fans to do what is best for the future of the franchise. Even if they keep Reyes and lose him in free agency, so what? You get 2 first rounders for him. Add in another possible first rounder or two for Beltran and lookie what you got here, the beginnings of a new farm system. I trust Sandy Alderson to rebuild this team. He knows what he is doing and has the baseball people around him that might be among the best assembled braintrust in all of baseball.

The Yankees and Mets Drafts

The New York Mets, with the 13th pick in the draft selected Brandon Nimmo, an outfielder out of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Nimmo didn't have a high school baseball team so he had to play Legion baseball. This pick is purely a credit to the Mets scouting department who went and saw the kid play. What they saw they liked. He is a lefty bat that should develop the power necessary to hit some balls out of Citi Field, especially if they move the fences in. Nimmo is the kind of pick that has to have MEts fans a little excited, he could be their corner outfielder for years to come. Hell, I'm sure some Mets fans would take this kid over Jason Bay right now! I'm not saying this kid is a super-prospect but he had to be doing something right if he got noticed without a high school baseball team. While its always hard to project if a kid will make the Majors, I do see Nimmo becoming the Mets left fielder, or right fielder, for years to come down the road. It might take a little while as the kid adjusts to the new level of competition so for a few years Mets fans will playing Finding Nimmo.

The Yankees didn't have a first round pick this year because the Steinbrenner Braintrust (wait, I thought Cashman had autonomy here) decided signing Rafael Soriano was the better route. So, the Yankees selected 51st overall, thanks to the Marlins signing Javier Vazquez. With that pick, the Yankees selected Dante Bichette, Jr. Yep, son of former Major Leaguer Dante Bichette who was a member of those Coors Field inspired Colorado Rockies teams that launched balls into orbit. Little Bichette is a two-time All Central Florida Player of the Year. He was not on ESPN's Keith Law's Top 100 Prospects List. However, the kid did hit .640 (55-86) with 14 doubles and 10 home runs and 40 RBI's in 30 games as a senior in high school. Keith Law says the power is there but he questions Bichette's hit tool, whatever that means. I think the Yankees might finally have drafted a power bat that plays into a corner outfield slot after years of drafting toolsy guys without much pop (Slade Heathcott, Mason Williams, Brett Gardner, Austin Jackson, etc.) Bichette, Sr. and Joe Girardi are close friends so if the kid eventually makes it and if Girardi is still managing the kid will basically be playing for an uncle. Overall, I like this pick. The Yankees needed some power bats that play into corner outfield positions and Bichette, Jr. definitely has that. Bichette has committed to play at the University of Georgia where he is slated to become the teams starting third baseman but, given the closeness of Giardi and his father, I think something can be worked out fairly quickly to get this kid into pinstripes.