JESUS MONTERO

- He can really hit, despite his unconventional style

- He's a little bit of a weight-shift hitter, has a little hand-hitch in his load

- Tremendous bat speed, power to all fields

- "It's not the prettiest swing in the world, but he can hit"

- "I'm convinced that he can't catch."

- He's going be a DH, but he's going to be a very productive major league hitter

- I think there's a chance that he can be a very productive five-hole hitter in the big leagues

- Lot of balls to the backstop, strong arm, doesn't coordinate his release, arm action is a little bit long. He stabs at balls and doesn't move to block really well.

Is he still the Yankees' most valuable trade chip: "I think, from their perspective, he would be. If I was another team looking for a player, he wouldn't be my first choice. I'd be more interested in some of the young arms, because in the long run I think some of those young arms might have a bigger impact."

ADAM WARREN

- Liked the way he battles, even without his good stuff

- Four average to solid-average major league pitches

- He could pitch in the MLB right now with the stuff

- Solid No. 4 starter

- A bulldog on the mound

ANDREW BRACKMAN

- An enigma: "He'll flash you really good stuff, but he can't repeat his delivery at all."

- Clear that he's lost his confidence and has no confidence in what he's doing

- Long levers make it tough to find a consistent release point, but stuff is there

- Bullpen guy in the long run, 7th/8th-inning guy if everything turns around

D.J. MITCHELL

- Live, loose arm

- Comped to Ramiro Mendoza in that he could be a versatile pen arm

- Loved the change-up -- "That's his weapon now."

- His niche is his versatility

BRANDON LAIRD

- He's got big juice, big power, big raw juice, but style/bat path don't allow him to get to it at game time

- Getting himself out a lot. Swings at a lot of bad pitches.

- When he squares it, it sounds really good coming off his bat

- Too many holes in the swing

- Slower, not real athletic body

- Range at third base is not good; hands are OK

Less than a week away from the beginning of games at the minor league camp, the Yankees sent their first group of youngsters across the street to the Himes Complex. Among the first cuts are four-fifths of the projected Scranton rotation, including:

- Adam Warren
- D.J. Mitchell
- David Phelps
- Hector Noesi
- Andy Sisco
- Buddy Carlyle
- Brian Anderson

I expect all of those pitchers, if they stick with the organization, to spend the year in Scranton. Andrew Brackman, who is scheduled to pitch today, appears to be the only Triple-A starter left in big league camp.

The two kids who will start the season in Trenton - Dellin Betances (pitching today) and Manny Banuelos (pitching tomorrow) - are still with the Yankees, but will most likely be among the next round of cuts. Banuelos, by the way, turns 20 today. He's the youngest player in camp.

An omission: When I did my latest round of Thunder roster predictions the other I day, I complete forgot about outfielder Damon Sublett, who's pretty much a lock to get a second crack at a full season in Double-A.

With Sublett's addition, I imagine either Phil Bartleski or Noel Castillo will be bumped down to the Tampa roster. My instinct is Castillo, who continually dominates High-A but gets thrashed in Double-A, will be the one leaving Florida on April 3.

Calling all fans: After yours truly and the rest of the media are done interviewing the team, the public will have the opportunity to meet and greet the players at Waterfront Park. Below is the day's schedule of events, courtesy of the team.

Waterfront Park Gates Open For Fans: 3:00 p.m.
Stadium Tours: 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Team Practice Ends: 5:15 p.m.
Player Autograph Session: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Players visit 90% Club In Yankee Club (private): 6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
Ballpark Closes: 7:30 p.m.

Self promotion: It's just two weeks until I leave for spring training, and there are already big plans for The Trentonian's coverage this time around. Here are some things I have on the slate to help get out the word on the Thunder and other Yankees prospects.

- UStream video of game action and (some) player interviews. You can find my Ustream channel here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jnorris427

- Web chats via CoverItLive. I don't know how many there will be. Nightly seems like overkill, but every other day seems about right.

- Many, many Twitter updates. For those of you who (somehow) don't know, I'm on Twitter under the name jnorris427. I tweet darn near constantly, and that won't change while cooking my woefully bare scalp in Tampa. There will be updates, plus pics and short videos coming through via the Twitter, so be on the lookout.

- And the usual blog posts, print stories, pictures and videos on this blog and at The Trentonian's Website, which will eventually have a separate page for my journey. Said page is under construction right now.

Contests: A quick reminder, there are several in-season mini contests for you to participate in before the season starts on April 7. The link to those contests is here. I won't announce all the prizes just yet, but the grand prize is a pair of Andy Pettitte bobbleheads. You know you want them.

With the start of spring training just around the corner, it seems appropriate to take a first guess at what the Thunder's roster will look like in New Hampshire on April 7. There are plenty of near-certainties, but there's also a host of slots that are up in the air, and will remain so until camp breaks.

1. Austin Romine - C
2. Jose Gil - C
3. Myron Leslie - 1B
4. Corban Joseph - 2B
5. Luis Nunez - SS
6. Brad Suttle - 3B
7. Melky Mesa - OF
8. Austin Krum - OF
9. Cody Johnson - OF
10. Ray Kruml - OF
11. Walter Ibarra - IF
12. Justin Snyder - UT
13. Dellin Betances - SP
14. Manny Banuelos - SP
15. Adam Warren - SP
16. Graham Stoneburner - SP
17. Shaeffer Hall - SP
18. Craig Heyer - RP
19. Pat Venditte - RP
20. Adam Olbrychowski - RP
21. Trenton Lare - RP
22. Phil Bartleski - RP
23. Tim Norton - RP
24. Cory Arbiso - RP

For the rotation, I'm working on the assumption that Lance Pendleton comes back after being selected by the Astros in the Rule 5. If he does not, Warren should bump to Triple-A, leaving Arbiso to plug into the fifth starter's role with the Thunder. Either way, that staff looks pretty nice to start the year.

Because of the Russell Martin signing, I expect Romine to come back to the Thunder for a couple of months. Once Montero heads to New York, Romine will head to Scranton. It's as simple as that.

Toward the beginning of the offseason, I spoke to a couple of scouts about some of the Yankees prospects at Scranton, Trenton and Tampa. I'm no talent evaluator, so I like to talk with scouts as often as possible to get a more professional opinion about what I'm seeing. Here are what a couple of them had to say about some of the pitchers in the system:

GRAHAM STONEBURNER

Arm strength. He can throw strikes with all his pitches, and can get ahead in the count. He lacks deception, and will have to really command his 90-94 (ed note: I've seen 95) mph fastball, which is really straight. Sees him as a back-end starter or a 6/7 inning reliever.

ADAM WARREN

Similar to Stoneburner in that he commands his fastball, which sits in the 90-94 mph range. Has good command of his fastball, which also has sneakiness. Someone else who has a sneaky fastball: David Robertson. His curve and slider are average major league pitches. Has the ability to go up the ladder to get the strikeout.

ANDREW BRACKMAN

Very good stuff. Starter in the big leagues with front-end stuff. Topped at 96 with cutting and tailing action. Big-time breaking stuff.

MANNY BANUELOS

He has a bright future. Sneaky fastball (topped at 94). Plus curve, plus change. Showed big ability. "Whitey Ford didn't have this kid's stuff." No concerns about size. Throw out size when you're talking about a left-hander.

DELLIN BETANCES

He made big strides, topping at 97 with the fastball. Two plus-plus pitches -- FB and CB. Delivery has gotten a lot better, but he still falls off to the first-base side. Top-of-the-rotation stuff.

DAVID PHELPS

Middle-of-the-rotation starter. Good life on his fastball. Pitches with moxie. The kid can pitch. Pitches at 89-94, sitting at 91-92. A lot of confidence.

Every Monday, Minor Matters will run down the top 10 games of the Thunder's 2010 season. In a year that saw eight of Baseball America's 16 pitchers (excluding Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, who were out of the organization) in their top 30, not to mention Austin Romine and Brandon Laird, there are plenty of good choices to go around.

No. 3 - Adam Warren strikes out 15




















RECAP: After joining the Thunder on July 16, Adam Warren made his signature start in a Thunder uniform. He fanned 15 members of the Bowie Baysox that night, breaking Shannon Withem's 16-year-old team mark.

He fanned one in the first inning, three in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth, none in the fifth, three in the sixth and three in the seventh.

Link to Original Story

REACTION: “Outstanding performance. I have not seen a pitching performance like that in a long time. … That’s pretty good stuff. That’s major league-type stuff, front-line, major league, first-division, pennant contending team-type stuff.” -- Tony Franklin

“I had no idea about the record. I think I struck out the side one inning and started to think about it. When I came out after the seventh inning, someone came up and told me. It’s neat to be in the history books.” -- Adam Warren

AFTERWARD: Warren didn't come close to topping that record in his final three regular-season starts, but he did fan 10 in just six innings in relief of Andy Pettitte in Game 2 of the Eastern League Division Series.

Every Tuesday, Minor Matters will run down the top 10 players from the Thunder's 2010 season. In a year that saw eight of Baseball America's 16 pitchers (excluding Mike Dunn
and Arodys Vizcaino, who were out of the organization) in their top 30, not to mention Austin Romine and Brandon Laird, there were plenty of good choices to go around.

No. 3a Adam Warren
No. 3b D.J. Mitchell





Why they're here: Simply, they were two of the team's most reliable starters. Mitchell, who was part of the team's opening day rotation, settled down after a nasty start to the year.

Mitchell, promoted to Scranton when Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos were bumped up from Tampa, finished with a team-high 11 wins, a 4.06 ERA, 96 strikeouts and a better than 2-to-1 groundout-to-flyout ratio.

In fact, in his 19 appearances with the Thunder after April 29, Mitchell allowed more than three earned runs just twice. His 3.63 ERA during that span was 11th best in the Eastern League.

Warren didn't arrive until July 16, but he made quite an impact in his 10 regular-season starts. Most memorably, he broke a team record when fanned 15 Bowie Baysox hitters on August 18 at Waterfront Park.

Overall, Warren finished 4-2 with a 3.15 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings. During his tenure with the team, he established himself as its likely ace.

Outlook for 2011: Mitchell will likely begin 2011 in the Triple-A Scranton rotation. If Lance Pendleton stays with Houston, which selected him in the Rule 5 Draft in December, Warren will probably join Mitchell in Pennsylvania.

If Pendleton comes back, Warren may return to Double-A for a short while.

After checking my blog's archives, I've found every Adam Warren video I've posted this year. Here they all are. The list includes his first Double-A strikeout, his 13th, 14th and 15th Ks from his record-breaking game, and a scoreless inning from the playoffs.

From the top down, here are Tony Franklin, Adam Warren, Austin Romine and Manny Banuelos talking about the loss last night and what they need to do to even the series tonight in Game 4.









Also below are videos of innings from Warren and reliever Pat Venditte. Both videos contain scoreless frames.

TRENTON – In the 12th inning last night, New Hampshire reliever Trystan Magnuson was re-taught the hard lesson he should have learned on Wednesday: No matter the circumstance, do not throw a fastball to Rene Rivera.

With one out, that’s exactly what the Thunder’s designated hitter got from Magnuson and – just like Wednesday – he turned it into a no-doubt home run. The shot turned Trenton into 1-0 winners and gave them a powerful two-game edge to take with them on the road in the Eastern League Division Series.

“I’m looking for a pitch out over the plate that I can drive,” Rivera said. “I got lucky both times – yesterday and today – that I saw a pitch that I can handle.”

Before Rivera’s heroics, however, the Thunder were beneficiaries of a blown call from first-base umpire Chris Hamner.

With Adam Calderone on third and two out, Fisher Cats leadoff man Darin Mastroianni squibbed one toward second that Matt Cusick fielded and fired to first. Photos showed that Cusick’s throw was about 6 feet from when Mastroianni hit the bag, but Hamner still wound up and banged him out.

Mastroianni and manager Luis Rivera protested to no avail, and Rivera got tossed in the process. Still, to the team’s credit, the Fisher Cats did not solely blame Hamner for their loss.

“We’ll come out tomorrow and play our game,” third baseman Shawn Bowman said. “I know the umpire blew a call tonight, but we also didn’t score any runs.” “We’re not out of it. It could be one big hit from anyone in the order that will change things around.”

Before the fireworks in the final inning, both teams engaged in the most epic pitchers’ duel at Waterfront Park this season.

On the Thunder’s side, there was Andy Pettitte – their ace-in-the-hole for four innings – and Adam Warren, their ace for the last two months.

In his four innings, Pettitte faced one more than the minimum and struck out four before giving way to Warren, who made the five-time World Series champion look like a side dish, rather than the main course.

Warren fanned 10 in his six innings, including the first extra frame, and looked icy cool even in relief.

“I had to lock in mentally and try to keep everything the same,” Warren said. “My body was kind of funny in the bullpen, and I didn’t throw as loose as usual because I didn’t have a chance to run around as much. Once I got into the game and got a little adrenaline going, it was all the same.”

Austin Romine, who had the pleasure of catching both men, wanted to no credit afterward for his game-calling skills. He instead deferred to Pettitte and Warren for blanking the Fisher Cats’ powerful offense.

“I don’t want any of (the credit),” he said. “I didn’t do anything. I suggest pitches and they throw it. They did their job.”

NOTES: Two of Warren’s strikeouts came on foul bunts. … The 8,072 fans in attendance represented a season high for the Thunder, a night after they registered their season low. … Josh Schmidt once again drew a Hall of Fame closer’s entrance music. He got Mariano Rivera’s “Enter Sandman” on Wednesday, and last night was treated to AC DC’s “Hells Bells,” the song that plays when Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman enters.

TRENTON — Adam Warren, arguably the team’s most reliable starter since the day he showed up, will not start in the Eastern League Division Series. There’s a good reason for that, though, one that has 240 major league wins to his credit.

Warren will relieve Andy Pettitte in today’s Game 2, and for the Thunder hurler, that’s no skin off his back. In fact, the –year-old right-hander considers it a bit of an honor to play caddy for a day for someone with Pettitte’s credentials.

“Obviously, I’d like to start,” Warren admitted,” but when a guy like Andy Pettitte comes, you can’t really be mad, because of the pitcher he is.”

The plan is for Pettitte to go four innings or 65 pitches, whichever comes first. After that, Warren will come in and, barring ineffectiveness, more than likely go the rest of the game, with the exception of maybe a reliever for a few outs if Pettitte leaves in the middle of an inning.

One of the big concerns for Warren today is how he will keep his pre-start routine intact, given that he won’t get into the game until probably the fifth inning. That means pushing back the normal stretching, throwing and all of the other calisthenics that come before a normal start.

“It’s going to be a new process for me, but I’m going to try to keep everything the same, though,” Warren said. “Maybe in the first inning I’ll go ahead and start stretching, that sort of thing, try to work in some sort of long toss before the game, or with the outfielders, something like that. I’ll make a few adjustments, but I don’t think it’s going to affect me negatively.”

The choice for Warren to be the one pushed back really didn’t entail much of a choice at all. Both pitchers were scheduled to go today, so the minor leaguer was forced to play second fiddle.

“I think the priority is to get the major league pitchers back to pitching,” manager Tony Franklin said. “We happen to be home, and he’s got a place to pitch, so that’s the way it is. And I think it’s a good thing. Adam’s going to be in there right after him, so I think Adam’s going to prepare to pitch the way he normally does.”

If there were any fears that Pettitte would come down, throw a few pitches and just work on getting his feel back without any regard to the situation his new teammates have fought so hard to achieve, those feelings were quickly allayed during today’s Yankees game.

The broadcasters mentioned that Pettitte not only knew the magnitude of the situation he was thrust into, but he had gone so far as to request scouting reports on the Fisher Cats to ensure that he did the best job possible once his time came.

“I heard the announcers talking about Andy coming down, and what he said,” Franklin explained. “Andy’s coming down with every intention of helping us win a baseball game, and that’s the way it should be.”

New York Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte talks with Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Scott Linebrink after Pettitte's bull pen session before a baseball game between the two clubs Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in Chicago. Pettitte described the session as very well. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Real quick, here's a video of two firsts: Adam Warren's first strikeout and Lance Berkman's first hit.

TRENTON — In 23 games with the Fisher Cats this season, the Thunder have held slugger Eric Thames hitless just five times.

Most recently, Adam Warren was the man responsible for keeping Thames in the yard and off the basepaths. It came in a 2-1 victory over the Fisher Cats that clinched the Thunder’s spot in the Eastern League playoffs and pushed their lead in the Eastern Division to 2 1/2 games.

It also, in my mind, cemented Warren as the man who should take the ball against New Hampshire when the division series begins on Sept. 8.

As Randy Boone hung zeroes on the Thunder, Warren seemed to kick it into another gear. He worked quickly and, after allowing a run on a wild pitch in the first, went to work devouring the meat of New Hampshire’s order.

Combined, the Fisher Cats’ 2 through 8 hitters were 0-for-16 against Warren with six strikeouts, two of which came against Thames.

Tuesday night’s outing, which fell on Warren’s 23rd birthday, also served as an encore to the performance he turned in seven days prior.

He fanned a Thunder record-setting 15 Baysox that night, prompting manager Tony Franklin to heap praise upon the right-hander.

That’s pretty good stuff. That’s major league-type stuff, front-line, major league, first-division, pennant contending team-type stuff,” Franklin said.

Lately, Warren’s arm has been backing up his skipper’s words. Over his last two starts, his numbers look like this: 13 innings, five hits, one run (earned), two walks and an incredible 21 strikeouts.

When I spoke with him during the All-Star break, after he’d been promoted to Trenton, here’s how he described his attitude on the mound:

“I basically just try to go after hitters and use a bulldog mentality. I try to pound the zone low in the zone to get ground balls and try to work as fast as I can.”

That bulldog mentality, as he describes it, will serve him well against a team that has knocked the Thunder around all season long. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s done it before.

Warren was given the starting assignment in the opening game of the Staten Island Yankees’ opening-round set. That night he limited the Lowell Spinners to two runs over 4 2/3 innings, and struck out eight.

Although he didn’t pick up the win, Warren’s effort kept the SI Yanks in the game long enough to mount a comeback victory.

That’s exactly what he’ll need to do against the Fisher Cats in a few weeks.

•••

In a few days, when the major league roster limit expands to 40, there could be more changes in store for the Thunder, specifically when it comes to the bullpen.

Scranton relievers Jonathan Albaladejo and Romulo Sanchez are likely to join the Yankees, which means two arms would have to leave the Thunder’s pen.

George Kontos, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, is one obvious candidate. Josh Schmidt, who has been excellent over the majority of the last two seasons with Trenton, is the other.

If that happens, expect Pat Venditte and Jonathan Ortiz to make their way north.

Everybody familiar with the Yankees system has heard of Venditte, the switch pitcher who has been knocking on Double-A’s door all year. He’s allowed just 44 hits and has struck out 81 over 69 innings with High-A Tampa, and seems more than ready for a promotion.

With a 6-1 record, 2.49 ERA and 56 punchouts in 50 2/3 innings, Ortiz has nearly matched Venditte’s gaudy numbers, and would be a fitting addition to the back end of the Thunder’s bullpen.

•••

Brandon Laird, who racked up 23 home runs and 90 RBIs before earning call to Triple-A, earned the nod at third base on the Eastern League’s postseason All-Star squad.

•••

For the second straight season, Schmidt will pitch in the Venezuelan Winter League.

As a starter with the Aguilas de Zulia last year, the right-hander was 2-5 with a 3.58 ERA, including a complete-game shutout.

TRENTON — In typical Yankees fashion, the Thunder’s clinch of a spot in the Eastern League playoffs last night was not met with a dogpile on the mound or champagne in a cellophane-draped locker room.

In fact, when approached about it afterward, most of the players were unaware it had finally happened.

Indeed, the Thunder’s 2-1 win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats last night, coupled with a Binghamton loss against lowly New Britain, punched their card in next month’s division series, which more than likely will come against New Hampshire.

As a bonus, the victory also bumped the Thunder’s lead in the division to 2 ½ games, just a game down of where they started the series.

“No question about it, this was a good win for us,” skipper Tony Franklin said. “I’m pretty happy with the way we played tonight, after last night. That was a heck of an effort for us tonight.”

Just as they did in the eighth inning on Tuesday, the top of Trenton’s lineup put together a quick rally against New Hampshire. This time it came in the seventh against Randy Boone, who had looked impenetrable for the prior six innings.

With one out, Austin Krum – who entered last night 2 for his last 34, slapped a Boone offering into center field. Dan Brewer then slipped a knock the right side that Adam Loewen juggled, allowing runners to move to second and third.

“I was looking for something out there,” Brewer said. “I didn’t know if it was off (the plate) or not, but it was close enough where I had to swing. I was just trying to put the ball in play and make something happen.”

Austin Romine’s nubber to shallow shortstop on the next pitch pushed across Krum and left the go-ahead run at second for Corban Joseph, who, like Krum, was in a deep funk.

Joseph’s worked Boone to a 3-0 count, a situation in which, over the last few weeks, he’d normally be asked to take. Franklin played a hunch, however, and let Joseph hack away, expecting he’d see a fastball he could push to the right.

“With the way I’d been playing now, it’s exciting, because (it means) Skip has a lot of confidence,” Joseph said. “He saw kind of what I saw, and I put together a game plan. Normally that’s not necessarily the greatest 3-0 hack. When you get the green light you really want to crush the ball.”

Even without the greatest contact in the world, Joseph’s single gave the Thunder the edge they’d need to put this one in the win column, something they hadn’t done against New Hampshire since July 29. That win, coincidentally, also was at Boone’s expense.

It also backed up a second straight stellar outing from Adam Warren, who over the past two starts has looked more and more like a good choice to take the ball in Game 1 of the playoffs.

The right-hander, pitching on his 23rd birthday and with a week’s rest in his back pocket, looked every bit as good as he did during his last start, when he struck out 15 Baysox and broke a 16-year-old team record in the process.

Using a fastball that sat between 90 and 94 miles per hour and a loopy curve, Warren finished the evening with one run on three hits and a walk with a half dozen strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches during his outing, 62 of which were strikes.

“Getting beat the first few games against New Hampshire, we all wanted to come out and not get swept,” Warren said. “We were just looking to try to get one on them. Our whole team played well tonight, and we came out with a win.”

NOTES: The Thunder released their 2011 schedule yesterday, and the biggest difference was the amount of games they’ll play against Reading. They’ll play the R-Phils 18 times next year, including a stretch of eight straight sandwiched around the All-Star break. … John Van Benschoten arrived yesterday, complete with a name tag on his locker dubbing him “King Schoten.”

Quick question: What do Adam Warren and the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders have in common? Both brought a tandem of blazing heat and devastating curves last night to Waterfront Park, a combination that, for both, rendered all comers weak in the knees.

For Warren, the combination helped him blaze through the Bowie Baysox en route to a 3-0 Thunder win. The night included 15 strikeouts from Warren, a new Thunder record and a new career high for the Yankees' fourth-round selection from a year ago.

His strikeouts included a stretch of five in a row, 13 swinging and two looking, and three apiece from Tyler Henson and Joel Guzman, EL All-Stars both. Guzman is also the circuit's home run leader and is a viable candidate for league MVP.

Below are videos of strikeouts number 13, 14 and 15, which were, in order, Joe Mahoney, Brandon Waring and Caleb Joseph, the brother of Thunder second baseman Corban Joseph.

I spoke with Yankees roving pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras on Saturday, and here's what he had to say about the Thunder's staff, after seeing all but Arbiso one time.

JN: After seeing this rotation once through, what are your thoughts on how it looks late in the season.

NC: I haven’t seen anything I’ve disliked. Everything is good. I saw D.J. (on Friday) was very good. He’s got tremendous sink, a great curveball, a great change-up. He’s just got to get more consistent with the control of his fastball, but he’s got great stuff, so he will succeed.

I saw Brackman the best I’ve ever seen Brackman. He commanded his fastball, threw his curveball. He walked one guy in six innings, gave up three or four hits. He commanded his fastball and curveball and threw some quality sliders, so his slider is coming. He even threw some quality changeups, so that’s coming.

(Hector) Noesi threw a lot of strikes but he was up too much, so he’s just got to get the ball down. He’s got the curveball, and his slider has improved. He’s got the change-up and he throws strikes.

Our kids are not walking anybody. They’re throwing strikes, so they’ve got a chance to get people out.

Warren’s got to improve his curveball. He throws the ball hard and throws strikes with his fastball. He relies on his fastball a little bit too much, so he’s got to spend a little bit of time with the offspeed pitch. At Tampa he probably got away with a lot with his fastball.

The higher you go, you’d better be able to mix in some of your offspeed pitches. I think he’s starting to learn that he’s got to mix in some of his offspeed pitches. I think he’ll be all right. He’s a strike thrower, and he’s not scared to throw strikes.

Here, fresh from the ballpark is video of Adam Warren fanning Kevin Mahar in the first inning of this evening's game with the Reading Phillies.

I was able to wrangle an interview with Adam Warren before Wednesday's Eastern League All-Star Game. He'll be starting tomorrow in Trenton. Here's the last part of what he had to say.

Q: Where do you peak now, with the fastball?

A: Lately I've been averaging 92. I hit 96 two or three times in my career, but usually it's 90 to 94.

Q: What would you say is your strength as far as offspeed pitches go?

A: As of right now, I've gotten to the point where I can throw all three for strikes most days. It changes from day to day (as to) which one is better in my opinion, because some days my curveball is my strikeout pitch. Some days my slider is.

It really changes from day to day. I feel like some days my offspeed pitches are better than others, not overall one is better than the other. Just being able to locate those for strikes is kind of a big thing for me.

Q: I was reading your blog the other day in preparation for this interview, and I noticed that Archbishop Desmond Tutu presided over your graduation from North Carolina. How cool an experience was that?

A: It was a little different. He was interesting. He's an interesting guy. He didn't talk too long, but it was kind of interesting to see how a guy like him, coming from a different culture, would talk to us. It was an experience hearing from someone coming from the kind of power from another country.

Q: Out of your four College World Series appearances, what is your most memorable moment?

A: Probably my sophomore year. I was a mid-week starter and didn't really pitch in conference much, but I had a pretty good year. Our first game, our No. 1 starter ran into trouble early and they brought me in and I ended up pitching, I think, four innings.

I ended up getting the win there. I think that was pretty neat, and that kind of helped me with my confidence and my development into the next year, when I became a starter for conference. That just really helped me, as a pitcher, develop that confidence.

Q: There's a lot of big names that have come from your class at UNC, Dustin Ackley and Alex White to name a couple. What does playing for such a high-level program do, you think, in terms of helping you advance more quickly once you get to the minor leagues?

A: I think it really did prepare me. Playing with a strong conference and having guys like Alex White there to push me. He would start on Friday and I would want to match him on Saturday. Friendly competition really pushed me better as a pitcher. For me, it really helped me out to play with guys like him who are going to push you a little bit to get better than where you are at that point.

Q: Moving from baseball, while you were at UNC, did you get a chance to meet Dean Smith?

A: I did not. I got to meet Roy Williams, but I didn't get a chance to meet Dean Smith.

Q: How was meeting Roy Williams, then?

A: It was pretty interesting. He supported us in Omaha. He came out to the games. He spoke to us in my first and second year going. He's a great coach and he gave us some inspirational words just to go out there and be a leader, that sort of thing, just some reassurance from a coach that has won a national championship. That's pretty neat.

I was able to wrangle an interview with Adam Warren before yesterday's Eastern League All-Star Game. He'll be starting on Friday in Trenton. Here's what he had to say to me yesterday.


Q: When did you get the news?

After our last game two days ago. They called me into Torre Tyson’s office and just told me the news.

Q: Were you expecting it?

A: Not really. I was just trying to focus on my next start. That’s been my deal. In the minor leagues, it’s always in the back of your mind that you want to get promoted. It’s not something you can sit there and wait for, it’s just something that kind of happens. It just kind of popped up on me.

Q: Can you tell me about how your season in Tampa had gone so far?

A: I felt like I had some success with Tampa. I felt like I got better as a pitcher as the season went on. Greg Pavlick and I had been working on a few things with mechanics, and working on the offspeed pitches. I felt like those adjustments really paid off. I felt like I was getting stronger as the year went and was pitching like I wanted to in those last few outings.

Q: Does that mean that you may not have been pitching to your expectations in the beginning of the year?

A: I felt like I was still throwing good, but I want to get better every time after every outing. Like I said, I was making a few adjustments, throwing a few more offspeed pitches for strikes. I felt like I was getting better as the year was going on. I’m still looking to improve on that even more.

Q: For the people who don’t know or haven’t seen you, can you tell me what you throw?

A: Four-seam and two-seam fastball, change-up, curveball and kind of a cutter-slider type deal. I basically just try to go after hitters and use a bulldog mentality. I try to pound the zone low in the zone to get ground balls and try to work as fast as I can.

Q: You got drafted pretty low in 2008, can you explain what may have improved your stock between then and draft season 2009?

A: I felt like I had a better year overall. No. 1, I felt like I got more confident on the mound, got more confident in the zone more. I’m not really sure where it came from, but I got a little extra two to three miles per hour on my fastball in my senior year. That helped me get more confident, throw more strikes and get ahead of hitters. I think a combination of those things and having a better year. That kind of stands out more to the scouts.

A source confirmed to The Trentonian early this morning that Adam Warren, the Florida State League's ERA leader, has been promoted to Double-A Trenton.

With Tampa, Warren was 7-5 with a 2.22 ERA in 81 innings at High-A. He struck out 67 and walked just 17 over 81 innings (by comparison, Hector Noesi, a control artiste, has walked the same amount over 83 frames). He also allowed just 72 hits in that span.

He's held hitters to just a .235 average against and is getting 2.18 ground balls to every fly ball. He and Andrew Brackman are both on turn to start on Thursday, but I assume Warren will be pushed to Friday, where the Thunder (as recently as yesterday) had Cory Arbiso listed as the starter.

Check back later for quotes from Warren himself.

I wrote a feature yesterday about George Kontos' return to the Thunder after undergoing Tommy John surgery and the mental anguish that come with that kind of major procedure. I didn't get to use all the quotes, however, so I figure I may as well give some of them to you guys.

On the young arms he saw in Tampa:

"It's unbelievable. You've got guys down there who are pitching at 92-93, touching 95-96. When I was there, Adam Warren was doing great, Graham Stoneburner was doing great. Shaeffer Hall, who's the soft-tossing lefty, is pitching awesome. I rehabbed quite a bit through this whole process with Dellin (Betances), and Dellin's just, he's a different animal. He came back and his delivery's cleaned up. He looks good. He looks real good. He's touching 98 almost every start, and the kid's going to be unstoppable. ... I think if he keeps pitching the way he's pitching they're going to have to move him (to Trenton). They can't keep leaving him there with a 0.50 ERA."

On the way his arm felt before he was diagnosed with the ligament tear:

"I had no pain. It was a very weird case. My ligament was completely torn. I felt it completely torn while I was pitching, but it wasn't like a pop where the ball goes somewhere and you hear a loud pop. I was starting in Gwinnett, and I threw a pitch in the third inning, and it felt like a string just tore. (It was like) part of a rope and it's starting to break and it just starts fraying. It felt part of the rope had just frayed. It's a little release.

I didn't think anything of it. Nothing hurt. Kept pitching. The same thing happened again in the fifth inning, and when it happened in the fifth inning, it was almost like my arm wouldn't stop. I'd throw a ball, and it just felt like my hand and my wrist would just keep going. There was nothing there to stop it. I didn't hurt, but the ball went from coming out 90-91 to 85-86."

"(After a few weeks of delays because of rain) When it finally came to be my start again, I was pitching in Syracuse, I pitched three innings and gave up few runs, and (pitching coach) Scotty (Aldred) He was like, 'What's going on?' (I said) There's something wrong, I can keep pitching, but something's not right. I was throwing 84-87, and it really only affected me on a fastball. I was still able to throw breaking balls, change-ups, but when I really reared back for a fastball, it just wasn't there."