Per the New York Post's Brian Costello, Phil Hughes is being placed on the disabled list and Lance Pendleton, last year's Thunder ace in the second half, is being called to New York to take his place.

Pendleton was a Rule 5 pick of the Houston Astros this offseason, and was returned to the Yankees during the last week of spring training. The 27-year-old right-hander from Rice University is 1-1 with a 1.59 ERA in two appearances out the Scranton bullpen this season.

With the Thunder last year, Pendleton was 10-4 with a 3.43 ERA over 23 appearances (22 starts.)

This comes after Hughes had been shellacked for three straight starts, including last night's effort against the Orioles in which he allowed five runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Overall this season, Hughes has given up four home runs in just 10 1/3 frames.

TAMPA, Fla. – When the Yankees declined to add him to their 40-man roster, Lance Pendleton knew it meant a chance to show another organization what he could do on the mound. As optimistic as he was for that opportunity, the Texan was downright thrilled when it was Houston that called his name in December’s Rule 5 draft.

“I was really excited,” he said yesterday after a bullpen session at the Yankees’ minor league complex. “It’s a good experience to be taken in that Rule 5 draft, and (with) a hometown team. It was really exciting to have that experience and opportunity. Wish it would have worked out, but you can’t cry over spilled milk.”

Ultimately, poor control spelled the end of his brief Astros’ audition. He gave up nine hits and issued eight walks over 7 2/3 innings with Houston before being returned to the Yankees earlier this week.

He’s slated to return to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start 2011, this time in a bullpen role. He was scheduled to be a reliever last season with the Thunder, but an early injury to Christian Garcia pushed him quickly back into the rotation.

Even though he’d prefer to be plying his trade in the major leagues, Pendleton says ready to begin a new phase in his development.

“It’s just going to be a different routine, something to learn. It’ll be good to get that opportunity and experience that way, and that way it’s just another aspect of my game I can learn.”

…

The whispers around camp about Kei Igawa’s possible assignment to Trenton have gotten louder in recent days. Word is the organization has grown frustrated with the left-hander blocking the progress of some of their other relievers, like Josh Schmidt, who has produced excellent numbers in Double-A each of the last two seasons but has barely sniffed Scranton.

Although he’s been a massive bust as far as the big club is concerned, Igawa, 31, would be a boon for the Thunder’s bullpen.

Over his four seasons with Triple-A, Igawa has produced a 32-22 mark with a 3.87 ERA and 361 strikeouts against 123 walks. The win total also stands as the best in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre history.

…

There’s another intriguing name that’s begun getting mentioned as a possibility for the Thunder’s relief corps: Brian Anderson, the former outfielder with the White Sox.

Eight seasons after Chicago made him its first-round selection, Anderson signed a minor-league deal this offseason to try to resurrect his career – as a pitcher.

If he were to make the Thunder’s bullpen, he certainly wouldn’t be the first pitcher they’ve had who’s comfortable with a bat in his hand.

Wilkin De La Rosa, now with the Dodgers, as well as Marlins reliever Mike Dunn both started their careers as outfielders in New York’s system. When they failed to produce at the plate, the Yankees took advantage of their strong arms by converting them to pitchers.

So far, it seems to have taken quite well for Dunn, who, despite being dealt twice in the past two offseasons – once for Javier Vazquez and once for Dan Uggla –has established himself as a powerful left-handed specialist.

…

Once again, heavy rains in the Tampa area – estimates at the airport were in the 4-inch range – forced cancellation of all scheduled minor league games at the Yankees’ minor-league complex. Tomorrow, depending on how the fields in Dunedin fared, the upper-level work groups are scheduled to play Toronto’s affiliates on the road.

On Sunday, the final day of camp, the Yankees will hold a pair of split-squad games before the team breaks camp and players begin the journey toward their various destinations.

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. 5a - David Phelps
No. 5b - Lance Pendleton



















Why they're here: The two pitchers took shifts as the staff's workhorse, with Phelps handling the first half of the season, and Pendleton taking over the role until early August, when he was promoted to Triple-A Scranton.

Phelps was a perfect 6-0 with the Thunder, and, with the exception of a blow-up in New Hampshire, was solid to excellent in every start he made. Overall, he accrued a 2.o4 ERA in over 88 1/3 innings, fanning 84 against 23 walks.

Speaking of walks, I don't think I've met a pitcher who more despised issuing free passes. If he were to turn in this start, he would more than likely be beside himself.

As for Pendleton, who was expected to spend the year in the bullpen before Christian Garcia's elbow broke down, he turned into the rock-solid arm the Yankees expected when they plucked him out of Rice University.

He strung together a 10-4 mark, a 3.43 ERA, 111 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings, and a stellar .215 batting average against before getting the call to Triple-A.

While those numbers are impressive, consider this: Pendleton allowed just six earned runs over his final 31 1/3 innings with the Thunder, and struck out 30 hitters in that span.

Outlook for 2011: For Phelps, barring a trade, he seems likely to spend most, if not all of, 2011 in Scranton. He could get a shot toward the end of the year, especially if the Yankees fail to find a long-term solution for the holes in the rotation.

For Pendleton, his career may have just gotten a second life. Stuck behind a cadre of other, more valued prospects, he was selected by Houston in the recent Rule 5 Draft. If he sticks, he'll could be the Astros' fifth starter. If not, the Yankees may let him stay.

This morning, Major League Baseball held its annual Rule Five Draft. In the major league phase, a club can select any eligible player from the rosters of the other 29 clubs. The club pays a fee for this selection, and must keep the player on its 40-man roster all season, or return him to his original team.

The Yankees saw two players taken in the major league portion, right-handed pitchers George Kontos (San Diego) and Lance Pendleton (Houston), both of whom spent time with the Thunder last year.

Here are quick rundowns on each player:

Kontos: A 25-year-old Northwestern grad and the organization's strikeout leader in 2008, missed most of last year after recovering from Tommy John surgery. When he returned he was gone from the starter's role, converted into a hard-throwing late-inning guy.

Kontos experienced some serious peaks and valleys both during the regular season and in the Arizona Fall League, where he accrued a 12.08 ERA in 10 appearances this autumn.

If he can prove that his stuff is fully back to where it was in 2008, then he has a small chance to stick with San Diego, where building a team on the cheap is paramount.

Pendleton: Most known in Trenton for being the guy whose pitch broke Jesus Montero's finger in 2009, Pendleton started the season in the bullpen -- but didn't stay there for long. Once Christian Garcia re-injured his elbow on Opening Day, Pendleton took his spot.

The staff's ace after David Phelps departed for Scranton, Pendleton was 12-4 between Double-A and Triple-A, with 124 hits in 154 2/3 innings, with 133 strikeouts and a .218 average against.

BOWIE, Md. — It started on Opening Day when Christian Garcia tore a ligament in his elbow. Then, three weeks later, Damon Sublett needed season-ending thumb surgery.

A month passed before the Thunder’s next big blows, labrum surgery for No. 3 starter Jeremy Bleich and a high ankle sprain to David Adams that so far has cost the second baseman nearly two months.

From the last day in June until July 6, center fielder Austin Krum and late-inning relievers Grant Duff and Tim Norton each took their place on the shelf.

Then yesterday came what could wind up being the biggest blow of all, an ankle injury to Brandon Laird, the Thunder’s cleanup man and the circuit’s leader in RBIs.

Still, even with all that star power gone, Trenton finds itself just 1 ½ games behind New Hampshire for first place in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division.

After closing the first half yesterday with a series-salvaging win over the Bowie Baysox, the team believed that in order to retain its postseason, the starting pitching had to right itself.

“We need to pitch well,” Lance Pendleton said. “I think that, really, is the first step, making sure our starters to take of some business and hope (the offense) scores a few runs for us. That really is the thing.

Over their six road losses to close the first half, Thunder starters haven’t exactly given the team a lift. They’ve allowed 23 earned runs on 34 hits and 12 walks over 25 2/3 innings.

For those counting, that’s an ERA of 7.71 and a WHIP of 1.79, ghastly marks both.

“The last week or so, we haven’t commanded our pitches as well,” pitching coach Tommy Phelps said before yesterday’s game. “We’ve gotten behind in the counts, left some pitches in the zone and we haven’t pitched as well. We went through a stint like this early in the season for about 10 days, but we’ll get back on track after the break.”

Knowing Hector Noesi and Andrew Brackman — the latter of whom is throwing much better than his numbers indicate — will be in the rotation from the jump adds an element of certainty.

Add in the probability of receiving Adam Warren, the Florida State League’s ERA leader shortly after the break to join All-Stars Pendleton and D.J. Mitchell — whose seven wins lead the staff — and the starting five seems like it could be ready to improve quickly.

“We have a lot of younger guys throughout our organization who have stepped up, and come in and filled those guys’ shoes” Phelps said, referring to younger pitchers like Brackman and Noesi who have filled the holes left behind by Garcia, Phelps and Bleich “That’s the whole thing with development and everything — when a guy leaves, we have a lot of depth in our organization.”

Today is the first day of the MLB Draft, which begins at 7:00 p.m. on the MLB Network. The first round and the compensation round will be televised. I wrote this story for today's Trentonian about the conflicting strategies of the Yankees and Phillies. Both World Series participants have done well over the last few years of the draft, but their approaches recently couldn't be more different.

Additionally, over the last several days covering the Thunder, I've collected brief interviews with a few players and coaches detailing what they remember from the day they got drafted. Below are clips from those conversations with (from top down) Tommy Phelps, Brandon Laird, Josh Schmidt, Lance Pendleton and Ryan Pope.

Not terribly much to say after this one. Clayton Tanner pitched a gem of a ballgame and held Austin Romine and Brandon Laird hitless, something that hasn't happened since May 14. The left-hander retired 17 Thunder hitters on ground balls, which accounts for all but seven of the outs he recorded. Pretty darn impressive, if you ask me.

Also, Lance Pendleton didn't necessarily pitch poorly, but he threw too many pitches, which ultimately led to him being lifted after the fourth inning. Not exactly what he or the team wanted.

Of course, after watching Laird and Romine tear it up over the past few weeks or so, I decided tonight would be the night I took a bunch of videos of them. Silly me. Still, here are a couple of videos of each guy tonight. You'll notice that both are groundouts. You'll also notice that they are not of the best cinematography. James Cameron, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg or Robert Zemeckis I am not.

Below the videos is audio of Tony Franklin's postgame with myself and WIMG's David Fenster. I have other audio, but it has some bits I want to save for a draft feature I will release in the June 7 (Draft Day) edition of The Trentonian.

Here are a couple of early shots from today's game between the Thunder and the Richmond Flying Squirrels, aka The Artists Formerly Known as the Connecticut Defenders. There's starter Lance Pendleton, third baseman Brandon Laird and a wheelbarrow full of puppies.

The Thunder topped the SeaWolves 4-0 yesterday, and Lance Pendleton was squarely at the center of the victory. He pitched seven scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to a solid 3.69. Here is a link to the story I wrote today. Below is the postgame with Tony Franklin. I also spoke to Kevin Towers for about 10 minutes. You will see some of that later, coupled with quotes from Philadelphia's Chuck LaMar.

The Thunder won their eighth straight game yesterday, with a little help from Lance Pendleton and Marcos Vechionacci. Mike Ashmore was covering for The Trentonian, and filed this story.

Also, in surprising news, the Yankees released Thunder Opening Day starter Christian Garcia, who was on the 40-man roster. The move was made necessary when the Yankees picked up righty fireballer Shane Lindsay, who had been released by the Colorado Rockies.
Here's the story Mike wrote.

After last night's 4-3 win over the Bowie Baysox, the Thunder players were more than happy to talk to the media. Here are Lance Pendleton and Austin Krum talking about their roles in the walk-off win.

Good afternoon. The Thunder lost last night for the first time in 2010, 5-1 to the Akron Aeros. D.J. Mitchell wasn't sharp, and the bats -- except for David Adams, who had another three hits -- weren't humming.

John Van Benschoten, a first-round pick of the Pirates in 2001, took the disabled Christian Garcia's spot on the roster and relieved Mitchell in the fourth inning. That notebook also has news on Marcos Vechionacci's role with the team and Damon Sublett's status.

Another note on Van Benschoten: He is now the third pick from the first round of the 2001 draft to play with the Thunder, joining Justin Pope and Alan Horne.

Today's starters around the minors:

Charleston - Shaeffer Hall (0-0, 0.00)
Tampa - Hector Noesi (1-0, 0.00)
Trenton - Lance Pendleton (1-0, 0.00)
Scranton - Ivan Nova (0-0, 0.00)

For Trenton, Lance Pendleton is taking Garcia's spot in the rotation, and probably will be for the forseeable future. He and Wilkin De La Rosa were supposed to be relievers this season, but plans changed when Garcia tore a ligament in his right elbow. Here's the story I did on Sunday, just after Pendleton found out he was going back into the rotation.

Check back later for the live blog from Waterfront Park.

Good morning, all. The Thunder have opened the season on a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2002, and The Trentonian has full coverage. Yesterday's game was covered by the great Mike Ashmore, who provided us with two stories.

Here's the game story. It details why, although they won, yesterday's game was bittersweet for the Thunder.

Here's the sidebar: It details the severity of Christian Garcia's injury, and what it could mean for the 24-year-old's career.

Today's starters around the Yankees system:

Scranton: Jason Hirsh vs. Dillon Gee (Buffalo)
Trenton: David Phelps vs. Thad Weber (Erie)
Tampa: Manny Banuelos vs. Adam Wilk (Lakeland)
Charleston: Jose Ramirez vs. Jose Cisnero (Lexington)

Questions I wanted answered in today's pregame:

1. Has there been a course of action determined for Christian Garcia?
2. Has there been a starter decided for Tuesday against Akron?
3. If either Lance Pendleton or Wilkin De La Rosa is forced back into a starter's role, how long will they need to get stretched out?
4. Has Tony spoken to his team about the traps of a day game after a night game, especially given last year's 13-21 record in such contests?

I'll be starting a live blog shortly after I get lineups, so stay tuned and enjoy the game.

With Opening Day mere hours away, the day has come for me to slave away on the Thunder preview section, which will be on newsstands in tomorrow's Trentonian. This means I will be working on features on Austin Romine (he'll be on the cover), D.J. Mitchell, Brandon Laird, as well as previews of each team in the Eastern League.

There may also be stories on Jeremy Bleich, Josh Schmidt's experience in the Venezuelan League, and much more. Check it out tomorrow.

For now, though, take a read of my stories yesterday on Wilkin De La Rosa and Lance Pendleton moving to the bullpen, and Josh Schmidt's reaction to coming back to Trenton to begin 2010. The latter is a newspaper-only story.

Also, former Thunder pitcher Kanekoa Texeira made his major league debut last night. He got his first strikeout, but also picked up the loss.

Sorry it's taken so long, but better late than never, right? Here are a few videos I shot from today's Media Day at Waterfront Park.

That's Lance Pendleton and Wilkin De La Rosa talking about moving to the bullpen for 2010. With two starters, plus Josh Schmidt, who has proven he can start, the Thunder's pitching staff looks stacked. There are quotes from Tony Franklin and Tommy Phelps in the story, which you can find in tomorrow's edition of The Trentonian.

As the post says, I was at Media Day from 1 p.m until about 3 p.m. While there, I spoke with Lance Pendleton, Wilkin De La Rosa, Josh Schmidt, Tommy Phelps and Tony Franklin. Look in tomorrow's The Trentonian for a story about Pendleton and De La Rosa, and their transitions from starters to relievers.

I'm going to get started on that now, but to tide you over, here's a picture of the entire team. I think it sets a record for most people blinking in one shot. Enjoy.

Once again, per the Thunder and Tim Lentych. Zach McAllister started in the Double-A work group today, probably because CC Sabathia started for the Triple-A work group. With that said, here are the results of today's loss.

PITCHERS
Zach McAllister: 3 2/3 innings, 2 runs
Lance Pendleton: 3 1/3 innings, 3 runs
Wilkins Arias: 2 innings, 0 runs

HITTERS
Austin Romine: Two singles
Brandon Laird: Two singles
Ray Kruml: Single, Triple, Run
Jeff Farnham: Single
Kevin Mahoney: RBI