In a 2-0 loss, the Yankees could only muster 6 hits and went 0-6 with RISP.

The light-hitting Eduardo is now at .197/.292/.250

The 2013 MLB draft order was released today. The Yankees first three picks are #26, #32, and #33.

The #32 pick was acquired when Nick Swisher signed with Cleveland, and the #33 pick was acquired when Rafael Soriano signed with Washington.

You can find the full draft order here.

The draft takes place June 6-8.

You can also review who the Yankees have drafted over the years by clicking here.

Game 25: Houston sticks it To Andy (Astros 9, Yankees 1)
Game Notes:
- Andy Pettitte had an abysmal start, his worst of the season by far: 3.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- Austin Romine made his season debut behind the plate; he went 0-3 and Pettitte blamed their lack of chemistry for his poor outing. Good stuff.
- The Astros’ dynamic pitching trio of Luke Harrell, Travis Blackley and Rhiner Cruz held the Yankees to just 1 run on 8 hits. The Yankees left 8 men on base.
- In the only part of the game worth remembering, Vidal Nuno made his MLB debut. He went 3 scoreless innings and struck out 2.

YES Player of the Game: Luke Harrell (.173 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Carlos Corporan (.190 WPA)

Game 26: Kuroda puts the Yankees back on track (Yankees 7, Astros 4)
Game Notes:
- Hiroki Kuroda continued a trend of looking useless early before rounding back into his ace form for his final 4-5 innings. Kuroda finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 4 H, 4 BB and 8 K after throwing 67 pitches to start the first 3 frames.
- Travis Hafner continued his renaissance, going 3-4 with 3 RBI and 1 BB
- David Robertson struggled to protect the Yankees lead, giving up 2 runs in the 8th
- Shawn Kelley followed D-Rob’s performance with a similar one of his own, giving up 2 runs in 0.2 IP, forcing Mariano Rivera into the game for a one-out save.
- Mariano got the one-out save, of course. He struck out Astros’ catcher Jason Castro on 5 pitches to seal the deal.

YES Player of the Game: Hiroki Kuroda (.339 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Hiroki Kuroda (.339 WPA)

Game 27: Bomber bullpen crosses up Astros (Yankees 5, Astros 4)
Game Notes:
- Joe Girardi woke up, Joe Girardi exercised, Joe Girardi ate lunch, and once again Joe Girardi started Ben Francisco towards the top of the batting order.
- Ben Francisco hit a HR, terrifying Yankee fans everywhere with the thought that this could earn him more playing time and more John Sterling and Michael Kay stealing our material.
- David Phelps looked strong in his first start of the season, before hitting a wall in the 4th inning where he completely blew a 4-0 lead. He would stay in and give the Yankees 5.2 innings without allowing another run.
- Grinding out games like this is right now what seems to separate Phelps from Ivan Nova.
- Travis Hafner started at DH vs. a LHP for the second time this season.
- Cano toyed with Astros starter Erik Bedard (who is still pitching, apparently), fouling off several pitches before crushing a breaking pitch on an 0-2 count, depositing it to the RF seats in the bottom of the 3rd.
- Ichiro hit into a double play that scored the winning run to secure the victory in this classic Wednesday battle against the Houston Astros. Nunez scored from 3B after hitting a (big) double and advancing on a wild pitch.
- Mariano Rivera came out to earn another save, his 11th on the early season.

YES Player of the Game: Mariano Rivera (.165 WPA)
Our Player of the Game: Eduardo Nunez(!) (.174 WPA)

After sweeping Toronto over the weekend, the Yankees took 2 of 3 from the hapless Astros. DL woes continue as 1B/3B Kevin Youkilis and RP Joba Chamberlain landed on the 15-Day list. In more positive injury news: Curtis Granderson is ready to play minor league games, Mark Teixeira has begun swinging a bat, and Alex Rodriguez has been cleared to begin baseball activities. After the Houston series, the Yanks improved to 17-10 on the season and start a 3-game weekend homestand against Oakland.

With the news that reliever Preston Claiborne has been called up to replace the man who blocked us on Twitter after he read our trade proposal, it’s time to give a brief background on new kid on the block.

In our most recent MLPW, we gave the 25-year old Claiborne an Honorable Mention after a strong week: 2.2 IP, 3 K, 0 BB, 1 H, 0 ER (we’re on a roll in MLPW!)

Before his promotion, he pitched 10.1 IP at AAA with a 3.48 ERA and 1.55 FIP (8.71 K/9, 0.87 BB/9) — including a 5.00 Groundout / Airout ratio

Even before his quality performance to date this season, Claiborne has quietly had a nice minor league career since being drafted out of Tulane in 2010.

In 204 innings, he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9. And since he’s reached the upper levels, making his Double-A debut in 2012, he’s been effective as well:

2012 at Double-A: 2.99 FIP / 2.22 ERA
2012 at Triple-A: 3.32 FIP / 4.05 ERA
2013 at Triple-A: 1.55 FIP / 3.48 ERA

Also, for whatever it’s worth, he was effective at big league spring training, striking out 11 in 10.2 IP of work, while walking 3 and allowing 9 hits.

The true relief gem at AAA remains Mark Montgomery, but it’s nice Claiborne is being rewarded for his solid MiLB production.

Corban Joseph probably didn’t even unpack before he was sent back to Scranton to make room for the newly-acquired Chris Nelson. Since Corban does not play third base, we didn’t know how he’d fit on the roster in the absence of Kevin Youkilis. And that question was answered quickly when the Yankees traded for Nelson after he was DFA’d from Colorado:

Seeking depth for their injury-depleted infield, the New York Yankees acquired Chris Nelson from the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named or cash Wednesday night.

“We feel that a right-handed bat will help us. We’re pretty left-handed right now,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s going to get a chance to play at some point.”

Nelson isn’t anyone to get excited about, and when either Ronnier Mustelier (rehabbing) or David Adams (can be called up starting on May 15th) is ready, we hope one of them gets a chance.

In the meantime, here’s the scoop on Nelson. He’s a 27 year old 3B/2B. He rates very poorly defensively at both positions. His UZR numbers are atrocious (-41.3 UZR/150 at 2B, -21.6 UZR/150 at 3B) and fans also think he’s defensively inadequate.

His bat is also below-average with a career wRC+ of 86 and OPS+ of 87. His career line is .279/.322/.416, which has been augmented by playing in Coors.

Girardi said the team needed another right-handed bat, but Nelson’s numbers against lefties aren’t impressive. He has a career split of .293/.323/.409 against LHP, which seems OK. But once you adjust for Coors, you’re looking at a wRC+ of 84 against lefties.

To put it in non-sabermetric lingo:

Career at Coors: .316/.363/.460
Career in other parks: .238/.275/.366

So, again, we hope he doesn’t stand in the way of Mustelier or Adams getting a shot.

*Side note on Corban Joseph: We think he’s more likely to be traded since he only plays 2B, and there’s a certain Jay-Z client that most expect to stick around in the Bronx.*

Believe dat: 3.1 IP, 4 K, 0 BB, 2 H, 0 ER for the Yanks’ pen

RIP

On Wednesday night, after Ben Francisco hit a solo HR in the 3rd inning, John Sterling referred to the player who has naked pictures of Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman as the “Ben Francisco Treat.” After the game, Michael Kay also used it.

April 23rd:

Phil Hughes’ recent success was mentioned briefly by Sensei, a few days ago. As a reminder, Phil’s last three starts:

20 IP, 21 K, 3 BB, 19 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 2.70 ERA

Rather than seek to answer broader questions about Phil’s career, this post will seek to answer one limited question: What has led to Phil’s recent success? The flippant answer is that he beat bad offenses blah blah blah. However, a closer consideration of some data from these three starts may help to draw better conclusions.

1.) Phil’s fastball velocity was 1 mph higher in these three starts than his previous two and averaged over 92 mph on the heater in each of these three outings. For a guy that doesn’t throw particularly hard, every bit of velocity can make the difference….and maybe Phil’s arm strength is building?

2.) Phil did not throw a single cutter in his past three starts. I…actually don’t know what to make of this. Is it possible he has been asked to scrap the pitch? Did he scrap it of his own initiative? Will he be the first baseball player to come out of the closet? Questions abound.

3.) Phil’s curveball demonstrated more vertical and horizontal movement in his most recent three starts. After averaging 5.5 and 10.7 inches of vertical and horizontal movement respectively, in his first two starts, Phil’s curveball improved to 8 inches and 17.6 inches in his most recent three. It’s certainly easier to generate swinging strikes on pitches with more movement.

4.) Perhaps as a result of better stuff, Phil’s induced O-Swing% (swings outside strike zone) has increased from 20% in his first two starts to well over 25% in each of his last three. Similarly, his overall contact percentage is lower. That’ll do.

None of this data provides any indication as to whether his near-term results will be repeatable going forward. Only time and future results will tell whether the righty has made some substantive, repeatable change. At the very least, maybe there’s reason to be optimistic?

For some unknown reason, the New York sports media refuses to bring any attention to the empty seats. It’s almost as if they’ve been instructed to ignore the issue.

Hiroki conducted the Bombers to a win over Houston: 7 IP, 8 K, 4 BB, 4 H, 0 ER

Other standout performers from Tuesday night’s 7-4 victory (with their season line):

Pronky: 3-4, BB, 3 RBI (.318/.438/.667)
El Phenomenon Eduardo Nunez: 3-4, two doubles (.203/.296/.246)
Stewey: 2-4, 1 RBI (.294/.333/.382)
Ichiro: 3-5, SB (.268/.315/.329)
Cano: 2-5 (.327/.379/.598)
Overbay’y: 1-4, solo HR (.241/.267/.441)