Goodbye and good luck to some great TTM signers

As someone who likes following prospects, it was a bit sad to see a few good ones go over the past couple of weeks as a . I’m also a realist and know that 1. You have to give something to get something and 2. These guys don’t always pan out. But still, that doesn’t make it easier.

Many of us had visions of James Kaprielian taking the hill in a big game for the Yankees, or Jorge Mateo swiping a crucial bag in a late inning. However, with the depth the Yankees have built in their farm system, and unexpectedly being in first place on July 31, the Yankees traded from areas of strength to improve the current team. Maybe it’s not fair to ever say it’s a surprise the Yankees are in first, but their “rebuild” is a little ahead of schedule when most figured 2018 and 2019 were when it would come to fruition.

Plus, outside of Todd Frazier, each piece the Yankees have acquired are under control to help those expected runs in 2018 and beyond.

However, there is no guarantee for the next season and beyond, and when your team is in first place on July 31, you do what you can to improve. The Yankees have done that, and only time will tell if it will work out or not.

Of the prospects the Yankees traded over the last week, six of them were past TTM signers for me.

I’ll still cherish these autographs, and certainly wish each player well in his new organization. I especially hope that Kaprielian and Fowler each come back 100% from their injuries. They are A+ dudes, and deserve successful careers.

TTM Success: Dietrich Enns

Whoa! A TTM success. This is a rare occurrence around these parts. My TTM requests seem to go in waves, as sometimes I am super motivated and sometimes I'm not. Well, I have been motivated lately, and have sent out a bunch.

I was a bit nervous because I sent to several Yankees prospects, and it felt like right after I mailed them, each guy was promoted to the next level. I thought I was safe and a few weeks away from promotions, but a bunch of injuries sort of set the wheels in motion.

I sent to Dietrich Enns while he was in AA Trenton, and within a few days he had been called up to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I was bummed, thinking I missed him at that level. Luckily, this came back yesterday:

I must've jussst gotten it to him in time. I sent it to Trenton on 5/11, and by 5/15 he was making a start in Scranton. Luckily I live a few hours from Trenton, and I've found that if I send mail from Manhattan instead of my rinky dink NJ town, it gets there a little quicker. You might think this would be the opposite, but mail in NYC is pretty efficient. They can't let it pile up, so it comes in and goes out.

So I mailed it first thing on 5/11, which was a Wednesday. Then let's say it arrived to Trenton on  Friday, 5/13 (maaaaybe 5/12), so Enns either signed it on 5/13 or Saturday, 5/14. Then I assume later that day, or early the next day (5/15), he was on his way to pitch in Scranton that day, where he went 6 innings without allowing a run, striking out 6 and earning a W. The post-marked date was 5/16 from Trenton, so I'm going to say that the team mailed it out on 5/14, or made a post-office run this past Monday.

Either way, it's fun to live so close to most of the Yankee affiliates, as the expedited mail times really do help, as you see above. Also, I try to send to minor leaguers just before a homestand - just a tip for some of you newer TTMers.

I'm very excited to have this one back. Enns is a solid, yet underrated lefty pitching prospect. He has a 1.87 ERA in 83 career minor league games, 28 of which are starts. While he doesn't blow people away, guys just don't seem to hit him. He had a 0.61 ERA in 58 minor league innings last year. He consistently strikes out a batter per inning as well. He did undergo Tommy John Surgery a few years ago, but he's clearly come back as good as ever.

I'm looking forward to seeing him continue to climb the latter, and if he keeps pitching this well, he's definitely going to put himself in position for a spot start at some point later this summer.

Lastly, shout out to the Rookies App for the custom!