10 Days, 10 Players: Jonathan Albaladejo

Everyday until spring training begins the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog will review one player from the Yankees roster. We will review a total of 27 players, the 25 we believe will be on the active roster after spring training, and 2 we believe should be on the active roster but won't be for one reason or another. Our reviews are all edited by Carl Pavano himself to insure they're up to the stringent "Pavano Tough" standards.

Jonathan Albaladejo came to the Yankees from the Nationals for starting pitcher Tyler Clippard. I had to do some research on this guy because I had never seen him pitch. Chad Jennings who runs a blog on Scranton had some helpful info about Albaladejo. It looks like he's mainly a fastball/slider kind of pitcher who can mix in a change up and curveball as well. His fastball is clocked in the low 90's, and it is said that his slider is his out pitch. Last season he had a 1-1 record with a 1.88 ERA, and 12 strikeouts in 14.1 innings. He only allowed two walks, and 7 hits in that time for a WHIP of 0.63. Of course, that's a very small sample size so its hard to draw much of a conclusion from his numbers alone.

My Fearless Prediction:

I think Albaladejo will end up in the bullpen for opening day but go to the minors later in the season. Like Britton, I think the Yankees will want Albaladejo to pick up a splitter to help him be more effective. Right now, another fastball/slider guy who doesn't have a good fastball does not sound very appealing. He has good control, and will throw strikes, but that may get him hurt. Nonetheless, I think Albaladejo will get some outs, though I do not expect him to pitch more than 40 innings for the Yankees next season.

Little Known Albaladejo Fact:

Albaladejo suffers from a recurring nightmare in which Shelley Duncan is trying to eat him!