Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy and the Other Ex-Yankees

Every once in a while it's good to look back at the ex-Yankees and check in on how they are doing. Last off-season featured a lot of movement and turnover, especially for a team that had won the World Series the previous year. Let's start with the Curtis Granderson trade and work our way through and after each player I'll add if the Yankees miss him or not.

Austin Jackson - Jackson may be the best prospect the Yankees have traded in a while. Although he's come back down to earth since his early-season breakout, he's still hitting .308/.352/.412 with a .347 wOBA and 10 steals. His .418 BABIP suggests that average could continue to come down (and his past month has been pretty atrocious at the bat), but even if he does, Jackson is backing it up with Gold Glove defense. His catch in the 9th inning of the Armando Gallaraga near-perfect game stands out, but John Dewan just came out with his top defenders in 2010 and it shows that Austin Jackson has been the best defensive outfielder in baseball*. The Yankees have had the benefit of not regretting many trades in the past 15 years but this one may turn out to be on they regret. Definitely miss. Picture from MLive.com

*Side Note: A lot of us have seen an improved defensive effort from Robinson Cano, but his inclusion on this list  (#8 in all of baseball) shows that his defense has actually been excellent so far in 2010.

Ian Kennedy - IPK is one of those classics of "would he actually have succeeded pitching in the AL East?" I don't think so. But Kennedy has come back from aneurysm surgery and has proven to be a valuable addition to the Diamondbacks team. His 14 game started is tops in the majors and although he's 3-4, he's put up a 3.57 ERA and a solid 2.48 SO:BB ratio. ESPN's Buster Olney wrote this morning that other than Justin Upton, Kennedy is the only untouchable player on the Diamondbacks team. That's pretty lofty status. Alas, some of the stats may be inflated by good luck and an unattainable pace. Kennedy is on pace to throw 219 innings after never throwing more than 39.2 innings in the Majors before and only reaching his previous high of 165 in 2007 (combined between every single level of baseball). The larger problem is that Kennedy's FIP (4.78), xFIP (4.28) and unusually low BABIP (.259) suggests that there is a correction in ERA coming at some point as well. And in his one American League start (against Boston yesterday) Kennedy got charged with 6 runs in 6 innings. Miss only because of lack of depth. Picture from AZCentral

Phil Coke - The third part of the Granderson deal, Coke has enjoyed a good deal of success in the Tigers bullpen. He's 4-0 so far on the season with a 3.18 ERA and turned around his home run issue from last season (he gave up 10 last year, 1 so far this year). Coke's FIP (3.41) seems to make it possible that his ERA could continue at this point, but when you factor in the home run decrease, his xFIP of 4.15 puts him more in line with last year's ERA. Even if his ERA jumps up a bit, Coke has still been a valuable piece to the Tigers bullpen and a missing piece for the Yankees. Miss in the 'pen.

Johnny Damon - Damon left the Yankees to join Coke and Jackson on the Tigers. And while Damon has certainly been good for the Tigers (.287/.387/.422 with a .364 wOBA), his power numbers are way down this year as are his steals. On pace for 8 HR and 10 steals, Damon's numbers seem to be down outside of the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium, but his .387 OBP would have looked mighty nice in the #2 hole for the Yankees this season. Miss in the #2 hole.

Eric Hinske - I don't know how he would have fit on the Yankees, but Eric Hinske has been a great addition by the Atlanta Braves. In part-time duty (133 PAs), Hinske has hit .314/.383/.551 with a .401 wOBA--and all those numbers would be career highs. Alas, his .371 BABIP (his career mark is an even .300) makes it seem that his early success may taper off a bit, but in part-time duty, Hinske may be able to beat the odds and put up a mighty good season for the Braves who, as Talking Chop points out, is relying on "unreliable" players. Miss off the bench (though may not have had a spot for his left-handed bat anyways).

Melky Cabrera - When the Yankees left, they left in groups and The Melk Man joined Hinske in Atlanta via the Javier Vazquez trade. Melky was the only major-league talent traded and he's played down to his 2008 levels. His .253/.314/.332 line and .288 wOBA are bad for an outfielder and his -4.5 UZR is terrible for a guy who was supposed to be at least a little above average defensively. His power has also completely left with a career-low .079 ISO, and although he's hit really well since May 20th, it may not be enough to save his season. Don't miss with Brett Gardner emerging as the much-better player. Picture from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Michael Dunn - A coveted Yankees reliever, Dunn has pitched very well in AAA so far this season for the Braves. In 29.1 innings (14 games), Dunn is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA, 1.057 WHIP and a very impressive 12 K/9. More impressively for the walk-happy Dunn is that he's almost halved his AAA walk numbers from last year, walking "only" 3.7 per 9 in 2010. A call-up to the big league squad seems like it's in the cards for Dunn. Miss--Boone Logan is not as good.

Arodys Vizcaino - The much-hyped prospect in the Vazquez deal, 19-year-old Vizcaino's 2010 has been good for the Braves pitching in A ball. In 73.1 innings between two levels, Vizcaino has gone 9-3 with a 2.70 ERA, 1.064 WHIP, 8.5 K/9, and most impressively, 1.2 BB/9 for an awesome 6.90 SO:BB ratio. Vazcaino is probably a few years away from the Majors, but he has been majorly impressive that past few years. Will miss as a trading chip.

Hideki Matsui - Godzilla left as a World Series MVP and many Yankee fans were unhappy about the departure. Well while Robinson Cano may be the regular season MVP from the #5 hole, Matsui has struggled a bit in his first season in Anaheim. At .265/.340/.435, Matsui has the lowest slash lines of his career and his current .340 wOBA would be the lowest of his career and well under his .366 career mark. And with 9 HR, 21 RBI and a .170 ISO, his power numbers have suffered a bit as well. Matsui was really good in Pinstripes and I think the Yankees will miss him at times (like when Matsui was ht at the beginning of the season), but overall, I think this was a good non-sign (though his replacement at DH, Nick Johnson, has been injured much of the season). I don't think they miss. Picture from The Mainichi Daily News

Jose Molina - While with the Yankees, Molina was constantly thought of as a defense-only player--and with good reason. But like the rest of the Blue Jays, Molina has enjoyed his best offensive season. In part-time duty (20 games), Molina has hit .288 with a .373 OBP. He's done so without any power but he's proved to be a reliable backup for Toronto. With the emergence of Francisco Cervelli, however, Molina was expendable. No missing going on here with The Cisco Kid

Xavier Nady - When the Yankees needed a right-handed bat, they looked to their own free-agent, Nady to see if he would be a fit. But coming off of Tommy John surgery, the Yankees were hesitant to pick up The X Man. Although Nady has been decent with the bat (.250/.330/.424 with 4 HR, 17 RBI), Marcus Thames has been as well and for much less money. If the Yankees want Nady back, they can have a shot at him as SI's Jon Heyman points out that the Cubs are looking to trade Nady to reduce their outfield logjam. Don't miss. Picture from Chicago Breaking Sports

Cody Ransom - The Yankees starting third baseman at the start of last season (and constant Twitter punching bag) has spent his entire 2010 playing in AAA for the Phillies minor league squad. He's put up decent numbers there (including 15 HR), but the Yankees are more than covered at the utility position with Ramiro Pena and Kevin Russo. Don't miss except in tweets.

Jerry Hairston, Jr. - The Yankees mid-season utility acqusition in 2009 left to play with his brother in San Diego. Despite the team's success, Hairston Jr is hitting just .239/.283/.335 with a .271 wOBA, and a lowly .096 ISO. The Yankees are doing just fine with Hairston's replacements, especially considering the money aspect (Hairston is making $2.125 M in 2010). They can do without.

Shelley Duncan - Duncan put up some great numbers in their minor leagues but always seemed squeezed out in the Majors despite bursts of power. In 14 games with the Indians this season, he's hitting .281/.343/.531 with a .369 wOBA, 2 HR, and 9 RBI. Although it's a small sample size, it's a great start for Duncan who was squeezed out in New York. Miss the forearm bumps. Picture from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Brian Bruney - Bruney was traded to the Nationals in the off-season for the #1 pick in the Rule 5 draft. Although that pick didn't end up sticking with the Yankees, Bruney has been released by the Nationals after putting up a 7.64 ERA, a 2.321 WHIP, 10.7 H/9 and an atrocious 10.2 BB/9. Bruney was always one of those players who could be great when he had his control together and his wildness in 2010 has left him without a team. The Yankees have enough wild relievers.

Jamie Hoffmann - The guy the Yankees picked in the Rule 5 draft, Jamie Hoffmann, was returned to the Dodgers. So far in 2010, Hoffmann has hit .321/.374/.457 with limited power for the Dodgers' AAA squad. I don't know if he would have stuck for a whole year in New York but his AAA numbers are much better than anything Randy Winn put up for the Yankees. And now the Yankees have called a guy up with the last name of Huffman to make people forget this pick. Maybe could have used.

Kanekoa Texeira - And the Yankees lost one guy in the Rule 5 draft and that was Texeira (AKA the other Texeira). Texeira struggled for Seattle with a 5.30 ERA and 1.714 WHIP so they waived him and he was picked up by the Royals. He has to stick with Kansas City's big league squad but so far he's been good for the pitching hungry Royals with a 1.17 ERA in 7.2 innings and has dropped his WHIP to 1.043. He wouldn't have been on the Yankees big league squad, but he could have been valuable depth. If it doesn't work out with the Royals, he may still be back. Could have been useful depth.

Chien-Ming Wang - The Wanger was an extremely important part of the Yankees until he got hurt in 2008. He was awful for the Yankees in 2009 and they knew he was going to be hurt coming into 2010 and decided to let him sign elsewhere. When the Nationals picked him up and it looked like he could be ready for Opening Day, it looked like a good signing. But Wang's date has continuously been moved back, the latest set-back pushing him to Mid-July according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. That may end up being a valuable mid-season addition for the surprising Nats, but the Yankees are pretty set in pitching depth right now. Probably best off elsewhere.

Mitch Hilligoss - When the Yankees wanted to get Minor League outfield depth, they traded Single A Hillgoss to the Rangers for Greg Golson. Hilligoss played well in A-ball and was promoted to AA where he's hit .318/.444/.455 in 27 PAs. Golson was a useful pare part for the Yankees hitting .400 in 6 games for the big league squad. Although he's back down in the minors, the defensive-minded Golson provides good depth for the Yankees, especially for when rosters expand in September. Good deal for the Yankees.

Edwar Ramirez - Ramirez followed fellow former Yankees Chad Gaudin and Brett Tomko to the Athletics (I told you they travel in packs), but none of them have performed well in 2010. Ramirez's problem was always control and 8.2 BB/9 killed him this season before he was out-righted to Scranton. This led HarballTalk's Craig Calcaterra to conclude that "it's safe to say that the 'sign ex-Yankees and put them in our bullpen' strategy from this past winner was not a winning one." Don't miss him.

Randy Winn - After a very disappointing start to 2010, the Yankees let Winn go and he caught on with the Cardinals. So far Winn has more XBH (2) with the Cards in 8 games as he had with the Yankees (that one home run) in 29 games and has hit .300 so far in St. Louis. Don't miss.