30-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson was kind of a disappointment in his first season with the Yankees in 2010. He played in 136 games last year for the Yankees and he was 115 for 466 (.247 avg, .792 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 24 homers, 67 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. This year though, he has been outstanding from day #1. Granderson has played in 129 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 135 of 486 (.278 avg, .971 OPS) with 121 runs scored, 20 doubles, 10 triples, 38 homers, 107 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He has been a beast for the Yankees so far this year and I think he will be the MVP of the A.L. as long as he has a decent month in September.

34-year old righty starting pitcher A.J. Burnett could be on the verge of losing his spot in the Yankees’ starting rotation when Freddy Garcia comes off of the D.L. Burnett has pitched in 4 games (all starts) so far this August and he is 1-1 with a 10.70 ERA and a 2.38 WHIP. He has given up 35 hits (3 of which are homers) in his first 17 2/3 innings this month. Burnett has now pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 9-10 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has given up 23 homers in only 156 innings this year which is amazing for a guy with the stuff that he has. Burnett has also walked 70 batters, hit 7 batters and he has uncorked 17 wild pitches this year, and all of those things have gotten him into some serious trouble this year. Burnett better be lights out in his next start because he’s starting to run out of time in the rotation.

28-year old righty swinging catcher Russell Martin burst onto the scene with a huge April for the Yankees. But he then fell on hard time as he struggled in May, June and July with the bat. But, in August, Martin is heating back up. Martin has played in 14 games so far in August and he is 14 for 52 (.269 avg, .887 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 96 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 78 for 336 (.232 avg, .723 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 15 homers, 52 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Martin has picked a good time to pick up the pace with the bat as the Yankees are duking it out at the top of the A.L. East with the Red Sox.

The Yankees have released 33-year old righty reliever Buddy Carlyle and 27-year old lefty starting pitcher Greg Smith. Carlyle pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Yankees earlier this year and he was 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He also pitched in 27 games (2 starts) in AAA-ball for the Yankees this year and he was 2-2 with 1 save, a 3.98 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Greg Smith pitched in 13 games (10 starts) in AAA-ball for the Yankees this year and he was 3-3 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. Smith was quickly signed to a minor league deal by the Red Sox who are starting him out in AAA.

The Yankees have placed 34-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to August 8th due to a laceration of his right index finger. Garcia has pitched in 21 games (20 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Yankees hope that Garcia is ready to return to action sometime next week as he has been a godsend at the back end of the rotation.

The Yankees have claimed 26-year old lefty reliever Aaron Laffey off waivers from the Mariners. Laffey pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Mariners this year and he is 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. He has now pitched in 115 games (49 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 19-22 with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Laffey gives the Yankees a second lefty in the bullpen who is capable of pitching multiple innings as he is a converted starting pitcher. This was a good pickup for the Yankees.

UPDATE: (8/22/2011) - The Yankees have designated Aaron Laffey for assignment to make room on the roster for A-Rod. Laffey pitched in 1 game for the Yankees and he worked 3 innings allowing 5 hits, walking 2 batters and 2 earned runs while whiffing 2 batters. The Yankees hope that Laffey will accept a minor league assignment to AAA-ball if he clears waivers.

The Yankees have designated 29-year old righty swinging catcher Gustavo Molina for assignment. Molina played in 3 games for the Yankees this year and he was 1 for 6 (.167 avg, .500 OPS). He also played in 41 games in AAA-ball this year for the Yankees and he was 34 for 142 (.239 avg, .583 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 17 RBIs. Molina won’t be missed too much by the Yankees who have a lot of quality depth at catcher in the organization.

UPDATE: (8/24/2011) - Gustavo Molina has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to AAA.

The Yankees have claimed 33-year old lefty reliever Raul Valdes off waivers from the Cardinals. Valdes has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. He has now pitched in 45 games (1 start) in his first two years in the majors and he is 3-4 with 1 save, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Yankees will likely stash Valdes in AAA-ball for the next couple of weeks before calling him up when the rosters expand to 40 on September 1st.

30-year old switch-hitting RF Nick Swisher is heating up big time after a slow start to the 2011 season. In June & July, Swisher was 58 for 179 (.324 avg) with 31 runs scored, 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Swisher has now played in 113 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 106 for 394 (.269 avg, .816 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 14 homers, 64 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. With all of the injuries the Yankees have suffered this year, they need Swisher to stay hot at the plate.

25-year old righty reliever Ryan Flannery has finally graduated to pitching in AA-ball. It’s not his fault though as Flannery has pitched well his whole minor league career so far. Flannery has pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 3-0 with 14 saves, a 2.28 EA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has now pitched in 136 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 17-9 with 41 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Flannery is a relief pitcher to keep your eyes on as he could get to New York in the next couple of years.