Good news for two good guys.
Justin Christian (left) has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton from Trenton, while the New York Yankees have called up Colin Curtis (right).
After getting off to a slow start after signing out of the independent Atlantic League, Christian hit .255 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 37 games for the Thunder. He stole only seven bases and has struggled with some throws from the outfield after undergoing an off-season shoulder surgery, but is certainly capable of handling himself in Scranton.
With neither Austin Krum or Edwar Gonzalez having made a particularly strong case to be called up yet this year, it isn’t surprising that Christian, who turned 30 years old on April 3rd, was given the opportunity.
As of yet, no corresponding move to replenish Trenton’s roster has been announced. Assuming it’s an outfielder — and Trenton is left with only three true outfielders, plus Justin Snyder — it would seem Jack Rye would have earned his second call-up to Waterfront Park. Rye, 24, is hitting .280 with three home runs and 23 RBI for the High-A Tampa Yankees this season, and has 20 walks and just 21 strikeouts in 193 at-bats. Melky Mesa, whose .242/6/27 line is close to Rye’s, would also likely be under consideration given his penchant for power.
Rye appeared in three games for Trenton last season, all on the road, and had one hit — a double — in nine at-bats.
As for Curtis, the cancer survivor was summoned to the big leagues when Chad Moeller was designated for assignment. If you recall, I spoke to Curtis earlier this season in Buffalo, and asked him what his goal for this season was. His answer? To get to the big leagues.
Mission accomplished.
The likeable 25-year-old was hitting .280 with no home runs and 12 RBI in 35 games with Scranton this season. It was nice to see Kerm get a chance to make his debut in Arizona, considering he played collegiately at Arizona State. While certainly not on the level of, say, Austin Jackson, Curtis is above average defensively. If he can get his bat going, he has a chance to stick with the Yankees for a good portion of the season.
Curtis becomes the 7th member of the 2008 Thunder to play for the Yankees this season — Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena, Kevin Russo, Alfredo Aceves, Mark Melancon and David Robertson are the others.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
Mike Ashmore's Thunder Thoughts 
June 22, 2010 at 5:12 am |
Congrats guys……. I’d always knw CC would make it sice thw first day I saw him at SI…
June 22, 2010 at 5:09 pm |
I’ve always liked Curtis too. Here’s hoping he forces NY to keep him there.
June 22, 2010 at 6:09 pm |
[…] other minor league news, Justin Christian has been called up to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take the place of Colin Curtis. Christian was signed as a minor league free agent earlier this […]
June 23, 2010 at 3:02 am |
If Curtis can get his bat going…but isn’t that the problem with him? Outside of the Arizona Fall League he has never got it going. He did hit a double last night though.
June 23, 2010 at 3:30 am |
Curtis was a career .264 hitter entering the 2010 season. Isn’t going to wow you with the bat, but he won’t really hurt you, either. Then again, the bigs are a whole different beast. Russo raked at times in Scranton, but it isn’t translating yet up there.
June 23, 2010 at 1:21 pm |
Congrats to Colin for achieving his goal of getting to the bigs. And a plus, he made a SportsCenter highlight with his 2 run double last night.
June 23, 2010 at 1:39 pm |
From the little I have seen of Curtis over the past years in Trenton, he is above average defensively, although i do not believe he can cover the ground in CF. That is not an issue on the Yankees, with Granderson and Gardner around though. I think he can handle either corner OF spot well, and has enough arm for RF. His bat is OK, but the power is not there. I can’t see him as a regular, especially with Gardner and his lack of power in LF on an everyday basis. But Colin should profile as a solid, if unspectacular, #4 type.
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