Trenton Thunder Pitcher J.B. Cox Moves Up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees - Eastern League

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - (Trenton, NJ)- The Trenton Thunder, Double A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, have announced that RHP J.B. Cox has been promoted from Trenton to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A). RHP Mark Melancon has been promoted from Tampa (High-A) to Trenton to take Cox's spot on the roster.

Cox was 0-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 5 G for the Thunder with 1 SV. He was promoted to Trenton from Tampa on April 26th.  He had an 0-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 6 G for Tampa with 1 SV.  He enters the 2008 season as the 26th best prospect in the Yankees Minor League System according to Baseball America.  Cox did not pitch at all in the 2007 season because of surgery on his right elbow. He went 6-2 with Trenton during 2006 with a 1.75 ERA and 3 SV.  He was originally selected by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft from the University of Texas.  He was a member of the Longhorns' NCAA Championship Team in 2005.

Melancon went 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in 13 G for Tampa.  He struck out 20, and walked only 6 in 25.1 IP.  He enters the 2008 season as the 11th best prospect in the Yankees Minor League System according to Baseball America. He did not pitch in 2007 after having Tommy John surgery in November 2006.  In 2006, he had an 0-1 record with a 3.52 ERA in 7 G for Staten Island (New York-Penn) with 2 SV.  He was originally drafted in the 9th round of the 2006 draft out of the University of Arizona.