Sanchez homers in winter ball debut

First, some notes…

• OF Tyler Austin was named the minor league Breakout Prospect of the Year. He took home a whopping 18% of the vote while no one else topped even 11%. Congrats to him.
• OF Slade Heathcott placed third in this week’s Prospect Hot Sheet. They provide a mini-scouting report but could have stopped after this line: “Heathcott displays five-tool ability but has struggled to remain healthy.”
• 1B Mark Teixeira was inducted into the AzFL Hall of Fame earlier this weekend, so congrats to him as well. He played in the desert way back in 2002.
• Triple-A Scranton will officially announce the team’s new name on November 14th. Fans were able to vote for one of six name options earlier this year. Trolley Frogs or bust.

Second, updates from the Arizona Fall League…

AzFL Scottsdale (7-1 win over Peoria) Monday’s game
3B David Adams: 2-3, 1 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E (throwing)
C Austin Romine: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 PB — third passed ball in 12 games
RHP Dan Burawa: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/1 GB/FB — seven of 13 pitches were strikes (54%)

AzFL Scottsdale (12-2 win over Peoria) Tuesday’s game
CF Slade Heathcott: 4-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 5 RBI, 1 K — some game
DH David Adams: 0-5, 3 K — woof

AzFL Scottsdale (6-2 win over Phoenix) Wednesday’s game
C Austin Romine: 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB — eight walks and six strikeouts
RHP Dellin Betances: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 1/1 GB/FB — all six pitches were strikes … he’s obviously over the minor groin problem
RHP Mark Montgomery: 1 IP, zeroes, 2 K — eight of 11 pitches were strikes … two hits, four walks, and 15 strikeouts in 8.1 innings

AzFL Scottsdale (6-2 loss to Surprise) Thursday’s game
RF Slade Heathcott: 2-4, 1 3B, 1 RBI — three triples in the span of six at-bats at one point … hitting .295/.415/.455 in 12 games
3B David Adams: 1-4, 3 K
DH Austin Romine: 0-4
RHP Dan Burawa: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/0 GB/FB — just eight of 17 pitches were strikes (47%) … eight walks and five strikeouts in 8.1 innings

AzFL Scottsdale (9-2 win over Salt River) Friday’s game
RHP Zach Nuding: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 3/2 GB/FB — 38 of 60 pitches were strikes (63%)
RHP Dellin Betances: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — 12 of 15 pitches were strikes (80%) … 8/1 K/BB in his last 5.2 IP

AzFL Rising Stars Showcase (East wins 9-4 over West) Saturday’s game
C Austin Romine: 1-2, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 K, 1 HBP — the pitch hit him in the left hand, but he remained in the game until being lifted for the second catcher a few innings later … nothing unusual there, it’s an All-Star Game atmosphere
2B David Adams: 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
RHP Mark Montgomery: 1 IP, zeroes, 3 K, 1/0 GB/FB — 11 of 16 pitches were strikes (69%) … in case you missed it, I had .gifs

Third, updates from the Latin American winter leagues…

Dominican Winter League
OF Abe Almonte: 4 G, 1-4, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB
OF Zoilo Almonte: 1 G, 0-1, 1 K — hasn’t played in over two weeks
OF Melky Mesa: 6 G, 6-23, 5 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 9 K, 1 SB (.261/.346/.565)
C Gary Sanchez: 4 G, 2-9, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
LHP Juan Cedeno: 6 G, 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (1.13 ERA, 0.88 WHIP)
RHP Kelvin Perez: 5 G, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Jose Ramirez: 3 IP, 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 1 HB (2.57 ERA, 0.71 WHIP)
LHP Francisco Rondon: 4 G, 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Mexican Winter League
OF Jose Figueroa: 5 G, 1-4, 2 R, 2 K
IF Walt Ibarra: 19 G, 10-46, 4 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 11 K, 2 SB, 1 CS, 1 HBP (.217/.265/.391)
UTIL Ronnie Mustelier: 19 G, 21-74, 12 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 3 BB, 15 K, 5 SB, 2 HBP (.284/.321/.446)
IF Ramiro Pena: 18 G, 16-55, 9 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 9 BB, 12 K, 1 SB, 2 HBP (.291/.409/.491) — he’s been intentionally walked … twice!
RHP Gio Gallegos: 2 G, 2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
RHP Felipe Gonzalez: 2 G, 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 1 HB
RHP Luis Niebla: 6 G, 10.2 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 2 HR (1.69 ERA, 1.22 WHIP)
RHP Cesar Vargas: 5 G, 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

Venezuelan Winter League
C Francisco Arcia: 3 G, 0-1, 1 R, 2 BB
IF Ali Castillo: 1 G, 1-1, 1 R
OF Ramon Flores: 7 G, 2-10, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP (.200/.333/.200)
C Jose Gil: 7 G, 3-19, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K (.158/.190/.158)
C Gus Molina: 15 G, 10-50, 7 R, 2 2B, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 8 K (.200/.231/.540)
UTIL Jose Pirela: 20 G, 24-74, 13 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 10 BB, 13 K, 2 SB, 3 HBP (.324/.420/.459)
RHP Pedro Guerra: 6 G, 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, 2 HR (7.50 ERA, 2.50 WHIP)
RHP Jon Meloan: 8 G, 7.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HB, 1 HR (3.68 ERA, 1.36 WHIP)
LHP Vidal Nuno: 6 G, 9.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K, 1 HR (0.93 ERA, 0.41 WHIP)

The Puerto Rican League season begins later this week, and RHP Preston Claiborne, 2B Angelo Gumbs, 1B Luke Murton, OF Adonis Garcia, and RHP Jose Diaz are all slated to play. The first four guys will suit up for Triple-A Scranton manager Dave Miley while Diaz was the team’s 29th round pick this year. He’s only 18, but he did grow up on the island.