Bird homers again in River Dogs win

July 22, 2013 by Mike Axisa 58 Comments

1B Greg Bird was named the Low-A South Atlantic League Offensive Player of the Week following his monster week, which included a three-homer game. Congrats to him. Also, RHP Sam Demel has been activated off the Triple-A DL, reports Donnie Collins.

Both Triple-A Scranton and Double-A Trenton were rained out. They’ll both play doubleheaders tomorrow.

High-A Tampa (2-1 win over Palm Beach)

CF Mason Williams & 2B Rob Refsnyder: both 1-4 — Refsnyder got caught stealing
DH Peter O’Brien: 0-4, 1 K
RHP Scottie Allen: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 6/5 GB/FB
RHP David Herndon: 2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/1 GB/FB – seventh appearance at this level and tenth in Florida overall … I wonder when the rehab assignment will move up a level or two

Low-A Charleston (8-4 win over Hickory)

CF Jake Cave: 2-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI — second pro homer for the team’s sixth rounder in 2011
SS Cito Culver: 0-5, 1 K
1B Greg Bird: 3-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI — seventh homer in his last ten games and tenth homer in his last 25 games
3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 2-5, 1 R, 2 K, 1 E (fielding)
2B Angelo Gumbs: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI — nine hits in his last 28 at-bats (.321) with a double and two homers
LHP Dan Camarena: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 6/0 GB/FB — 29/3 K/BB in his last 44 innings

Short Season Staten Island (8-2 loss to Mahoning Valley)

CF Michael O’Neill: 2-4, 1 K, 1 E (fielding) — 43 strikeouts (31.2%) and five walks (3.6%) in 138 pro plate appearances
3B Eric Jagielo: 0-4, 2 K
LF Brandon Thomas: 1-4 — eleven hits in his last 36 at-bats (.306) with two doubles and a homer
1B Bubba Jones: 1-4, 1 K
RHP David Palladino: 2.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1/1 GB/FB, 1 E (fielding) — 25/12 K/BB in 23.1 innings
RHP Cale Coshow: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 4/1 GB/FB

Rookie GCL Yanks1 (6-4 win over GCL Tigers)

DH Tyler Wade: 1-3, 1 BB — 17/17 K/BB in 21 pro games
SS Abi Avelino: 2-4, 2 R, 1 SB, 1 E (throwing) – ten hits in his last 33 at-bats (.303) with four walks and two strikeouts
2B Gosuke Katoh: 4-4, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 CS — that’s his fifth triple in 21 pro games, typing him for the farm system lead with Heathcott and Cave
RF Austin Aune: 1-4, 2 RBI
3B Chris Tamarez: 1-4, 1 K
RHP Luis Severino: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 4/6 GB/FB — 32/6 K/BB in 26.1 innings

Rookie GCL Yanks2 (2-1 win over GCL Phillies)

3B Miguel Andujar: 1-3, 1 R, 1 K
C Luis Torrens: 0-4, 1 PB — nine passed balls in 18 games behind plate, but he has only been catching for a little more than one full year now
LF Nathan Mikolas: 1-2, 1 BB, 1 HBP — stuck in a little 5-for-32 (.156) slump
DH Drew Bridges: 0-3, 1 BB
SS Thairo Estrada: 1-3, 1 R
RHP Joey Maher: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 7/2 GB/FB
LHP Rony Bautista: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 3/1 GB/FB — 29/10 K/BB in 19.1 innings for the 6-foor-7 southpaw

DERP

Charleston faced 2011 second rounder Sam Stafford. He is having a terrible year.

And Bird is playing out of his mind. Unfortunate he isn’t catching anymore
SDB

Katoh’s really raking, huh.
- trr
  
  Gosuke? Go figure
- lightSABR
  
  196 wRC+, according to fangraphs. And I don’t think that includes tonight.
  
  How long until we decide this guy’s for real and forget that the scouting reports said he was more like a fourth-rounder?
  - Gonzo
    
    Man you are just begging people to bring up Dante Bichette Jr.
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      Katoh has 13 XBH, including 3 HRs, in 87 PA. Bichette had 23 XBH, and 3 HRs, in 240 PA.
      
      Also, Katoh’s a stud defender, not a guy with some questions.
      - Cool Lester Smooth
        
        (GCL stats still mean less than nothing, but Katoh’s been much better than DBJ so far.)
      - Mac
        
        Isaias Tejada had an XBH in 12% of his 166 GCL PAs in 2011, while Katoh is at 15% (meaning Katoh could easily be below Tejadas or even Jose Rosario from 2011 by the time he hits their PA #s, we’re dealing with a small sample). Katoh has been very impressive, but unless you’re watching the games it’s hard to say whether he’s actually hitting for good power. Could be a matter of some fly balls catching wind and some ground balls down the line finding the OF. I certainly think people who knew nothing about him overreacted to his pre-draft rankings and body shape, but at the same time I wouldn’t put too much stock in a small GCL sample.
        
        I’m also not sure that the questions surrounded DBJ’s defense when he was taken are relevant anymore. I don’t think anyone is worried about him moving off 3B. His defense is not what’s holding him back. 2B is a more premium position, but if Katoh can’t OPS .600 his 2nd time through Sally I don’t know that he’ll be viewed any more positively than Bichette.
        
        Cool Lester Smooth
        
        DBJ should stick, but Katoh’s supposed to have good range for an SS and he’s playing 2B. That’s a whole different level than “should stick.”
        
        Also, see my little addendum right above your comment.
        
        Really, I’m just saying it’s good that he hasn’t gotten the bat knocked out of his hands. He’s clearly got more pop than the Red Sox and Twins scouts expected.
  - Rod
    
    I want to believe but the Yankees have had players demolish the GCL only to fall on their faces upon promotion. I’ll get excited if he can keep it up in Charleston.
  - https://twitter.com/AngeloInNY Angelo
    
    This is the GCL. How successful a player is at this level doesn’t really mean too much. You can learn a couple of things about players, but even that isn’t certain.
    
    Kind of pointless to start re-evaluating players until they have success in a full season league. And then I usually hold my breath until they have success in AA.
    - lightSABR
      
      Okay, yeah, y’all are right. With the Major League team looking like it does, I guess I just need something to get excited about.
      
      That said, I think Bichette was a bit of a special case – I seem to remember even before the draft people worrying that his success was probably due to superior coaching as a high schooler rather than actual talent, and that therefore his performance would drop off quickly as the competition got the same level of coaching he had. So here’s hoping Katoh can do better than that, at least long enough to trade him.
      - Mac
        
        I think the Bichette thing is as much a narrative as anything. Scouts seemed to be legitimately impressed by him in GCL. Even in HS no one was questioning the power and most seemed to think he had a chance to have enough bat to make MLB. (While he wasn’t universally regarded as highly as he was picked, he was still a very highly regarded prospect who BA had around #100 in his class. Overall I think that’s just turned out to be a terrible draft year in the range Bichette went.)
        
        There are other guys who do very well in GCL only to do nothing afterwards. Estee Harris is one somewhat recent Yankee example. 2nd rounder who never made it out of Charleston after a .912 OPS in GCL. Isaias Tejada and Jose Rosario were other Yankee examples from DBJ’s MVP season.
        
        Same year that Bichette was MVP, Eric Arce was 2nd in OPS to Tyler Austin. Arce still hasn’t made it out of rookie ball. Zach Kapstein led the league in BA (.400 with a .979 OPS) and hasn’t managed an OPS of .500 in the two subsequent seasons.
        
        I like Katoh fine as a pick and none of this is to say he won’t go on to be a very good prospect. Guys can also fall apart at just about any level, but short season ball seems to need to be taken with an especially big grain of salt between the level of competition and the lack of historical information on the guy (i.e. can be a partially a sample size issue).
  - Cool Lester Smooth
    
    He had some helium to him come draft day, and apparently Opp pissed some other team off by getting him.
    
    The big concern with Katoh was that he was too skinny and would get the bat knocked out of his hands, but you don’t hit for this much power, even in the GCL, unless you can hit the ball hard.
    - Samuel
      
      Or have tremendous synch between your hips and hands. Lower half strength, and quickness translate to power potential. Yankees minor league hitting guys like Katoh’s hitting mechanics.
      
      Katoh doesn’t have much unnecessary movement, hand are very direct to the ball, and he stays balanced throughout the swing.
      
      What’s not to like?
      - Cool Lester Smooth
        
        Hopefully we never find out, hahaa.
    - Mac
      
      That’s not really true, especially in an 88 PA sample. Grounders down the line that a CGL IF can’t get to count as doubles and triples just like hard liners in the gap the OFs can’t get to do. It’s tough to say how hard he’s really hitting the ball from the box scores.
      
      While I don’t know that they were actually founded in the first place, concerns about getting the bat knocked out of your hands also aren’t necessarily answered at that level. He’s not consistently facing the FBs that he will at higher levels.
      - Cool Lester Smooth
        
        You can’t hit a home run on a hard ground ball, though.
        
        Of course, this is all just speculation. We don’t know anything at all about his batted ball profile yet. 3 HRs in 90 PA is never a bad thing, though.
- Gonzo
  
  He looks skinny. Can we get him to shadow Guy Fieri during the offseason?
Dave M

I think Bird might be ready for High A
DERP

I just noticed that Bird and Camarena were born on the same day.
YankeeGrunt

Camarena allowed a two-run HR to the 2nd batter of the game. Two hits and a BB over the next six innings with 8 Ks.
The Walking Injured

Who else is ready to help the big club?
your mom

Breaking news: Ryan Braun suspended for the rest of the year.
- https://twitter.com/AngeloInNY Angelo
  
  Wrong thread for this sort of thing, but holy shit you’re not lying. Good thing I didn’t draft him in fantasy ;)
- BFDeal
  
  Breaking news at 7pm.
DERP

Gamel hasn’t played in a few days. I’m panicking.
Cool Lester Smooth

Did Aune just not strike out?

WHAT WORLD IS THIS?!!

Also, good looks for Katoh and Bird. Looks like Bird is finally gonna make a prospect hot sheet.
Joe

Any word on when Aaron Judge will debut?
- RetroRob
  
  Quad injury.
Bob Buttons

I nominate Big Bird for Bird’s nickname.
anonymous bandit

Obligatory Yankees should sell comment
Will

Mike. Any new found respect for Greg Bird considering the season he is putting together? Or do you still consider him a low ceiling, high floor low impact kind of guy?
- https://twitter.com/AngeloInNY Angelo
  
  He just did his mid season prospect list. I seriously doubt he’s changed his mind since then and there’s no reason to.
  
  I’m rooting for Bird as much as the next guy, but I think we need to keep our optimism leveled.
  - Mac
    
    I agree that you don’t change your mind in a week, but I think the question is more whether Mike has been overly pessimistic on Bird from the jump. He’s got big offensive potential. Not having him on the pre-season top 30 was kind of a joke and only putting him at #20 on the most recent one I would also say is on the pessimistic side.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  I don’t think Bird has a low ceiling, necessarily. It’s just that, as a first baseman, he has to completely max out his offensive potential to profile as an impact player.
  - https://twitter.com/AngeloInNY Angelo
    
    Agreed. Or at least come close.
  - Mac
    
    I don’t think so. His offensive ceiling is really, really high. You can be a league average (median) 1B with a wOBA in the .330-.340 range. Somewhere around a 105-115 wRC+. That is no where near Bird’s offensive ceiling, but he can be an impact MLB player if he gets there. If he actually gets to his offensive ceiling he’s going to be one of the best players in MLB, even as a 1B. Bird has the bat to be a legit 1B prospect. Like any prospect, though, he’s still not likely to make it in absolute terms.
    
    The thing with 1B is not that you have to be a ridiculously good hitter to be a solid 1B. Just that you have to be a very good hitter to be a solid 1B. And a good hitter just to play the position in MLB.
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      I said “impact.” You need at .370 wOBA to qualify as an “impact” 1B. If Bird’s ceiling is .280/.390/.520 guy (and that’s optimistic as hell, if you ask me), that’s a .385 wOBA, so he has to get very, very close to that to be an impact player.
      - https://twitter.com/AngeloInNY Angelo
        
        Agreed. I think you two are mostly agreeing by the way.
        
        Cool Lester Smooth
        
        Yeah, we are.
- Mac
  
  Did Mike have him as a low ceiling, high floor guy?
  
  I don’t think anyone else does. His offensive potential is great (very high ceiling), but it’s tough for a 1B prospect to have a high floor because a lot has to go right just to make it to MLB.
- Preston
  
  According to John Sickel’s “Gregory Bird has emerged as one of the better first base prospects in the minors”.
Now Batting

No post on Ryan Braun?
- forensic
  
  He’s not a Yankee. There’s no need for a post.
  - Now Batting
    
    Yes, because there’s no way I can possibly imagine where Ryan Braun might be linked to a player(s) on the Yankees.
    - forensic
      
      If something happens to that player, then there will be a post. I don’t see the need to put up a post every time someone is suspended because someone on the Yankees might be in a similar position eventually.
      
      Let’s say they suspend 20 people prior to anything actually happening to A-Rod. You really want posts for each of those?
      - Now Batting
        
        I’ve read enough of your posts to respect your intelligence but the two biggest fish in the biogenisis saga are Braun and A-Rod. This news is going to be on the front page of every paper. This lends direct credibility to Bosch and in my opinion convicts A-rod within the parameters of the CBA.
        
        Braun is only suspended for 63 games. Given how the season has gone, should A-rod just cop to it and take the suspension? If he doesn’t then Selig is probably going for 150 games next year. It’s a very unique situation.
        
        first name only male – Retire 21
        
        Am I the only one who thinks that the Yankees are secretly wishing for a 150 game suspension to be served next year? It would possibly be the easiest way to reach $189 million next year.
        
        Gonzo
        
        I think they are secretly wishing for a lifetime ban.
        
        felixpanther
        
        that’s what I’m wishing for
      - Fin
        
        The same article describing the Braun deal, said that they had much more on Arod than Bruan, and Arod is in much deeper. Sounds like Arod is in some serious, serious shit.
  - Manny’s BanWagon
    
    There will be plenty of time to talk about what a piece of shit Braun is for lying and trashing Dino Laurenzi Jr in the sure to be epic Aroid suspension thread coming our way any day now.
    - Fin
      
      Probably wont happen this year to Arod unless he takes a deal like Braun did. At least Arod never ruined somebody’s life with his lying and cheating.
Gonzo

Anyone see that GCL 1 faced a pitcher named Confesor Lara?
your mom

Breaking news: Ryan Braun suspended for the rest of the season.
Wayne

Luis Severino looking good. I also hear the yankees Have someone that is being compared to rafael depaula and i hear he gets great extensión in his delivery. His ñame is Simón de la rosa. When does he pitch? What is the projection on him this year?
Bronx Bombers23

Obligatory “If only Bird wasn’t a first baseman” comment.