DotF: Judge, Bird continue to rake in the Arizona Fall League

The video above, which comes courtesy of Kiley McDaniel, is OF Juan De Leon at Instructional League a few weeks go. The Yankees signed the 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic for $2M back in July and he’s arguably the best prospect they signed during their international spending spree. The video isn’t much, but it’s more than we get to see from many of these guys. Here are some more minor league notes before the weekly fall/winter ball recaps:

• Keith Law (subs. req’d) recently saw several Yankees farmhands in the Arizona Fall League. He said 1B Greg Bird’s “swing is very short to the ball, with great hand acceleration to produce that hard contact,” but notes Bird has issues defensively. OF Tyler Austin “looks better in BP than he has in a while” due to his nagging wrist injury while 3B Dante Bichette Jr. “looks the same as ever: He possesses a huge, out-of-control swing with a big backside collapse, and poor defense at third.”
• Jeff Moore (subs. req’d) provided a firsthand scouting report on OF Aaron Judge recently. “While others his size tend to sell out for the power that is expected of them, Judge employs an up-the-middle approach, using the whole field and looking for line drives … His bat stays through the strike zone for a long time, giving him good plate coverage and the ability to handle pitches on the outer half that selling out for power would leave him exposed to,” he wrote.
• Zeke Fine recently wrote up a firsthand scouting report on SS Jorge Mateo. “His projectable frame, elite speed, and natural hitting ability suggest that he could become an above average shortstop at the major league level. How he develops physically will help to determine his ultimate ceiling,” he said.
• John Manuel went back and handed out grades for the 2009 draft. The Angels, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Nationals all received A’s while the Dodgers, Orioles, and Rays received F’s. The Yankees received a C. With of OF Slade Heathcott unable to stay healthy, this class boils down to RHP Adam Warren, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Bryan Mitchell, and C John Ryan Murphy.

AzFL Scottsdale (2-1 win over Mesa) Monday’s game

• RF Aaron Judge: 1-4
• LF Tyler Austin: 1-4, 1 K, 1 SB — first career game in left field
• 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K

AzFL Scottsdale (10-7 win over Mesa) Tuesday’s game

• 1B Greg Bird: 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Kyle Haynes: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3/0 GB/FB — 28 of 44 pitches were strikes (64%)
• RHP Alex Smith: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K — only 12 of 31 pitches were strikes (39%)

AzFL Scottsdale (13-11 loss to Surprise) Wednesday’s game

• LF Tyler Austin: 2-5, 2 R, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB
• RF Aaron Judge: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
• DH Greg Bird: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB
• 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 1-5, 1 K
• RHP Caleb Cotham: 2 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 6/0 GB/FB — 16 of 21 pitches were strikes (76%) … efficient!

AzFL Scottsdale (7-3 loss to Surprise) Thursday’s game

• 1B Greg Bird: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 K — tied for the league lead with three homers
• RF Tyler Austin: 0-3, 1 BB
• 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 1-3, 1 BB

AzFL Scottsdale (6-5 loss to Glendale) Friday’s game

• RF Aaron Judge: 2-4, 2 R, 1 BB
• DH Greg Bird: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 K
• RHP Alex Smith: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 2/0 GB/FB — 24 of 35 pitches were strikes (69%) … eight runs (six earned) with more walks (five) than strikeouts (four) in 4.1 innings

AzFL Scottsdale (4-3 loss to Peoria in eleven innings, walk-off style) Saturday’s game

• LF Tyler Austin: 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K — 8-for-31 (.258) in eight games so far
• DH Aaron Judge: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K – 7-for-20 (.350) with two doubles and a homer in five games so far
• 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB
• C Kyle Higashioka: 2-5, 1 K
• RHP Kyle Haynes: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 4/0 GB/FB — eleven of 13 pitches were strikes (85%)

AzFL Scottsdale had a scheduled off-day on Sunday.

Dominican Winter League

• LHP Ramon Benjamin: 1 G, 0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K — LNOGY
• LHP Francisco Rondon is also listed on a roster but has not yet pitched.

Mexican Pacific League

• OF Jose Figueroa: 5 G, 1-6, 1 R, 2 K, 1 SB (.167/.167/.167)
• RHP Gio Gallegos: 3 G, 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K (0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP)
• RHP Luis Niebla: 1 G, 1 GS, 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (2.45 ERA, 0.82 WHIP)

The Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico) doesn’t begin play until October 30th. No rosters yet.

Venezuelan Winter League

• C Francisco Arcia: 8 G, 9-31, 2 R, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 2 BB, 9 K (.290/.333/.387)
• UTIL Ali Castillo: 8 G, 9-28, 5 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB, 2 CS, 1 HBP (.321/.355/.393)
• OF Ramon Flores: 6 G, 4-15, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 BB, 4 K (.267/.353/.333)
• UTIL Adonis Garcia: 7 G, 9-33, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 SB (.273/.294/.303)
• C Jose Gil: 4 G, 3-10, 3 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K (.300/.364/.400)
• C Jackson Valera: 1 G, 0-0
• RHP Diego Moreno: 5 G, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HB (1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP)
• OF Ericson Leonora, RHP Mark Montgomery, RHP Wilking Rodriguez, SS Angel Aguilar, and C Frankie Cervelli are all listed on rosters but have not yet played.