Before we get into this week’s winter ball recap, here are some mostly Arizona Fall League related links:
- Baseball America published their list of the top ten prospects in the AzFL. Twins OF Buxton claimed the top spot with Dodgers SS Corey Seager, Indians SS Francisco Lindor, and Cubs SS Addison Russell behind him, in that order. No Yankees farmhands made the list, but, in a separate piece (subs. req’d), Baseball America said OF Aaron Judge and 1B Greg Bird “both impressed with the bat.” “Scouts question whether (Bird will) be an adequate defender at first base due to below-average athleticism, but the former high school catcher is relatively new to the position,” added the write-up. “Judge showed off his raw power and a plus arm from right field, but scouts were mixed on his ability to hit at higher levels.”
- Jim Callis ranked the top 25 prospects in the AzFL. Buxton claimed the top spot and was followed by three shortstops: Lindor, Russell, and Seager. Judge ranked 12th and Bird ranked 19th. Sounds about right. The AzFL is loaded with the best prospects in the game and you’ve got to be a top of line guy to crack a top ten list.
- Assistant GM Billy Eppler spoke to George King (subs. req’d) about OF Tyler Austin’s return from last year’s wrist injury, which lingering into 2014. “It wasn’t just the numbers, it was the quality and the impact of his swing that we were getting (better) day in and day out,” said Eppler. “Our hitting coaches monitor all hit balls, and according to our guys the sound off the bat is good.”
- One more note from King: the Yankees fired Billy Hart, who was the team’s assistant director of baseball operations. He spent the last three years working under retired VP of Baseball Ops Mark Newman. The player development system overhaul continues. Also, former director of player development Pat Roessler was hired by the Mets to be their assistant hitting coach, according to Mike Puma. The Yankees fired him a few weeks ago.
- Carson Cistulli at FanGraphs put together a statistical breakdown of the top AzFL hitters and pitchers using homer rates, walk rates, and strikeout rates. Bird ranked as the fourth best hitter — the difference between the top five guys is tiny — right behind old pal C/1B Peter O’Brien.
Arizona Fall League (season is over, so these stats are final)
- OF Tyler Austin: .304/.392/.449 (135 wRC+) with two doubles, two homers, ten walks, and 19 strikeouts in 19 games.
- 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: .260/.317/.274 (67 wRC+) with one double, seven walks, and 18 strikeouts in 20 games.
- 1B Greg Bird: .313/.391/.556 (156 wRC+) with six doubles, six homers, 13 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 26 games.
- C Kyle Higashioka: .409/.480/.682 (216 wRC+) with three doubles, one homer, three walks, and two strikeouts in six games.
- OF Aaron Judge: .278/.377/.467 (133 wRC+) with five doubles, four homers, 13 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 24 games.
- RHP Caleb Cotham: 10 G, 13.1 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 14 K, 2 HR, 1 HB, 1 WP (6.08 ERA, 4.25 FIP)
- RHP Kyle Haynes: 10 H, 11.2 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 9 K, 1 WP (2.31 ERA, 4.24 FIP)
- RHP Alex Smith: 10 H, 10.1 IP, 25 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 8 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 2 HB (10.45 ERA, 7.79 FIP)
Australian Baseball League
- OF Adam Silva: 4 G, 4-15, 4 R, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 SB (.267/.421/.333) — the Yankees signed the 20-year-old out of Australia a year or two ago
Dominican Winter League
- OF Eury Perez: 18 G, 18-80, 9 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 15 K, 2 CS (.225/.225/.300)
- RHP Luis Cedeno: 1 G, 0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 HR — not a good sign when your ERA and WHIP are infinity
- LHP Joel De La Cruz: 3 G, 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 1 HB (0.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP)
- LHP Jose DePaula: 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K (0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) — signed a Major League deal a week ago
Mexican Pacific League
- RHP Gio Gallegos: 13 G, 13.1 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 8 K, 1 HB, 1 HR (0.68 ERA, 1.05 WHIP)
- RHP Luis Niebla: 7 G, 7 GS, 27.2 IP, 23 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 12 BB, 20 K, 2 HB, 2 HR (3.25 ERA, 1.27 WHIP)
Apparently no Yankees farmhands are playing in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico) this winter.
Venezuelan Winter League
- C Francisco Arcia: 18 G, 14-67, 3 R, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 16 K, 1 HBP (.209/.264/.254)
- UTIL Ali Castillo: 34 G, 42-134, 25 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 5 BB, 19 K, 12 SB, 4 CS, 2 HBP (.313/.343/.410)
- OF Ramon Flores: 31 G, 40-108, 17 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 15 BB, 20 K, 2 SB, 1 CS (.370/.447/.491) — have to think he’ll make his MLB debut in 2015 as long as he stays healthy
- UTIL Adonis Garcia: 31 G, 40-129, 13 R, 3 2B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 8 BB, 15 K, 3 SB, 2 CS, 3 HBP (.310/.362/.403) — he always rakes in winter ball
- OF Ericson Leonora: 5 G, 3-11, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 K (.273/.273/.545)
- UTIL Jose Pirela: 23 G, 26-89, 17 R, 5 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 6 BB, 16 K, 1 CS, 1 HBP (.292/.344/.551)
- C Jackson Valera: 1 G, 0-0
- RHP Diego Moreno: 16 G, 14.1 IP, 15 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 19 K, 1 HR, 1 HB (3.14 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
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