DotF: Tampa makes a big comeback in first postseason game

A few notes to get us started:

• Because of Hurricane Irma, the Florida State League Championship Series has been canceled, the league announced. The winners of the Tampa-Dunedin and Palm Beach-Fort Myers series will be co-champions. Game Two and, if necessary, Game Three of the best-of-three series will be played tomorrow. They’re going to play a doubleheader rather than stretch the series out to Wednesday.
• RHP Taylor Widener has been promoted from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton, the team announced. That is at least partly due to Hurricane Irma. Widener was lined up to pitch for Tampa on Wednesday, but there won’t be a game that day now, so he’s going to Trenton to help them. Last year’s 12th round pick had a 3.39 ERA (3.05 FIP) with 26.4% strikeouts and 10.4% walks in 119.1 innings with Tampa this year.
• Eric Longenhagen (subs. req’d) ranked the ten position player prospects with the most upside in the minors. OF Estevan Florial was seventh. “Florial has high-effort, plus-plus bat speed and a bat path that allows for power to all fields, similar to Ian Happ of the Cubs. Florial is an aggressive hitter, which leads to some strikeouts, but he has 25-plus-homer potential,” says the write-up.
• In a separate piece (subs. req’d), Longenhagen ranked the ten pitching prospects with the most upside. RHP Jorge Guzman ranks ninth. “New York made a subtle change to the tempo of his delivery, and Guzman has been throwing more strikes this year while sitting 96-plus with his fastball, touching 102 mph, and holding that velocity deep into his starts … (There’s) a chance Guzman matures into developing two bat-missing secondary pitches to go with passable control and his elite velocity,” says the write-up.
• OF Isiah Gilliam was named the Low-A South Atlantic League Player of the Week. He went 10-for-18 (.556) with a double, a triple, a homer, seven walks, and only two strikeouts last week. Gilliam, 21, hit .275/.356/.468 (137 wRC+) with 33 doubles and 15 homers this year. The Yankees gave him $550,000 as their 20th round pick a few years ago because he has power from both sides of the plate, and it showed this year.

Triple-A Scranton‘s regular season is over. Their best-of-five first round postseason series with Lehigh Valley (Phillies) begins tomorrow. Conor Foley says the rotation will be RHP Domingo German, RHP Chance Adams, RHP Brady Lail, LHP Nestor Cortes, and RHP Ronald Herrera in that order.

Double-A Trenton‘s regular season is over. Their best-of-five first round postseason series with Binghamton (Mets) begins tomorrow. RHP Dillon Tate is the scheduled starter for Game One.

High-A Tampa (8-6 win over Dunedin in ten innings) they fell behind 5-0 in the first inning, but rallied to win … the Fighting Spirit extends down into the minors too … Tampa leads the best-of-three series one game to none

• 2B Hoy Jun Park: 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K — Hoy Jun Judge
• SS Kyle Holder: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K — had the game-tying single with two outs in the ninth
• 3B Gosuke Katoh: 1-6, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 K
• LF Trey Amburgey: 1-5, 1 K
• CF Estevan Florial: 2-4, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 BB — dude is amazing
• 1B Tim Lynch: 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K — hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the top of the tenth … last year’s ninth rounder smacked 13 home runs in only 57 games during the regular season
• C Donny Sands: 1-4
• RF Alex Palma: 1-5
• RHP Brian Keller: 0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 E (pickoff) — 19 of 36 pitches were strikes (53%) … had such a marvelous regular season, then he gets clobbered in the first inning of the postseason
• RHP Adonis Rosa: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 7/1 GB/FB — 64 of 94 pitches were strikes (68%) … unsung hero restored order and gave the offense a chance to get back in the game
• RHP Matt Frawley: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HB, 2/2 GB/FB — 22 of 39 pitches were strikes (56%)

Low-A Charleston‘s regular season is over. Their best-of-three first round postseason series with Greenville (Red Sox) begins tomorrow. RHP Freicer Perez will be on the mound in Game One.

Short Season Staten Island is waiting out a very long rain delay. Game hadn’t started as of 10pm ET. Here’s the box score if they ever start playing. Their regular season ends Thursday and they’ve already clinched a postseason spot.

Rookie Pulaski has advanced to the Appalachian League Championship Series. They’re going to play either Elizabethton (Twins) or Greeneville (Astros) in the best-of-three series. Game Three between Elizabethton and Greeneville was rained out tonight. They’ll play the decisive game tomorrow, then they’ll begin the Championship Series on Thursday (I think).

Rookie GCL Yanks East (2-1 win over GCL Nationals) the best-of-three GCL Championship Series is now tied at one game apiece, so tomorrow’s game is for all the marbles

• SS Jose Devers: 2-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB, 1 E (throwing)
• CF Robert Javier: 1-4, 1 RBI, 1 K — singled in what proved to be the winning run in the seventh inning
• RF Canaan Smith: 0-2, 1 BB, 2 K — left the game after striking out in the sixth … I think he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, through the box score usually notes that … maybe not in the GCL?
• DH Jhon Moronta & 1B Nelson Alvarez: both 0-4 — Moronta struck out
• RHP Roansy Contreras: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 WP, 4/5 GB/FB — last year’s prized international signing came up big in the elimination game
• LHP Deivi Diaz: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 Balk, 2/2 GB/FB

Rookie GCL Yanks West‘s season is over. They did not qualify for the postseason.