DotF: Mitchell keeps getting innings as winter ball winds down

Two weeks ago the Scottsdale Scorpions beat the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League Championship Game. Here’s the box score. C Gary Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, OF Tyler Austin went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and OF Dustin Fowler went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk, and a strikeout for Surprise. The homer is embedded above. Jim Callis listed Fowler as one of seven prospects who stood out in the title game. Here’s a bunch more minor league notes:

• Both Bill Mitchell and Callis released their rankings of the top Arizona Fall League prospects. Mitchell ranked Sanchez the No. 2 prospect in the circuit behind Cardinals RHP Alex Reyes. Callis had Sanchez fourth behind Reyes, Pirates OF Austin Meadows, and Rangers OF Lewis Brinson.
• Eric Longenhagen (subs. req’d) listed Sanchez as one of the prospects who most improved their stock in the AzFL. It’s not performance related either. Longenhagen says Sanchez looked quicker blocking balls in the dirt and improved his throwing, specifically how he comes out of the crouch.
• MiLB.com announced their 2015 Organization All-Stars for the Yankees recently. It’s pretty much exactly who you would expect at every position. Sanchez at catcher, 1B Greg Bird at first, 2B Rob Refsnyder at second, so on and so forth. The only real surprise is at third base. Click the link!
• Pitching coordinator Gil Patterson has left the Yankees to return to the Athletics in the same role, reports Jane Lee. Patterson, who’s had multiple stints with both the Yankees and A’s, rejoined the organization two years ago. He has a great reputation for developing arms. Josh Norris says Triple-A Scranton pitching coach Scott Aldred and rehab pitching coordinator Danny Borrell will assume Patterson’s responsibilities going forward.
• The Yankees have re-signed C Kyle Higashioka, according to Matt Eddy. Higashioka became a minor league free agent earlier this offseason. Eddy says the Yankees also signed RHP Spencer Mahoney out of an independent league. Mahoney has never pitched before. He’s a shortstop the team is moving to the mound.
• More minor transactions from Eddy: C Rainiero Coa has been released, C Francisco Arcia has signed with the Marlins, and OF Ericson Leonora signed with the Diamondbacks. Arcia and Leonora became free agents a few weeks ago. The Yankees also signed RHP Daniel Marten as an international free agent. He’s an 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. No word on his bonus, but if he’s 18, it won’t be much.
• J.J. Cooper posted a Rule 5 Draft preview, if you’re interested. OF Jake Cave is the only Yankee farmhand mentioned, and Cooper describes him as a more “well-rounded outfielder than toolsy.” He adds Cave is “a lefthanded hitting center fielder who could entice a team looking for an inexpensive fourth outfielder.”
• Sanchez has changed agents and signed on with Magnus Sports, according to Tim Dierkes. I’m not sure who his agent was before. Magnus Sports is a new firm fronted by musician Marc Anthony. No, really. It’s way, way, way too early to think about what this means long-term.
• Hudson Belinsky wrote a nice story about longtime Yankees scout Cesar Presbott — he’s been with the team since 1982 — and his non-profit organization, the Cesar Presbott Foundation. The mission: help people. That’s all. Dellin Betances, on of Presbott’s draft picks, and Brian Cashman helped Presbott distribute turkeys before Thanksgiving.
• And finally, here’s a neat story by Marcia C. Smith on Angels LHP Andrew Heaney, who traveled to Honduras for a five-day humanitarian mission last month. I’m mentioning this here because RHP Ty Hensley was on the trip too. Pretty cool. Hensley has a reputation for doing lots to help others.

Got all that? There was no minor league update last weekend because of Thanksgiving, so that’s two weeks worth of notes there. Now here are the performance updates.

Arizona Fall League (the season is over, so these stats are final)

• OF Tyler Austin: 21 G, 22-81 (.272), 13 , 5 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 9 BB, 18 K, 7 SB, 2 CS (.272/.344/.444
• OF Dustin Fowler: 16 G, 17-61 (.279), 14 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K, 7 K (.279/.313/.410) — took advantage of the extra exposure in the AzFL
  
• C Gary Sanchez: 22 G, 26-88 (.295), 16 R, 6 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 21 RBI, 8 BB, 19 K, 4 SB, 2 CS, 1 HBP (.295/.357/.625) — was not named AzFL MVP despite leading the league in homers, RBI, and total bases
• IF Tyler Wade: 14 G, 9-41 (.220), 6 R, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 7 K, 2 SB, 1 CS (.220/.313/.268)
• RHP Domingo Acevedo: 7 G, 12 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 1 HR, 2 RBI (2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP)
• LHP Ian Clarkin: 6 G, 6 GS, 24.2 IP, 34 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 14 BB, 17 K, 2 HR, 1 HB, 3 WP (5.84 ERA and 1.95 WHIP) — hooray health, boo stats
  
• LHP Chaz Hebert: 7 G, 1 GS, 14.1 IP, 13 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 10 BB, 12 K, 1 WP (4.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP)
• LHP Tyler Webb: 9 G, 0 GS, 12.1 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 12 K, 1 HR, 2 WP (5.84 ERA and 1.30 WHIP) — missed the second half of the regular season with a hand injury, so he was just making up for lost time

Dominican Winter League

• IF Abi Avelino: 1 G, 0-1, 1 K
• C Eduardo de Oleo: 1 G, 0-1, 1 K
• 3B Rob Segedin: 5 G, 2-9 (.222), 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K (.222/.300/.222)
• SS Jorge Mateo is listed on a roster but hasn’t played yet. Chances are he won’t at this point. Same goes for the other guys listed on winter ball rosters yet to get into a game.

Mexican Pacific League

• RHP Gio Gallegos: 13 G, 0 GS, 9 IP, 14 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 4 BB, 14 K, 2 HR, 1 WP (10.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP)
• RHP Luis Niebla: 9 G, 9 GS, 46.1 IP, 39 H, 22 R, 19 ER, 27 BB, 31 K, 4 HR, 2 HB, 1 WP (3.69 ERA and 1.42 WHIP)
• 2B Angelo Gumbs is listed on a roster but hasn’t played yet.

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico)

• IF Cito Culver: 6 G, 2-19 (.105), 1 R, 1 BB, 6 (.105/.150/.105) — hasn’t played in two weeks now
• RHP Bryan Mitchell: 5 G, 5 GS, 21.2 IP, 21 H, 13 R, 10 ER, 12 BB, 14 K, 1 HB, 2 WP (4.15 ERA and 1.52 WHIP) — he’s up to 126.1 innings on the season

Venezuelan Winter League

• OF Tyler Austin: 1 G, 0-3 — he headed down to Venezuela after finishing up the AzFL season … guess he wants to play as much as possible after a disappointing regular season
• C Francisco Diaz: 11 G, 4-14 (.286), 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K (.286/.333/.286) — depth catcher signed a minor league deal a few weeks ago
• OF Ben Gamel: 25 G, 22-87 (.253), 8 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 11 BB, 18 K, 3 SB, 1 CS (.253/.327/.402) — long season for him, I’m sure he’s looking forward to heading home soon
• OF Teodoro Martinez: 42 G, 41-165 (.248), 19 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 17 K, 2 SB, 2 HBP (.248/.277/.297)
• RHP Luis Cedeno: 6 G, 0 GS, 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HB, 1 WP (9.00 ERA and 2.20 WHIP)
• RHP Jaron Long: 8 G, 8 GS, 43 IP, 44 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 11 BB, 23 K, 1 HB, 2 WP (2.30 ERA and 1.28 WHIP) — up to 197.1 total innings on the season
• RHP Mark Montgomery: 14 G, 0 GS, 12.1 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 5 BB, 15 K, 2 HR (6.57 ERA and 1.38 WHIP) — so does he get popped in the Rule 5 Draft next week?
  
• IF Thairo Estrada is also listed on a roster.