DotF: Frazier, Torres, Andujar, McKinney all go deep in wins

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SS Gleyber Torres was pulled from last night’s game for not running out a double, Brian Cashman confirmed to Mike Mazzeo. Torres said he thought the ball was going to go foul. “He didn’t do it on purpose, but the manager had the discretion to pull him if he felt it was warranted, so he did,” said Cashman, who added he considers the incident to be in the past.

Triple-A Scranton (11-10 win over Pawtucket in 11 innings, walk-off style)

  • SS Tyler Wade: 2-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 E (both fielding) — he’s up to .322/.398/.452 this season, and he’s played six different positions too
  • CF Mason Williams: 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
  • 2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-5, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB — hitting streak is up to 18 games
  • DH Mike Ford: 1-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB — 7-for-22 (.318) with two doubles and three homers in five games since the promotion
  • LF Clint Frazier: 3-6, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K — walk-off double (here’s video) … he’s hitting .261/.348/.493 with 16 singles and 20 extra-base hits this season, and he’s yet to face a pitcher younger than him
  • RHP Domingo German: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HB, 7/4 GB/FB — 57 of 97 pitches were strikes (59%) … Triple-A debut after throwing only 33 innings in Double-A and 23.2 innings in High-A
  • RHP Colten Brewer: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HB, 3/0 GB/FB — 19 of 31 pitches were strikes (61%)
  • RHP Ernesto Frieri: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 15 of 22 pitches were strikes (68%) … inherited a bases loaded, no outs situation from Brewer in the ninth, and gave up a game-tying grand slam

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2017 Draft: Shane Baz

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Shane Baz | RHP

Background
At 17 with a June birthday, Baz is one of the younger high school players in the 2017 draft class. He attends Concordia Lutheran High School in the Houston suburbs and is committed to Texas Christian.

Scouting Report
Texas is known for producing hard-throwers, and while Baez sits 92-95 mph and touches 97, he stands out most for his secondary staff. He has arguably the deepest arsenal in the entire draft class. Baz complements his four-seamer with an upper-80s cutter, a mid-80s slider, a low-80s changeup, and an upper-70s curveball. The cutter and slider are his top non-fastballs at the moment, though the changeup and curveball are quite promising as well. Baz often falls in love with his secondary stuff rather than attacking with his fastball, which is pretty much of the opposite of most live-armed high school kids. His athleticism and clean delivery help the 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander throw strikes. Baz also draws praise for his makeup and worth ethic. It’s worth noting he has legitimate pop at the plate and has committed to both pitch and play third base for TCU, though he is a far better pro prospect on the mound.

Miscellany
Both MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Baz as the 12th best prospect in the 2017 draft class while Keith Law (subs. req’d) isn’t as much of a fan. He ranked him 45th. The Yankees hold the 16th overall pick. The Yankees do love hard-throwers (who doesn’t?), and they’ve targeted prep kids with deep repertoires in the first round before (Ian Clarkin and Gerrit Cole, most notably), so Baz could pique their interest.

DotF: Rodriguez hits two homers in Scranton’s win

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A few quick notes to get us started:

  • RHP Domingo German has been promoted from Double-A Trenton to Triple-A Scranton, reports Antonio Mendes. German has thrown only 23.2 innings in High-A and 33 innings in Double-A in his career. He missed all of 2015 and the first half of 2016 with Tommy John surgery.
  • RHP Domingo Acevedo has been promoted from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton, reports Mendes. Both Domingos are moving on up. Acevedo has thrown 91.2 innings at High-A between this year and last year. He struck out 106 and walked 24 in those 91.2 innings.
  • RHP Jonathan Holder has graduated to the big leagues, so SS Thairo Estrada has replaced him on MLB.com’s top 30 Yankees prospects list. Holder is exactly halfway to the 50-inning rookie limit, but he has lost rookie status by virtue of his service time (45 days outside September).

Triple-A Scranton (9-8 win over Pawtucket)

  • CF Mason Williams: 0-5
  • RF Dustin Fowler: 1-4, 1 R
  • 2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI — 24-for-65 (.369) during his 17-game hitting streak
  • 1B Mike Ford: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI — 6-for-17 (.353) with two doubles and two homers in four games since the promotion
  • LF Clint Frazier: 2-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
  • DH Mark Payton: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 K — 12-for-30 (.400) in his last nine games
  • C Eddy Rodriguez: 3-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 K — two homers tonight, including the go-ahead two-run shot in the eighth, after hitting a walk-off homer Monday
  • RHP Luis Cessa: 7 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 4/8 GB/FB — 60 of 100 pitches were strikes … 15 runs allowed in his last two starts and ten innings … he allowed ten runs in his first five starts and 29.1 innings
  • RHP Ben Heller: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 2/0 GB/FB — 28 of 44 pitches were strikes (64%)

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DotF: Torres and Ford hit home runs in wins

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C Eddy Rodriguez smacked a walk-off grand slam for Triple-A Scranton last night, and the video is embedded above. Walk-off grand slams are pretty damn cool. Here are some notes:

  • C Francisco Diaz was added to the Triple-A Scranton roster and IF Abi Avelino was sent down to Double-A Trenton, according to Shane Hennigan. C Kyle Higashioka is a little banged up. Not bad enough to go on the disabled list, but bad enough to bring in a third catcher for a few days.
  • The Yankees have signed SS Starlin Paulino, reports Matt Eddy. He’s an international free agent who counts against the 2016-17 signing period. I can’t find any information on the kid, but now you know he exists.

Triple-A Scranton (7-2 win over Pawtucket)

  • RF Tyler Wade: 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 K — first game in right field this year … he’s now played every position this season other than pitcher, catcher, and first base
  • DH Dustin Fowler: 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K
  • 2B Rob Refsnyder: 2-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 E (throwing)
  • 1B Mike Ford: 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HBP — 5-for-13 (.385) with two doubles and a homer in three games since the promotion
  • CF Mason Williams: 2-4, 1 R, 1 K, 2 SB — 19-for-60 (.317) in his last 14 games
  • LF Mark Payton: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 CS — 17-for-45 (.378) in his last 15 games
  • RHP Bryan Mitchell: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 3/3 GB/FB — 41 of 59 pitches were strikes (69%)
  • LHP Tyler Webb: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 4/0 GB/FB — 33 of 47 pitches were strikes (70%) … 27 strikeouts and no walks in 19 innings this year

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2017 Draft: Trevor Rogers

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Trevor Rogers | LHP

Background
The 19-year-old Rogers attends Carlsbad High School in New Mexico. So far this spring he has a 0.33 ERA with 134 strikeouts and 13 walks in 63.1 innings, and he’s hitting .394/.506/.788 with three homers in 89 plate appearances. It’s worth noting he’s not facing the best competition in southeastern New Mexico, though he has performed well in various summer showcase events. Rogers and former big leaguer Cody Ross are cousins.

Scouting Report
At 6-foot-6 and 185 lbs., Rogers has the big and sturdy frame everyone looks for in a high school pitching prospect. His fastball sits mostly in the 89-92 mph range, though he has run it up as high as 95 mph in short bursts. The pitch also plays up a bit because he has a big stride and long arms, so he releases it closer to the plate than the average pitcher. Rogers has a hard breaking ball that is more of a true slider than a curveball, and when he’s at his best, the pitch is allergic to bats. Like most top high school pitchers, he hasn’t developed much of a changeup because he hasn’t needed it. Rogers is a really good athlete and his arm is loose. There’s not much effort in his delivery at all, though, like most young pitchers this tall, his mechanics can come and go.

Miscellany
The various scouting publications all agree Rogers is a first round talent. Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranks him as the 18th best prospect in the 2017 draft class while MLB.com and Baseball America rank him 23rd and 28th, respectively. The Yankees hold the 16th overall pick. The biggest knock on Rogers is his age. He’s already 19 with an October birthday, making him one of the oldest prep prospects in the draft class. Last year Blake Rutherford slipped in the draft partly because he turned 19 in May, a few weeks before the draft. Rogers will turn 20 this fall. They don’t check IDs on the mound though, and athletic 6-foot-6 lefties with good velocity and a promising breaking ball sure are hard to pass up.

DotF: Rutherford, Gilliam extend hitting streaks in Low-A win

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Here are the day’s notes:

  • 1B Tyler Austin (foot) faced hitters in live batting practice for the first time today, according to his Twitter feed. He’s been out since fouling a ball off his foot very early in Spring Training. Farm system head Gary Denbo recently said Austin could begin a minor league rehab assignment later this week, as long as things go well the next few days.
  • 1B Ji-Man Choi (hamstring) and LHP Daniel Camarena (shoulder) are likely to miss a few weeks, Triple-A Scranton manager Al Pedrique told Shane Hennigan. With Austin, Choi, and 1B Greg Bird all injured, I wouldn’t expect 1B Chris Carter to be cut loose anytime soon.
  • UTIL Rob Refsnyder was sent back to Triple-A Scranton following last night’s game, the Yankees announced. He was up as the 26th man for the doubleheader. By rule, he had to be sent back down immediately after the game.
  • OF Isiah Gilliam was named the Low-A South Atlantic League Offensive Player of the Week. He went 11-for-23 (.478) with four doubles and two homers last week.

Triple-A Scranton (8-4 win over Pawtucket in 12 innings, walk-off style)

  • 2B Tyler Wade: 2-4, 3 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB — second homer of the season and second homer in the last three days
  • CF Dustin Fowler: 4-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 1 BB — tied the game with a two-out double in the ninth … had a chance to finish the cycle with a walk-off home run in the 11th — imagine doing that twice in the span of a month? — but they intentionally walked him … he’s up to .308/.353/.566 on the season
  • LF Clint Frazier: 0-5, 1 BB, 1 K — snapped the bat over his knee after the strikeout (here’s a GIF)
  • RF Mason Williams: 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI
  • C Eddy Rodriguez: 2-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 K — walk-off grand slam!
  • 2B Abi Avelino: 0-5, 1 K
  • LHP Caleb Smith: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 6/2 GB/FB — 62 of 96 pitches were strikes (65%)
  • RHP Ernesto Frieri: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 , 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2/2 GB/FB — 30 of 42 pitches were strikes (71%) … good Frieri showed up tonight

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2017 Draft: Garrett Mitchell

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Garrett Mitchell | OF

Background
Mitchell, 18, attends Orange Lutheran High School in Orange County, where he is hitting .294/.390/.435 this spring. He’s committed to UCLA. Mitchell was diagnosed with Type I diabetes as a child.

Scouting Report
Few players in the 2017 draft class offer as much raw athleticism at Mitchell. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 lbs., and he’s a great runner with a good throwing arm. Mitchell stands out more on defense right now, as he’s a no-doubt long-term center fielder who gets great reads and has no trouble covering gap-to-gap. At the plate, he has legitimate power in his left-handed bat, though his approach is rudimentary — he’s struck out 23 times in 101 plate appearances this spring, which is way way way too much for a prep prospect — and his swing can sometimes get unhinged. Mitchell works hard and is coachable. He is very much a project though. Whoever drafts him will do so betting on the athleticism.

Miscellany
As you might’ve guessed, opinions are split on Mitchell. He’s athletic but raw, and the Type I diabetes creates concerns about his durability. Mitchell has been dealing with the disease for years though, so he already knows how to take care of his body. Keith Law (subs. req’d) ranked Mitchell as the 28th best prospect in the draft class in his latest rankings while both Baseball America and MLB.com ranked him as the 53rd best prospect. The Yankees hold the 16th and 54th overall picks. They’re not afraid of rolling the dice on raw athletes (Austin Aune, for example), though my guess is they’d target Mitchell with their second round pick, that 54th selection, rather than their first.