Arizona Fall League Archives - River Avenue Blues

Minor League Notes: Roster Moves, Culver, AzFL, Franklin

April 2, 2019 by Mike

The 2019 minor league regular season begins Thursday and the Yankees announced their Opening Day rosters a few days ago. They never publicly released them that far in advance. Pretty cool. Here are the minor league coaching staffs and here are some miscellaneous notes as the season approaches.

Yankees release 22 minor leaguers

As is the case every season with every team, the Yankees released several minor leaguers at the end of Spring Training. There are only so many innings, at-bats, and roster spots to go around. Here are the 22 minor leaguers the Yankees released in recent days, according to Robert Pimpsner and Matt Eddy:

Catchers: Carlos Rodriguez
Infielders: Griffin Garabito, Jesus Graterol, L.J. Mazzilli, Oscar Sanabria
Outfielders: Devyn Bolasky, Andy Diaz, Jordan Scott
Right-Handed Pitchers: Carfred Espana, Jairo Garcia, Gabriel Gonzalez, Chase Hodson, Kyle Johnson, Jean Luna, Bringnel Mendez, Daison Manzano, Christian Morris, Garrett Mundell
Left-Handed Pitchers: Marcos Arguello, Justin Kamplain, Dallas Martinez, Nestor Oronel

Mazzilli (Lee’s son), Bolasky, and Kamplain came up from minor league camp and spent some time with the Yankees as extra bodies for Grapefruit League games this spring. The Yankees simply ran out of full season roster spots for them. Mundell had some sleeper potential as a hard-throwing reliever and Scott was a tools guy who never really figured it out. Just about everyone else is a Dominican Summer League or rookie ball kid.

Culver worked out for Yankees as a pitcher

Former Yankees first round pick Cito Culver worked out for the team as a pitcher during Spring Training, reports Robert Pimpsner. Here’s some video. Culver, now 26, hit .227/.299/.314 (58 wRC+) with four homers as a Double-A and Triple-A utility infielder with the Marlins last season. He signed with the independent Rockland Boulders a few weeks ago and their press release indicates he’ll play the infield, not pitch.

Culver pitched in high school — the video is long gone now, but I remember MLB.com’s draft video was Culver pitching rather than hitting and playing the infield — and his throwing arm was his best tool as a position player. As his bat failed to develop, the possibility of moving to the mound always lingered, though it never happened. The Yankees wouldn’t take a look at Culver this spring if they didn’t have some interest in signing him. This might be something that gets revisited down the line.

MiLB announces rule changes

Minor League Baseball announced new rule changes and revisions last week that align closely with the rule changes coming to Major League Baseball the next two years. Here are the announced changes:

Three-batter minimum for pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A unless the inning ends.
Extra-innings tiebreaker rule revised so pitchers no longer serve as a designated runner.
Mound visit limits reduced (now five in Triple-A, seven in Double-A, nine in Single-A, no limit in rookie ball).

Josh Norris notes rehabbing big leaguers are exempt from the three-batter minimum, which will otherwise be largely inconsequential. Matching up rarely happens in the minors. Even pitchers who project as matchup specialists long-term are used for full innings so they can try to improve against batters of the opposite hand. J.J. Cooper looked at last season and found only a handful of Triple-A pitching appearances that would’ve been affected by the new rule.

The extra-innings tiebreaker rule took effect at all levels last season and I am totally cool with using it in the minors. There’s no reason to risk injuries and push young developing players deep into extra innings. The minors are about development, not wins and losses, and protecting players should be a priority. The rule was revised this year so that pitchers no longer have to serve as the designated runner to start the inning, which has zero impact on the Yankees because they use the DH. The batter who made the last out of the previous inning serves as the runner. If it was a pitcher, the batter before him runs. Easy peasy.

MLB announces AzFL chances

Two weeks ago MLB announced a series of changes to the Arizona Fall League. Most significantly, the season has been moved up a few weeks. The 2019 AzFL season will begin September 17th and end October 26th. In the past the season started in early-October and ended in mid-November. Now there’s much less downtime between the end of the minor league season and the start of the AzFL season. That’s an obvious plus. Expecting players to stay sharp without game action for a few weeks was kinda silly.

Furthermore, teams will now be able to send any player under contract to the AzFL. In the past teams could only send one player who spent the regular season below Double-A, so the league was heavy on Double-A and Triple-A players. Now anyone can go. The AzFL press release doesn’t say anything about players with MLB service time — players with a full year of service time were ineligible for the Fall League — so I assume that rule no longer applies. Sensible changes and good news all around.

Longtime coach, manager Tony Franklin retires

Longtime minor league coach and manager Tony Franklin retired following Spring Training, according to Mark Didtler. It was his 50th (!) Spring Training in professional baseball. “I enjoyed every minute of it,” Franklin said. Franklin, 68, had a nine-year minor league career as a speed-and-defense infielder with the Reds, Cubs, and Expos from 1970-78.

By 1979, Franklin was coaching in the minors, and he joined the Yankees in 2007. Franklin managed Double-A Trenton (2007-14) and Rookie Pulaski (2015), then moved into a rehab coach role in Tampa. He led Trenton to three league championships (2007, 2008, 2013). Franklin was a baseball lifer and incredibly popular with his players and within the organization. Congrats to him on a great career.

Miscellaneous links

And finally, here are some stray links to check out as we wait for minor league Opening Day to arrive:

The MLB.com crew listed one breakout prospect for each team. RHP Deivi Garcia was their pick for the Yankees. “Garcia is so polished that he finished his third professional season in Double-A at age 19. The Yankees love high spin rates, and he has them with his curveball and 91-96 mph fastball. He also shows promise with a fading changeup,” says the write-up. Didn’t Deivi break out last year?
Jonathan Mayo spoke to farm system head Kevin Reese about the system. Reese mentioned RHP Tanner Myatt and OF Josh Stowers as guys who stood out in Spring Training. “He has a really even-keeled personality. You don’t see him get too up or down. His at-bats feed off of that. He has good strike zone knowledge and it seems like he knows when it’s time to let it fly and he knows when it’s time to sit back and put the ball in play, so that’s been impressive,” Reese said of Stowers.
Sam Dykstra posted a Q&A with Reese about all the pitching in the system. “I don’t think there’s anyone that we’ve brought from 89-91 all the way to 97 with any secret sauce or anything like that. But we’re trying to maximize in the weight room. We’re trying to maximize nutrition. We’re trying to maximize all those of things to allow guys to hit their ceilings,” Reese said regarding the Yankees’ ability to help pitchers to add velocity.

Sunday Links: Kikuchi, Acevedo, AzFL, King, Judge

September 30, 2018 by Mike

The Yankees and Red Sox close out their 2018 regular seasons with their three-game series finale later today. Every game across the league starts at 3pm ET today. There are some great postseason races in the National League. American League? Not so much. I’m looking forward to one last stress-free game. Here are some notes to check out prior to today’s season finale.

Yankees scouting Kikuchi

According to Jim Allen, the Yankees were among the teams with a scout(s) on hand to watch Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi during his most recent start. Kikuchi, 27, has a 3.08 ERA with 153 strikeouts in 163.2 innings for the Seibu Lions this season. He’s been among the best pitchers in Japan the last few years. The Lions are expected to post Kikuchi for MLB teams this offseason.

I wrote about Kikuchi and the Yankees back in April. His stuff is legit. He has a qualify fastball and a wide array of secondary pitches. The biggest concern with Kikuchi is a history of arm problems. That doesn’t automatically disqualify him as a possible offseason target. It’s just something that has to be considered. The Yankees have two starters in place for next season (Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka) and I’d bet the farm on CC Sabathia returning. Kikuchi could be a candidate to fill one of the other two rotation spots.

Acevedo removed from AzFL roster

Right-hander Domingo Acevedo has been removed from the Glendale Desert Dogs roster and will not pitch in the Arizona Fall League this year, the league announced. No reason was given but I assume it is injury related. Acevedo was placed on the disabled list with a biceps injury — his second biceps injury of 2018 — at the very end of the minor league season. Injuries limited him to 69.1 innings this season.

The Yankees had an open AzFL roster spot to fill — I have no idea whether that spot is a pitcher spot or position player spot — and now they have to fill Acevedo’s spot as well. I wonder if this opens the door for Jonathan Loaisiga to go to the AzFL to make up for the innings he lost to shoulder inflammation earlier this season. Loaisiga has thrown only 78.2 innings this year and he’s been sitting in the bullpen as a September call-up these last few weeks. The Yankees might not want to throw him to the wolves in the historically hitter friendly AzFL without being properly stretched out.

King among top Eastern League prospects

Baseball America (subs. req’d) continued their look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league earlier this week with the Double-A Eastern League. Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. predictably claims the top spot. He is the top prospect in baseball. Righty Mike King is the only Yankees prospect on the list. He ranks 18th. Here’s a snippet of the scouting report:

He’s lauded internally for the extraordinary amount of work he puts into every start, which has helped him game plan opposing hitters all year long … He starts by commanding a pair of average 89-93 mph fastballs to both sides of the plate and backs it up with a slider and changeup that can generate swings and misses … Because he’s jumped so quickly this year, scouts are understandably hesitant about his future role, with most seeing him as a possible No. 5 starter.

In the chat (subs. req’d), Josh Norris notes righty Erik Swanson showed well this year, though he didn’t throw enough innings with Double-A Trenton to qualify for the Eastern League top 20 list. “(Swanson) saw particular results because of the way his fastball carried through the zone. He also got better at commanding his entire arsenal and made progress with his changeup,” says the write-up. King is not yet Rule 5 Draft eligible. I’m curious to see whether Swanson gets added to the 40-man roster.

Judge has MLB’s highest selling jersey (again)

For the second straight season, Aaron Judge has the highest selling jersey in baseball. MLB and the MLBPA jointly announced their annual most popular player jerseys list earlier this week — that is based on sales at MLB.com’s online shop — and it is dominated by young players. Here’s the press release and here’s the top five:

Aaron Judge, Yankees
Jose Altuve, Astros
Javier Baez, Cubs
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Mookie Betts, Red Sox

Giancarlo Stanton is ninth on the list, one spot behind Shohei Ohtani. I’d love to see the numbers on these jersey sales. Anecdotally, it seems to me there are more Judge jerseys and shirts in the stands these days than any other player since Derek Jeter retired. Jeter always dominated the jersey and shirt scene. Feels like Judge is right up there with him now.

Yankees sending Estevan Florial, Thairo Estrada, five others to the Arizona Fall League

August 30, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The 2019 Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this afternoon and the Yankees are sending seven players to the desert this year: RHP Domingo Acevedo, IF Thairo Estrada, OF Estevan Florial, RHP Jordan Foley, RHP Hobie Harris, IF Steven Sensley, and RHP Matt Wivinis. One or two players may still be added to the roster, as is the case every year.

Florial, the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, is the headliner here. He missed roughly two months with wrist surgery earlier this season and is hitting .278/.377/.415 (129 wRC+) with six home runs in 80 games this season, mostly with High-A Tampa. Florial hit .286/.383/.414 in 19 AzFL games last year and is returning this year to make up the at-bats he lost due to injury.

Various injuries have limited Estrada to only 18 games this season and I’m glad to see he’s healthy and going to the AzFL. Been a tough year for him. Estrada was shot in the hip during a robbery in January, then missed time with groin, back, and wrist problems during the regular season. Last year Estrada hit a strong .342/.381/.430 in 20 AzFL Games.

Acevedo, like Florial, is going to the AzFL to make up for lost time. A blister and a biceps injury have limited him to 69.1 innings this season, most with Double-A Trenton, during which he’s pitched to a 2.99 ERA (3.22 FIP with 20.0% strikeouts and 6.1% walks. Acevedo pitched in the AzFL back in 2015. The fact he’s going this year suggests he will not be a September call-up. Rarely do guys do both.

Interestingly enough, Sensley is listed on the roster as an infielder, indicating his move to first base was not a short-term thing. He was drafted as an outfielder last year before moving to first base with High-A Tampa this year. Sensley is hitting .246/.330/.445 (121 wRC+) with 16 home runs in 107 games split between Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa.

Foley, Harris, and Wivinis are are fringe prospect depth relievers. Foley has a 3.18 ERA (4.22 FIP) with 23.0% strikeouts in 62.1 innings this year, all in Trenton. Harris has a 2.53 ERA (4.03 FIP) in 46.1 innings between Tampa and Trenton. Wivinis has a 2.56 ERA (2.86 ERA) and 34.4% strikeouts in 52.2 innings at three levels this season. These guys are roster fillers more than legit prospects getting a longer look.

Yankees prospects will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the AzFL this year. They’ll be on a team with Dodgers, Indians, Orioles, and White Sox prospects. The 30-game AzFL schedule begins Tuesday, October 9th, and runs through Thursday, November 15th. The Championship Game will be played Saturday, November 17th.

Sheffield and Estrada picked for AzFL Fall Stars Game

October 30, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

Earlier today the Arizona Fall League announced the rosters for their Fall Stars Game, the league’s annual top prospect showcase. Yankees prospects Justus Sheffield and Thairo Estrada were selected for the game, plus both Billy McKinney and Estevan Florial are on the Final Two ballot. Here’s the ballot. Go vote one of them into the game. Here are the East and West rosters.

Sheffield, who came over in the Andrew Miller trade, is New York’s top pitching prospect in my opinion. He threw 93.1 innings with a 3.18 ERA (4.58 FIP) around an oblique injury for Double-A Trenton this year, and so far he has a 2.37 ERA with 21 strikeouts and two walks in 19 innings in the notoriously hitter friendly AzFL. The scouting reports have been glowing too. From Keith Law (subs. req’d):

Sheffield was absolutely filthy in his AFL debut, sitting 94-96 with a plus slider at 86-87 and above-average changeup at 86-89, better at the 86-87 part of that range. He’s always been athletic with a good delivery that’s online to the plate, but now his arm looks faster than ever, and he has a real breaking ball in the slider — he didn’t throw a curveball at all. He was on my top 100 last winter on the promise of his athleticism and changeup, but now he’s got more fastball and a potential out pitch in the slider.

Estrada has long been a personal favorite. He’s hitting .390/.432/.512 through ten AzFL games after hitting .301/.353/.392 (107 wRC+) with a 10.3% strikeout rate as a 21-year-old at Double-A during the regular season. Estrada will be Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter, so a big showing in the AzFL could push the Yankees to add him to the 40-man roster. Middle infielders who can hit are worth keeping around.

The AzFL Fall Stars Game is this Saturday at 8pm ET, and the game will be shown live on MLB Network and MLB.com. Players on the Fall Stars Game rosters are going to play. It’s not like an All-Star Game where some guys might not get in. Sheffield might even start the game. That’d be neat.

Tuesday Links: Sabathia, Girardi, Mets, Judge, Tate, Abreu

October 10, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

Thanks to wins in Games Three and Four of the ALDS the last two days, the Yankees will play for a spot in the ALCS tomorrow night. What a fun season this has been. I hope it never ends. Anyway, here are some stray links to check out now that we all have a chance to catch our breath a bit during the off-day.

Sabathia still wants to pitch in 2018

Over the weekend CC Sabathia reiterated to Jon Morosi that he plans to pitch in 2018. He said this back over the winter too, but at 37 years old and with a balky knee, he could’ve changed his mind at some point during the season. And heck, maybe the Yankees will win the World Series and Sabathia will decide to ride off into the sunset as a champion. That’d be cool, as much as I’d miss CC.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow night, I am totally cool with bringing Sabathia back on one-year contracts for pretty much the rest of his career, Andy Pettitte style. He showed this year that last season’s success was no fluke. The new Sabathia is here to stay. Between the perpetual need for pitching depth and Sabathia’s leadership role in the clubhouse, bringing him back is a no-brainer. And why would Sabathia want to leave? The Yankees are good and fun, and he lives here year-round. The going rate for veteran innings dudes (Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, etc.) is one year and $10M to $12M these days. Maybe Sabathia gets $15M because he’s basically a legacy Yankee?

Mets have discussed Girardi

I had a feeling this was coming. According to Mike Puma, the Mets have internally discussed pursuing Joe Girardi should Girardi and the Yankees part ways when his contract expires after the season. Terry Collins was essentially pushed out as Mets manager after the season, and the team is looking for a new skipper. Also, as George King writes, Girardi has given some indications he could step away after the season to spend more time with his family and avoid burnout.

While we should never rule out Girardi going elsewhere or simply stepping away to be with his family, these two reports struck me as plants from Girardi’s camp as a way to build leverage for contract talks. The best thing for Girardi would be the Nationals and Dusty Baker having trouble finding common ground for an extension, because then he could use them as leverage too. I think Girardi wants to come back — who’d want to leave given how well set up the Yankees are for the future? — and I think both Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman want him back. The chances of a reunion seem quite high to me. Maybe as high as 95/5.

Judge named BA’s Rookie of the Year

A few days ago Baseball America named Aaron Judge their 2017 Rookie of the Year, which should surprise no one. They give out one award for all of MLB, not one for each league. Baseball America has been giving out their Rookie of the Year award since 1989 and Judge is the second Yankee to win it, joining Derek Jeter in 1996. From their write-up:

“You watched him in the minor leagues and you saw the raw power and athletic ability,” one pro scout told BA during the season. “You saw a big swing and high strikeout numbers. Then you have to ask yourself does he have the ability to make adjustments and shorten the swing. The answer was yes.’

“If anybody says they expected this I would have to call them a liar. Nobody in their right mind expected this.”

The last few Baseball America Rookies of the Year include Corey Seager, Kris Bryant, Jose Abreu, Jose Fernandez, and Mike Trout. Judge is for sure going to win the AL Rookie of the Year award — he’d be the first Yankee to win that since Jeter — and he should win unanimously. The real question here is the MVP race. I see way more people explaining why Judge shouldn’t win it (his slump) than why Jose Altuve should win. Kinda weird.

Tate removed, Abreu added to AzFL roster

Dillon Tate has been removed from the Scottsdale Scorpions roster with Albert Abreu taking his place, the Arizona Fall League announced. Also, Chris Gittens was removed from the roster as well. I’m not sure why Tate was dropped from the roster, but it could one of countless reasons. He could’ve gotten hurt. The Yankees could’ve decided to shut him down after Instructional League. The Yankees may think those innings would be better spent on Abreu. Who knows.

Abreu came over in the Brian McCann trade and he threw only 53.1 innings around elbow and lat injuries this year. He finished the season healthy though, and is obviously healthy enough to go to the AzFL, so he’ll be able to squeeze in some more innings there. That’s good. Abreu has an awful lot of upside, maybe the most of any pitcher in the system. As for Gittens, he was removed because Billy McKinney was added to the AzFL roster, and he’s going to start playing some first base there. Only so many first base roster spots to go around, so Gittens gets dropped.

McKinney and Carroll added to Arizona Fall League roster

September 25, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees have assigned outfielder Billy McKinney and right-hander Cody Carroll to the Arizona Fall League, the league announced last week. They’ll join fellow Yankees prospects infielder Thairo Estrada, outfielder Estevan Florial, first baseman Chris Gittens, infielder Kyle Holder, lefty Justus Sheffield, and righty Dillon Tate in the desert this year.

Back when the AzFL rosters were announced, the Yankees had two pitching spots left open, and it appears they managed to swap one of those pitching spots for another outfield spot for McKinney. That’s not too uncommon. Teams will barter roster spots. I need an extra outfield spot and you need an extra pitching spot, so let’s trade. That kinda thing.

McKinney, who came over in the Aroldis Chapman trade last year, will reportedly begin working out at first base in Instructional League, and I assume he’ll continue working there in the AzFL. The Yankees are planning to add him to the 40-man roster after the season. As a bat-first corner outfielder, adding the ability to play first base to his skill set will only help.

As for Carroll, the 24-year-old threw 67.1 relief innings with a 2.54 ERA (3.04 FIP) to go with 32.1% strikeouts and 10.8% walks for High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton this year. He was the team’s 22nd round pick in the 2015 draft and really broke out this year. MLB.com ranks him as the 26th best prospect in the system right now. Here’s a snippet of their scouting report:

Carroll worked in the low 90s as a college starter but now operates at 96-98 mph and reaches triple digits with his fastball. Hitters can’t afford to sit on his heater because he also has a hard breaking ball that can reach the upper 80s, pairing slider velocity with curveball depth … Despite a relatively easy delivery, he didn’t throw a lot of strikes in college and hasn’t as a pro.

The Yankees are sending a really strong crop of prospects to the AzFL this year. Of course, Sheffield and Tate are going to make up for innings lost to injuries, and that’s never great. Still, Florial and McKinney makes for a pair of interesting position player prospects, and Holder tore the cover off the ball in the second half. Would be cool to see him continue it out in the desert.

The 2017 AzFL season begins Tuesday, October 10th and will end with the Championship Game on Saturday, November 18th. Yankees prospects will be on the Scottsdale Scorpions with players from the Angels, Giants, Mets, and Reds organizations.

Florial, Sheffield, Tate among Yankees prospects heading to the Arizona Fall League

August 29, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Arizona Fall League has released their rosters for the 2017 season, and six Yankees prospects are heading to the desert this year: SS Thairo Estrada, OF Estevan Florial, 1B Chris Gittens, SS Kyle Holder, LHP Justus Sheffield, and RHP Dillon Tate. This is the second AzFL assignment for the Tate. Everyone else is a first-timer. Here is the full Scottsdale Scorpions roster. The AzFL season begins October 10th and will wrap up November 18th.

Florial, Sheffield, and Tate are the headliners and three of the ten best prospects in the farm system. The 19-year-old Florial is in the middle of a breakout season, one in which he’s hit .294/.371/.469 (142 wRC+) with 12 home runs in 22 steals in 105 games split between Low-A Charleston and High-A Tampa. He represented the Yankees at the Futures Game and popped up on top 100 lists at midseason.

Both Sheffield (oblique) and Tate (shoulder) are going to the desert to make up for time lost to injury this season. The 21-year-old Sheffield threw 90.1 innings (3.09 ERA and 4.54 FIP) with Double-A Trenton before getting hurt. He’s pitching in rehab games in rookie ball right now. Tate, 23, has a 2.81 ERA (3.95 FIP) in 83.1 innings with High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton since making his season debut in June.

Estrada will be Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter and is on the 40-man roster bubble. The Yankees will be able to continue evaluating him during the AzFL season before deciding whether to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The 21-year-old is hitting .300/.354/.394 (108 wRC+) in 118 games with Double-A Trenton this year. If the Yankees don’t protect Estrada, I think the chances of a team taking a shot on him as a utility infielder are pretty darn high.

The 23-year-old Holder has hit .267/.312/.336 (89 wRC+) in 99 High-A games this season, though he’s been much better the last few weeks, hitting .358/.401/.450 (151 wRC+) in 36 games since returning from the disabled list on July 12th. Gittens, 23, is hitting .264/.373/.459 (146 wRC+) with eleven homers in 67 games for High-A Tampa this season. He had huge power, but it comes with a lot of swings and misses.

In addition to the six players heading to the AzFL, the Yankees also have two pitching spots listed as TBA, so two others are going too. I don’t think they’re going to be significant prospects, however. It’s not often teams send top pitching prospects to the AzFL. It’s very hitter friendly and most pitchers are bumping up against their innings limits. Sheffield and Tate will be there because they got hurt.

This is just a guess, but LHP James Reeves seems like a possible candidate for one of those final two roster spots. He missed time with an elbow sprain earlier this year and the Yankees like him enough to bring him to camp as a non-roster player this spring. The 24-year-old lefty reliever has a 1.99 ERA (2.22 FIP) with 26.5% strikeouts and 4.8% walks in 45.1 innings with High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton since coming back from the elbow injury. Maybe he’ll get one of the last two roster spots. We’ll see.