DotF: Wagaman homers twice in Pulaski’s season opener

Here are the day’s notes:

• The Yankees called up LHP Tyler Webb, they announced earlier today. UTIL Rob Refsnyder was sent down to clear a roster spot. Webb, the team’s tenth round pick in 2013 and LHP Jordan Montgomery’s former college teammate, spent nearly all of the last four seasons with Triple-A Scranton. Cool to see him get the call. Webb has a 3.24 ERA (2.14 FIP) with 47 strikeouts and only three walks in 33.1 innings this season.
• SS Gleyber Torres told Conor Foley and D.J. Eberle he is heading to Tampa on Saturday following yesterday’s Tommy John surgery. He’ll rest the next two weeks before beginning rehab work. Apparently Torres was told he could be ready to play by November, which means winter ball could be in play, though I don’t see that happening. The Yankees won’t push their top prospect. Gleyber said he’s focused on Spring Training.
• C Kyle Higashioka has been placed on the 7-day DL, the RailRiders announced. Foley says Higashioka is dealing with bad lower back spasms. He was supposed to see a doctor today, and if they’re calling it spasms, I guess that means there’s no structural damage. That’s good.
• No Triple-A Scranton players lead their positions in the All-Star Game fan voting. Here’s the update. RHP Chance Adams does lead the write-in votes, however. Lehigh Valley fans are really stuffing the ballot, it seems. Voting ends tomorrow. Here’s the ballot.
• Two links to check out: Chris Crawford asked executives whether they’d take the Yankees farm system or the Braves farm system, and Jim Callis listed OF Clint Frazier as a potential impact prospect for the second half.

Triple-A Scranton (11-1 with over Pawtucket)

• SS Tyler Wade: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP
• CF Dustin Fowler: 1-5, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 SB
• DH Tyler Austin: 2-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 K — three straight games with a homer … here’s video of the double and home run
• 3B Miguel Andujar: 1-4
• RF Jake Cave: 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI — four homers in his last six games
• LF Mark Payton: 3-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI — some team’s future fourth outfielder is hitting .293/.350/.421 on the season
• RHP Chance Adams: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 5/5 GB/FB — 60 of 100 pitches were strikes … has a 43.7% ground ball rate this year, which is pretty terrible for a good pitching prospect in the minors … the book on him is that he doesn’t get great downhill plane on his fastball (he’s only 6-foot-1) and his heater can be pretty straight … I worry that when he comes up, he’ll initially be really home run prone, especially with the ball flying out of the park all around the league this season
• RHP Ben Heller: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 19 of 30 pitches were strikes (63%)

Double-A Trenton was rained out. No word on a makeup date yet, though they’ll be back in Altoona at the end of next month, so probably during that series.

High-A Tampa (6-1 win over Dunedin over five innings) completed early due to rain

• LF Trey Amburgey: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 K
• DH Tito Polo: 1-3, 2 R, 1 2B
• 2B Nick Solak: 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB — 11-for-15 (.733) in his last four games
• SS Kyle Holder: 2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI
• RHP Zack Littell: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 5/3 GB/FB — 41 of 59 pitches were strikes (69%) … so I guess he was sent back down here

Low-A Charleston (2-1 win over Greenville in ten innings)

• 2B Hoy Jun Park: 3-5
• 3B Angel Aguilar: 0-4, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (throwing)
• LF Blake Rutherford: 2-4, 2 R, 1 2B — had been 2-for-12 (.167) in his first three games back from the disabled list
• CF Estevan Florial: 3-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS — dude is hitting .305/.378/.508 as a 19-year-old in full season ball
• C Donny Sands: 0-4, 1 PB
• DH Isiah Gilliam: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 K — drove in the go-ahead run with a fielder’s choice
• RF Alex Palma: 0-5, 2 K — threw a runner out at the plate … outfield assists are this thing, he has 41 outfield assists in 212 career games (!!!)
• SS Diego Castillo: 1-3
• RHP Freicer Perez: 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 3 WP, 11/3 GB/FB — 56 of 91 pitches were strikes (62%) … he’s been getting better and better as the season progresses

Short Season Staten Island (6-1 loss to Hudson Valley)

• SS Wilkerman Garcia: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K — left the game for an unknown reason in the seventh
• CF Dom Thompson-Williams: 0-4, 1 K — threw a runner out at second
• 3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 2-4, 1 R
• RF Timmy Robinson: 0-4
• RHP Juan De Paula: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 WP, 5/1 GB/FB — 41 of 66 pitches were strikes (62%) … he came over from the Mariners in the Ben Gamel trade
• RHP David Palladino: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0/2 GB/FB — 12 of 18 pitches were strikes … with 48 appearances, he is the longest tenured pitcher in Staten Island Yankees history (that’s probably not a good thing)

Rookie Pulaski (7-2 win over Princeton) this is Opening Day for them, so here’s the full lineup

• CF Pablo Olivares: 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K — got picked off first
• SS Jesus Bastidas: 1-3, 2 R, 1 K, 1 HBP, 1 E (throwing) — signed for maximum $300,00 during the 2015-16 international signing period, when the Yankees were hamstrung by the spending penalties
• DH Andres Chaparro: 1-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K
• 3B Dermis Garcia: 2-3, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K — he’s repeating the level, so he should have a pretty good summer
• 1B Eric Wagaman: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 E (missed catch) — nice pro debut for this year’s 13th rounder … he’s the first 2017 draft pick to play in a game this season (for the Yankees, not sure about other teams)
• C Saul Torres: 0-4, 2 K — picked a runner off first with a snap throw
• LF Brayan Emery: 0-3, 2 K, 1 HBP
• RF Leobaldo Cabrera: 0-3
• 2B Eduardo Torrealba: 0-3
• RHP Rony Garcia: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 5/3 GB/FB — 57 of 79 pitches were strikes (72%) … the 19-year-old is a bit of a sleeper
• RHP Matt Wivinis: 2.1 IP, zeroes, 6 K, 1 WP, 1/0 GB/FB — 27 of 40 pitches were strikes (68%)
• RHP Kaleb Ort: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — 14 of 21 pitches were strikes … the Yankees signed him out of an independent league a few weeks back

The two Rookie GCL Yanks affiliates begin their seasons Monday. Still no rosters yet. We probably won’t see those things until Monday.