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River Ave. Blues » Chace Numata

DotF: Estrada, Florial wrap up disappointing AzFL season for Yankees’ prospects

November 19, 2018 by Mike

The 2018 Arizona Fall League season came to an end this past Saturday. Braves 1B Braxton Davidson hit a walk-off home run in Saturday’s Championship Game … and broke his foot rounding the bases. For real. That’s rough. Hopefully he’ll be healed up and ready to go come Spring Training. Anyway, the Peoria Javelinas beat the Salt River Rafters in the title game. Yankees’ prospects played for the Glendale Desert Dogs this year. Glendale went 12-18 and had the second worst record in the six-team league. Here are some offseason minor league notes:

  • Turns out IF Thairo Estrada had surgery this summer to remove the bullet from his hip, reports Lindsey Adler (subs. req’d). Estrada was shot during a robbery last offseason. Adler says the initial emergency surgery was botched. Estrada was on the disabled list with a back injury when he decided to have another procedure to remove the bullet in June, this time with the Yankees overseeing things. Huh. It was successful. Thairo is recovered now and played in the AzFL.
  • Triple-A Scranton manager Bobby Mitchell will not be back next season. DJ Eberle reports the Yankees decided not to renew his contract. “I’m not really sure why or whatever. It happens. I was a little surprised, obviously. I’m not really sure. I didn’t get much of an explanation. I enjoyed my time there. So I was disappointed,” said Mitchell. Mitchell had been with the Yankees since 2016. No word on the new Triple-A manager yet. Might be a few weeks.
  • Matt Eddy has the full list of minor league free agents. Nine Yankees’ prospects hit the open market: IF Daniel Barrios, LHP Havid Burgos, IF Bruce Caldwell, C Wilkin Castillo, LHP Chaz Hebert, IF Rey Navarro, C Chace Numata, IF Victor Rey, and C Jorge Saez. Hebert, who’s been limited by injuries the last few years, is by far the most notable of the bunch. The Yankees have re-signed minor league free agents IF Gio Urshela and C Francisco Diaz, reports Eddy.
  • The Yankees released OF Quintin Berry, reports Eddy. They acquired him in a cash trade in August and it seemed the Yankees would call him up to be their designated September pinch-runner, but that never happened. On Twitter, Berry announced he’s retiring as a player and has taken a minor league coaching role with the Brewers.

Arizona Fall League

  • IF Thairo Estrada: 19 G, 19-for-80 (.238), 9 R, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 15 K, 1 CS, 1 HBP (.238/.282/.263) — not a good showing at all, but I’m inclined to give him a pass after the whole “he got shot in January and didn’t have the bullet removed until June” thing … hopefully Thairo has a good, shooting-free offseason and can pick up where he left off last year in 2019
  • OF Estevan Florial: 21 G, 13-for-73 (.178), 10 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 8 RBI, 12 BB, 29 K, 2 SB, 1 CS (.178/.294/.260) — he went 1-for-1 with a triple and a walk in the Fall Stars game … video of the triple is at the top of the post … otherwise a pretty crummy AzFL season for Florial
  • 1B Steven Sensley: 21 G, 15-for-76 (.197), 4 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI, 4 BB, 26 K, 1 CS, 2 HBP (.197/.256/.263) — he played 15 games at first base and six at DH in the AzFL after playing only one of his final 34 regular season games in the outfield, so it seems he’s a full-time first baseman now … Sensley was an okay prospect as a corner outfielder and he’s a fringe prospect at first base … the offensive potential bar is awfully high to be a legitimate prospect at first base
  • RHP Jordan Foley: 7 G, 7 GS, 19.2 IP, 20 H, 20 R, 20 ER, 19 BB, 20 K, 2 HR, 1 HB, 2 WP (9.15 ERA and 1.98 WHIP) — the good news? he didn’t have the worst numbers among Yankees pitchers in the AzFL
  • RHP Hobie Harris: 9 G, 15 IP, 14 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 7 BB, 16 K, 1 HR, 2 WP (4.20 ERA and 1.40 WHIP)
  • RHP Matt Wivinis: 11 G, 12 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 14 K, 1 HB, 1 WP (1.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP) — two of the six AzFL parks are equipped with Statcast and somehow he managed to pitch in neither this year … he’s supposed to be a big spin rate guy and I was hoping to get some numbers, but alas … bummer
  • RHP Kyle Zurak: 9 G, 9.1 IP, 16 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 10 BB, 3 K, 3 HR, 3 WP (11.57 ERA and 2.79 WHIP) — about as bad an AzFL performance as I can remember … what a crap year AzFL season for the Yankees

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm Tagged With: Bruce Caldwell, Chace Numata, Chaz Hebert, Daniel Barrios, Francisco Diaz, Havid Burgos, Jorge Saez, Quintin Berry, Rey Navarro, Thairo Estrada, Victor Rey, Wilkin Castillo

Open Thread: March 8th Camp Notes

March 8, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

The Yankees actually lost a game this afternoon. Rude. The Phillies beat them 7-6. Aaron Hicks had a single and two walks, Brandon Drury had a single and a double, Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton had singles — Stanton’s was a rocket off the wall, one of those “he hit it so hard he held himself to a single” singles — and Sir Didi Gregorius socked a two-run dinger. Austin Romine had a single off the bench. He is now 9-for-13 (.692) this spring. Gotta love it.

On the mound, Luis Severino made his spring debut and looked fantastic, striking out three and allowing an unearned run in 3.1 innings before hitting his pitch limit. Severino was throwing free and easy. Great to see. Justus Sheffield (three runs in 1.2 innings) and Wade LeBlanc (three runs in two innings) conspired to blow a 6-1 lead. Rats. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here’s the latest from Tampa:

  • Clint Frazier (concussion) rode the stationary bike for 20 minutes, threw, and did rotational exercises to simulate swinging today. “It’s frustrating, but I’m trying not to mess around with this,” he said. Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique) could resume running on Saturday, and it’s possible he will be ready in time for Opening Day. We’ll see. [Erik Boland, Bryan Hoch]
  • The Yankees announced their first round of roster cuts following today’s game. Cale Coshow, Raynel Espinal, Trevor Lane, Chace Numata, Justus Sheffield, and Dillon Tate were all sent out. “I told him I came in here with high expectations about him, knowing how much our organization values him. He surpassed those,” said Boone about Sheffield. The Yankees still have 56 players in big league camp by my unofficial count. [Coley Harvey]
  • In case you missed it earlier, Aaron Judge said he probably won’t participate in the Home Run Derby going forward. Sanchez was asked about the Home Run Derby as well, and he said it’s “too early” to know what he’ll do. Stanton said the same thing. “Depends how the season’s going, how the body’s feeling, if I’m an All-Star. All that,” he said. [Boland, Pete Caldera]
  • Turns out Luis Cessa was scratched from yesterday’s start with a stiff neck. He’s fine now and will start Saturday afternoon. The Yankees will be on the road to take on the Braves tomorrow night. The game will not be televised. Sonny Gray is the scheduled starter. [Boland]

Here is the nightly open thread. If you’re interested, this afternoon’s game will be replayed on YES (10pm ET) and MLB Network (6am ET). MLB Network has the Giants and Mariners live tonight (8:30pm ET), all the local hockey and basketball teams are playing except the Knicks, and there is a ton of college hoops on as well. Talk about those games or anything else here, as long as it’s not religion or politics.

Filed Under: Open Thread, Spring Training Tagged With: Cale Coshow, Chace Numata, Dillon Tate, Justus Sheffield, Raynel Espinal, Trevor Lane

Florial, Sheffield, Adams among 2018 Spring Training invitees

February 2, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Tampa in one week and five days, and earlier this morning, the Yankees announced their list of non-roster Spring Training invitees. The list of 20 non-roster players includes some of the team’s best prospects. Here’s the list:

PITCHERS (11)
RHP Chance Adams
RHP Cody Carroll
RHP Cale Coshow
RHP Raynel Espinal
RHP J.P. Feyereisen
RHP David Hale
RHP Brady Lail
LHP Wade LeBlanc
LHP Justus Sheffield
RHP Dillon Tate
RHP Taylor Widener

CATCHERS (4)
Francisco Diaz
Erik Kratz
Chace Numata
Jorge Saez

INFIELDERS (4)
Danny Espinosa
Kyle Holder
Jace Peterson
Nick Solak

OUTFIELDERS (1)
Estevan Florial

As a reminder, all players on the 40-man roster will be in big league camp automatically. That includes top prospects like Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Domingo Acevedo, Albert Abreu, and Thairo Estrada. Ditto the no longer prospect eligible Clint Frazier. The 40-man roster is full, so the Yankees will have 60 players in camp total.

Hale, Kratz, Espinosa, and Peterson all signed minor league contracts in recent weeks. Everyone else is a product of the farm system. The only real surprise is Espinal, a 26-year-old righty who had an unreal minor league season a year ago, throwing 74.1 relief innings with a 1.09 ERA (2.23 FIP) and great strikeout (33.5%) and walk (5.4%) rates. He topped out at Double-A Trenton. Seems like Espinal impressed enough to get an invite to camp. Good for him.

Assuming everyone stays healthy and there are no surprise trades, the Yankees have three Opening Day roster spots available: second base, third base, and last bullpen spot. I imagine the out of options Chasen Shreve has a leg up on the final bullpen spot. Torres, Andujar, Estrada, Espinosa, Peterson, Ronald Torreyes, and Tyler Wade are the primary competitors for the second and third base jobs.

When I put together my non-roster players preview a few weeks ago, I came up with 20 names. Espinal, Widener, and Coshow were the only actual non-roster players I missed. They take the place of Stephen Tarpley, James Reeves, and mystery first baseman yet to be signed on my projected non-roster list. Not too shabby on my part.

Filed Under: Spring Training Tagged With: Brady Lail, Cale Coshow, Chace Numata, Chance Adams, Cody Carroll, Danny Espinosa, David Hale, Dillon Tate, Erik Kratz, Estevan Florial, Francisco Diaz, J.P. Feyereisen, Jace Peterson, Jorge Saez, Justus Sheffield, Kyle Holder, Nick Slak, Raynel Espinal, Taylor Widener, Wade LaBlanc

Sorting out the Yankees’ potential non-roster Spring Training invitees for 2018

January 22, 2018 by Mike Leave a Comment

(Presswire)

Pitchers and catchers report to Tampa three weeks from tomorrow, and at some point soon, likely within the next two weeks, the Yankees will announce their 2018 Spring Training invitees. These are non-40-man roster players who get a chance to come to big league camp to strut their stuff. Some non-roster invitees are top prospects, some are middling prospects, and some are veteran journeymen trying to hang on.

Generally speaking, teams bring 20-25 non-roster players to Spring Training each year. Last year the Yankees initially invited 23 non-roster players before adding a few more within the first few days of camp. It was a World Baseball Classic year, so they needed extra bodies around while guys were away playing for their country. This is a normal year though, so 20-25 non-roster players. That sounds about right.

The Yankees still have a strong farm system despite the recent trades and graduations, and many of their top prospects are already on the 40-man roster, so they’ll be in camp automatically. Four of MLB.com’s top seven Yankees prospects are on the 40-man, so yeah. Spring Training is a great time to prospect watch. We’ll get a chance to see pretty much all the team’s best prospects at some point, 40-man roster or otherwise.

So, with Spring Training inching closer and non-roster invitees soon to be announced, now is a good time to preview the non-40-man roster players the Yankees could bring to camp this year. Last year I predicted 24 non-roster players and 20 of the 24 actually got the call, so go me. Hopefully I’ll have a similar success rate this year. Anyway, let’s get to the potential non-roster players.

Catchers

Every team brings lots of catchers to Spring Training each year because hey, who is supposed to catch all those bullpen sessions? That’s really all there is to it. There are lots of pitchers in camp who need regular work to get up to speed, and teams can’t overload three or four catchers early in camp. Imagine making Gary Sanchez squat four hours a day to catch bullpens before games even start? Nope. Not gonna happen. The Yankees will again bring plenty of non-roster catchers to camp.

My Prediction: Francisco Diaz, Erik Kratz, Chace Numata, Jorge Saez. Kratz re-signed on a minor league deal a few weeks ago and as a big league veteran who spent September with the Yankees and traveled with the team in the postseason, it’s safe to assume he’ll be in camp as a non-roster player. Diaz and Saez are organizational depth catchers who were in camp last year. (Diaz re-signed as a minor league free agent earlier this winter.) The Yankees picked up Numata a few weeks ago and given the fact he has Double-A experience, it makes sense that he’d get the call for Spring Training. Sanchez, Austin Romine, and Kyle Higashioka are on the 40-man, making it seven catchers total for Spring Training.

Infielders

Solak. (@MLBPipeline)

The infield mix this spring should be pretty interesting. The Yankees have openings at second and third bases, and while youngsters like Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar may be the favorites for those jobs, I have to think the team will cover their bases and bring in plenty of options. Torres, Andujar, Tyler Wade, Thairo Estrada, and Ronald Torreyes are all on the 40-man already. Those are your top five second/third base candidates.

On the prospect front, Nick Solak strikes me as a logical non-roster player given his status as a recent high draft pick (second round in 2016) and success at Double-A last season (.286/.344/.429 for a 112 wRC+), even though it came in a 30-game cameo. My hunch is Kyle Holder will get some non-roster time as well. He’s another recent high draft pick (supplemental first round in 2015) who had a good-ish year in 2017. The Yankees like him enough that they sent him to the Arizona Fall League. I think Holder gets the invite as basically the last infielder and is among the first cuts.

Younger lower level infield prospects like Hoy Jun Park, Dermis Garcia, Diego Castillo, and Oswaldo Cabrera aren’t non-roster material. Big league camp isn’t the appropriate place for them at this point in their careers. The Yankees will, however, bring another first baseman to camp. Greg Bird and Tyler Austin are the only 40-man players at the position now. The Yankees tried to re-sign Ji-Man Choi, who recently signed with the Brewers. I imagine they’ll target another Triple-A first baseman. Looking at the list of free agents … maybe Tyler Moore? We’ll see.

I also expect the Yankees to bring in another veteran infielder on a minor league deal. They’ve already signed Jace Peterson, but remember how many infield spots they have to fill. There’s second, third, and the backup spot at the MLB level. Then there’s second, third, short, and the backup spot in Triple-A. That’s seven infielders. Right now the Yankees have Torres, Andujar, Wade, Estrada, Torreyes, and Peterson for six of those seven spots. So yeah, another minor league contract infielder is coming.

My Prediction: Holder, Solak, Peterson, an infielder yet to be signed, and a first baseman yet to be signed. If the Yankees don’t sign a first baseman — that would really surprise me, but I suppose it’s not impossible — Ryan McBroom would be the third Spring Training first baseman almost by default. Billy McKinney, who is on the 40-man and started playing first in the Arizona Fall League, also figures to see time at the position.

Outfielders

Last year the Yankees invited two non-roster outfielders to camp: Clint Frazier and Dustin Fowler. Frazier, assuming he isn’t traded between now and reporting date, is on the 40-man and will be in camp automatically. Fowler is with the A’s. The Yankees are overloaded with outfielders at the moment, so they have more than enough bodies to cover all those innings during Grapefruit League play.

Now, that said, the Yankees tend to bring their very best prospects to camp each season, which means Estevan Florial is a good bet to receive a non-roster invite. He went to the Futures Game last year, finished the season with a quick Double-A cameo, and went to the Arizona Fall League. And he is one of the 100 or so best prospects in baseball. Even though he turned only 20 in November, Florial is sufficiently top prospecty enough for a non-roster invite at this point of his career.

My Prediction: Florial. That’s it. Other outfield prospects like Isiah Gilliam, Rashad Crawford, and Alex Palma are a no. Keep in mind the Yankees have nine outfielders on the 40-man at the moment: Frazier, McKinney, Jabari Blash, Jake Cave, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton. Peterson and Wade can also play the outfield. The Yankees are plenty covered.

Right-handers

Adams. (Presswire)

The Yankees have more high-end young pitching in the farm system than at any point in the last 10-15 years. One small problem: Most of it is in the low minors. Teenagers like Matt Sauer, Luis Medina, Roansy Contreras, and Deivi Garcia aren’t coming to big league camp. They don’t belong there. They’re not ready for it. Even the Single-A guys in their early-20s like Freicer Perez and Taylor Widener won’t get invited. It’s not their time. Clarke Schmidt, last year’s first round pick, is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, so he won’t get a non-roster invite. There’s no point.

Even ruling out the generally inexperienced lower level guys, the Yankees have no shortage of quality right-handed pitching prospects to invite to camp. Chief among them: Chance Adams and Dillon Tate. Adams was in camp last season and could be the first guy called up when a sixth starter is needed this season, so of course he’s coming to camp. Tate was not a non-roster guy last year, but now that he has some Double-A time under his belt, it stands to reason he’ll get the invite.

On the bullpen side, I think J.P. Feyereisen will return to big league camp this spring — he was in camp last year — even though he didn’t have a great 2017 season and was passed over in the Rule 5 Draft. He’s someone who could find himself in the big leagues rather quickly if he starts the season well and the Yankees have a need. The Yankees will want the new coaching staff to get to know him. Same with Cody Carroll, last year’s breakout relief prospect, who finished the season in Double-A and dominated in the Arizona Fall League.

My Prediction: Adams, Carroll, Feyereisen, Tate, Brady Lail, and a minor league contract guy yet to be signed. I get the feeling a depth arm signing is coming. As for Lail, he was a non-roster player each of the last two years, so the Yankees like him. Maybe they don’t like him as much now after a tough Triple-A season last year (5.17 ERA and 4.76 FIP), but I’m going to play it safe and say he gets another invite. There are always innings to be soaked up. Reminder: Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, and Jonathan Loaisiga are all on the 40-man roster. They’ll be in camp. I’m looking forward to seeing Johnny Lasagna. Moreso than another other non-40-man prospect this spring.

Left-handers

Realistically, there’s only one worthwhile left-handed pitching prospect in the organization: Justus Sheffield. Sheffield is the Yankees’ top pitching prospect overall and he was in camp as a non-roster player last year, so of course he’ll be back this year. He made only two appearances totaling 3.2 innings last spring. I’d bet on a little more action this time around.

James Reeves and Stephen Tarpley are the two other non-40-man southpaws worth a mention. Reeves was actually in camp as a non-roster player last spring, but he suffered an elbow injury early on and didn’t pitch. Once healthy, he had a 1.96 ERA (2.18 FIP) with 26.6% strikeouts and 4.7% walks in 46 innings, and he reached Double-A. Reeves has a classic low arm slot left-on-left matchup profile …

… the kind of profile that seems to be dying out around baseball, but the Yankees like him enough to bring him to camp last spring, and after he season he just had, I expect him to be back in big league camp this year. As for Tarpley, he had an unreal 2017 season, throwing 41 innings with a 0.88 ERA (2.85 FIP) and a strong strikeout rate (26.9%) but a not-so-strong walk rate (11.5%). The numbers are good, but Tarpley went unpicked in the Rule 5 Draft last month, and teams usually gobble up any left-hander they think has a chance to be useful. Hmmm.

My Prediction: Sheffield, Reeves, Tarpley, and Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc is on a minor league contract with an invite to camp, so he’ll be there. I think Tarpley gets an invite because the Yankees are short on 40-man roster lefties — the only southpaws on the 40-man are Aroldis Chapman, Jordan Montgomery, CC Sabathia, and Chasen Shreve — and clubs generally like to bring in plenty of lefties just to take inventory. See who could be an option at some point, you know?

* * *

Putting it all together, we come away with 20 non-roster players. Here is the breakdown:

  • Catchers (4): Diaz, Kratz, Numata, Saez
  • Infielders (5): Holder, Solak, Peterson, mystery infielder, mystery first baseman
  • Outfielders (1): Florial
  • Right-handers (6): Adams, Carroll, Feyereisen, Lail, Tate, mystery minor league signing
  • Left-handers (4): Reeves, Sheffield, Tarpley, LeBlanc

That’s probably not enough players. Last year the Yankees had 23 non-roster players initially before adding a few others during the first days of camp. They had 26 non-roster players in camp in both 2015 and 2016. My total of 20 potential non-roster players is light. There will be a few more players in camp.

Like I said, the Yankees are almost certainly not done signing journeymen like Kratz, Peterson, and LeBlanc to minor league deals. The Yankees had five veterans (Choi, Jason Gurka, Ruben Tejada, Donovan Solano, Pete Kozma) on minor league deals in camp last spring, for reference. A few more signings are coming and will get the non-roster list over 20 names.

Also, it’s entirely possible the Yankees will be more open to bringing lower level prospects to camp this spring. Maybe they let Donny Sands catch some bullpens, or give Park a taste of big league life, or let someone like Perez or Widener air it out for a few innings to showcase them as trade chips. Those 20 names above are the core non-roster players. A few minor minor league signings and a surprise prospect or two (like Daniel Camarena last year) figure to round out this year’s crop of invitees.

Filed Under: Spring Training Tagged With: Alex Palma, Brady Lail, Chace Numata, Chance Adams, Cody Carroll, Deivi Garcia, Dermis Garcia, Diego Castillo, Dillon Tate, Donny Sands, Erik Kratz, Estevan Florial, Francisco Diaz, Freicer Perez, Hoy Jun Park, Isiah Gilliam, J.P. Feyereisen, Jace Peterson, James Reeves, Jorge Saez, Justus Sheffield, Kyle Holder, Luis Medina, Matt Sauer, Nick Solak, Oswaldo Cabrera, Rashad Crawford, Roansy Contreras, Ryan McBroom, Stephen Tarpley, Steven Sensley, Taylor Widener, Wade LeBlanc

DotF: Andujar continues to struggle in winter ball

December 3, 2017 by Mike Leave a Comment

MLB.com put together a neat feature on OF Estevan Florial, who is a star prospect on the field and the team chef off the field. Florial regularly cooked for his teammates while playing in the Arizona Fall League this year. Pretty cool. The video if above. Here are some minor league notes:

  • Jim Callis ranked the top 25 prospects in the AzFL this year. Braves OF Ronald Acuna topped the list, predictably. Florial (No. 8), LHP Justus Sheffield (No. 9), RHP Albert Abreu (No. 10), SS Thairo Estrada (No. 15), and RHP Cody Carroll (No. 23) all made the list.
  • Bill Mitchell also ranked the top AzFL prospects. He ranked ten. Acuna was No. 1, of course. Sheffield (No. 4), Abreu (No. 5), and Florial (No. 8) all made the top ten while Estrada earned an honorable mention. Sheffield and Abreu above Indians C Francisco Mejia is pretty wild. Mejia is a top ten prospect in baseball in my opinion.
  • Jonathan Mayo wrote about the top breakout prospects in the AzFL. Abreu, Carroll, and Estrada were among them. Also, Mike Rosenbaum wrote about AzFL prospects who most stood out to him. Estrada and Carroll both made his write-up. Carroll’s getting some love this fall, huh?
  • The Yankees signed C Chace Numata to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy. The 25-year-old is a former 14th round pick. He hit .249/.318/.351 (83 wRC+) in 84 Double-A games with the Phillies this season. Numata’s an organizational depth catcher.

Arizona Fall League

  • SS Thairo Estrada: 20 G, 27-79 (.342), 13 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 R, 3 BB, 19 K, 3 SB, 1 CS, 2 HBP (.342/.381/.430) — all told, the Summer of Thairo featured a .307/.356/.397 line in 142 games this year
  • OF Estevan Florial: 19 G, 20-70 (.286), 14 R, 5 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 10 BB, 29 K, 2 SB, 2 CS, 1 HBP (.286/.383/.414) — considering he only has about a month of High-A time under his belt, this was a real nice AzFL showing for Florial … too many strikeouts, for sure, but everything else looks good
  • SS Kyle Holder: 11 G, 15-45 (.333), 5 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 CS, 1 HBP (.333/.367/.511) — hot take: Holder’s going to be on the 40-man roster 12 months from now … he’ll be Rule 5 Draft eligible next year and the bat is kinda sorta starting to come around
  • 1B/OF Billy McKinney: 19 G, 19-68 (.279), 8 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 11 BB, 16 K, 1 SB, 1 HBP (.279/.373/.426) — thought he would’ve hit for more power out here given his regular season, but weird things happen in 19-game samples
  • RHP Albert Abreu: 6 G, 6 GS, 27.2 IP, 21 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 14 BB, 23 K, 3 HR (2.60 ERA and 1.27 WHIP) — a few too many walks, but otherwise that’s a really strong AzFL showing
  • RHP Cody Carroll: 9 G, 11.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 18 K (0.00 ERA and 0.60 WHIP) — seven pitchers did not allow a run in the AzFL this year and Carroll led those seven in innings
  • RHP Andrew Schwaab: 9 G, 11.1 IP, 14 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 7 BB, 8 K, 1 HB (6.35 ERA and 1.85 WHIP)
  • LHP Justus Sheffield: 5 G, 5 GS, 20.1 IP, 14 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 22 K, 3 WP (3.10 ERA and 0.84 WHIP)

The AzFL season ended a few weeks go — the Peoria Javelinas beat the Mesa Solar Sox in the Championship Game — so those stats are final.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down on the Farm Tagged With: Chace Numata

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