A lot to cover with the Arizona Fall League coming to a close.
News & Notes
- Greg Bird is playing for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League. The first baseman missed all but 10 games in 2019 and has played just 190 games of baseball, Minor Leagues and AFL included, since the end of 2015.
- Some former Yankees MiLBers playing winter ball in the Dominican include Melky Mesa, Ryan McBroom, Abiatal Avelino and Jorge Mateo
- Baseball America released its draft report card (subs req) for 2019. Anthony Volpe and Josh Smith were named NYY’s best pure hitters in the class while Volpe also earned “Best Defensive Player” honors. BA has 13th-round pick Nelson Alvarez, he of a 100 mph fastball, as a potential steal.
- BA also had their top prospects for each Minor League this year. The Yankees were well represented in the lower minors with four players (including Volpe) in the Appy League, three players (including Smith and Ezequiel Duran) from the NY-Penn League and four players in the GCL.
- Deivi Garcia, Albert Abreu and Clarke Schmidt made it in Double-A and High-A, while five RiverDogs earned their way onto the South Atlantic League list.
Surprise Sagueros … They went 17-12 before losing in the AFL Championship Game
RHP Glenn Otto: 6 starts, 24 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 13 BB, 26 K, 2 HR — Otto displayed his talent in his AFL stay, finishing seventh in strikeouts and 10th in ERA in the prospect-laden league. His 13 walks were tied for the league-high though. After missing plenty of time in 2019, this gives him a needed boost into next season.
RHP Daniel Bies: 10 G, 11.1 IP, 14 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 14 K — The strikeout and walk numbers are encouraging, just as they were when the 6-foot-8 righty floated between levels this season.
RHP: Aaron McGarity: 10 G, 11.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 15 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP — After pitching mostly in the low minors, this was impressive. McGarity could find himself a quick riser as another Yankee college reliever.
RHP: Derek Craft: 3 G, 2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR — Craft came to the AFL late and barely got a chance to pitch. The 2018 16th-round pick pitched for Pulaski and Staten Island this year.
C Donny Sands: 16 G/62 PA, 11-for-54, 3 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 8 BB, 12 K — Sands batted.204/.306/.315 overall with both his ISO and walk rate going up from the regular season.
1B Brandon Wagner: 20 G/84 PA, 15-for-70, 4 2B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 12 BB, 27 K, 0-for-1 on SB — Wagner’s line from the AFL reads .214/.333/.357, which is much better than his .570 regular season OPS. The 2018 breakout player in the system took a step back in Trenton in 2019, so the 24-year-old New Jersey product got a chance to prove himself after a tough season.
OF Josh Stowers: 20 G/77 PA, 8-for-61, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 13 BB, 27 K, 4-for-7 on SB — Stowers clearly didn’t hit, either for power or average, yet he maintained his walk rate at 16.9 percent. The 2018 draft pick missed time at midseason, yet he still played in 105 games, so there’s a chance he was just tired from the long year as happens to plenty of AFL players.