BIG RESULTS FROM OUR YANKEE PROSPECTS!

Well, that's all she wrote! The curtain has closed on yet, another Arizona Fall League season.

Unfortunately, there would be no Championship in the cards for the Scottsdale Scorpions and the Yankee prospects. Led by current Tampa Yankees manager Jay Bell, the Scorpions finished the AFL season with a 12-17-1 record. Though the record was not too great, I personally did get to see some good things from the Yankee prospects as I was able to attend a few games this season. In fact, this list of the top breakout prospects in the league this year highlights some of the Yankee prospects I was impressed by most. Check this out from MLB.com:

(Zachary Lucy/Four Seam Images via AP)

"Albert Abreu, RHP, Yankees' No. 7 prospect: If he's in New York's top 10, he obviously wasn't completely off the radar, and he was a big part of the Brian McCann deal. But after just 53 1/3 innings in his first season with the organization due to a shoulder issue, all in A ball, there were questions. Abreu still needs to work on his command, but a 2.60 ERA and .219 batting average against in 27 2/3 IP with premium stuff certainly answered some of them this fall.

(Zachary Lucy/Four Seam Images via AP)

Cody Carroll, RHP, Yankees' No. 25 prospect: The 25-year-old reliever took off in 2017 with a full-time move to the bullpen, pitching well in Double-A. With a fastball up to 98 mph and a slider, both coming from a hard-to-pick-up delivery, Carroll didn't give up a run in 11 2/3 AFL innings, allowing only two hits and striking out 18...

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Thairo Estrada, SS, Yankees' No. 17: After hitting .301 in Double-A at age 21, perhaps Estrada should be more on the map. Hitting .342 this fall won't hurt, nor will his outstanding defense at shortstop for Scottsdale. "

While those 3 were not the biggest names of the Yankee prospects, they each showed a lot of promise and a glimpse of the future.

Speaking of the biggest names the Yankees assigned to the AFL... Justus Sheffield, Estevan Florial and Billy McKinney all looked solid.

In 5 starts Justus Sheffield had a record of 2-2 with an ERA of 3.10. In all, he pitched a total of 20.1 innings recording 22 strikeouts and issuing only 3 walks. While I only got to catch a couple of his starts, he left quite an impression. I could definitely see Justus pushing to make it to the Bigs in the very near future.

Kim Contreras photo | @cu_As

Estevan Florial finished the season batting .286 with 5 doubles and 2 triples while collecting 4 RBI's. While he is a top prospect, you could tell he still has some developing to do. His main issue was the strikeout, as he whiffed 29 times in 70 at-bats. The kid just turned 20 though... so there is plenty of time. He may be the centerfielder of the future, but the Yankees seem alright in the outfield right now, so there is no real reason to rush the kid.

Photo: Baseball America

Billy McKinney. We love him here at BYB. McKinney batted .279 hitting 5 doubles, 1 triple, and a home run while collecting 20 RBI's. Billy was sent to the AFL to get some work at first base. Besides playing some first, Billy also played some in left field and handled the DH spot as well. Billy could be in the Bronx as early as next season. It's exciting.

(Zachary Lucy/Four Seam Images via AP)

Others Yankee prospects to compete in the Fall League this year were infielder Kyle Holder and relief pitcher Andrew Schwaab. Holder appeared in 11 games batting .333, collecting 3 doubles, a triple, and a home run collecting 6 RBI's. Kyle also only struck out 4 times in 45 at-bats.

(Zachary Lucy/Four Seam Images via AP)

Schwaab pitched a total of 11.1 innings striking out 8 and walking 7. He ended the season with a 6.35 ERA surrendering 8 earned runs. All stats can be found here on the Arizona Fall League site.

The Arizona Fall League is an incredible experience.  Something I love watching being out here in AZ.  If you ever get a chance, you should come check it out.  You never know... you may be looking at a future Yankee All-Star!

--Michael Carnesi
BYB Writer
Twitter: @sevn4evr

GEARING UP FOR THE ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE!

(Mike Janes/AP) 

Besides early spring and prepping for the baseball season, my other favorite time of year is early fall when I get to witness the spectacle of the Arizona Fall League. I'm really excited for it, as I just ordered my season pass and the preliminary rosters were announced earlier in the week. As of right now, there are six Yankee prospects that have been assigned to the Scottsdale Scorpions. Of those six kids being sent to Arizona, the most notable are Estevan Florial and Justus Sheffield. How exciting!

Our guy Bryan Hoch writes this of the boys: "Estevan Florial and Justus Sheffield have earned recognition among the best young talent in the game, and the promising duo is among a group that will be rewarded with the opportunity to wear Yankees pinstripes in the upcoming Arizona Fall League.

Florial and Sheffield are among 11 of MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 prospects who will participate in the AFL, suiting up for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

A speedy left-handed-hitting outfielder, the 19-year-old Florial played for the World Team in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and is currently ranked as the Yanks' No. 4 prospect (87th overall). He has batted .294/.371/.469 with 22 doubles, six triples, 12 homers, 51 RBIs and 22 steals in 105 games between Class A Charleston and Class A Advanced Tampa...

(Mike Janes/AP)

Sheffield, 21, is New York's No. 5 prospect (89th overall). Currently rehabbing from a left oblique strain with the Gulf Coast Yankees, Sheffield is 7-5 with a 3.09 ERA in 16 starts for Double-A Trenton this season, walking 33 and striking out 79 in 90 1/3 innings."

We've all heard plenty about Florial and Sheffield, yet I really haven't had the chance to watch them perform. I really look forward to October. Sometimes what you hear and read and what you see can be totally different things.

(Buck Davidson/MiLB.com)

Along with Sheffield and Florial, Dillon Tate returns to Scottsdale for his 2nd go around in the AFL. He was on the Scorpions roster for a part of last year's season. When he was here, he was named to the Arizona Fall Stars team, yet did not pitch in the game and all of a sudden was gone. Initially, I thought he might have gotten hurt, but it turned out to be nothing more than an innings limit thing.

Photo of: Kyle Holder

The other Yankee prospects being sent are infielders Thairo Estrada, Chris Gittens and Kyle Holder. I imagine they might also add another late add too, as each team is allowed to send 7. They might even add a Taxi Squad player that is only allowed to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will see. 

Photo: Charles Wenzelberg

But to me, this one of the best things about living in Arizona. I really enjoy this time as it is one of the most intimate ways to watch baseball. You get to hear the sounds of the ballpark as there are usually not a lot of people in attendance. Plus, you actually get to meet the players and talk to them, and that adds extra fun of going to a baseball game. I highly suggest that if you happen to be in Arizona between October 10th and November 18th, you catch a game or two.  Heck... I'll sit with ya!

--Michael Carnesi
BYB Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @sevn4evr 

GREGORIUS & TORRES COULD BATTLE FOR SHORTSTOP

I read an interesting nugget on NJ.com at the end of the week that thrusted Didi Gregorius into the limelight and a head to head pseudo battle for shortstop with hotshot prospect Gleyber Torres. I say pseudo battle because neither are face to face battling for a position, which Gregorius has held rather well since taking over for our retired Captain Derek Jeter.  But...it could happen and may happen even as early as this season.

According to NJ.com, "Gone are the chants for Derek Jeter. But now Didi Gregorius faces a new challenge: Showing the Yankees that he's the shortstop of the future, not their hot shot prospect Gleyber Torres."  This concept brought back some memories of another battle for SS that never really was a battle but a concession and contract caveat from the player and the Yankee administration.

When the Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez, hot shot Texas Rangers shortstop, Rodriguez said he would move his position from shortstop to third base so that he could be a Yankee. Brian Cashman almost passed on the deal because he was more than satisfied with Derek Jeter's performance at the shortstop.

As written in the The New York Times in 2004, "The impetus for the Yankees' deal came on Jan. 16, when third baseman Aaron Boone seriously injured a knee while playing pickup basketball and Cashman could not find a replacement. Rodriguez, sensing an escape from what had become a gilded prison in Texas, decided he would shift from shortstop to third base if the Rangers dealt him to the Yankees. It was no small concession from Rodriguez, who has won Gold Gloves for fielding excellence at shortstop the past two seasons. But Rodriguez has never played in the World Series, and according to one person familiar with the trade talks, he told the Rangers' owner, Tom Hicks, through an intermediary early last week that he wanted to be traded to the Yankees."

Source: The New York Daily News

We already have Torres but the 19-year-old is not expected to make his debut in the Bronx this season.  According to insiders, Torres will start the season at the Trenton Thunder and could see time in the majors in 2018.  This is now, but as we all know, anything can happen.  This leaves Gregorius with 2017 to impress and solidify himself as the Yankee starting shortstop of the future.  "If everything goes right, Gregorius expands on his power, hits at least 20 bombs again, but improves defensively, winning his first Gold Glove by not just making SportsCenter Top 10 plays but by breezing through routine ones effortlessly — and consistently."  And this would not only be great for Gregorius but for us as well.

Source: CBS

If not Torres, it could be one of many talents we have in place at shortstop.  Jorge Mateo, Kyle Holder, Wilkerman Garcia, Tyler Wade and Diego Castillo are all shortstops to keep an eye on as they move through the ranks to the majors.  And let's not forget Ronald Torreyes and Ruben Tejada who could get some playing time this season and perhaps make a name for themselves at short.

Bottom-line, Didi Gregorius has to perform and perform at the top of his game in order to not only hold onto his position at short but hold onto a position on the roster.  I'm not trying to put unnecessary pressure on the guy, but at the end of the day, it is about consistency both at the plate and in the field and Gregorius isn't there yet with either.  Now, 2017, could be his year and I hope it is.  But, for all of us, the idea that someone else could snap up shortstop as his own is definitely a possibility.  Everyone is replaceable and the battle for shortstop is real.  Just something to look forward to as we head into spring training within the next week.



--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof