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Weekly Arizona Fall League roundup: 10/31

There has not been New York Yankees baseball for nearly a month. For veterans, the offseason is a time for much needed rest. For prospects? Not so much. It’s a time for these young players to work on their craft and showcase their talent to their respective organizations. One of those leagues is the Arizona Fall League, where top prospects from all organizations gather together to continue to compete at a high-level well into the month of October and beyond. The Yankees — who now have one of the top farm systems in all of baseball — sent nine players (four position players and five pitchers) to the AFL. Miguel Andujar, Greg Bird, Gleyber Torres and Tyler Wade are the four position players, and Nestor Cortes, J.P. Feyereisen, James Kaprielian, Brody Koener, and Dillon Tate are the five pitchers. Below is an update on how these Yankee prospects performed over the past week.

Miguel Andujar, 3B:

Andujar is a twenty-one year old third baseman out of the Dominican Republic. He played at both Single-A and Double-A this past season before heading to the AFL. In four games this week, Andujar went 4 for 12 with a 3:1 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He is now slashing .371/.465/.457 with a very good 7:4 ratio in eleven AFL games. Andujar — despite not being in the limelight — continues to establish himself as respectable prospect within the Yankees system.

Greg Bird, 1B:

Oh how the Yankees missed Bird in 2016. After establishing himself as a credible big leaguer in the 2nd half of the 2015 season, Bird appeared destined to play a big role for the Yankees in 2016. That hope was shattered after Bird injured his shoulder, ending his season before it even started. Nonetheless, Bird finally appears healthy and should be the Yankees starting first baseman next season with Teixeira hanging up the cleats. Bird went 3 for 15 with a home run this past week, and is currently slashing .220/.360/.439 in eleven AFL games. Despite his low average, Bird has managed to get on base, walking eight times in eleven games. The Yankees and their fans are, rightfully so, anxiously awaiting Bird to return to the Bronx.

See Bird’s HR here:

Gleyber Torres, SS:

I wrote an article earlier this week praising Torres. I am just going to repeat myself. Sure, he went 1 for 11 this week (the one was a home run) in three games, but Torres has established himself as one of the best – if not the best – prospect in the Yankees system. The kid is 19 years old. He has all the tools to be a star in the bigs and help lead the Yankees back to the glory days.

Tyler Wade, OF:

Wade, who is a relatively lesser known prospect within the Yankees system, played his entire 2016 season at Double-A. Over the past week, Wade went 2 for 7 in two games with three stolen bases. He is only hitting .143 in six games, but is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts.

Nestor Cortes, P:

Cortes, who turns 22 in December, is a left-handed pitcher within the Yankees system. He appeared only once this past week, allowing two ER while only recording two outs. He has now allowed four earned runs in 1 2/3 IP in the AFL. Not exactly the start to the season Cortes had hoped for.

J.P. Feyereisen, P:

Feyereisen, who was one of four players acquired for Andrew Miller, is slightly on the older side as he turned 23 in February. Nevertheless, he recorded three shutout innings in two appearances this past week. He has now allowed five runs — four earned — in 10 innings, which is good for a 4.50 ERA. While Feyereisen was clearly not the centerpiece of the Miller deal, he is hoping to establish himself as more than a throw-in.

James Kaprielian, P:

Kaprielian was the Yankees’ first round draft pick in 2015. There were high hopes for him entering 2016, but he only threw 18 innings due to injuries. In an effort to salvage some of 2016, the Yankees elected to send Kaprielian to the AFL. Kaprielian struggled this week, allowing seven runs — six earned — in 7 1/3 IP over two outings. His ERA rose to 4.73 in 13 1/3 AFL innings. More importantly, he owns a 15:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, displaying why the Yankees think very highly of their former first round pick.

Brody Koener, P:

Koener, who turned twenty-three in October, was the Yankees 17th round draft pick in 2015. He tossed four shutout innings this past week after struggling in his first two AFL appearances. Despite his solid outing, his numbers are not very good. He has allowed nine ER in 7 1/3 IP innings. Koener will look to build on the momentum gained from his previous outing.

Dillon Tate, P:

The Yankees acquired Tate from the Texas Rangers at the deadline in exchange for Carlos Beltran. Tate was selected fourth overall by the Rangers in the 2015 MLB Draft, but with his fastball velocity vanishing for most of 2016, the Rangers gave up rather quickly on him. Tate has rediscovered his velocity and is showing why he was once selected fourth overall. He threw 4 1/3 shutout innings this week, striking out six while walking only one. He now owns a 3.86 ERA in 9 1/3 IP, with a phenomenal 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Somewhere, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, is grinning watching Tate light up the radar gun in Arizona.

Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today Sports

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