Yankees Minor League Report: Arizona Fall League Update

It’s been a while since we’ve run our minor league report. We’ll get back on track now that the New York Yankees’ season at the major league level is over and we’ll start by catching you up on what’s happening with Yanks’ prospects in the Arizona Fall League.

The  Yankees sent seven players to Arizona and they were assigned to the Scottsdale Scorpions. We’ll look at each player’s stats to through yesterday’s games in Arizona (shown in parenthesis besides the player’s name), provide some 2012 regular season numbers and note other pertinent details about the player.

David Adams, 2B/3B (.220/.333/.317 with four doubles and five RBI in 48 plate appearances)

Adams, 25, played in 86 games with the Yankees Double-A affiliate in Trenton compiling a much nicer to look at slash line of .306/.385/.450 with 23 doubles, eight homers and 48 RBI in 365 plate appearances. Adams, a right-handed batter, was drafted by the Yankees in the third round of the 2008 First Year Player Draft. In 2012 he was moved to third base in July, but has been playing some second base with Scottsdale too. His bat translates better as a second baseman than third.

Slade Heathcott, CF (.200/.364/.200 with three RBI, two SB and 11 K’s in 44 plate appearances)

Austin Romine had a cup of coffee in 2011, but spent a majority of the 2012 season dealing with back pain. He is getting some extra time in with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. (Image: Michael L. Stein-US PRESSWIRE)

Heathcott, 22, was the Yankees 2009 first round pick (#29 overall). He has played minimally due to two shoulder surgeries. In 235 plate appearances the left-handed hitting Heathcott recorded a slash line of .307/.378/.470 with 16 doubles, five homers, 27 RBI and 17 SB. He is ranked #5 among Yankees prospects by MLB.com.

Austin Romine, C (.303/.425/.364 with two doubles and one RBI in 40 plate appearances)

Romine, 23, suffered from back pain for much of 2012. He played in only 31 games this season across three teams, winding back up with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. In total he logged 120 plate appearances recording .243/.333/.408 with four homers and 15 RBI. While Romine, a right-handed hitter, showed some pop in the lower levels (double-digit homers in 2008-10) he’s more looked at for his worked behind the plate. Romine could be considered for the backup role next season in the Bronx, but Gary Sanchez is the best catcher in the Yankees system.

Mark Montgomery, RP (1.23 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, .087 BAA, one save and 13 K’s in 7.1 innings pitched)

Montgomery, 22, tossed 64.1 innings between Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton in 2012. He recorded a 1.54 ERA with 0.87 WHIP and 99 strikeouts and just 22 walks. Montgomery, a righty, is climbing the ladder quickly having been drafted in the 11th round of the 2011 First Year Player Draft. Montgomery throws in the low 90’s but has an excellent sweeping slider which is how he garners a good number of his strikeouts. It won’t be long before he’s up with the big club.

Dellin Betances, SP (3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .158 BAA and seven K’s in 5.1 innings pitched)

Betances, 24, had a rough 2012 season in which he was actually demoted from Triple-A to Double-A. Overall he ran up a 6.44 ERA over 131.1 innings. Betances was an eighth round pick in 2006 and has yet to truly take off. He missed most of the end of the 2012 season with shoulder tendinitis. Despite the issues, Betances remains ranked among the top Yankees prospects by MLB.com at #17.

Zach Nuding, SP (7.59 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, .383 BAA in four starts covering 10.2 innings pitched)

Nuding, 22, started 2012 in the rookie league with the Gulf Coast Yankees, but was quickly promoted to Tampa (High-A) and finished out the season there. In 85.2 innings (14 starts) with Tampa, the right-handed Nuding went 8-3 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Nuding was a 30th round draft pick in 2010 and is #19 on the Yankees prospect list according to MLB.com

Dan Burawa, RP (14.21 ERA, 2.68 WHIP, .393 BAA in 6.1 innings pitched)

Burawa, 23, was selected in the tenth round of the 2010 draft. The right-handed reliever missed the entire 2012 season due to an oblique injury suffered in Spring Training. In 2011, with Charleston (A) and then Tampa, Burawa tossed 84 innings compiling a 3.64 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP in 39 relief appearances.

Next week, we’ll cover some players participating in the other winter leagues.