New York Yankees Minor League Player of the Week: 4/8-4/19

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Mar 28, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher

Jacob Lindgren

(87) throws a pitch during a spring training baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (5-6)

Batter of the Week: Tyler Austin (.300, 0 HR, 7 RBI’s)

Tyler Austin didn’t have his best start to the spring with the New York Yankees, as he batted .222 in 18 at bats with five RBI’s. He has been hyped up as one of the top Yankees prospects for a long time, but fell off the map with rough back-to-back seasons when he batted .265 in 2013 and .275 in 2014. Austin seems to be regaining his form, as he has recorded 12 hits in 40 at-bats to start the season with the RailRiders. He has recorded three multi hit games so far this season, with back-to-back games in which he recorded three hits against Syracuse and Rochester. His 7 RBI’s has him tied for first on the RailRiders with Ramon Flores. With the production of Carlos Beltran falling off, the Yankees will be keeping a keen eye on Tyler Austin all year.

Honorable Mention: Ben Gamel (.464, 0 HR, 5 RBI), who is on a tear in his last few games. After getting off to a slow start to the season, Gamel his hit safely in his last five games while recording multiple hits in each game. Gamel, 21, who was drafted in the tenth round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Bishop Kennedy High School in Jacksonville, Fl. is another outfield prospect the Yankees will be watching closely all season.

Pitcher of the Week: Jacob Lindgren (0-1, 2.45 ERA, 2 saves)

The southpaw who was drafted out of Mississippi State has been a magician out of the bullpen for the RailRiders. 27 of the 32 batters Jacob Lindgren has faced this year in 7.1 innings pitched have either struck out (9) or hit a ground ball (18). He has recorded two saves in his last two outings v. the Syracuse Chiefs, one being a six out performance in which he fanned three batters in two innings. Lindgren will be a key addition to the Yankees bullpen sometime in the near future.

Honorable Mention: Chase Whitley (1-0, 2.45 ERA), who put up a valiant effort while competing for the fifth and final Yankees rotation spot in spring training, has continued to impress the critics. In two games started for the RailRiders, Whitley has pitched to a 1-0 record while scattering seven hits and just three earned runs. With the Yankees tough schedule in May, in which they’ll play 17 straight days of baseball starting on May 1st, and then another 13 straight games between May 22nd and June 7th, Chase Whitley might very well be called up for a big league spot-start to give some of the Yankees starting pitchers a day off.

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