Injured Yankees Bird and Kaprielian Making Progress in Fall Instructional League

Injured Yankees Greg Bird and James Kaprielian have made encouraging progress during their stint in the Fall Instructional League.

Two of the New York Yankees most promising young players are on the verge of returning to game action after missing the majority of the 2016 season due to injuries.

2015 first rounder James Kaprielian made just three starts for High-A Tampa in April before being shut down with elbow inflammation and later was diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain.

Kap started the year as the team’s top pitching prospect, with a 1.55 ERA and 11.2 K/9 in 29 IP across three levels since joining the organization last June.

First baseman Greg Bird looked ready to take over a spot in the middle of the Yankees lineup this season before being diagnosed with a torn labrum in his right shoulder in February.

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The 23-year-old is the heir apparent to Mark Teixeira at first after hitting .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs in 178 plate appearances in 2015.

In a recent interview with Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media, Bird said the plan was for him to take live batting practice off of Yankees minor leaguers this week, and he would eventually play in a few Instructional League games as well. When asked how his shoulder was progressing, he responded:

"It still is sore. Using it again is sore…As far as the ability of the shoulder, it’s night and day. It’s unbelievable to me how different it feels in a good way…It’s stronger than what it was and it’s structurally sounds now. It’s about working out the bumps and bruises. There’s scar tissue to break up. And the endurance part is big, getting the baseball specific strength back in the shoulder. That’s the big thing really. You’re strong, structurally everything is good. Now it’s about building up that endurance, that everyday endurance type thing."

A shoulder injury can be bad news for a power hitter, so it will probably take Bird a while to get back to where he was. When the injury was first announced, John Harper of the New York Daily News spoke to one MLB executive who said, “It can mess with guys’ swings. It can become mental. I’ve seen guys struggle with it,” and cited Matt Kemp as an example.

Bird is one of several of New York’s elite position players assigned to play in the upcoming Arizona Fall League beginning on October 11th, so that should give fans a better idea of whether the Yankees can count on the young slugger to begin next year.

James Kaprielian also hopes to see game action in the Arizona Fall League, although he cautioned, “It’s still a topic of discussion.” New York has one more roster spot available to them, and it seems like a logical move to get Kap some innings this year if his elbow is up to it.

Kaprielian threw a batting practice session for Yankees prospects Nick Solak and Jeff Hendrix, working for two simulated innings. He’s expected to face hitters again on Sunday. When speaking to reporters this week, Kaprielian acknowledged he still has some rust to shake off, but says he feels good overall at this point:

"I think it’s just consistency now. I think there are times in my bullpen when I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s really good today.’ Obviously today I felt really good out thee but there are some times — repeating stuff and making sure your mechanics are consistent. That’s the biggest thing for me right now. Just trying to stay consistent and being able to repeat and command the fastball on both sides of the plate."

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It’s nice to see both Bird and Kaprielian back in action, although they obviously have a long way to go before they are at 100%. Each has a chance to make a significant contribution to the big league club in 2017, so their progress could have immediate ramifications for the Yankees.