DotF: Greg Bird named Arizona Fall League MVP

1B Greg Bird was named the MVP of the Arizona Fall League earlier this week. He hit with .313/.391/.556 (156 wRC+) and led the league in homers (six, tied), finished second in RBI (21), total bases (55), and wRC+, third in SLG, sixth in AVG, seventh in OPS (.947), eighth in walks (13), and 12th in OBP. They’ve been handing out the AzFL MVP since 2002 and Bird is the second Yankees prospect to win it, joining Eric Duncan in 2005. Here are the rest of the week’s minor league notes:

• OF Tyler Austin suffered a bone bruise in his left knee after an outfield collision last week, reports Josh Norris. “He has been diagnosed with a bone bruise. There is no damage to his meniscus or any ligament issues. He will rest for the next 2-3 weeks,” said assistant GM Billy Eppler to Chad Jennings.
• Jonathan Mayo polled scouts and players about the best tools in the AzFL. OF Aaron Judge was voted as having the best outfield arm — “One scout said it’s a true 70 arm,” wrote Mayo — while Judge and Bird drew votes for best power and best hitter, respectively.
• Ken Davidoff wrote profiles about both Judge and Bird. “I’m still on the fence with his bat,” said one scout about Judge. “Plus-plus power, but has some good at-bats here and then will chase off-speed. That worries me – at higher levels, that is what he will see.”
• Baseball America compiled a list of all minor leaguers suspended in 2014. Yankees farmhands RHP Andy Beresford and 1B Bo Thompson were hit with 50-game suspensions after testing positive for a banned substance in August.
• The Yankees have re-signed UTIL Ali Castillo after he became a minor league free agent, according to Matt Eddy. Also, OF Antoan Richardson elected free agency after being outrighted off the 40-man roster last week.
• Both OF Zoilo Almonte and LHP Francisco Rondon have signed the Braves after becoming minor league free agents, says Eddy. Almonte managed to get a big league contract. Good for him.

Arizona Fall League (season is over, so these stats are final)

• OF Tyler Austin: .304/.392/.449 (135 wRC+) with two doubles, two homers, ten walks, and 19 strikeouts in 19 games.
• 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: .260/.317/.274 (67 wRC+) with one double, seven walks, and 18 strikeouts in 20 games.
• 1B Greg Bird: .313/.391/.556 (156 wRC+) with six doubles, six homers, 13 walks, and 23 strikeouts in 26 games.
• C Kyle Higashioka: .409/.480/.682 (216 wRC+) with three doubles, one homer, three walks, and two strikeouts in six games. He actually led the league in hitting if you set the plate appearance minimum to zero.
• OF Aaron Judge: .278/.377/.467 (133 wRC+) with five doubles, four homers, 13 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 24 games.
• RHP Caleb Cotham: 10 G, 13.1 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 2 BB, 14 K, 2 HR, 1 HB, 1 WP (6.08 ERA, 4.25 FIP)
• RHP Kyle Haynes: 10 H, 11.2 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 9 K, 1 WP (2.31 ERA, 4.24 FIP) — he’s the guy the Yankees got from the Pirates for Chris Stewart last offseason, and he’ll be Rule 5 Draft eligible in a few weeks
• RHP Alex Smith: 10 H, 10.1 IP, 25 H, 15 R, 12 ER, 8 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 2 HB (10.45 ERA, 7.79 FIP) — he will not have fond memories of the AzFL

Dominican Winter League

• OF Eury Perez: 13 G, 15-58, 6 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 12 K, 2 CS (.259/.259/.345)
• LHP Joel De La Cruz: 3 G, 2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 1 HB (0.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP)
• LHP Jose DePaula: 2 G, 2 GS, 10 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K (0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP) — signed a one-year Major League deal earlier this week

Mexican Pacific League

• OF Jose Figueroa: 18 G, 6-19, 5 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 SB (.316/.364/.526) — he was traded by his winter ball team (he’s still Yankees property), so these stats are for both teams
• RHP Gio Gallegos: 11 G, 11 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, 1 HB (0.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP)
• RHP Luis Niebla: 6 G, 6 GS, 22.2 IP, 20 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 11 BB, 17 K, 2 HR, 1 HB (3.97 ERA, 1.37 WHIP)

Apparently no Yankees farmhands are playing in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico) this winter.

Venezuelan Winter League

•  C Francisco Arcia: 17 G, 14-65, 3 R, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 16 K, 1 HBP (.215/.271/.262)
• UTIL Ali Castillo: 29 G, 37-114, 23 R, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 5 BB, 18 K, 10 SB, 4 CS, 2 HBP (.325/.358/.430)
• OF Ramon Flores: 25 G, 33-84, 13 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 5 RBI, 12 BB, 14 K, 2 SB, 1 CS (.393/.469/.464) — having a nice winter after missing a huge chunk of the summer with an ankle injury
• UTIL Adonis Garcia: 25 G, 33-104, 12 R, 3 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 6 BB, 12 K, 3 SB, 2 CS, 3 HBP (.317/.368/.404)
• OF Ericson Leonora: 5 G, 3-11, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 K (.273/.273/.545)
• UTIL Jose Pirela: 18 G, 20-70, 16 R, 4 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 6 BB, 11 K, 1 CS, 1 HBP (.286/.351/.603)
• C Jackson Valera: 1 G, 0-0 — I’m guessing he either got hurt or was simply removed from the roster because he was so far down on the depth chart
• RHP Diego Moreno: 14 G, 12.1 IP, 14 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 1 HB (3.65 ERA, 1.30 WHIP)