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River Ave. Blues ยป Connor Spencer

DotF: Mateo steals fifth base, makes first start in center field

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Two quick notes:

  • There have been some rumors going around that LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Chance Adams are hurt, but they’re not. Not sure where that all started. Sheffield is pitching tomorrow and Adams is pitching Thursday, both for Double-A Trenton, according to Matt Kardos. Sheffield’s first start was pushed back by the rainouts late last week.
  • The Yankees have released 1B Connor Spencer, according to Matt Eddy. He was their eighth round pick in 2014. Spencer hit .303/.368/.387 in parts of three minor league seasons. Between college and pro ball, he hit six home runs in 368 games from 2012-16. A first baseman needs a little more pop than that.

Triple-A Scranton (6-0 loss to Lehigh Valley)

  • DH Mason Williams: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K — final game in the organization? the Yankees need to clear a 40-man roster spot for LHP Jordan Montgomery tomorrow
  • RF Clint Frazier: 1-3, 1 BB — Shane Hennigan says he took too wide a turn around first base on the single and was thrown out before he could get back to the bag
  • CF Dustin Fowler: 1-4, 2 K — off to a 3-for-20 (.150) start
  • LF Mark Payton: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 E (throwing)
  • RHP Chad Green: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 4/3 GB/FB — 63 of 95 pitches were strikes (66%) … he was supposed to start today for Double-A Trenton, but once Montgomery got called up to MLB, the Yankees put him here

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2014 Draft: Yankees sign eighth rounder 1B Connor Spencer

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Via Jim Callis: The Yankees have signed eighth round pick UC Irvine 1B Connor Spencer to a a full slot $157,000 bonus. The team’s only remaining unsigned player in the top ten rounds is ninth rounder Vanderbilt SS Vince Conde, who is still playing in the College World Series. You can see all of New York’s picks at Baseball America and keep tabs on the draft pool situation with our 2014 Draft Pool Tracker.

Spencer, 21, hit .364/.451/.476 with 15 doubles and one homerun in 66 games this spring. That’s the only homer he hit in three years with Irvine. In their pre-draft scouting report, Baseball America said Spencer is “simply a hitting machine” and his “sweet lefthanded swing is tailored to use the opposite field and the middle of the diamond.” They also say he controls the strike zone well and is a solid defender at first who has seen some time in left.