It’s still awfully early in the winter ball season. The Arizona Fall League is only four games deep, and the Dominican League just got started a few days ago. These sample sizes don’t mean much at this point, but here are a few quick updates from the Yankees’ prospects who are still playing somewhere.
• Top catching prospect Gary Sanchez is one of the early standouts in the Arizona Fall League. He’s played three games so far and hit two home runs. He’s 6-for-11 with two strikeouts and five RBI while regularly hitting cleanup. Both home runs came off right-handed pitchers. The second game he caught, his pitchers tossed a shutout. He’s back at catcher and back in the cleanup spot this afternoon.
• We’ll find out later whether Ben Gamel can turn his breakout season into a spot on the 40-man roster, but he’s already turned it into regular at-bats in the Venezuelan Winter League. Gamel is getting time at all three outfield positions this winter — mostly starting in center field — and through nine games he’s hitting .290/.368/.516 with a home run, four doubles, five walks and six strikeouts.
• As expected, Tyler Austin‘s early Arizona Fall League playing time has come at first base. He’s started at first for three of the Saguaros’ first five games. He’s 3-for-7 with a double, a walk and a strikeout. … Primarily a shortstop this season, Tyler Wade has played second base in his first three Fall League games including one this afternoon. He’s young for that league, but Wade’s gone 2-for-6 so far. … Also young for the Fall League, center fielder Dustin Folwer has gotten into just one game in Arizona and he went hitless with a sacrifice. He played left field.
• Back in Venezuela this winter, Ali Castillo — who was terrific there last year — is hitting .200 through his first four games split between shortstop and second base. His Aguilas team has Francisco Arcia and Juan Graterol splitting time at catcher.
• After struggling early in the season in Triple-A, Jaron Long pitched pretty well after he was sent back down to Double-A. Now he’s pitching in Venezuela with a 3.27 ERA through two starts. His first start was terrific: six scoreless innings with one hit. His second start wasn’t so good: five innings, four runs on seven hits.
• Hard-throwing young prospect Domingo Acevedo made his Arizona Fall League debut on Thursday and pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. He allowed two hits to lefties, but right-handers went 0-for-5 against him.
• Kind of the opposite of Aceveda, upper-level lefty Tyler Webb made his Fall League debut on Wednesday and allowed three runs in two innings. All three runs came on a three-run homer by first-round pick D.J. Peterson who’s shown massive power in the past but didn’t have a particularly good year this season. Webb faced only one lefty and struck him out.
• Ian Clarkin is starting a Fall League game this afternoon. It’s his first official game of the year. We’re still waiting for Chaz Hebert to get in a game.
• Other than Long and the Fall League guys, the most recognizable Yankees’ pitching prospect currently playing winter ball is reliever Mark Montgomery, who’s gotten into six games in Venezuela. He allowed three runs in one of them, but he’s otherwise been outstanding with eight strikeouts in five innings. He’s 4-for-4 in save opportunities. His only walks came in that one game when he allowed the three runs. All of his other outings were scoreless.
The post Winter ball updates: Gary Sanchez an early standout in Arizona appeared first on The LoHud Yankees Blog.