DotF: GCL season opens with a pair of wins

The Yankees have released 1B Russ Canzler, according to Donnie Collins. There was some thought he could help as a righty platoon bat, but he didn’t hit in Triple-A and lost playing time once 1B Kyle Roller was promoted.

Triple-A Scranton (3-2 loss to Pawtucket)

• LF Jose Pirela: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
• C John Ryan Murphy: 2-4, 1 2B, 1 K — first game back
• RF Zoilo Almonte & 3B Scott Sizemore: both 0-4, 1 K
• 1B Kyle Roller: 1-4, 1 K
• SS Zelous Wheeler: 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
• 2B Rob Refsnyder: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB — 7-for-21 (.333) with two doubles and a triple
• CF Taylor Dugas: 0-2, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB — Triple-A debut
• RHP Joel De La Cruz: 3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 5/1 GB/FB — 28 of 47 pitches were strikes (60%) … left the game after being hit in the arm by a comebacker
• RHP Preston Claiborne: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2/1 GB/FB — 27 of 39 pitches were strikes (69%)
• RHP Heath Bell: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0/1 GB/FB — 31 of 46 pitches were strikes (67%) … hmm, efficient

Double-A Trenton (8-5 win over New Hampshire)

• CF Mason Williams: 2-4, 1 R, 1 CS — heating up
• LF Ben Gamel: 2-5, 1 3B, 2 RBI — tripled in two runs in the eighth inning
• C Gary Sanchez: 2-5, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI — not having a great year, but he has eight homers in 57 games this year after hitting 15 in 117 games last year, so almost exactly the same pace
• 1B Peter O’Brien: 1-4, 1 2B, 2 K
• RF Tyler Austin: 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
• LHP Eric Wooten: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HB, 9/5 GB/FB — 50 of 81 pitches were strikes (62%)

High-A Tampa (7-1 loss to Lakeland)

• CF Jake Cave: 2-5, 1 RBI, 1 K
• SS Cito Culver: 0-5, 3 K
• 1B Greg Bird: 1-2, 2 BB — 8-for-19 (.421) in his last five games
• 3B Dante Bichette Jr.: 1-3, 1 BB
• RF Aaron Judge: 0-3, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Luis Severino: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 5/0 GB/FB — not a terrible High-A debut … 78/16 K/BB in 72.1 innings this year
• LHP Ramon Benjamin: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Low-A Charleston (6-1 loss to Kannapolis)

• LF Michael O’Neill: 2-3, 1 2B — 13-for-40 (.325) with four doubles, one triple, two homers, five walks, and six strikeouts in his last ten games
• SS Tyler Wade: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K — ten walks and seven strikeouts in his last ten games
• 3B Miguel Andujar: 0-4
• CF Dustin Fowler: 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 SB — 16-for-37 (.432) with six doubles, two triples, and two homers in his last nine games
• DH Gosuke Katoh: 0-4, 2 K
• LHP Chaz Hebert: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 5/2 GB/FB — 50 of 81 pitches were strikes (62%)

Short Season Staten Island (3-0 loss to Hudson Valley)

• CF Collin Slaybaugh: 0-4, 3 K
• RF Austin Aune: 1-4, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
• LF Nathan Mikolas: 0-3, 1 K
• SS Thairo Estrada: 1-3, 1 K
• RHP Sam Agnew-Wieland: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 9/1 GB/FB

Rookie GCL Yanks1 (4-3 win over GCL Pirates in 13 innings) since it’s Opening Day, here is the full lineup and results

• SS Jorge Mateo: 2-6, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB — 18-year-old might be the top prospect on the team … the scouting reports are pretty exciting
• 3B Drew Bridges: 1-6, 1 RBI, 1 K — received an over-slot bonus as the team’s 20th round pick last year and singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 13th
• 2B Angelo Gumbs: 2-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI — got picked off first … played eight innings as he rehabs from an unknown injury
• PH-2B Ryan Lindemuth: 0-2, 1 K
• PH-2B Miguel Mojica: 0-1, 1 K
• C Luis Torrens: 0-2 — played five innings as he rehabs from a shoulder injury
• PH-1B Dalton Smith: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K
• RF Alex Palma: 1-5 — signed for $800k back in 2012
• CF Leonardo Molina: 0-5, 1 K — pro debut for the 16-year-old, who signed for $1.4M last summer
• DH Bryan Cuevas: 1-5, 1 R, 1 SB
• 1B-C Alvaro Noriega: 1-5, 1 R
• LF Kendall Coleman: 1-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 CS, 1 E (fielding)
• LF Dominic Jose: 0-1, 1 K
• RHP Simon De La Rosa: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HB, 3/0 GB/FB — signed for only $50k back in 2012
• LHP Orby Taveras: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 6/2 GB/FB, 1 E (throwing) — another $50k guy
• RHP Dayton Dawe: 3 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 5/1 GB/FB — 15th rounder in 2012 is a bit of a sleeper
• RHP Reynaldo Polanco: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 4/0 GB/FB
• RHP Gean Batista: 3.1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 2/4 GB/FB — spent the last four seasons in the Dominican Summer League

Rookie GCL Yanks2 (5-4 win over GCL Tigers, walk-off style) with all due respect to these guys, the GCL Yanks1 squad is the one with all the really interesting prospects

• 2B Junior Valera: 4-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 SB
• C Jesus Aparicio: 0-3, 1 K — got picked off second
• PH-C Rainiero Coa: 0-0, 2 BB
• SS Angel Aguilar: 0-5, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
• 1B R.J. Johnson: 1-5, 1 RBI, 1 K — walk-off single
• 3B Allen Valerio: 3-4, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
• DH Jake Hernandez: 0-4, 2 K — was highly regarded out of high school, but didn’t develop as expected at USC and signed as an undrafted free agent a few weeks ago
• LF Anderson Feliz: 0-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K — played seven innings as he rehabs from an unknown injury
• LF Frank Frias: 1-1 — signed for only $7,500 last year
• RF Wilmer Romero: 1-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 K — was a high-profile prospect who signed for $657k back in 2010, then he had a big growth spurt and lost all his athleticism … such are the risks of signing 16-year-olds
• CF Jose Augusto Figueroa: 1-2, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI — GCL homers are rare!
• PH-CF Jordan Barnes: 0-2, 1 K
• RHP Domingo Acevedo: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 1 HB, 4/1 GB/FB — 6-foot-7 righty has a huge arm and is one of the system’s top sleepers
• RHP David Rodriguez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GB/FB
• RHP Jonathan Padilla: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 Balk, 3/0 GB/FB
• LHP Abel Mora: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 3/0 GB/FB — the Yankees signed the NYC native back in October 2012