September 26th, 2023: Judge, Gómez, Montas, Peralta, Minor League Awards, Arizona Fall League

UPDATE: The Yankees made a late addition to their Arizona Fall League contingent Monday. It's been added to the AzFL section at the end of the post.

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Six games remain in the 2023 Yankees season and I am both happy and sad. Happy because I won’t have to watch this drag of a team much longer, sad because I love baseball and will no longer have the Yankees to watch every night. Anyway, let’s get to today’s post now that Yankee Stadium is closed for the winter.

1. Weekend thoughts. In an upset, the Yankees and Diamondbacks were able to play Sunday. They did get rained out Saturday though, and rather than make them play the makeup game the day after the regular season ends, MLB moved Monday’s D’Backs vs. White Sox game to their mutual off-day Thursday, and kept the D’Backs in New York to play the makeup game Monday. Those were not wind gusts this weekend. Those were the collective exhales coming from the Yankees clubhouse. They didn’t want an extra day tacked on to the end of their season. Anyway, here are a few thoughts on the last few days.

Eliminated

Sunday’s loss, a game in which the Yankees scored their only run on a bases loaded walk in garbage time, officially eliminated the Yankees from postseason contention. They’d been out of the race for weeks – the Aug. 13th meltdown in Miami felt like the final nail in the coffin – but now it’s official. The Yankees have missed the postseason for the first time since 2016 despite:

• Having the likely AL Cy Young winner.
• Getting a near 40-homer season from the reigning AL MVP.
• The expanded postseason field with three Wild Card teams.
• The new more balanced schedule with fewer games in the rough AL East.

“If I’m not standing here talking to you guys after a championship, it’s a failure,” Aaron Judge said after the Yankees were eliminated Sunday (video). “After all of the work you’ve put in the offseason, training, preparation, coming out here on a daily basis, rain or shine, to play a game, it’s about bringing a championship back. That’s why we play. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I came back to New York with this group of guys, to build something and get New York back to where it’s supposed to be. When you don’t show up and produce and get kicked out like this in the regular season, that’s a big failure right there.”

The captain called the season a “failure” and the general manager called it a “disaster” a few weeks ago. Unlike last year, when the brain trust could hang their hat on 99 wins and getting to the ALCS, there is nowhere to hide this season. The roster’s flaws, which were evident last year and continue to grow in number and significance, can not be ignored. The Yankees have reached a tipping point. If nothing changes this offseason, then nothing’s gonna change.

Without giving specifics – “We’ll keep that in-house,” he told Bryan Hoch – Judge also said there’s a lot the Yankees need to fix this offseason. It wasn’t the usual “we have to get to work this offseason and get better” post-eliminate soundbite. Watching the video, I wouldn’t say Judge is angry, but there’s definite frustration, and the captain acknowledged running back next year with the same group and a few minor adjustments won’t work.

“We got a lot of work to do. A lot of internal talks, a lot of stuff we gotta get figured out and get right for next year,” Judge said (video). “I got some ideas, but it’s gonna take all of us. It’s going to be talking with everyone in the organization, all the way down through the minor league stuff, all the way up to the top. There’s a lot of stuff we gotta work on and improve."

Judge reportedly told Hal Steinbrenner he wanted to see improvements to the roster last offseason. The Yankees did sign Carlos Rodón soon thereafter, but left field was not addressed, third base was not dealt with, and neither was catcher nor shortstop. Last year Judge privately told the owner he wants to see improvements. This year Judge went public. This is about the least controversial way you can call out the front office and ownership, but he called them out.

The Yankees have six games remaining before the long winter. Maybe they’ll make life difficult on the Blue Jays this week, but Toronto’s done a good job positioning themselves in the Wild Card race, so I’m not sure playing spoiler is even possible. After that, it’s three meaningless games in Kansas City. The Yankees came into the season having played only 16 games while being mathematically eliminated from postseason contention during Brian Cashman’s tenure. It’ll be 23 by the end of the weekend.

Judge for three (again)

Should Judge be playing in meaningless games on his injured toe? No, definitely not. Do I enjoy watching Judge mash dingers on his injured toe in meaningless games? Yes, absolutely. Judge socked three homers Friday night (video) for the second time this season (and the second time in his career). And, like his first three-homer game last month, Judge was left on deck in the ninth inning*. He didn’t get a chance to hit a fourth homer. Too bad.

“It was great,” Judge said about the curtain call. “Anytime Yankees fans want to show some love and show some appreciation, I love it. That was a pretty cool moment right there.”

* There were runners on second and third when Estevan Florial flew out to end the ninth. Had Florial managed to reach base without driving in a run (walk, infield single, whatever), Judge would have batted with the bases loaded. He hit solo, two-run, and three-run homers earlier in the game. Only needed the grand slam for the home run cycle. The home run cycle has happened twice in the minors but never in MLB. So close!

Judge is the first Yankee ever with multiple three-homer games in a single season and the 24th player period to have multiple three-homer games in a season. Any guesses on the last player to do it? It was Jesse Winker in 2021. Adam Duvall managed to do it in the 60-game pandemic season. Here are the Yankees with multiple three-homer games in their career:

• 4 - Lou Gehrig
• 3 - Joe DiMaggio, Alex Rodriguez
• 2 - Aaron Judge Tony Lazzeri, Bobby Murcer

“It’s incredible. You see the list of players that have come through here and the retired numbers out there,” Judge said about joining that group. “I’m just trying to do my job. I got into some good counts, and guys in front of me were getting on base, creating some havoc out there. So I’m just happy to come away with the win.”

Judge hit all three home runs the other way, though, officially, Statcast classified the first one as straightaway. Only one player has had a three-homer game with three opposite field home runs in the Statcast era (since 2015) and you’ll remember it: Travis d’Arnaud’s three-homer game in 2019 (video). Sometimes you get the short porch, sometimes the short porch gets you.

As it stands, Judge is only the 11th player in the Statcast era with three straightaway or opposite field home runs in a game. And regardless of what the algorithm says, Judge hit three opposite field homers Friday. I mean, come on, look at them. This spray chart is b-e-a-utiful:

“Aaron’s the man,” Luke Weaver, Friday’s starter, said after the game. “We played together back in college, the Cape Cod League. Humble as ever then and still the same guy. It’s really cool to play with him. Seeing him from afar so long, it’s nice to be on the right side of that. The guy hits the ball so hard, I’m surprised he doesn’t have a bazillion homers.”

Judge has 35 homers with six games remaining, so just short of a bazillion, though a 40-homer season is within reach. Five homers in six games is a lot of homers, but this dude’s specialty is hitting a lot of homers. Who would have imagined a 40-homer season would still be possible after he crashed into the wall at Dodger Stadium? Ridiculous. Truly ridiculous. What a player.

At most, Judge can play 108 games this year, and the most home runs in a season with no more than 108 games played is 38 by Mark McGwire with 1995 Athletics (104 games). Albert Belle hit 36 homers in 104 games with Cleveland during the strike year in 1994, then it’s Judge with his 35 homers in 102 games this season and Rudy York with 35 in 104 games for the 1937 Tigers.

(Several players have hit 34 home runs while playing no more than 108 games, including Gary Sánchez. He hit 34 homers in 106 games with the Yankees in 2019. Yo soy Gary.)

And don’t forget, Judge had a double Friday night too. He went 4-for-4 with a double, three home runs, three runs scored, and six runs driven in. The 14 total bases are tied for the third most in a single game in franchise history behind Gehrig (16 total bases in a four-homer game on June 3rd, 1932) and Tony Lazzeri (15 total bases on three homers and a triple on May 24th, 1936).

Even though the Yankees have been eliminated, Judge has no plans to shut it down and let his toe heal – “A leader on this team, especially with these young guys we got coming up, you gotta show them that you gotta post even if you’re not feeling good,” Judge told Greg Joyce – and at this point, who cares. Another week won’t be the end of the world. Six games remain and Judge is one of the few reasons to keep watching. I hope we get another night like last Friday this week.

“You’re watching a great player. That’s greatness. He’s just different than everyone else,” Aaron Boone said after Friday’s game. “... One of the things I admire about Aaron is, no matter what’s going on, you can’t tell. He’s a total pro. He’s our captain. He’s a great teammate, and that’s what he focuses on each and every day.”

Gómez arrives

Wandy Peralta’s season-ending triceps injury (more on that in a bit) opened the door for righty Yoendrys Gómez, my No. 23 prospect, to join the MLB roster. The Yankees were planning to put him on their taxi squad for the road trip this week, but once Wandy had to go on the injured list, they added Gómez to the active roster. He hasn’t pitched yet, but he will at some point.

“Gives us another guy with length, especially if we get into a weather situation this weekend and we have doubleheaders and stuff,” Boone said after Gómez was called up Friday. “Pretty high ceiling. He’s obviously dealt with a lot of injuries early on in his career, but he’s somebody that we think highly of. I think he has a chance to be a really good starter. I really do.”

Boone isn’t kidding when he said Gómez has dealt with a lot of injuries. He missed the start of this season with a shoulder issue, missed a bunch of time in 2021 and 2022 after having the internal brace procedure, and had a bunch of other arm stuff earlier in his career. Gómez threw 65.1 innings in the minors this season. That’s his career high. Yeesh.

Following the shoulder injury, the 23-year-old Gómez pitched to a 3.58 ERA (3.83 FIP) in those 65.1 innings with Double-A Somerset this year. The 28.5% strikeout rate stands out. The 13.5% walk rate and 35.3% ground ball rate do not. I do think Gómez will surprise some folks with the quality of his stuff though. Here is MLB.com’s updated scouting report:

Gómez spins the ball exceptionally well, creating quality carry on a fastball that ranged from 92-96 mph last year and has touched 98 in the past. His feel for spin extends to his breaking pitches, a sweeping 82-85 mph slider that grades as plus at its best and a 79-82 mph curveball that can be a solid offering. His upper-80s changeup has some fade but needs more velocity separation from his heater.

Because of the injuries, Gómez is in the 21-30 range on top 30 Yankees prospects lists, but he has a top 10 arm. Whenever he gets into a game I expect to see some “how is this guy ranked so low???” posts on media sociale. It’s never been a question about stuff with Gómez. Will he ever stay healthy long enough for it to matter? He’s similar to Jonathan Loáisiga in that way.

This is Gómez’s final minor league option year, though I’m pretty sure he’s spent enough time on the injured list the last few years to qualify for a fourth option. If not, and he has to stick on the MLB roster next year, that’ll be tricky. We’ll worry about that when the time comes. For now, another young player is up from the minors. Gómez won’t get to pitch much given where we are in the season, but at least it’s something to look forward to this week.

“I wasn’t expecting it. I really wasn’t,” Gómez told Gary Phillips about being called up. “But at the same time, so thankful and happy to be here.”

Montas could return this week

Forgotten Yankee Frankie Montas could join the Yankees later this week. “It’s possible, we’ll see. We’re talking through that now,” Boone told Max Goodman over the weekend. Montas had shoulder surgery in February and he made two Triple-A rehab appearances earlier this month. Last time out, he threw 25 pitches in two scoreless innings. The pitch data was good too.

As I said last week, Montas is a player under contract, and the Yankees have an obligation to take care of him through his rehab. It’s not a moral obligation either. It’s collectively bargained. The rules say you have to take care of injured players. The Yankees can’t just tell Montas to go home for the winter because they’re out of the race and made a bad trade. (They could release him, but I don’t think they would.)

Montas last pitched Saturday, so he won’t be in play until Kansas City. Maybe the Yankees will shut Clarke Schmidt down and give Montas that start next weekend? Monday’s start brought Schmidt up to 155 innings. His previous career high was 111.1 innings at South Carolina in 2016. His previous career high as a pro were the 93 innings he threw last season. Schmidt’s velocity is trending down …

… and fatigue would be understandable. Shut him down, give Montas that start instead and let him throw his 2-3 innings and 40 pitches or whatever, then let the kids like Gómez and Randy Vásquez and whoever else finish out the game. Seem reasonable? If Montas does come back, I feel like there will be a lot of faux outrage, but man, who even cares at this point?

The winning season streak

Friday’s win was the 41st at Yankee Stadium this season, thus clinching a winning record at home. The Yankees have had a winning season in the Bronx every year since 1992. Their 32-season streak of having a winning record at home is the second longest such streak in history, behind only the 1918-64 Yankees (47 seasons). That streak survives another year.

As for the winning season streak, the Yankees must win at least three of their final six games to post a winning record for the 31st straight season. Their last losing season was 1992 and, as you know, this is the second longest winning season streak in history. The 1929-64 Yankees posted 39 straight winning seasons. The Yankees can go 3-3 this week, right? Play spoiler in Toronto and then rack up wins against a very bad Royals team next weekend. It’s doable.

“It’s definitely an impressive streak and of course we want to keep me going, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself as far as what it all means. We came in with championship aspirations,” Boone told Randy Miller last week. “... I acknowledge the streak as impressive, especially when you frame it (as the second longest in baseball history) and all that. It is remarkable, but we go into certainly every season since I’ve been here with loftier goals than that.”

Miscellany

Another reliever is injured: Tommy Kahnle was placed on the injured list Monday with shoulder inflammation. His last appearance was last Wednesday, when he walked four of the six batters he faced and threw only 13 of his 34 pitches for strikes. Can’t say I’m surprised to see him land on the injured list after that. The bullpen right now:

• Closer: RHP Clay Holmes
• Setup: RHP Ian Hamilton
• Kids: RHP Jhony Brito, RHP Yoendrys Gómez, RHP Randy Vásquez
• RailRiders: RHP Matt Bowman, RHP Zach McAllister, LHP Nick Ramirez, RHP Greg Weissert

This is the second straight year the Yankees lost a bunch of relievers to injury in the season’s final weeks despite going to great lengths to rest them and avoid heavy workloads during the summer. That isn’t to say they’re wrong to avoid back-to-back-to-back days and all that. Just that things have not gone according to plan as far as keeping them fresh and healthy late in the season the last two years … With my own eyes I watched a guy named Weaver walk off the Yankee Stadium mound to a standing ovation. This is the most cursed season. For real though, Luke Weaver was great Friday, allowing only four singles in 5.1 scoreless innings against his former D’Backs teammates. It was Weaver’s 24th start of the season and only his second scoreless start, and only his fifth start with fewer than three runs allowed. Did the Yankees tweak anything? Well, Weaver went heavy on four-seamers, scaled back on his cutter, and shelved his slider entirely Friday night:

I don’t have it in me to do Luke Weaver analysis right now. If the Yankees bring him back next season, we can look at him a bit further. Right now, just take Friday for what it was: a nice start by a guy plucked off waivers to give innings late in a lost season … Welcome back, Everson Pereira. He missed 10 days while being day-to-day with a minor hamstring injury. The Yankees then sent him out there to play the outfield on wet grass after it rained all weekend. At least Pereira went 2-for-4 with a double, and drove in a big insurance run … Monday’s announced attendance: 41,096. It was obviously way, way less than that (via Hoch):

It was a makeup game that did not get added to the schedule until two days earlier. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Monday. It was raining. The Yankees have already been eliminated. It was Yom Kippur. There are plenty of reasons why attendance was so low. It was announced as 41,096 though because teams announce tickets distributed (not necessarily tickets sold, tickets distributed counts any that are given away, etc.), not turnstile clicks. Lotta people who had tickets for Saturday didn’t get to use them Monday. Hope you were able to exchange them … And finally, if the Yankees do not win Tuesday night, it will ensure they go the entire season without a winning streak of at least six games. They’ve had two five-game winning streaks (May 18-23 and Sept. 1-6) but no six-game winning streaks. The Yankees have had a winning streak of at least six games in every season since 1997 except for one: 2014. The 1996 Yankees won the World Series despite never winning six straight games. The 2023 team will not be doing that.

2. Wandy shut down for 2023. Wandy Peralta’s season is over and possibly his time with the Yankees as well. He’s been dealing with a nagging triceps issue since the Boston series and the Yankees decided to shut him down, which is the right thing to do. Peralta will be a free agent in a few weeks. No need to push him in meaningless games and risk further injury.

“When we got to Pittsburgh, there was a day where he just wasn’t feeling great. He’s just got a little something going on in the triceps,” Aaron Boone said Friday. “He threw yesterday or the day before and actually went pretty well. Came in yesterday better, but we still felt like we’re gonna have to get him a (bullpen session) to make sure. Just felt like, is this the best thing to push through right now? Again, I feel like it’s minor. It shouldn’t impact him in free agency at all.”

Peralta, 32, had his worst season in pinstripes this year despite the shiny 2.83 ERA. He allowed seven home runs in 54 innings after allowing seven home runs in 99 innings as a Yankee from 2021-22. His walk rate jumped from 8.6% with the Yankees the last two years to 13.2% this year, and Peralta had a hard time with righties for the first time since joining the team:

• vs. RHB: .229/.354/.404 (.336 wOBA) with 20.8 K% and 15.4 BB% (130 BF)
• vs. LHB: .138/.271/.213 (.235 wOBA) with 24.7 K% and 10.3 BB% (97 BF)

I will remember Wandy for three things. First, the Freddie Freeman battle. On Aug. 24th, 2021, the Yankees took a 5-3 lead into the ninth inning in Atlanta, and Aroldis Chapman made a mess of things. He threw only 12 of his 26 pitches for strikes, loaded the bases, and walked in a run to trim the lead to one. At that point Boone went to Peralta to face Freeman with two outs.

Magic Wandy went sinker, changeup, sinker, sinker to fall behind in the count 3-1. He couldn’t throw his sinker for a strike, so Peralta went back to the changeup. Again and again. He threw Freeman five straight changeups in a three-ball count with the bases loaded in a one-run game, and eventually got the reigning NL MVP to fly out to end the game. That was the 11th win in a 13-game winning streak. Here’s the video.

Second, the 2022 ALDS, which really was Wandy’s signature moment(s) as a Yankee. Peralta became the first (and so far only) pitcher to appear in all five games of a Division Series and he faced the same Josh Naylor-righty-Andrés Giménez lane in all five games. He held those three to 1-for-15 with seven strikeouts, and it’s not like those games were blowouts. To wit:

• Game 1: Entered with a 4-1 lead and a runner on first with no outs in the eighth.
• Game 2: Entered with the score tied 2-2 and the bases empty with one out in the eighth.
• Game 3: Entered with a 5-3 lead and a runner on first with two outs in the seventh.
• Game 4: Started the ninth with a 4-2 lead and the season on the line.
• Game 5: Started the ninth with a 5-1 lead and the season on the line.

Peralta got the final three outs in Games 4 and 5 – the Yankees were so short in the bullpen in Game 5 that Game 4 starter Gerrit Cole was warming up in the bullpen in the ninth inning – and his +0.33 win probability added was second among all players in the ALDS, trailing only Cole (+0.41 WPA). Cole started twice in the series and threw 7.1 more innings than Wandy. Legendary ALDS performance by Peralta.

And third, I’ll remember Magic Wandy’s incredible vibes. His FAR (fun above replacement) is through the roof thanks to the quick pitches, the overall funkiness, the ownage of Rafael Devers (1-for-13 with three strikeouts), and the funny faces.

He’s bullpen Nestor Cortes, to some extent. Wandy is also an elite prankster and clubhouse guy – Greg Joyce (subs. req’d) and Erik Boland had fun stories on Peralta’s antics earlier this year – so his value to the Yankees transcended what he did on the field. No, the Yankees have not been good this season, but that’s not on Wandy. He is far down the list of problems.

“Wandy’s been awesome,” Boone said about Peralta’s time with the Yankees. “He’s a leader, he’s tough, he takes the ball, you trust him in any situation. Obviously last year he was great in the playoffs for us. Big game pitcher. Not afraid of any moment. Really neutralizes left-handed hitters. Just a total pro in the room, and definitely one of the leaders down there in that bullpen.”

The Yankees traded a fringe lefty reliever prospect (Phil Diehl) for Mike Tauchman, got the best season of Tauchman’s career in 2019, then flipped Tauchman for Peralta in April 2021. That’s a nifty series of moves and, frankly, among the very best moves the Yankees have made in the last 3-4 years. That is not a good thing overall, though that’s another topic for another time.

With all due respect to Matt Krook and Anthony Misiewicz and Nick Ramirez, the Yankees don’t have a reliable lefty to plug right into Peralta’s bullpen spot next year. Maybe they’ll try to bring him back, but eh, I dunno. There are red flags in Wandy’s performance (the walks, the homers, the issues with righties) and the Yankees pull a reliever or three out of nowhere each year.

Peralta figures to jump on the largest contract this offseason because a) that’s what most free agents do, and b) this is almost certainly his best chance to cash in. Few relievers make it to free agency in general and even fewer get two chances at a nice free agent contract. Wandy is healthy(-ish) and effective. It’s time to get paid and set the Peraltas up for a few generations.

The Yankees will have to find a go-to lefty to replace Magic Wandy next season and we have all winter to figure out how they’ll do it. For now, this is a goodbye to Peralta, who joined the Yankees with a career 4.72 ERA and somehow became one of my favorite relievers. And also one of their best relievers. Wandy was damn good the last three years. Go get paid, my dude.

3. A quick update on IKF at all nine positions. Turns out there’s a major flaw in my “play Isiah Kiner-Falefa at all nine positions in a game” plan. The rules say position players can only pitch when you’re behind by at least eight runs or up by at least 10 runs (or anytime in extra innings). Argh. I feel like a total dumbass for forgetting the position player pitcher rules.

The Yankees aren’t gonna score 10+ runs* and allowing even one run intentionally would turn a fun gimmick into a total farce. That won’t happen. Would MLB give the Yankees an exemption to let Kiner-Falefa pitch next weekend? Let the owners and/or GMs vote on it or something. Those games will be meaningless. The league can make an event out of it. Put the game on MLB Network, sell some super utility duct tape ads, and cash them checks.

* The Yankees have not scored 10 runs in a game since June 29th in Oakland, the day after Domingo Germán’s perfect game. They have not scored 10 runs in a game against a team other than the intentionally bad Athletics since May 30th in Seattle.

I suppose the alternative is letting Kiner-Falefa play the other eight positions, and if the scoreboard works out in such a way that he can pitch at some point, great. If not, then playing the other eight positions will have to do. I dunno. There are no indications the Yankees are considering this anyway. The position player pitcher rules may snuff it out entirely. Too bad.

4. 2023 minor league awards. Other than the various fall and winter leagues, the 2023 minor league season is over, at least for the Yankees. Three of their five stateside affiliates made the postseason, though no championships were won. Double-A Somerset and the rookie Florida Complex League Yankees failed to repeat. Here’s the season recap:

• Triple-A Scranton: Went 73-75, missed postseason
• Double-A Somerset: Went 84-52, swept in Division Series
• High-A Hudson Valley: Went 70-62, swept in Championship Series
• Low-A Tampa: Went 61-69, missed postseason
• FCL Yankees: Went 33-22, swept in Championship Series

Somerset, Hudson Valley, and the FCL Yankees went 3-7 in the postseason and scored 25 runs in the 10 games. A great regular season and then no-showing the postseason? I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. ANYWAY, the minor league season is over, so it’s time to hand out my annual minor league awards. I’ve been doing these so long that my first Minor League Player of the Year is a 17-year big leaguer who’s signed over $100M in contracts.

Just so it’s clear, this is not any sort of prospect list. These awards are an acknowledgement of the players who had the best seasons in the farm system, regardless of prospect status. That said, top prospects usually wind up winning my awards because they’re typically the best players in the system. Pretty obvious correlation there. Here now are the 2023 RAB Minor League Awards.

Player of the Year: RHP Drew Thorpe

2023 stats: 2.52 ERA (3.05 FIP), 34.0 K%, 7.1 BB%, 0.84 HR/9 in 139.1 IP (A+, AA)

My No. 8 prospect and last year’s second round pick had a bit of an uneven start to the season, mostly because he had some trouble finding the strike zone consistently. Things began to click in the middle of May and Thorpe went on to have one of the best seasons in the minors. Here are his ranks among the 272 pitchers with at least 100 minor league innings this year:

• ERA: 2.52 (7th)
• FIP: 3.05 (5th)
• K%: 34.0% (3rd)
• K-BB%: 26.9% (1st by 2.1 percentage points)
• Swinging Strike %: 18.6% (1st by 1.8 percentage points)

Thorpe led the minors with 182 strikeouts, seven more than anyone else, and his 182 strikeouts are the most by a Yankees minor leaguer since Brandon Claussen led the minors with 220 strikeouts in 2001. Thorpe made 23 starts and had six double-digit strikeout games, including a Hudson Valley single-game record 13 strikeouts on July 22nd. Here’s video.

The case can be made Thorpe was the best pitcher in the minors this season and, for me, he is the clear-cut Player of the Year. Some years it’s a toss up or there’s at least some debate. Not this year. Thorpe was the best player in the system and an easy pick for my Player of the Year award. I expected a strong year given his pedigree and he was even better than I’d hoped.

Hitter of the Year: IF Jared Serna

2023 stats: .283/.350/.463 (119 wRC+), 19 HR, 29 SB, 16.0 K%, 8.7 BB% in 563 PA (A-, A+)

Not a great year for hitters in the system. Single-A C Jesus Rodriguez, who stands out most for his glove, led the system with a 134 wRC+ (min. 400 plate appearances). Drop the minimum to 300 plate appearances and OF Aaron Palensky led with a 141 wRC+, though I can not in good conscience give the Hitter of the Year award to a guy who hit .250 (.250/.372/.534).

Serna gets the nod over OF Jasson Domínguez (.265/.377/.425 and 122 wRC+), who wasn’t all that good the first three months of the season, and OF Estevan Florial (.284/.380/.565 and 130 wRC+), because I’m nitpicky. Florial had only four fewer total bases than Serna in 81 fewer plate appearances, but he struck out 54 more times. It was also his third year in Triple-A.

The recently turned 21-year-old Serna ran out of gas in September, though he was remarkably consistent the first five months of the season. His monthly wRC+ from April through August: 123, 146, 107, 112, 112. He had a big May and was otherwise the same hitter start to finish. I wouldn’t argue too much with Domínguez or Florial (or Palensky or Rodriguez) here. Serna’s my pick.

Pitcher of the Year: RHP Will Warren

For the sake of variety, I don’t double up and give the Player of the Year the Hitter/Pitcher of the Year award as well, otherwise Thorpe would have been the pick here. Even with Thorpe ineligible, there are a lot of really good Pitcher of the Year options. I can’t remember the last time I had an awards decision this difficult. Here is the head-to-head comparison (full-size image):

Hampton laps the field in strikeouts and whiffs. Selvidge leads in most other categories and he threw 61% of his innings with the automated strike zone in the Low-A Florida State League. That said, the FSL average was a .239/.346/.369 slash line this year. The automated zone really only leads to more walks down there. Those hitters are still pretty young and underdeveloped.

The Triple-A International League, meanwhile, had a .261/.356/.438 line with the automated zone. At that level, experienced hitters know how to force pitchers into the zone and do real damage. Beeter (54% of his innings were in Triple-A) and Warren (77%) pitched in a tough environment. I mean, Warren had a 3.61 ERA in Triple-A. The International League average was a 5.18 ERA!

Given the degree of difficulty, I’m going with Warren as my Pitcher of the Year, and his excellent finish was the separator. Warren got to Triple-A in mid May, allowed at least four runs in five of his first six starts, then pitched to a 2.75 ERA (4.22 FIP) with a .202/.293/.321 opponent’s batting line in his final 15 games. Warren allowed only six runs in his final seven starts and 39.2 innings. He finished the year very strong at a time when most pitchers run out of gas.

Other pitchers have better surface stats, but I think relative to his level, Warren had the best performance in the farm system this season. Other than Thorpe, that is. I have Warren narrowly ahead of Hampton and Selvidge here, with Fitts and Beeter a little further back. (Aside: RHP Mitch Spence (163) and Fitts (152.2) ranked first and third in the minors this year, respectively. Spence threw 10 more innings than anyone else.)

Breakout Player of the Year: RHP Chase Hampton

2023 stats: 3.63 ERA (3.38 FIP), 33.1 K%, 8.4 BB%, 1.10 HR/9 in 106.2 IP (A+, AA)

The Yankees have done plenty wrong the last few years but figuring out how to turn mid round draft picks into quality pitching prospects isn’t on the list. This is an organizational strength now and Hampton is the latest in a pipeline that also includes Fitts, Warren, LHP Ken Waldichuk, and RHP Hayden Wesneski. Last year’s sixth rounder is now a consensus top 100 prospect.

Similar to Warren last season, Hampton blew everyone away with High-A Hudson Valley (40.5% strikeouts and 17.9% swinging strikes), then things didn’t come quite as easily with Double-A Somerset (27.4% and 13.4%, respectively). He was still among the most dominant pitchers in the minors this season though. Consider:

• Strikeout rate: 33.1% (6th highest among the 272 pitchers with 100 minor league innings)
• K-BB%: 24.7% (3rd highest)
• Swinging strike rate: 15.3% (12th highest)

In Hampton and Thorpe, the Yankees have two of the premier bat-missers in the minors. The Yankees gave Thorpe close to $1.2M as their second round pick. He was supposed to come in and dominate. Hampton got less than $500,000 as a sixth rounder. The Yankees helped him level up big time. He’s the unquestioned No. 1 breakout prospect in the system for me.

(Unlike Player of the Year, I am perfectly fine doubling up on Breakout Player of the Year and Hitter/Pitcher of the Year. If you break out and become the best hitter or pitcher in the system, so be it. Giving Hampton this award didn’t influence my Pitcher of the Year thinking, or vice versa.)

Best Pro Debut: OF Jared Wegner

2023 stats: .275/.341/.513 (125 wRC+), 4 HR, 1 SB, 28.4 K%, 9.1 BB% in 88 PA (Rk, A-, A+)

I may need to rethink the Best Pro Debut award. Teams have taken to shutting down their drafted pitchers (and even some position players) and sending them to their Spring Training complex for pitch design work. That happened to Hampton. This season was technically his pro debut even though he was drafted last year. Should I consider him for this award?

Also, the international signing period opens in January now, not July. Under the old rules, teams would sign players, send them to Instructional League in the fall, and then turn them loose the next year. Now they sign and they jump right into Spring Training. Everyone is sushi raw and it shows in the performances. International guys don’t immediately pop the way they once did.

When I started these minor league awards, the spirit of Best Pro Debut was to recognize the player who turned pro this year and performed the best. Is it fair to give Hampton the award in what is technically his second pro season? He didn’t pitch in any games last season, but the behind-the-scenes work he did was real, and it gave him a head start over the 2023 draftees and international signings, you know?

At the same time, is it fair to disqualify a player who didn’t get to play after the draft not because he got hurt, but because the Yankees shut him down? I dunno. Maybe it’s best just to get rid of this award entirely. Then again, this is a blog and a made up award. What difference does it make? Why am I sweating this? We’re all going to forget about it by this afternoon anyway.

Like I said, the spirit of this award was to recognize the player who turned pro this year and performed the best, and I’m going to stick with it. In that case, Wegner gets the Best Pro Debut honors almost by default given the lack of competition. The 24-year-old graduate student was a ninth round pick and the oldest player drafted this year, and he raked at three levels after signing.

Comeback Player of the Year: RHP Brendan Beck

2023 stats: 1.59 ERA (2.87 FIP), 31.0 K%, 5.4 BB%, 0.53 HR/9 in 34 IP (Rk, A+)

Beck didn’t have much competition for this award and I guess that’s a good thing? The Yankees didn’t have many prospects coming back from major injuries or poor seasons. Beck, my No. 26 prospect, was a second round pick in 2021, but he blew out his elbow during his post-draft pitching lab work, and needed Tommy John surgery. He missed 2022, completed his rehab this year, and pitched well when he got back into game action. Maybe Beck should’ve won Best Pro Debut?

Most Disappointing Player: OF Elijah Dunham

2023 stats: .227/.330/.389 (91 wRC+), 16 HR, 35 SB, 27.3 K%, 12.1 BB% in 554 PA (AA, AAA)

The left field situation in the Bronx was so bad earlier this season and had Dunham performed even a little bit with Triple-A Scranton, he might’ve gotten the call. Instead, he hit .216/.330/.340 (73 wRC+) with the automated strike zone, and got demoted to Double-A Somerset in July. Dunham was worse with the Patriots this year (111 wRC+) than last year (118 wRC+) too. Not great. A lost opportunity for the young man. The big league left field job was there for the taking and yet no one grabbed it and ran.

Lifetime Achievement Award: RHP Zach McAllister

Each year, I like to give this award to a minor league lifer who has been grinding away in the minors for the better part of a decade. A veteran who fills an important role in the organization (org players are people too!) and is still chasing the dream. Someone like, say, RHP Aaron McGarity. The 2017 15th rounder finally – finally! – reached Triple-A this year, at age 28.

This year though, I’m going to deviate a bit and give the Lifetime Achievement Award to a player with over six years of MLB service time. Someone with nearly 300 big league appearances to his name. Someone with two World Series appearances (video) to his name. Someone who was drafted by the Yankees in 2006 and made his Yankees debut 17 years later in 2023.

McAllister was a third round pick in 2006 and he reached Triple-A with the Yankees in 2010. That was so long ago that they were still the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees back then. They didn’t become the RailRiders until 2013. Alas and alack, the Yankees traded McAllister to Cleveland for Austin Kearns at the 2010 deadline. Kearns hit .234/.345/.324 (88 wRC+) in pinstripes. Blah.

The trade was good for McAllister though. He made his big league debut in July 2011 and stuck for good in 2012. From 2011-18, McAllister threw 691.2 innings with a 4.09 ERA (3.87 FIP), including 183.1 innings with a 2.99 ERA (3.60 FIP) from 2015-17. He pitched in the 2016 World Series and made some money through arbitration. Life was good.

A rough 2018 with Cleveland and the Tigers (6.20 ERA and 4.47 FIP) sent McAllister into free agency and he had to settle for a minor league contract. And he continued settling for minor league contracts. McAllister spent 2019-23 bouncing around Triple-A with the Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Diamondbacks. He also spent the 2020 pandemic season at home after breaking his arm during the shutdown.

Now 35, McAllister took his lumps in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with the D’Backs this year – the PCL average was a .273/.369/.454 line this season – and Arizona eventually released him on Aug. 2nd. Three days later, the Yankees came calling. They needed a warm body in Triple-A, so McAllister rejoined the organization. He went back to Scranton, right where he left last time.

"A lot. Lower arm slot. Little bit more mature. Married. The whole gambit,” McAllister told Conor Foley when asked how much he’s changed since he was last with the Yankees. “... It's exciting to be back though, and have an opportunity again.”

McAllister pitched well with Scranton – 16.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 20 K – and when Jonathan Loáisiga’s elbow began to bark earlier this month, the Yankees called McAllister up. At long last, he was a Yankee, nearly two decades after they selected him out of his Illinois high school. He met the team in Boston and had a huge smile on his face following his first appearance.

“It’s come full circle for me,” McAllister told Bryan Hoch. “I got to every level but the big leagues when I was here last time, so to be able to throw in the pinstripes and be out there against Boston is something I’ll always remember.”

Because the Yankees have a small army of relievers on the injured list and aren’t playing for anything, McAllister will likely remain with the team through the end of the regular season. It’s neat seeing him in pinstripes and being so happy about it. It’s also great to see him get rewarded with a call up after spending so much time in Triple-A and reinventing himself as a sidearmer.

Giving the Lifetime Achievement Award to a player who has been in the organization for not even two full months out of the last 13 years is not something I would normally do, but there aren’t any great candidates this year otherwise, plus McAllister is a special case. Sticktoitiveness is rewarded here and no one has stuck with it more than McAllister the last few years.

5. Arizona Fall League rosters. MLB announced the 2023 Arizona Fall League rosters late last week and I gotta say, the Yankees are sending the least exciting group of prospects to the desert that I can remember. None of the players I highlighted as candidates are going – my hit rate is so low with that post that I’m not sure why I even bother doing it each year – and the Yankees aren’t sending anyone close to a top prospect. Here are their AzFL players (full AzFL rosters).

RHP Trystan Vrieling

Vrieling was last year’s third round pick and my No. 21 prospect entering the season. He hurt his elbow in Spring Training and did not pitch at all this year. As far as I know he didn’t have any kind of surgery, and he must be healthy now to go to the AzFL. The Yankees are sending him there to make up for lost innings, obviously. Vrieling was mostly low-90s with interesting enough breaking balls (plural) at Gonzaga last year. We’ll see what he looks like post-elbow injury when he gets to the desert next month.

IF Caleb Durbin

Half the return in the Lucas Luetge trade (the other half, RHP Indigo Diaz, had Tommy John surgery last month), the scrappy Durbin slashed .304/.395/.427 (132 wRC+) with four homers, 36 steals in 44 attempts, and more walks (8.9%) than strikeouts (6.9%) between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset this year. The minor league strikeout rate leaderboard (min. 250 plate appearances):

1. Ernie Clement, Blue Jays: 5.0%
2. Caleb Durbin, Yankees: 6.2%
3. David Fletcher, Angels: 6.3%
4. Xavier Edwards, Marlins: 6.9%
5. Eliezer Alfonso, Tigers: 7.0%

Durbin’s 5.4% swinging strike rate was 21st lowest among the 1,289 players with 250 minor league plate appearances this season. I’ve been told Durbin, who the Braves selected in the 14th round in 2021, set a new career high in max exit velocity several times this season. He set a new career high, then broke it, then broke it again, on and on. There’s some hard-hit ability here.

Opinions on the defense are split. Durbin has played mostly second base in his career, and also some third and short. He threads the needle between not being a top 30 prospect in the system but also having a decent chance to play in the big leagues as a utility guy. His upside is along the lines of Ronald Torreyes. Lots of contact and can do a little of everything, but isn’t really good at any one thing. He’ll go to the AzFL after missing some time with injury this summer.

Everyone else

IF Ben Cowles: The 2021 tenth rounder hit .254/.356/.393 (109 wRC+) with 10 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 106 games with High-A Hudson Valley this year. He got bumped up to Triple-A Scranton late in the year to fill out the roster for a few games. Cowles doesn’t seem to know what kinda hitter he is. He sells out for power often (career 29.4% strikeouts) but is better when he stays true to his approach and just hits the ball hard somewhere.

RHP Nolberto Henriquez: Henriquez, 24 next month, is an arm strength guy. He finally got out of rookie ball this season and allowed 12 runs with more walks (nine) than strikeouts (five) in 13.2 innings with Low-A Tampa. Henriquez regularly sits 96-98 mph with a two-seamer that runs all over the place, and that’s really all he has going for him. Feels like an AzFL roster filler. A guy who needs innings and is going to the AzFL because you have to send someone to the AzFL.

OF Nelson Medina: Between injuries and call ups, the RailRiders needed bodies at the end of the season, so the Yankees bumped Medina up to Triple-A all the way from Low-A Tampa. The just turned 23-year-old authored a .276/.380/.479 (132 wRC+) line with six homers in 50 games with the Tarpons, though the strikeout (30.2%) and swinging strike (16.4%) rates were poor. One person told me Medina’s a defensive specialist, another told me the bat is ahead of the glove. In conclusion, eventually the sun will expand and consume us all.

RHP Kevin Stevens: Signed as an undrafted free agent last July, Stevens got into five games after turning pro last year, and he missed this season with an injury. Limited Statcast data (limited as in 4.1 innings) with Low-A Tampa last year tells me Stevens sits low-90s with a high spin fastball, and has a cutter and a slider. The velocity, spin, and movement are similar enough to suggest the cutter and slider are just one pitch that’s inconsistent.

RHP Baron Stuart: Another 2022 undrafted free agent, Stuart got a lot of work this season, throwing 100.2 innings with a 4.47 ERA (5.25 FIP) between Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley. He’s a low-90s sinker/slider guy and I’m a bit surprised he’s going to the AzFL given his workload this season, especially because he was a college reliever who threw 98 innings total from 2020-22. The Yankees put Stuart in the rotation this season and I guess they want to see more of him in the AzFL.

UPDATE: RHP Matt Sauer

Sauer was added the Mesa Solar Sox roster Monday, according to Josh Norris. Sauer was on my list of AzFL candidates, so hey, I got one right. The soon-to-be 25-year-old threw 68.1 innings with a 3.42 ERA (4.30 FIP) and high strikeout (29.5%), walk (10.3%), and home run (1.45 HR/9) rates with Double-A Somerset this year. He missed the start of the season with a forearm issue and needs innings, but he also has to go on the 40-man roster this offseason. The Yankees might be sending Sauer to the AzFL to get a longer look at him before making that decision. I'm curious to see who gets the Yankees' AzFL rotation spot, Sauer of Vrieling (or I guess Stuart). Vrieling needs the work after not pitching this year, though he might not be built up for a starting role. We'll find out soon enough.

The pitching is never great in the AzFL because so many top pitching prospects are up against their workload limit this time of year. You wind up with a lot of guys like the ones the Yankees are sending to the desert. Guys coming off injuries and guys who are third or fourth tier prospects. I’m a bit surprised C Ben Rice isn’t going, but it’s not the end of the world. Still a really weak crop of AzFL prospects for the Yankees this year. It is what it is.

(Send your requests for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for when it returns.)