Minor League Update: Games of September 5th

Hitter of the Day:

Estevan Florial, OF, New York Yankees (High-A, Tampa): 2-4, 2 R, 3B, BB

Florial got big time money, and, if the reports around the deadline were true, a player the Yankees were not going to consider trading. Looking over Greg Goldstein’s report, he looks to be a pretty good player.

Pitcher of the Day:

Jake Woodford, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals (High-A, Palm Beach): 6 IP, 4 H, R, ER, BB, 3 K

When I saw Woodford, he looked to be tiring after a long season, and struggled with his off-speed offerings. When Javier Barragan saw him in May, he seemed more bullish on him than me, but still likes him as a possible back-end guy.

Other Notable Performances:

Seth Romero, LHP, Washington Nationals (Short-Season, Auburn): 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
This is a messy last outing of the year, but he could see time in another league this season in an effort to get more innings.

Matt Seelinger, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates (Short-Season, West Virginia): 4 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
I honestly don’t know much about Matt. He is a 28^th-rounder from this past draft, his college, SUNY Farmingdale is a Division III program in upstate New York. On the mound he has an OTT slot with a fringe fastball, a usable splitter, and moxie.

James Ziemba, LHP, Los Angeles Angels (Rookie, Orem): 2 IP, H, 0 R, BB
Ziemba has two good things going for him. One, he is left-handed, second, he is 6-foot-10. Unfortunately he doesn’t take advantage of his height as he is a 88-90 submariner. It is good to be left-handed.

Tyler Jay, LHP, Minnesota Twins (High-A, Fort Myers): 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K
After missing most of the season recovering from Thoracic Outlet Surgery, Jay was able to get some work in before the season ended. While he might be a reliever at the end of the day, he could still be a good one.

Thomas Jones, OF, Miami Marlins (Short-Season, Batavia): 2-2, R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, SB
A raw multi-sport athlete out of HS, Jones checks off A LOT of boxes. The things he doesn't check off right now? Polish and an approach.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., 3B, Toronto Blue Jays (High-A, Dunedin): 2-5, R
So he finished the season with an OBP of .425, and hit better in High-A than he did in Low-A. He’s also 18. Oh Canada.

Torii Hunter, OF, Los Angeles Angels (Rookie, Orem): 2-4, RBI, BB, 2 SB
Yes, his son plays baseball too. While he played more football as a Wide Receiver at Notre Dame, the Angels still bet on his overall athleticism in the 23^rd round in 2016. A plus-to-better runner, Hunter can get it in the outfield, and has a lot of raw strength that he has yet to tap into.

Jake Scheiner, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies (Short-Season, Williamsport): 3-5, BB, SB
A fourth-rounder from the University of Houston in this past draft, I saw Scheiner from this past draft and had this report on him.

Here is my report on the newest @Phillies 3B Jake Scheiner pic.twitter.com/lvvpGjXPEw

— Steve Givarz (@SteveGivarz) June 13, 2017

Yahir Gurrola, OF, Philadelphia Phillies (Short-Season, Williamsport): 3-7, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 K
A 27^th-rounder from this past draft out of North Florida, Yahir hit his way out of GCL to a promotion to short-season. He doesn’t profile well as he lacks aggression at the plate, doesn’t project for power, and is a below-average runner in the outfield.

Casey Golden, OF, Colorado Rockies (Rookie, Grand Junction): 2-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, K
A 20^th-rounder from this past draft out of UNC Wilmington, Golden has a lot of power. He hit 20 in short-season, as well as 21 in college. While both environments were homer friendly, I am not discounting his overall power.

Fight Another Day:

Jacob Heatherly, LHP, Cincinnati Reds (Rookie, Billings): 2 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4, ER, 3 BB, K
A third-rounder from this past draft out of an Alabama HS, Heatherly has a big arm, and only fell after a subpar senior season, but still signed for over $1 million. The big fastball doesn’t come with much command, which he will need to refine to help set up his impressive secondary offerings.