Tonight's Game Has Been Postponed...

Yankees-Indians rained out...

Tonight's game versus the Cleveland Indians, postponed due to rain, has been re-scheduled as a single admission double-header for tomorrow, Wednesday, August 30th, beginning at 1:00 pm ET.

Jaime Garcia will be the Game 1 starter and Jordan Montgomery, scratched from tonight's RailRiders game, will start Game 2.  They'll oppose Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin.  Monty's appearance allows CC Sabathia to start the first game of the upcoming four games series with the Boston Red Sox.  The move pits Luis Severino against Chris Sale on Sunday night.  Sonny Gray and Masahiro Tanaka will pitch on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

No word yet regarding a roster move for Montgomery but I have to believe that LHP Caleb Smith will be the odd man out and Scranton-bound.  Or they make no move if Montgomery serves as the 26th man for the double-header.

Manager Joe Girardi has said that Aaron Judge will start at least one of the games tomorrow.  He had not been scheduled to start today's game.  

Update:  The Cleveland Indians have opted to keep Josh Tomlin on the DL for one more day so Ryan Merritt (1-0, 3.76 ERA in 4 games and 3 starts) will face Jordan Montgomery in the second game of the double-header.

IL North Division Champs...

Congratulations to the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders for winning the 2017 International League North Division!  

Credit:  Fred Adams-for Times Leader

The RailRiders beat the second place Rochester Red Wings (Twins) on Monday night to clinch the division.  Bryan Mitchell was the winning pitcher.  Jake Cave, Mason Williams and Cito Culver all homered to back Mitchell and two relievers enroute to the 5-3 victory.  The Yankees will have to get creative with the 40-man roster in September but I am hopeful that we'll see Mr Cave bring his show to the Bronx.

Credit:  Fred Adams-for Times Leader

The division crown is the third consecutive for the RailRiders and the ninth in twelve years.  The Governor's Cup play-offs begin September 6th.

We'll try this again tomorrow.  Enjoy your evening!

Yankees Rank Two in Baseball America’s Top 20 Triple-A Prospects

Every season the crew over at Baseball America ranks their top 20 prospects for each league in Minor League Baseball. The Yankees are usually pretty absent from these rankings but after restocking their farm system with a few mid-season trades New York sent more than a few to each list for Baseball America including two for the International League, or more commonly known as Triple-A.

Gary Sanchez was the #3 ranked International League prospect behind the Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner and Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton. Sanchez and what he did with the big league club this season was ultra-impressive but he also did well in Triple-A in 2016 which a lot of people aren’t talking about. As Sanchez grows out of prospect eligibility this season names like Tyler Glasnow, Austin meadows and J.P. Crawford will slide in where Sanchez once stood.

The other Yankees prospect to make the list also reached the Major Leagues this season, right fielder Aaron Judge. Judge ended 2015 in Triple-A and had some holes found in his swing which left him statistically wavering a bit to end the season. Judge seemingly plugged those holes this season and will look for history to repeat itself this coming season in the Bronx after being exposed a bit in 2016 at the Major League level.

You have to think if Clint Frazier had more at bats in Triple-A he would have made the list but there is no excuse for Ben Gamel not to be on this list. Gamel, now a member of the Seattle Mariners, was the league’s MVP for goodness sake. How does he not make the list at least at #20? 

Weekly Prospects Check In: Ben Gamel

The New York Yankees have a gluttony of outfielders on their 40 man roster right now with the four in the Bronx, the return of Mason Williams and the subject of our check in post this morning Ben Gamel. That’s before you even include Aaron Judge who does not have a 40 man roster spot yet so to say the Yankees are stacked may be an understatement. Gamel was the International League’s Minor League Player of the Year last year and was awarded his first All-Star Game start this season so let’s check in with the guy voted to have the best head of hair in the Yankees organization.

Ben Gamel, his hair and all its glory ladies and gentleman:

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	24	AAA	83	386	54	106	19	4	36	14	32	65	.304	.363	.421	.784
2016	24	MLB	5	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.125	.222	.125	.347

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Former Yankees Update: Kyle Roller

The New York Yankees lack many first base options in the minor leagues other than Greg Bird which made many scratch their heads when the team decided to release 27-year old Kyle Roller. The Yankees had one more year of team control of Roller but they decided to move on from the longtime farm hand this season leaving their loss as another team's gain. That other team was the Tampa Bay Rays who signed Roller to a minor league deal this week with a presumed invitation to Spring Training.

Roller had a big 2014 season with the club leaving many to wonder, including myself, whether he would be called up when Mark Teixeira was injured or not. Roller was named the International League's MVP last season and even made an appearance in the Triple-A All Star Game representing the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders. Roller took a bit of a step back in 2015 hitting just .232 with 14 home runs and 59 RBI in 123 games in Triple-A.

Good luck Kyle!

Baseball America: Four Yankees In International League Top 20 Prospects List

Baseball American has covered every minor league affiliate and league but one this season, the International League. The International League is the home of many of the league's Triple-A Affiliates including the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders. This is likely the toughest league to rank just 20 prospects in because so much talent spent time in Triple-A before graduating to the Major Leagues but somehow Baseball America did it, and the team over there did it with four members of the Yankees on the list.

CLICK HERE to see the entire list from Baseball America, it's free so no worries. 

The four members of the Yankees organization were #2 Luis Severino, #6 Greg Bird, #10 Aaron Judge and #18 Gary Sanchez. The top player on the list was the Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor. The future is bright in New York, especially if you look at all these BA rankings, and it's definitely a sight for sore eyes.

Ronnier Mustelier International League Player Of Week

Ronnier Mustelier of the AAA Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders has been named the International League Player of the Week for the week ending August 25th. In six games Musty put up a .556 batting average and has extended his hitting streak to 13 games. During his hitting streak Musty has hit an incredible .458 with six doubles, five runs batted in, and has played good defense at the hot corner. Not sure if this will translate into a September call up with a healthy Alex Rodriguez, Mark Reynolds, Lyle Overbay, and probably one too many outfielders on the roster already but you never know.