Yankees Set Thunder Opening Day Roster

THUNDER ROSTER 4-5-18

The New York Yankees have set the Thunder roster for the 25th season of play at ARM & HAMMER Park.

The roster features three of the top starting pitching prospects in the organization with RHP Domingo Acevedo, LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Dillon Tate lining up at the front of the rotation. All three rank in the top-10 of Baseball America's pre-season Yankees prospect list with Sheffield checking in at #3. RHP Will Carter and RHP Erik Swanson round out the starting group for the Thunder, a team that set the franchise record for team ERA (2.83) and shutouts (20). 

The bullpen features a number of strong arms including Rule V returnee RHP Jose Mesa Jr.. Righties Jordan Foley, Joe Harvey, Brian Keller, and Andrew Schwaab will be joined by left-handers Caleb Frare, James Reeves and Stephen Tarpley. 

Behind the plate C Jorge Saez returns after hitting nine home runs in 67 games for the team. Former Reading Fightin Phils catcher Chace Numata joins Saez as a catcher for the club. 

In the field, the roster features two local products. Council Rock South High School graduate Billy Fleming breaks camp with the team. He's joined by West Windsor Plainsboro South High School graduate, Ben Ruta; who will make his Double-A debut when he takes the field for the first time.

Rounding out the position players on the roster, infielders Chris Gittens, Bruce Caldwell, Vince Conde, Gosuke Katoh, and Mandy Alvarez join the team. Conde and Fleming are the only infielders returning to the team from 2017. In the outfield, Trey Amburgey, Rashad Crawford, and Jhalan Jackson join Ruta. Amburgey appeared in one game for the Thunder in the 2016 ELCS against Ak

Most Popular Prospect Article of the Week: Baseball America: 2015 Draft Report Card: Yankees

The great minds at Baseball American have released their final 2015 MLB Draft Report Cards now that the 2015 season is all but over. Many of the players drafted in the June draft are now in winter leagues and such but Baseball America released their report cards anyway. The pitchers are hidden behind the paywall but the positional players are free and seen below. If you have a subscription click HERE and check out the pitchers as well, I hear BA was quite nice to James Kaprielian. Enjoy.


POSITION PLAYERS


BEST PURE HITTER: The Yankees had strong belief in the hands and contact ability of 3B Donny Sands(8), and he rewarded them with a .309/.405/.364 debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

BEST POWER HITTER: OF Jhalan Jackson (7) set a Florida Southern record with 20 homers in the spring and hit five more in his debut, as did OF Trey Amburgey (13). Both have big power that is not limited to pull side. OF Isaiah Gilliam (20) is the increasingly-rare switch-hitter with power from both sides. 

FASTEST RUNNER: OF Jeff Hendrix (4) consistently turns in 4.0-4.1 second times to first base from the left side, and his speed plays defensively in center field as well. 

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER: SS Kyle Holder (1) was the best defensive player in the draft class. He has body control, short-area quickness, a plus arm and easy actions, making him a potentially 70 defender.

Baseball America: 2015 Draft Report Card: Yankees

The great minds at Baseball American have released their final 2015 MLB Draft Report Cards now that the 2015 season is all but over. Many of the players drafted in the June draft are now in winter leagues and such but Baseball America released their report cards anyway. The pitchers are hidden behind the paywall but the positional players are free and seen below. If you have a subscription click HERE and check out the pitchers as well, I hear BA was quite nice to James Kaprielian. Enjoy.


POSITION PLAYERS


BEST PURE HITTER: The Yankees had strong belief in the hands and contact ability of 3B Donny Sands(8), and he rewarded them with a .309/.405/.364 debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

BEST POWER HITTER: OF Jhalan Jackson (7) set a Florida Southern record with 20 homers in the spring and hit five more in his debut, as did OF Trey Amburgey (13). Both have big power that is not limited to pull side. OF Isaiah Gilliam (20) is the increasingly-rare switch-hitter with power from both sides. 

FASTEST RUNNER: OF Jeff Hendrix (4) consistently turns in 4.0-4.1 second times to first base from the left side, and his speed plays defensively in center field as well. 

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER: SS Kyle Holder (1) was the best defensive player in the draft class. He has body control, short-area quickness, a plus arm and easy actions, making him a potentially 70 defender.

Baseball America: Three Yankees In Top 20 New York-Penn League Prospects List

picture courtesy of Pinstripes Prospects

Baseball America has been covering all the minor league league's and affiliates and ranking the Top 20 prospects in each league for the better part of a week now. The Yankees have been well represented in each of these lists with prospects from the Appalachian League and Gulf Coast Leagues but the team has been no more well represented than the team was in the New York-Penn League.

New York had three prospects listed in the Top 20 for the short-season NYPL including #3 overall prospect RHP Domingo Acevedo, #10 OF Jhalan Jackson and and #18 SS Kyle Holder.

The top two prospects in the league are the Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles. For the complete list CLICK HERE.