Report: Tyler Austin's Wrist Still Bothering Him

One of the things the Yankees were really hoping for this spring was a healthy one.  That was a 2-part goal, the first involving nobody suffering new injuries as a result of ST workout or game activity and the second being their large group of players coming back from injuries staying healthy and not suffering any setbacks.

It sounds like we've got our first setback in that second group and it didn't take very long for it to creep up.  According to Chad Jennings, outfield prospect Tyler Austin has been feeling some soreness in his right wrist, the same one that bothered him for most of last season.  It started up a few days ago and didn't go away, so Austin told coaches today and was held out of batting practice.  The plan right now is to let Austin rest it for a few days and see how the wrist feels then, but this obviously isn't an encouraging sign for how the wrist is going to hold up over the long haul once the season starts.

I hate to jump to the worst possible conclusion, but seeing as how I wasn't a fan of the idea to send Austin to the AZFL after the injury ended his MiL season early I feel like I can say it.  If this injury turns out to be something that requires surgery, and the Yankee medical staff missed it and thought the rest and rehab plan was the way to go, someone's ass should be fired.

Yanks Put 3 In Keith Law's Top 100 Prospects

Continuing his efforts to upstage AB4AR Prospect Week 2014, Keith Law released his list of Top 100 Prospects on ESPN.com yesterday.  As was the case with the organizational rankings, the posts are Insider-only but the important thing for Yankees fans is the inclusion of 3 of their own on the list.  Gary Sanchez came in at 68 (down from 18th last year), Tyler Austin at 85 (down from 52nd), and Mason Williams at 87 (down from 35).

Austin staying on the list was a bit of a surprise.  He's taken a big fall on most other rankings after his down year but Law is still high on his overall hitting makeup.  Law also gave another positive review of Sanchez's defense, and stated that he still believed Sanchez could be an MVP-caliber player if he puts it together at the plate and maximizes his power potential.  For a team that came within 1 spot of being in the bottom third of the overall org ranks, it was nice to see 3 players make this list.

Update On Tyler Austin's AZFL Exit

Yep.  It's a problem with his wrist.

The word on Tyler Austin is it's the wrist flaring up again. It's not serious, but they wanted to shut him down for precautionary reasons.
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) October 23, 2013

Oh it's not serious?  That's good news.  Except that if it wasn't that serious you wouldn't be removing him from the fall league so he wasn't at risk of re-injuring it.  Ask Mark Teixeira about those non-serious wrist injuries.  See how well rest and recuperation worked for him.

Report: Tyler Austin Removed From The AZFL

Even when the season is over the Yankee organization can't escape injury problems.  At least that's what appears to be happening with Tyler Austin.  Josh Norris reported yesterday that he has been pulled out of the Arizona Fall League after playing in just 4 games.  Austin hasn't played in over a week, and based on his injury problems earlier in the year and now the decision to remove him from the fall league, it's only logical that a setback would be the cause.

You'll recall that Austin missed a large chunk of time due to a wrist injury and he was dinged up late in the 2012 season.  If this does indeed turn out to be health-related, and especially if it turns out to be a setback with his wrist, that's another bad look for the Yankee training/medical staff.  They've gotten burned a lot by rushing guys back before they were ready to play in both the Major and Minor Leagues and another setback to a top prospect makes them look even worse than they already do.  Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be something serious that could impact Austin's ability to start the 2014 season on time.

Tyler Austin Can Play For My Team Any Day

Austin, on facing Syndergaard: "It's going to be a long night. For him."
— Nick Peruffo (@nickperuffo) September 4, 2013

He didn't have the best season, but that's some badass shit from Tyler Austin in Game 1 of last night's Double-A playoffs, a game the Thunder won 6-5.  Not only did he talk trash about the opposing starting pitcher, top Mets prospect Noah Syndergaard, he backed it up with a 3-5 night at the plate with 2 doubles off Syndergaard and 2 RBI.  That's the kind of stuff prospect evaluations don't measure and that's why I'm still on board the Tyler Austin bandwagon.

Come out, talk some trash, whoop some ass, and raise a little hell.  If you're down with Tyler Austin, give me a hell yeah!

Here Comes Tyler Austin...

IT'S AUSTIN!! IT'S AUSTIN!!  BUSINESS IS ABOUT TO PICK UP!!!!

He's still included in the crop of top OF prospects that's underperforming early this season, but Tyler Austin is showing signs that he might be starting to remove himself from that herd.  In his last 10 games, Austin is hitting .316/.378/.632 with 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 R, 9 RBI, and 5 BB.  He's raised his season batting line to .266/.368/.411 (.360 wOBA) and the power/patience combination that was his calling card through the lower levels of the system is starting to come through now that he's over 200 PA at the Double-A level.

Kid's starting to put it together, people...

Cool FanGraphs Feature On Heathcott & Austin

If you need a little something to do to kill time before this afternoon's game, go ahead and check out this FanGraphs interview of sorts with Yankee prospects Slade Heathcott and Tyler Austin.  David Laurila spoke with both players and their Double-A hitting coach on their respective offensive games, approaches at the plate, and what they're trying to work on, and provided some brief scouting report information on each.

The best part about this is that it's not a typical "Q&A" piece where you just get little snippets of what each player said.  The entire article is basically Heathcott and Austin talking uninterrupted about their games, swings, approaches, and it gives you a really good idea of where each guy is as a player.  The overall theme for Heathcott, from his coach to the scouting report to his own first words, was the need to improve his approach and get more at-bats.  Despite his age, he's low on reps for a Double-A player and he's already missed some time this year with a neck issue.  Austin came across as much more mature in his approach and techniques at the plate, and the constant reference to his multi-field power is very encouraging when thinking about his future as a Major League prospect.

It's not often you get in-depth discussion like this from top MiL prospects like Austin and Heathcott, who were 3rd and 5th respectively in this year's AB4AR Top 30.  Definitely a good read if you're a prospect hugger.

Don't Move Tyler Austin To Third Base

(Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio)

Give the Yankees credit for leaving no stone unturned in their search to find a long-term replacement for Alex Rodriguez at third base.  Earlier this week, Chad Jennings of LoHud had some Minor League news bits, and one of them mentioned Yankee brass giving thought to moving top prospect Tyler Austin back to third.  By the sounds of Chad's report, we aren't going to be seeing Austin back at the hot corner next season, but it also didn't sound like the idea of was ruled out completely.

“He’s a better defender in right,” vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman said. “But (putting him back at third) is something we’ve thought about. It’s a possibility.”

Austin was originally drafted as a catcher, quickly moved to third base last season, and then moved to right field almost as quickly.  Far be it for me to tell the Yankees where he's best suited in the field, but I think if it was already decided that he might not be able to handle third base, then he and the Yankees are better off not moving him to third base and keeping him right where he is in right.

Let's face it, Austin isn't going to win any Gold Gloves at the Major League level.  His bat is what's carrying him through the Minors right now and it's what's going to carry him to the show if he keeps hitting like this.  While the Yankees do need a more permanent solution at third base than Kevin Youkilis, they could also use one in right field.  Ichiro is only signed for 2 years, and could probably use a right-handed platoon partner in right as it is.  If Austin has picked up the defensive nuances of right field well enough to play it full time, keep him right there, let his bat continue to do its thing, and maybe he ends up being that right-handed platoon bat in 2014 as a way to break into the Majors. The Yankees don't have great success trying to move their young players to new positions, and I'd rather not see Austin's development hit a speed bump because of more defensive musical chairs.

Tyler Austin Is Just Rubbing It In My Face Now

(Courtesy of Mark LoMoglio)

I know I've referenced this plenty of times this year since the unveiling of the first AB4AR Top 30, but now the punishment for me ranking Tyler Austin 30th is really starting to get out of control.  The latest installment came yesterday, when Austin was announced as the winner of the MiLBY Award for Breakout Prospect of the Year.  It was a nation-wide fan vote, which should make the award a little less significant than one voted on by peers, coaches, or writers, but in this case I think it actually makes the award more impressive.

MiL baseball doesn't get even remotely close to the amount of national media coverage that MLB does, doesn't have nearly the fanbase size of MLB, and is basically one big group of young players ALL striving to break out.  Austin had to make a helluva good impression on fans across the country who may have only gotten to see him play once or twice to win this award, and it's a perfect way to cap off a monster season that saw him rise from sleeper in the Yankee system to national recognition.