Miguel Andújar's resume for the Yankees' third-base job keeps getting better by the day. It made its biggest improvement yet Thursday.MLB.com's No. 65 overall prospect homered twice, going deep with solo shots on the first two pitches he saw, to lead the Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Phillies
Miguel Andújar's resume for the Yankees' third-base job keeps getting better by the day. It made its biggest improvement yet Thursday.
MLB.com's No. 65 overall prospect homered twice, going deep with solo shots on the first two pitches he saw, to lead the Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Phillies in Clearwater.
The homers were Andujar's third and fourth of the spring, moving him to first in the category among Grapefruit and Cactus League performers above Austin Hedges, Kyle Jensen and Jason Kipnis -- each of whom entered the day with three. It took New York's right-handed slugger 38 games to hit four homers with Double-A Trenton in 2017 and just five games this spring.
"It's a matter of going out there with a plan, paying attention and seeing how they're pitching you, and trying to make the adjustments and implement that in your next at-bat," Andujar told MLB.com earlier this week through an interpreter.
Andujar, who finished the game 2-for-4 with a strikeout as designated hitter, entered camp as a contender to man the hot corner for the Yanks on Opening Day after hitting .315/.352/.498 with 16 homers in the Minors and making five big league appearances last season. Competition for the spot got even fiercer when the Yankees acquired infielder Brandon Drury from the D-backs. It's possible Andujar could push Drury to second base, where he made 109 starts for Arizona last season.
Andujar wasn't the only Yankees youngster to put on a show. No. 19 prospect Billy McKinney also contributed one of New York's five home runs on the day, and No. 2 prospect Estevan Florial collected his third triple in his sixth game. Domingo Germán (No. 18) allowed a solo homer by Aaron Altherr and struck out three in three innings.
No. 3 Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford went 1-for-2 as the club's starting shortstop and is now 4-for-7 (.571) in four games.
In other spring action:
Astros 10, Red Sox 4 (Box)
The Kyle Tucker Show continued in West Palm Beach. The Astros' No. 2 prospect hit his third homer of the spring, plating three runs in the process, in the defending champs' home win. The 21-year-old outfielder is 5-for-13 (.385) through five Grapefruit League contests. No. 9 prospect J.D. Davis went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. No. 23 Red Sox prospect Bobby Poyner struck out one in a perfect inning of relief for the losing side.
Twins 3, Cardinals 3 (Box)
Cardinals No. 13 prospect Oscar Mercado went 3-for-3 with a walk and his third stolen base of the spring as St. Louis and Minnesota battled to a tie. A second-round pick in 2013, Mercado hit .287/.341/.428 at Double-A Springfield last year and is now 5-for-12 this spring. Conner Greene, St. Louis' No. 21 prospect, tossed a perfect eighth inning. Twins No. 26 prospect Zack Granite doubled off Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright for his first hit of the spring, while LaMonte Wade Jr singled and drew two walks.
Pirates 4, Blue Jays 1 (Box)
Top Pirates position prospect Austin Meadows hit a two-run homer to lead the Bucs to their first Grapefruit League win. The 22-year-old outfielder, who was a first-round pick in 2013, is now 5-for-8 with four extra-base hits in four games. Starter Nick Kingham, Pittsburgh's No. 13 prospect, yielded one run on three hits over three frames, allowing two walks and fanning a pair. Former Pirate infielder Gift Ngoepe started at third for the Blue Jays and delivered a single in three at-bats.
Braves (ss) 5, Tigers 2 (Box)
Top Braves prospect Ronald Acuña Jr. went 2-for-3 with a walk and third baseman Austin Riley hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to help the Braves' split-squad past Detroit. Riley, who finished 2017 as Atlanta's No. 9 prospect, went 1-for-3. Right-hander Mike Soroka struck out two over a pair of hitless innings and Ricardo Sánchez worked around a walk in the eighth before Akeel Morris pitched a flawless ninth for his first save of Spring Training. Gerson Moreno, the Tigers' No. 29 prospect, took the loss after allowing two runs -- one earned -- on two hits in one inning. He struck out two but served up Riley's home run.
Orioles 5, Rays 2 (Box)
Orioles No. 3 prospect Ryan Mountcastle went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI to help the Orioles to their second Spring Training win. Cedric Mullins, the O's No. 7 prospect, added a double and a scored a run after replacing No. 3 prospect Chance Sisco, who was hitless in his first two plate appearances. No. 25 prospect Nestor Cortes Jr., snagged from the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft, started and allowed a run on four hits over two frames. Left-hander Jesus Liranzo, Baltimore's No. 26 prospect, struck out one in a hitless fifth inning. Rays No. 2 prospect Willy Adames went 2-for-3 with a double and No. 5 prospect Jake Bauers added two hits and a run scored for Tampa Bay (4-4). Chih-Wei Hu, the Rays' No. 28 prospect, struck out a pair in two innings of relief.
Nationals 6, Braves (ss) 2 ( Box)
Nationals No. 10 prospect Kelvin Gutierrez went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Fifth-ranked prospect Seth Romero allowed one hit in a scoreless fourth inning to earn the win. No. 3 prospect Carter Kieboom drove in two runs with a single, and 12th-ranked Andrew Stevenson plated two with a double. José Marmolejos, the team's No. 22 prospect, doubled, walked and score two runs. Braves pitching prospect A.J. Minter allowed one hit and struck out two in one inning.
Marlins 3, Mets 2 (Box)
Marlins No. 3 prospect Sandy Alcantara lasted three innings in his start, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four. Eighth-ranked Isan Díaz and ninth-ranked Brian Anderson each doubled and scored a run. No. 17 prospect Braxton Lee singled twice and scored a run.
Rangers (ss) 9, Athletics 4 (Box)
Rangers No. 2 prospect - and No. 60 overall - Willie Calhoun went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and his first spring homer. Andy Ibáñez (No. 16) tallied a pair of doubles, three runs and an RBI while Carlos Tocci (No. 29) doubled and drove in a pair. A's second-ranked prospect Franklin Barreto ripped a single and came around to score.
Indians 8, Dodgers 7 (Box)
For the Dodgers, No. 3 prospect Keibert Ruiz went 3-for-3 with an RBI, sixth-ranked DJ Peters singled and scored to raise his spring average to .444 and No. 14 Cristian Santana doubled in a run for his first hit of the spring. Dennis Santana (No. 10) tossed a scoreless sixth inning for Los Angeles. Top Indians prospect Francisco Mejía delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in Cleveland's six-run eighth inning.
Angels 11, Giants 4 (Box)
Angels No. 9 prospect Matt Thaiss, homered, doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice. No. 23 prospect David Fletcher singled twice and walked while scoring two runs. Second-ranked Giants prospect Chris Shaw went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored.
Cubs 2, Rockies 2 (Box)
Rockies No. 12 prospect Sam Hilliard cracked a two-run homer in the eighth inning to pull Colorado into a tie with the Cubs. Lefty Sam Howard, the team's No. 17 prospect, yielded the Cubs' two runs on a homer by the red-hot Ian Happ. It was one of the few mistakes by the Rockies staff, which allowed just four hits in the game. Cubs catcher Victor Caratini contributed one of them. Chicago starter Alec Mills, the club's No. 22 prospect, tossed a pair of scoreless frames, giving up one walk and no hits while fanning three.
Reds 8, White Sox 7(Box)
White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning allowed two hits and walked one over two innings. Reds No. 19 prospect Alex Blandino singled and scored a run. No. 30 prospect Tanner Rainey walked one and struck out one in one inning.
Brewers 6, D-backs 1 (Box)
MLB.com's No. 56 overall prospect Keston Hiura slapped an RBI single and came around to score in the win while Brewers No. 27 prospect Jacob Nottingham ripped a two-run double.
Royals 4, Mariners 3 (Box)
Royals No. 13 prospect Josh Staumont worked around two hits and a walk with two strikeouts for two scoreless frames and No. 24 prospect Heath Fillmyer notched the save after allowing one walk with one punchout in a scoreless ninth.
