Connor Oliver Archives - River Avenue Blues

Got some notes to pass along:

The Yankees have signed 11th round pick Georgia LHP Connor Jones, according to Matt Eddy. No word on his bonus, but it’s safe to assume it’s no more than the $100,000 slot. The Yankees don’t have the pool space to hand out any more over-slot bonuses. Here’s our Draft Pool Tracker.
Also from Eddy: the Yankees have released RHP Vinnie Pestano and OF Connor Oliver. Pestano threw only 10.2 innings with Triple-A innings before getting hurt. The Yankees picked up Oliver out an independent league to fill a roster spot a few weeks ago.
The Yankees have signed Tampa RHP Brett Morales as an undrafted free agent, the school announced. Here’s a photo of the contract signing. Morales redshirted and didn’t pitch this spring.
In his Futures Game write-up, Chris Crawford (subs. req’d) says C Gary Sanchez impressed with his improved receiving behind the plate. “He didn’t stab at the ball like he used to, and his hands appeared softer. This was just one look, but several scouts had mentioned similar things, so it’s good to see,” he wrote.
Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton will host the 2018 Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game, the team announced. That’s pretty cool. By then guys like C Luis Torrens and OF Blake Rutherford could be in Double-A.

Triple-A Scranton is off until Thursday for the All-Star break. The All-Star Game itself is Wednesday night. It’ll be broadcast on MLB Network. OF Ben Gamel, RHP Chad Green, OF Aaron Judge, and C Gary Sanchez were selected to represent the Yankees. Judge won’t be playing because of his recent knee injury though.

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Some notes:

Big news: the Staten Island Yankees are re-branding for next season. You can submit a nickname suggestion right here. MLB doesn’t seem to want minor league teams sharing nicknames with their parent clubs, so they’ve been “encouraging” affiliates to change names.
The Yankees have signed OF Connor Oliver out of the independent Frontier League and assigned him to High-A Tampa, the team announced. Oliver, 22, spent a few years in the Braves’ system. He was hitting .337/.386/.652 with six homers in 24 games for the Lake Erie Crushers.
OF Jake Skole has been promoted from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton, the team announced. Skole, the 15th overall pick in the 2010 draft, has 166 games of Double-A experience.
Chad Jennings put together a great rundown of the top players at each position in the farm system this year, so make sure you check that out.

Both Triple-A Scranton and Double-A Trenton had scheduled off-days.

High-A Tampa (9-1 loss to Daytona)

SS Jorge Mateo: 0-4
3B Thairo Estrada: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
RF Austin Aune: 0-4, 2 K
2B Abi Avelino: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 E (fielding) — four homers in 63 games this year after hitting four in 123 games last year
RHP Will Carter: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 5/0 GB/FB — 59 of 88 pitches were strikes (67%)
RHP Gabe Encinas: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 WP, 1/1 GB/FB — 29 of 45 pitches were strikes (64%) … first time in ten appearances this year he’s had more strikeouts than walks

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DotF: Williams, Amburgey have big days in Tampa’s loss

DotF: Torrens’ big game helps Staten Island to 4-0 start