Via Chad Jennings, the Astros claimed Brandon Laird off waivers.  New York designated Laird for assignment when they got Steve Pearce off waivers from the Astros, so this almost appears to be a straight up trade. Laird is 24 and had lost some of his prospect status over the last couple years as he seems to be stuck in Triple-A. He hit .254/.307/.414 with 15 homers for Empire State this season.

Empire State beat Pawtucket 4-3:
The Red Sox took a quick lead in the bottom of the first, with a two run homer from Danny Valencia. The yankees got one run back in the top of the second with a solo shot from Melky Mesa. Pawtucket held the 2-1 edge through six, but the Yankees rallied in the top of the seventh. Cole Garner started the inning with a double to center and Mesa hit another long ball, giving Empire State the lead. Kosuke Fukudome lined a single to center, but was caught stealing for the first out of the inning. Kevin Russo drew a walk and moved to second on a throwing error. Pena grounded out, moving Russo to third, and a wild pitch allowed him to score for the 4-2 advantage. Pawtucket got one run back in the bottom of the inning, on a triple by Jason Repko, but the Yankees held on for a 4-3 victory.

Ronnier Mustelier may not have contributed to the score, but he had a hot night with the bat, going 4-4 with a double. Mesa went 2-4 with a pair of homers and three RBIs. Russo went 0-1 with a run scored and three walks. Ramon Ortiz threw seven innings and gave up three runs on seven hits, no walks and six Ks. Preston Claiborne went two innings, allowing just two hits and striking out one.

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While the Yankees prepare for September call-ups and their minor league affiliates’ seasons are ending and/or heading into playoffs, this does not mean the work ends for the Yankees’ prospects. The Arizona Fall League enters its 20th season with many of Major League Baseball’s top prospects, which include players like the Red’s Billy Hamilton, the Nationals Anthony Rendon and the Marlins’ Christian Yelich. The Yankees are sending some exciting prospects, who will play for the Scottsdale Scorpians, which will be managed by Carlos Mendoza, the current Manager for the Charleston RiverDogs. The Yankees have announced three position players that will head to Scottsdale, each looking to get some at bats after missing time to injury the last couple seasons.

Austin Romine (C) has been battling back issues the last couple years and was injured for most of the 2012 season. He has played in just 28 games so far this season, splitting time between rehab assignments in the Gulf Coast League and with Tampa before finally getting back to Empire State. He looks like he is starting to get back into the swing of things and, assuming he does not get called up, will benefit from the extra time in Arizona once the Empire State Yankees finish the International League playoffs. It has no doubt been a frustrating year for the Yankee backstop, who was surprised with a call-up last September and was battling for a spot on the major league roster prior to his injury. Hopefully a successful stint in Arizona will get him back on track, as the Yankees could use some help at catcher as they wait for some of the young prospects to advance.

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Empire State beat Lehigh Valley 5-0:
Kevin Russo tripled to left in the first and Eduardo Nunez homered for the quick 2-0 lead. Cole Garner went deep in the second, for a 3-0 edge. The Yankees held that score through five and then added some insurance in the sixth. Ronnier Mustelier and Austin Romine hit back-to-back longballs, giving the Yankees a 5-0 victory. Russo went 2-4 with a run scored and a triple. Mustelier went 2-4 with a homer. Garner went 1-3 with a homer. Nunez went 1-4 with a homer and two RBIs. John Maine pitched seven strong innings, allowing just three hits and a walk, striking out five. Cory Wade and Ryota Igarashi both pitched a perfect inning in relief, with Igarashi picking up a pair of Ks. The victory clinched the division title for Empire State, who has put together quite an impressive season for a team that played the whole year on the road and lost many of their key players.

Trenton lost to New Britain 5-3:
The Rock Cats scored two runs in the top of the first on back-to-back singles by Chris Colabello and Josmil Pinto. Aaron Hicks hit a two-run homer in the fourth, giving New Britain the 4-0 advantage. Zoilo Almonte lead off the bottom of the inning for Trenton with a single to right and Addison Maruszak homered to center. Jeff Farnham drew a two-out walk and Walter Ibarra doubled him in, putting the Thunder behind by one run. The Rock Cats got one run back in the fifth and held on, defeating Trenton 5-3.

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As had been expected, the Yankees and the Trenton Thunder have extended their existing Player Development Contract. They added eight more years to the existing contract, keeping the Yankees’ Double-A team in Trenton through at least the 2022 season. The Thunder have won two Eastern League championships in their time with the Yankees and look to be headed back to the playoffs this season.

Update: Just after I posted this it turned out that there was another big announcement at the press conference, Tony Franklin has been named EL Manager of the Year. It is a well-deserved honor for Franklin, who by all accounts seems to be pretty popular and has been very successful as the Thunder’s skipper. He graciously accepted the award, making sure his coaches and players were recognized for the work they have done.

Empire State lost to Lehigh Valley 5-2:
The IronPigs drew first blood with a solo homer by Pete Orr in the top of the second. The Yankees responded  in the bottom of the inning, as Francisco Cervelli started things with a single to center. Cole Garner doubled him in and scored on a single by Ramiro Pena for the 2-1 edge. The Yankees held the lead through five, but Lehigh Valley  used a two-run homer by Cody Overbeck to retake he lead. They added some insurance in the seventh as Michael Spidale started the inning with a single. He stole second and scored on a single by Andres Blanco. Cesar Hernandez grounded a single to right, putting runners on the corners and a single by Nate Schierholtz plated Blanco, as the Yankees fell 5-2.

Garner went 3-4 with a run scored, a double and a RBI. Cervelli, Pena and Ronnier Mustelier each went 1-4. Michael O’Connor went 5.2 innings and gave up two runs on four hits, a walk and two Ks. Kelvin Perez gave up three runs on four hits in one inning of work. He struck out three.

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Empire State had the day off.

Trenton beat New Britain 7-4:
David Adams got the Thunder started with a solo homer in the bottom of the first, but it was the second inning that put Trenton comfortably in front. Addison Maruszak hit a homer to left and Kevin Mahoney followed with a double. He moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Rob Segedin. A wild pitch moved Segedin to third and Adonis Garcia knocked a two-run homer to left. JR Murphy kept the inning going with a single and Adams drew a free pass. Zoilo Almonte lined a single to left, plating Murphy for the 6-0 Thunder advantage. Deibinson Romeo hit a homer for New Britain in the top of the fifth, giving the Rock Cats their first run of the day. Garcia started the bottom of the sixth with a longball to center. Graham Stoneburner pitched a good seventh inning, but struggled right away in the eighth. He gave up a walk to James Beresford and Aaron Hicks singled. A double by Josmil Pinto plated Beresford and the Thunder called on Pedro Feliciano to take over on the mound.  He got Oswaldo Arcia to ground out, though it allowed Hicks to score. A passed ball plated Pinto and Feliciano walked Chris Colabello, as Trenton called Ryan Pope out of the bullpen, who got the next two batters to go down in order, ending the threat and propelling the Thunder to a 7-4 win.

Garcia went 2-5 with a pair of homers and three RBIs. Adams went 2-3 with a run scored, a double, a homer and a pair of walks. Mahoney went 2-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Vidal Nuno pitched six strong innings, giving up just one run on six hits, no walks and three Ks. Graham Stoneburner gave up three runs in over an inning of work. Two runs were earned and he allowed three hits and a walk. Feliciano went 0.1 innings and gave up a walk.  Mike Ashmore posted some video of Feliciano’s post-game press conference.

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It was a pretty quiet day for the Yankees’ farm teams, with Tampa’s game cancelled and Charleston having the day off. That did not mean it was not an exciting day, however. Empire State pulled off an extra-inning victory that included a surprise guest (a skunk) roaming the field in the top of the twelfth. Watching the grounds crew try to figure out how to deal with the skunk was quite possibly one of the more entertaining things I have seen in a while. They managed to chase it off the field without incident. Trenton had a rough day, but Staten Island continued to put forth a strong end of their year, after struggling for most of the short-season.

Empire State beat Lehigh Valley 5-4 in 13 innings:
Lehigh Valley took a quick lead, as Cesar Hernandez singled in the first and stole second. Nate Schierholtz singled, putting runners on the corners and Jason Pridie lined a two-run single to right. Pete Orr doubled and scored on a single by Cody Overbeck, giving the IronPigs a 4-0 lead. The Yankees finally got on the board in the top of the fourth. Austin Romine hit his second homer of the year and Melky Mesa sent one over the wall in left center, cutting the Lehigh Valley lead in half. Kevin Russo started the fifth with a walk. He moved to third when Eduardo Nunez was safe on an error. Ronnier Mustelier singled in Russo and the Yankees trailed 4-3. Kosuke Fukudome drew a walk to open up the seventh. He was out at second on a grounder by Nunez, who stole second. Mustelier drew a walk and Romine singled, with Nunez getting thrown out at home. A single by Cole Garner plated Mustelier and the Yankees tied the game 4-4. The Yankees had a chance to take the lead in the eighth, as Ramiro Pena got hit by a pitch and Russo and Fukudome took walks. Unfortunately, Nunez hit into an inning-ending double play.

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Empire State beat Lehigh Valley 6-2:
Ronnier Mustelier started the second with a double to right. Francisco Cervelli drew a walk and Kosuke Fukudome lined a single to right, plating Mustelier for the first run of the game. The IronPigs tied the game in the fourth and took the lead with a run in the fifth. Corban Joseph drew a walk to start the seventh and Mustelier singled to right. A single by Brandon Laird plated Joseph and Mustelier and the Yankees took a 3-2 lead. Empire State doubled their score in the top of the ninth. Mustelier worked a walk, but was out at second on a grounder by Cervelli. Laird singled and Melky Mesa lined a triple to center. Fukudome followed with a double, plating Mesa for the 6-2 victory.

Mustelier went 2-4 with two runs scored, a double and a walk. Laird went 2-5 with a run scored and two RBIs. Fukudome went 2-4 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. Justin Thomas threw seven strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits, a walk and five Ks. Cory Wade pitched two innings and allowed one hit, striking out one.

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