Bronx Bomber Ball

As a Yankee fan, the Scranton-Shuttle is a familiar term for what seems like a never-ending cycle of relief pitchers and, to a smaller extent, position players constantly coming up to the Major League Club, spending minimal time with the Yankees, and then packing their bags to go back to the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton. Photo Credit: NJ.com

Acquired from the Cleveland Indians in the Andrew Miller trade last summer, right0handed pitcher Ben Heller comes in at number 23 on the BBB top prospect list. We saw a little bit of Heller last season in the Bronx when he made his Major League debut near the end of August. Heller will come to Spring Training eying a spot in the Yankees’ 2017 bullpen. Photo Credit: MLB.com

In a bullpen battle that will feature an open competition to fill a few spots, young righty Johnny Barbato should be in that mix. Barbato made the opening day roster in 2016 after pitching to a very impressive 1.64 ERA in 11 appearances last spring. However, Barbato faced struggles getting big league hitters out resulting in him spending the majority of 2016 in Triple-A. With several pitchers vying for one or two spots in the bullpen, Barbato could put himself in that mix with another strong spring.   Photo Credit: Tony Gutierrez | AP

It is now May 17, 2016 and the BBB is bringing you a long overdue minor league update. This is something I’ve been meaning to do for a few weeks now, but I anticipate it being a weekly update, probably to be released every Sunday afternoon going forward, so be sure to check in for the latest on the Yankees farm system. Here, we’ll be updating you on the team’s top prospects, standout players who are enjoying strong seasons so far, as well as those with high expectations that they are not fulfilling. Since it has been just over a month and this is our first update, this will be a 4-part series with updates on each individual team, starting in Triple-A. But following this week's update, I will be able to put them all into one article.

Picture Credit: Arnulfo Franco-AP Shortly after their win against the Royals to take 3 of 4 from the defending world champs, the Yankees called up the BBB’s 3 rd ranked prospect in catcher Gary Sanchez. After a dismal Spring Training, Sanchez got into a grove in 26 games in Triple-A hitting .288 with 5 homers, 21 RBI and 11 doubles. The news was first reported by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders beat writer Shane Hennigan. Gary Sanchez has been promoted to New York. — Shane Hennigan (@RailRidersTT) May 13, 2016