Hansen on MLB Pipeline’s Prospect Team of the Week

MLBPipeline.com’s Prospect Team of the Week honors the best performances from the previous seven days. Any player currently on an organization Top 30 Prospects list on our Prospect Watch is eligible, including big leaguers.

The Yankees have gotten both younger and better in the last month. They traded their best hitter (Carlos Beltran) and two best relievers (Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller), then installed three rookies in their lineup and two more in their rotation. After playing .500 ball through July, New York is in the midst of its best month (11-8) of the season and has climbed within four games of a Wild Card berth.

It helps that all of those rookies have performed well. Gary Sanchez has been the best of the group and was on fire last week, when he hit .524/.600/1.190 with four homers in six starts, including five behind the plate. The only other member of the Yankees who can rival his power is fellow rookie Aaron Judge, and Sanchez has relegated Brian McCann to DH duty.

Sanchez’ performance during games of Aug. 15-21 made him the spotlight performer on our Prospect Team of the Week. It’s the third time he has earned PTOW honors in 2016, tying him with nine other players for the most recognition this year. This week’s team features another three-timer in Indians second baseman Tyler Krieger and four other repeaters in Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, Brewers left-hander Josh Hader, Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo and Rockies shortstop Brendan Rodgers.

The complete Prospect Team of the Week:

C: Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees (Yankees’ No. 5 prospect) 6 G, .524/.600/1.190, 4 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB, 5 SO, 1 SB

Sanchez is hitting .361/.409/.738 with six homers in 16 games with the Yankees, and his strikeout rate between Triple-A and the Majors is a career-best 16 percent. He also has shown off his strong right arm by throwing out four of the six basestealers who have tested him, though he still needs to clean up his receiving. His domination at the plate earned him the American League Player of the Week honors.

1B: Dan Vogelbach, Tacoma Rainiers (Triple-A) (Mariners’ No. 7 prospect) 7 G, .385/.469/.731, 4 R, 10 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SO

Though he remained in the Pacific Coast League, Vogelbach struggled immediately after going from the Cubs to the Mariners in the Mike Montgomery trade, hitting just .185/.371/.296 with two homers in his first 24 games with Tacoma. He had four multihit games last week and reached base in each of his seven contests, improving his overall numbers to .296/.416/.510 with 20 homers in 120 games. He ranks first in the PCL in walks (83), second …

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