New York Yankees eighth-best prospect Dustin Fowler is not only tearing the cover off the ball in 2017, but he also had a day to remember on Sunday.
There are good days, there are bad days and there are days like the New York Yankees eighth-best prospect Dustin Fowler had on Sunday afternoon for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Facing the Indianapolis Indians in front of a crowd of 4,623 at PNC Field, Fowler matched a franchise record with his first career five-hit game which included the cycle and some game-clinching fireworks.
Fowler kicked his day off with a triple in the first inning and was later driven in on a base hit by Ji-Man Choi off Eury Perez. In the bottom of the fifth, he ripped a double to right field to drive in Tyler Wade. Fowler then lined a single to center in the seventh and doubled for his fourth hit in the ninth inning, needing just a home run to complete the cycle.
Thankfully, free baseball was in store in Northeast, PA.
With one out in the 11th, Fowler lifted his fourth home run of the young 2017 season off Indians’ pitcher Angel Sanchez to not only send the crowd into a walk-off frenzy, but complete a 4-for-5 day which featured the RailRiders’ first cycle since Ramon Flores did it in 2015.
Interesting. The Yankees would LOVE to believe that Fowler is not only almost MLB ready, but ready to be a star performer. The reality that kids like Fowler, Frazier & Torres are tearing up the minors and kicking down the doors demanding attention from Cashman & Girardi is certainly making old timers like Gardner, Ellsbury & Headley very nervous...and rightfully so. There's a sense of urgency from those guys that wasn't visible in recent years when their contract status and the knowledge that the farm system wasn't full of threats to them permitted some complacency. Not even Ellsbury's manhole cover contract will keep him in pinstripes anymore if the kids in the minors continue to develop this way and he doesn't play to his contract numbers and stay healthy. Remember they swallowed a lot of McCann's contract to make room for Sanchez. Exciting stuff if you're a Yankee fan.