Top Yankees Prospect Makes Anticipated Pro Debut in Arizona Fall League

Trystan Vrieling entered 2023 as the Yankees' no. 17 prospect, but an elbow injury sidelined him for the season. Vrieling made his second start in the Arizona Fall League on Saturday.

Jack Vita | Oct 17, 2023

Top Yankees Prospect Makes Anticipated Pro Debut in Arizona Fall League /

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New York Yankees

More than 14 months after the New York Yankees selected him in the third round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, Trystan Vrieling finally made his professional debut, in the Arizona Fall League.

Vrieling's first appearance came last Saturday against the Scottsdale Scorpions. Vrieling tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, striking out one, throwing 30 pitches.

Vrieling made his second start on Saturday, taking the mound in the first game of the Arizona Fall League Tripleheader at Goodyear Ballpark. Vrieling ran into trouble early, and was pulled from the game before completing an inning.

Vrieling gave up a lead-off single to left fielder Jacob Hurtubise, then punched out Eric Brown Jr. Damiano Palmegiani reached on a throwing error from third baseman Zach Dezenzo. With runners on first and third, Vrieling walked Liam Hicks to load the bases, before walking in a run. On the next play, Dasan Brown hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring another run. Having faced six batters and thrown 31 pitches, Vrieling's day was done.

Neither of Vrieling's runs were earned, as the 23 year-old allowed one hit and two walks, striking out one, and pitching two thirds of an inning. Through two starts, Vrieling has yet to allow an earned run in his professional career.

Vrieling, a product of Gonzaga University, did not pitch in pro ball in 2022. Instead, the 6-foot-4 righty bulked up, adding 20 pounds, preparing himself for the grind of the minor leagues.

In his lone season as a starting pitcher for the Zags, Vrieling logged a 4-4 record and 5.36 ERA across 15 starts and 80.2 IP. Upon the conclusion of his junior season, the Yankees took Vrieling with the 100th pick of the 2022 MLB Draft.

Vrieling entered the 2023 season the Yankees' no. 17 prospect, ranked by MLB Pipeline. A fractured elbow kept him on the shelf for the entire season.

Now, with two starts under his belt, Vrieling is beginning his road to the show in the Arizona Fall League.

Vrieling's Mesa Solar Sox would go on to lose 5-2 to the Surprise Saguaros, with Vrieling being tasked with the loss.

Vrieling wasn't the only Yankees prospect to appear in Saturday's game. Baron Stuart appeared in relief duty, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks. Stuart logged a 4.47 ERA over 100.2 IP in 2023, between Single-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley.

Infield prospect Ben Cowles went 2-for-3 Saturday, improving his Batting Average to .348 and his OPS to .864. Cowles slashed .253/.353/.742 with 10 home runs, 41 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 106 games in 2023, between High-A Hudson Valley and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Published Oct 17, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Pinstripes, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.