Yankees' INF Greg Bird on picture on pitcher day during...

Yankees' INF Greg Bird on picture on pitcher day during spring training at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. (Feb. 20, 2013) Credit: Newsday J. Conrad Williams, Jr.

Most birds fly south for the winter. Yankees first base prospect Greg Bird is simply flying high in the Southwest.

The powerful lefthander has hit safely in each of his 11 Arizona Fall League games and leads the AFL with four home runs.He is second in the league with a .660 slugging percentage, second to Oakland first baseman Matt Olson (.667). Bird is one of eight Yankees prospects playing with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the AFL.

Seven of Bird's 16 hits have gone for extra bases, including three doubles. In his last four games, Bird is 5-for-18 with three home runs, including two in one game on Oct. 16.

Bird ranks ninth in the AFL with a .340 average. He has four multi-hit games.

Bird, 21, hit 14 home runs in 102 games with Single-A Advanced Tampa and Double-A Trenton this season and swatted 20 home runs with Single-A Charleston in 2013.

Two other Yankees prospects also are on hot streaks.

Rightfielder Aaron Judge has a hit in each of his six games and is 8-for-25 (.320) with a home run and two doubles. Fellow rightfielder Tyler Austin has reached base via a hit or walk in each of his nine games, going 10-for-36 (.278) with a .366 OBP, a double and a triple.

Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka has made the most of limited opportunities, going 5-for-10 with a home run in two games. Third baseman Dante Bichette Jr. is 7-for-31 (.226) with a .306 OBP.

Yankees righthander Kyle Haynes hasn't allowed an earned run in 5.2 innings (four games), striking out five, though two fellow righthanders haven't been as successful: Caleb Cotham has a 7.71 ERA in four games and Alex Smith has a 12.46 ERA in four games.

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