Yankee Prospects Austin, Kahnle and Pinder Promoted to Trenton

(Trenton, NJ) - The Trenton Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced Sunday that OF Tyler Austin and RHPs Tom Kahnle and Branden Pinder have been promoted to the team from the Tampa Yankees. Relievers Jon Meloan and Francisco Rondon and catcher Jose Gil have been promoted from Trenton to Triple-A Scranton.

Austin, who will turn 21 on Thursday, has combined to bat .323 with 35 doubles, 17 homers and 79 RBIs in 108 games between Class-A Charleston and A-Advanced Tampa. He was invited to this year's All-Star Futures Game but did not participate due to injury. He was rated by Baseball America as the 20th-best prospect in the Yankees Farm System entering 2012.

Kahnle, 23, pitched in 30 relief outings with Tampa and went 2-1 with six saves and a 2.45 ERA. In 55 innings pitched for the Yankees, he allowed only 30 hits and 16 runs with 72 strikeouts. Opponents batted only .158 against Kahnle at Tampa. He was a fifth-round pick by the Yankees in the 2010 draft from Division II Lynn University.

Pinder, 23, made 41 relief appearances with Tampa and went 2-6 with nine saves and a 2.79 ERA. In 67.2 innings for the Yankees, he allowed 70 hits and 27 runs with 67 strikeouts. He was rated by Baseball America as the 30th-best prospect in the Yankees Farm System entering 2012.