Yankees' Bird getting bump up to Majors

For the Yankees and their fans, the Bird has landed.

The Yankees are calling up No. 4 prospect Greg Bird from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Majors on Thursday. The move has not yet been announced by the big club, but Bird is expected to be on the roster in time for the Yankees' game against the Indians in Cleveland on Thursday.

The left-handed-hitting first baseman had been especially good for the RailRiders of late, producing a .366/.378/.634 line with two homers, a triple, three doubles and 10 RBIs in his first 10 games this month. After going deep twice a week ago Wednesday, he became the International League's most recent Player of the Week. In 34 Triple-A games, he hit .301/.353/.500 with six homers and 23 RBIs. That came after a 49-game stint at Double-A Trenton where he had a .258/.358/.445 line with six homers and 29 RBIs.

Bird was a fifth-round pick of the Yankees back in 2011 out of Grandview High School in Aurora, Colorado, where he played with Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman. He started to move up the prospect rankings in 2013 after breaking out (.288/.428/.511, 20 homers, 107 walks) in his first full season at Class A Charleston.

After another solid 2014 campaign, he shined in the Arizona Fall League last autumn and was named the circuit's MVP after leading it in homers (six) and finishing second in OPS (.947).

The 22-year-old is also considered the No. 5 first-base prospect in the game by MLB.com. His best tools are in his offense where he received a 50 hit tool grade and 65 power tool grade from the site.

Bird joins Luis Severino as top prospects to make the jump from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to New York in recent weeks. He will likely back up Mark Teixeira at first base and provide the Yanks, losers of five straight entering Thursday, with a power bat off the bench as they chase the Blue Jays, who lead the AL East by half a game. The Bombers don't have an off day until Aug. 27, meaning Bird could also get a spot start or two at designated hitter to give Alex Rodriguez a rest day.