News:
IF Caleb Durbin, acquired in the deal that sent LHP Lucas Luetge to Atlanta, was promoted to Somerset. Durbin was hitting .333/.464/.397 in 97 plate appearances for Hudson Valley, stealing 15 bases in 16 attempts. He struck out only nine times. You won’t find him on many (if any) prospect lists because the upside is limited – but if he can continue to get on base while maintaining his versatility, he should have some level of value.
As for Luetge, he did a solid enough job in lower-pressure situations for the Yankees. For the Braves, he owns an 8.10 ERA in five games. He is currently on the injured list.
Scranton (15-19) (Oliberated Omaha, 14-2. Omaha is known for being hitter-friendly, but don’t despair as these games are being played in Scranton)
CF Estevan Florial: 2-for-4, SF, RBI, 2 RS, K
.280/.412/.488 in 102 plate appearances. He is on a 5-game hitting streak (three straight multi-hit games)
LF Kole Calhoun: 2-for-3, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI, 4 RS, 2 BB
11-for-22 (3 doubles, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R). He is doing what a veteran should do here (though even this is a bit extreme)
1B Andres Chaparro: 5-for-5, 2B (5), HR (10, grand slam), 4 RBI, 2 RS
.281/.351/.587 in 134 PA (5 doubles, 1 triple, 10 HR, 26 RBI, 27 R, 13 BB, 31 K). This is his first career 5-hit game (he had a 4-hit game on 5/5/21). He is mostly a 1B/DH but he does have plenty of experience at 3B. His calling card will forever be his bat – if it translates to MLB, a team won’t care so much about his defensive limitations.
RF Franchy Cordero: 2-for-3, 2B (3), 2 RBI, RS, BB, HBP
DH Rodolfo Duran: 1-for-4, 2B (8), RBI, BB
.290/.347/.580 in 75 plate appearances. Is this a breakout or just a hot month?
C Ben Rortvedt: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
3-for-17 at this level.
3B Jamie Westbrook: 2-for-5, HR (5), RBI, 2 RS, 2 K
He is still waiting for that MLB chance. He came into this season with four straight double-digit home run seasons and can play multiple positions.
2B Jesus Bastidas: 1-for-4, HBP, CS (1)
SS Wilmer Difo: 3-for-5, 2 RS, K, SB (4)
The veteran utility player is hitting .235/.275/.282 in 92 plate appearances. His utility is his value – he will never be a bat.
RHP Mitch Spence: (W, 3-2) 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
5.40 ERA (33.1 IP, 34 H, 24 R, 20 ER, 8 HR, 14 BB, 29 K). Back-to-back strong efforts (6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K last time out)
RHP Matt Bowman: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Somerset (18-9) (Doubled up Portland, 8-4)
SS Trey Sweeney: 0-for-2, RS, 3 BB, 2 K
.262/.394/.369 in 104 plate appearances. He owned a 12.99% BB rate in 2022. So far this year, it sits at 17.3%.
LF Jasson Dominguez: 2-for-5, HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Dominguez is up to .184/.382/.408 in 102 plate appearances. He is on a 5-game hitting streak (7-for-20 with a double and two home runs). We are starting to see progress.
C Austin Wells: 2-for-5, HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 RS, 2 K, SB (1)
Wells has homered in four straight games. He is 33-for-33 stealing bases in his career.
CF Everson Pereira: 1-for-5, HR (2), RBI, RS, 3 K
The organization would love to see a Pereira hot streak.
2B Caleb Durbin: 3-for-5, 2B (1), RS, 3 SB (3), CS (1)
This is how you make a first impression. This lifts his total line to .349/.471/.422 with an 18-for-20 stolen base rate. He is on an 8-game hitting streak (15-for-31). Anytime you can average around two hits per game, that is a serious hitting streak!
3B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, 3B (1), RS, BB
Hardman has a modest 4-game hitting streak going. Most importantly, he has four extra-base hits in these games.
DH Anthony Seigler: 1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, SB (1), CS (1)
His OBP is up to .373 in 59 plate appearances.
1B Eric Wagaman: 1-for-4, 2B (3), RBI, 2 K
RF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-3, BB, K, SB (13)
Lockridge is well on his way to his personal best in the stolen base category (22 in 2019)
RHP Blas Castano: (W, 3-0) 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, HR
1.77 ERA (20.1 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 23 K, 2 HR). Castano has been solid in his four starts, three of which are 5-inning affairs (5.1 innings in his other start)
RHP Steven Jennings: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
LHP Michael Giacone: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
1.38 ERA (13 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 8 BB, 16 K)
RHP Tanner Myatt: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
0.73 ERA (13.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 17 K). Keep it up, Tanner!
Hudson Valley (18-10) (Lost to Aberdeen, 11-0)
SS Alexander Vargas: 0-for-4, 4 K
Vargas can’t let this snowball on him.
LF Aaron Palensky: 1-for-4
C Antonio Gomez: 0-for-3, CI, K
RF Grant Richardson: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
DH Rafael Flores: 0-for-4, K
1B Spencer Henson: 0-for-3, 2 K
CF Aldenis Sanchez: 0-for-2, CI, K
2B Ben Cowles: 1-for-3, K
Cowles increases his hitting streak to six (10-for-22)
3B Marcos Cabrera: 0-for-3, 2 K
LHP Joel Valdez: (L, 0-2) 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
Valdez was acquired alongside T.J. Rumfield from the Phillies for Donny Sands and Nick Nelson last year. He pitched well in six starts for Tampa in 2022 but is off to a tough start in 2023.
RHP Bailey Dees: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
3.65 ERA (12.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 20 K)
LHP Clay Aguilar: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
4.50 ERA (10 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 16 K)
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Nick Paciorek: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Tampa (11-17) (Lost a tough one to Fort Myers, 8-7. They battled back from a 5-0 deficit to eventually take a 7-6 lead but were unable to hang on)
3B Brenny Escanio: 0-for-5, 2 K
DH Daury Arias: 1-for-5, RS
C Agustin Ramirez: 2-for-5, 2B (3), HR (3), 2 RBI, RS
6-for-20 in May with three doubles and a pair of home runs.
RF Anthony Hall: 2-for-5, 3 RS
7-game hitting streak (10-for-28). He was hitting .121 prior to the streak and is now up to .230.
SS Jared Serna: 2-for-5, HR (3), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Serna’s fifth straight multi-hit game has raised his average to .378. All three of his home runs have come during this streak. Only 20 years old, I am not sure if they would consider Hudson Valley in 2023. However, if he keeps hitting like this, you start to worry about how much he is being challenged at this level. It is always a balancing act.
CF Nelson Medina: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, BB
LF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
1B Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
2B Brett Barrera: 0-for-4
Barrera’s 2023 debut. He played 23 games at this level last season, hitting .274/.287/.381 with six doubles and a home run. Barrera was drafted in the 8th round of the 2022 draft out of Stanford.
RHP Hayden Merda: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Shane Gray: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
RHP Luis Velasquez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
1.80 ERA (15 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 16 K)
RHP Cole Ayers (L, 0-1): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K