Yankees MILB 5/20: Austin Wells Homers

News:

The Yankees have signed RHP Michael Feliz to a minor league deal.

Feliz, soon to be 30, has 228 games of MLB experience, recording a 17-9 record with one save and an ugly 5.29 ERA over 250 innings. His calling card is his ability to miss bats, given his 29.9% career strikeout rate. However, he also owns a 1.5 HR/9 and walks batters at a 9.9% rate. He had enough talent for the Pirates to take him as a part of the package from the Astros for Gerrit ColeWhile he was never ranked on a Top 100 Prospects list, he did make it to the Futures Game in 2014.

This season, he pitched down in the Mexican League, where he allowed one run in 8.1 innings with a 13/2 K/BB ratio. For now, Feliz is depth, but he has the type of arm that could tantalize the Yankees enough to give him a chance if a need arises.

Scranton (21-23) (Lost to Charlotte, 7-5)

LF Elijah Dunham0-for-4, BB, 2 K
SS Oswald Peraza2-for-5, 2B (3), RS
Peraza has a 10-game Triple-A hitting streak and is 10-for-20 in his last five games. He is hitting .362/.413/.569 in 14 games.
1B Andres Chaparro0-for-4, BB, K, SB (3)
First 7 games:  0-for-27
Next 25 games: 34-for-94 (.362), 10 HR
Latest 9 games:  4-for-36 (.111), 1 HR
RF Franchy Cordero1-for-5, RBI, RS, K
3B Jesus Bastidas2-for-3, 2 BB, CS (3)
Bastidas has at least one hit in ten of his last 11 games (he drew a walk in the other game)
C Carlos Narvaez3-for-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS, BB
Narvaez was 0-for-15 since his promotion entering tonight. If you are going to break out, this is how you do it.
  PR Wilmer Difo: 0-for-1, RS, SB (10)
Difo has five stolen bases in his last three games.
CF Billy McKinney1-for-3, BB, K
2B Jamie Westbrook0-for-2, 2 BB, K
DH Michael Hermosillo1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, K

RHP Mitch Spence6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, HR
Spence did a nice job settling in after a 4-run second inning. Season: 5.28 ERA (44.1 IP, 45 H, 31 R, 26 ER, 10 HR, 17 BB, 39 K). In May: 3.00 ERA (24 IP, 21 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 20 K)
RHP Barrett Loseke1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.50 ERA (18 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 10 BB, 18 K). Loseke is already Rule 5 eligible and is auditioning for a job here – both for the Yankees’ system and elsewhere.
RHP James Norwood (L, 0-2): 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Somerset (23-14) (Lost to Reading, 6-5)

SS Trey Sweeney0-for-5
CF Jasson Dominguez0-for-3, 2 RS, 2 BB, K
C Austin Wells: 2-for-5, HR (7), RBI, RS, K
Wells is up to 19 HR in 69 games at the Double-A level. Complete dominance.
RF Everson Pereira1-for-3, 2B (9), SF, RBI, K
He now owns a 5-game hitting streak. In his last seven games: 11-for-24 with two doubles and three home runs. He is hitting .267/.331/.508.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 2-for-4, 2B (3), HR (6), 2 RBI, RS, K
.219/.322/.438 in 115 plate appearances. His BABIP is .200 and his strikeout rate is only 15.7%.
3B Caleb Durbin1-for-3, BB, 2 SB (9)
If this kid makes it to MLB, he has “fan favorite” kind of potential. He makes a lot of contact (7.3% K between here and Hudson Valley), steals bases (24), and can play multiple positions. 
LF Brandon Lockridge1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, BB, K
He hit 12 HR in 2019, 13 HR in 2021, and 14 HR in 2022. He will need to get on a hot streak in the power department to keep the pattern going (remember, there wasn’t a season in 2020)
2B Max Burt0-for-4, 2 K
DH Mickey Gasper0-for-3, HBP, K

RHP Gray Fenter3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR
3.96 ERA (25 IP, 18 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 11 BB, 31 K)
RHP Justin Maese2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Steven Jennings: (L, 2-2) 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Alex Mauricio1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
5.63 ERA (8 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 9 K)

Hudson Valley (22-15) 

The game against Brooklyn was postponed. They posted the lineup prior to the postponement, so I will throw a few notes in below.

CF Spencer Jones0-for-0
At some point, the Yankees will determine that Jones needs to be moved to Somerset regardless of his less-than-ideal strikeout rate. I continue to think they will do so once he cuts down the strikeout rate (33.6%) to a more reasonable level. In case you are wondering, Aaron Judge compiled a 25.3% K rate in 66 High-A games back in 2014 and never saw the level again (.283/.411/.442).
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-0
His 95 wRC+ is a vast improvement over 68 wRC+ from last year. I just need to see him break out of his recent slump. 
C Antonio Gomez0-for-0
Gomez’s glove has never been an issue. Last season, he gunned down 30.6% of base stealers. In 2023, the number is 27.8%. In 2023, the MLB average is 21%, which happens to be the rate that Yankees’ catchers are at. So, defense shouldn’t be an issue. The offense is where Gomez must find an above-average trait. Last season, he compiled a 103 wRC+, a number that would be fine as a defense-first MLB catcher. Of course, Gomez did that in the low minors and hasn’t been able to get into any kind of groove in 2023 (57 wRC+)
DH Rafael Flores0-for-0
Flores catches and plays first base. He is off to a .333/.389/.422 start in 102 plate appearances.
1B Spencer Henson0-for-0
LF Grant Richardson0-for-0
2B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-0
RF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-0
3B Marcos Cabrera0-for-0

RHP Chase Hampton0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Hampton’s first professional season has been successful, thus far. In 23.2 innings, he has posted a 3.04 ERA (2.53 FIP) with a 41.6% K rate and 8.9% BB rate. I wouldn’t rush him up to Double-A, but sometimes players force the issue.

Tampa (13-25)

They had this afternoon off (which is why they played a doubleheader yesterday)