News:
UTIL Oswaldo Cabrera was demoted to Scranton after the Yankees-Mariners game last night.
Cabrera was a high-energy catalyst last season for the Yankees. He hit .247/.312/.429 (108 OPS+; 111 wRC+) while playing strong defense at multiple positions (including the outfield, where he was a novice). This season, he couldn’t get anything going. Cabrera hit .195/.246/.292 (46 wRC+) with 3 home runs and 15 runs batted in. One encouraging sign is his 19.6% strikeout rate, but nothing else in his offensive profile was solid enough to make you think a turnaround was coming soon. The only position he is blocked at in the minors is shortstop (Oswald Peraza). That said, Peraza could slide over to other positions to give Cabrera some time at shortstop.
This isn’t the end of Cabrera’s story. He has things to work on, and Scranton is where he will work on them. The Yankees aren’t immune to injuries, so it is up to Cabrera to keep himself sharp so that he can be next in line when a need arises.
OF Kole Calhoun is opting out of his minor league deal. The Yankees have 72 hours to promote him or release him. The promotion seems doubtful. He was in tonight’s lineup for Scranton, as the Yankees can still use him until the 72 hours are up. Including tonight, the 35-year-old is hitting .291/.396/.547 in 22 games for Scranton.
Scranton (27-27) (Lost to Lehigh Valley, 5-3)
CF Estevan Florial: 1-for-5, 2 K
Florial’s hitting streak is up to 11 (19-for-52 (.365); 6 HR, 13 RBI, 12 runs). By the way, the last time Estevan Florial didn’t reach base in a game was back on April 30th (23-game on-base streak)
SS Oswald Peraza: 1-for-5, HR (10), RBI, RS
Peraza now has an 8-game hitting streak (13-for-38 (.342); 7 HR, 9 RBI, 10 runs). Hitting .342 during a hitting streak is strong – for Peraza, it has allowed him to maintain his .340 batting average for the season. By the way, Peraza hasn’t drawn one walk during the streak – when you are hitting for this much power, why would you want to walk?
LF Kole Calhoun: 1-for-4
DH Andres Chaparro: 1-for-3, 2B (8), RS, BB, SB (3)
.257/.326/.482 in 215 plate appearances. He has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.
RF Elijah Dunham: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, RS, K
C Rodolfo Duran: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Billy McKinney: 1-for-2, 2B (5), RBI, BB, HBP
3B Jesus Bastidas: 1-for-4, 2B (7)
Bastidas didn’t want May to end (.353/.443/.559), but he starts off June with an extra-base hit.
2B Wilmer Difo: 1-for-3, BB, K
RHP Jhony Brito: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR
He allowed a 3-run home run to former Yankees farmhand Jake Cave.
RHP James Norwood (L, 0-3): 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
LHP D.J. Snelten: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
3.80 ERA (23.2 IP, 13 H, 13 R, 10 ER, 3 HR, 21 BB, 29 K). Something tells me that just getting back on the mound is a big accomplishment for Snelten, who hadn’t pitched since 2019 (when he was with the independent Chicago Dogs). He pitched in four games for the San Francisco Giants back in 2018.
RHP Colten Brewer: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Somerset (27-20) (Scored 11 unanswered runs in an 11-7 comeback over Portland)
SS Trey Sweeney: 0-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K
Sweeney is where he needs to be as he tries to break through with the bat. He has drawn walks all season but the hits aren’t coming consistently. I am confident they will.
CF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, HR (8), 3 RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
Dominguez had the SLG up to .433 after the games of 5/18. He slid a bit after that, but this blast has him over .400 (.404) to go along with his .365 OBP.
C Austin Wells: 0-for-3, 2 RBI, RS, 2 BB
Wells drew a pair of run-scoring walks. He is hitting .250/.347/.534 in 101 plate appearances at this level (he is 5-for-26 without a home run (but 6 walks) in his last seven games)
3B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, HR (9; Grand Slam), 5 RBI, BB, 2 K
The grand slam gave Somerset an 8-7 lead. Hardman has driven home five runs in a game twice this season. He is hitting .228/.306/.512 (5 doubles, 2 triples, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 21 R, 4-for-5 SB)
DH Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3, 2B (3), SF, RBI, K
RF Jeisson Rosario: 2-for-4
1B Eric Wagaman: 1-for-3, RS, BB, 2 SB (9)
Wagaman was 11-for-19 stealing bases in his career prior to this season (9-for-10 in 2023).
LF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-1, 3 RS, 3 BB, SB (2)
Palensky is now 12-for-12 stealing bases between here and Hudson Valley.
2B Max Burt: 1-for-3, 2 RS, BB
RHP Gray Fenter: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
RHP Steven Jennings: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
An outstanding job by the bullpen to keep Portland (a good offensive squad) off the scoreboard. Jennings (24) has a 3.65 ERA in 24.2 IP (17 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 33 K)
RHP Justin Wilson: (W, 2-1) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
4.34 ERA (18.2 IP, 13 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 3 HR, 13 BB, 17 K). Wilson allowed four runs in one inning a few outings ago, which crushed his numbers a bit. Still, the walks are obviously high and control has always been his bugaboo. There is still time for the Yankees to work with him.
RHP Tanner Myatt: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Hudson Valley (27-21) (Lost to Aberdeen, 1-0. They drew five walks (plus an HBP) but couldn’t get the big hit)
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-5, 2B (16), 3 K, CS (3)
Jones’ 16 doubles rank second in the league (Wilfred Veras (Nationals) has 20).
SS Alexander Vargas: 0-for-3, BB, K
Vargas didn’t have a great May (though he ended the month on a bit of a hot streak). Let’s see what June brings…
1B Rafael Flores: 0-for-3, BB
C Antonio Gomez: 1-for-3, BB, K
Gomez had two passed balls, giving him 9 on the season. Are his offensive struggles leading to defensive lapses? His defense has received rave reviews in the past and it is something they can probably clean up.
DH Grant Richardson: 0-for-4, 3 K
2B Ben Cowles: 0-for-3, BB
RF Aldenis Sanchez: 0-for-2, BB, HBP, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba: 0-for-4
LF Kyle Battle: 0-for-4, 4 K
Battle’s first game since 4/14 didn’t go according to plan.
RHP Zach Messinger: (L, 0-3): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K
This is what you call a tough-luck loss. He sports a 2.78 ERA in 45.1 IP (39 H, 21 R, 14 ER, 2 HR, 22 BB, 55 K)
RHP Indigo Diaz: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Diaz was sent down here from Somerset, where he sported a 3.32 ERA in 19 innings with a 25/16 K/BB.
RHP Jack Neely: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
1.80 ERA (20 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 32 K). Neely has 124 strikeouts in 72.1 career innings, The walks aren’t ideal (38), but I am always a believer in moving college relievers as quickly as possible.
Tampa (20-28) (Lost to Bradenton, 7-2)
2B Jared Serna: 2-for-5, 2 K
Serna has at least one hit in 11 of his last 12 games. However, only three of those games feature multiple hits, so his average has dropped from .325 to .310 (not exactly bad!). The strikeout rate has ticked up lately, thanks to eight strikeouts in his last four games (he didn’t reach eight strikeouts for the season until May 9th (his 22nd game)).
CF Anthony Hall: 1-for-5, RS, K
Hall hasn’t skipped many beats since his 4-for-33 April. He was dominant in May and is trying to carry that over to June.
DH Agustin Ramirez: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K
Ramirez has been pretty consistent (especially in the walk column) since the start of the season (he now has 29 in 157 PA (19.1%)).
SS Brenny Escanio: 1-for-4, 3 K
LF Christopher Familia: 1-for-4, K
RF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
C Jesus Rodriguez: 3-for-4, RBI, SB (6)
Rodriguez has two 3-hit games this season. He hit well in the rookie leagues, so let’s see how his first year in a full-season league goes.
1B Beau Brewer: 0-for-2, 2 BB, SB (1)
3B Ronny Rojas: 0-for-4, K
LHP Brock Selvidge: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
3.15 ERA (45.2 IP, 42 H, 19 R, 16 ER, 9 BB, 48 K). It is way too early to look at an innings load, but I will point out that Selvidge tossed 42.2 innings in the rookie leagues last season.
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Adam Stone: (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Stone’s professional debut. He was signed as an undrafted free agent last July out of Harvard. He stands 6’6″. Tonight, he pretty much only used his 91-93 cutter (20 of his 22 pitches)
RHP Alex Bustamante: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
The life of a reliever, where one performance can jump your ERA from 2.18 to 3.86.
RHP Shane Gray: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K