Yankees MILB 6/1: Jasson Dominguez: 3-Run Boom!

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 Florial1-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 Peraza1-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 Calhoun1-for-4
DH Andres Chaparro1-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 Dunham1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, RS, K
C Rodolfo Duran0-for-3, BB, K
1B Billy McKinney1-for-2, 2B (5), RBI, BB, HBP
3B Jesus Bastidas1-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 Difo1-for-3, BB, K

RHP Jhony Brito5 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. Snelten1 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 Brewer1 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 Sweeney0-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 Dominguez1-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 Wells0-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 Hardman1-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 Rosario2-for-4
1B Eric Wagaman1-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 Palensky0-for-1, 3 RS, 3 BB, SB (2)
Palensky is now 12-for-12 stealing bases between here and Hudson Valley.
2B Max Burt1-for-3, 2 RS, BB

RHP Gray Fenter3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
RHP Steven Jennings2.1 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 Myatt1 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 Jones1-for-5, 2B (16), 3 K, CS (3)
Jones’ 16 doubles rank second in the league (Wilfred Veras (Nationals) has 20).
SS Alexander Vargas0-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 Flores0-for-3, BB
C Antonio Gomez1-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 Richardson0-for-4, 3 K
2B Ben Cowles0-for-3, BB
RF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-2, BB, HBP, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-4
LF Kyle Battle0-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 Diaz2 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 Neely2 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 Serna2-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 Hall1-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 Ramirez1-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 Escanio1-for-4, 3 K
LF Christopher Familia1-for-4, K
RF Tayler Aguilar0-for-3, BB, 2 K
C Jesus Rodriguez3-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 Brewer0-for-2, 2 BB, SB (1)
3B Ronny Rojas0-for-4, K

LHP Brock Selvidge6 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 Gabonia1 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 Gray0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K