Yankees MILB 6/8: Jared Serna: 3 Hits, HR

News:

Nothing to report.

Scranton (27-31) (Lost to Norfolk, 5-3)

CF Estevan Florial1-for-4, 2B (10), RS, BB, SB (12)
Florial now has a 14-game hitting streak and a 26-game on-base streak.
3B Oswald Peraza0-for-4, RS, HBP, K, SB (7)
Peraza is in a little 3-for-20 slump. You couldn’t expect him to stay scorching forever.
1B Andres Chaparro: 1-for-4, 2 K
Chaparro has exactly one hit in five straight games (5-for-21). He hasn’t homered in 15 straight games.
LF Elijah Dunham1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, K
DH Rodolfo Duran0-for-4, 2 K
2B Jamie Westbrook1-for-4, RS, K
RF Franchy Cordero1-for-3, RBI, BB, K, SB (3)
C Carlos Narvaez1-for-3, BB, K
SS Jesus Bastidas0-for-3, BB, K

RHP Mitch Spence5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HR
Norfolk is very good with a strong offense. Spence held them down nicely. He now owns a 4.21 ERA in 62 IP (59 H, 34 R, 29 ER, 23 BB, 53 K, 12 HR). He was very strong in May (2.21 ERA in 36.1 innings) and keeps it up in his first June appearance.
RHP Michael Gomez1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
LHP D.J. Snelten0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Bowman1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Greg Weissert (L, 1-1): 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Weissert hasn’t been as sharp in 2023 as he was in 2022.

Somerset (31-22) (Defeated Hartford, 7-5)

SS Trey Sweeney: 2-for-5, 2B (10)
Sweeney is on a 6-game hitting streak (8-for-28; 2 doubles)
DH Jasson Dominguez1-for-3, 2 RS, 2 BB, K
His plate discipline is impressive for a kid his age at this level. He has 46 walks in 49 games.
3B Caleb Durbin1-for-5, 2B (4), RS, K, SB (13)
Durbin’s 28th stolen base between here and Hudson Valley.
CF Brandon Lockridge: 3-for-5, 3 2B (7), 3 RBI, RS
It’s not often you see three RBI doubles in a game.
C Anthony Seigler0-for-4, BB
LF Jeisson Rosario1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
RF Aaron Palensky0-for-2, RS, BB, HBP
1B Eric Wagaman1-for-4, RS, K
2B Max Burt1-for-3, HR (7), 3 RBI, RS, BB, 2 K, CS (2)

RHP Blane Abeyta: (W, 4-3)  6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, HR
Abeyta sets a new personal best for strikeouts.
LHP Lisandro Santos: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Zac Houston (S, 1): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Hudson Valley (30-24) (Swept in a doubleheader against Jersey Shore. The pitching continues to pitch extremely well – but the offense did not show up today)

Game 1 (Lost, 1-0)

CF Spencer Jones0-for-3, 2 K
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-3
C Josh Breaux0-for-3, K
Breaux is hitting .231/.268/.333 in 41 plate appearances during his rehab stint.
DH Rafael Flores1-for-3, K
1B Spencer Henson1-for-3
2B Ben Cowles1-for-3
RF Grant Richardson0-for-1, HBP
LF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-2, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-2

RHP Zach Messinger (L, 0-4): 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
Messinger has pitched better than the record. He now owns a 2.68 ERA in 50.1 IP (42 H, 22 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 24 BB, 61 K)
RHP Jack Neely1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.64 ERA (22 IP, 11 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 34 K)

Game 2 (Lost, 2-1)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-2, BB, K, SB (13)
.272/.324/.497 in 213 plate appearances (17 doubles, 3 triples, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 30 R, 15 BB, 74 K, 13-for-18 SB)
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-3, 2 K
1B Rafael Flores0-for-3
.310/.368/.374 in 171 plate appearances.
C Antonio Gomez0-for-3
3B Ben Cowles1-for-3, 2 K
.279/.344/.450 in 157 plate appearances. 
DH Grant Richardson0-for-3
RF Aldenis Sanchez0-for-3, K
2B Luis Santos1-for-2, 2B (2), RS, K
LF Kyle Battle0-for-2

RHP Tyrone Yulie: (L, 1-4)  5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
5.02 ERA (43 IP, 34 H, 32 R, 24 ER, 6 HR, 29 BB, 50 K)
RHP Carlos Gomez0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Tampa (24-30) (Mauled Lakeland, 11-3)

2B Jared Serna: 3-for-6, 2B (10), HR (9), 2 RBI, 2 RS, K
Whenever Serna seems to go into a little slump, he seems to bounce right out of it. He is listed at 5’6″, yet has 21 doubles and 15 HR in 97 games over the last two seasons. This season, his triple slash is up to .316/.375/.515.
DH Daury Arias1-for-4, RS, 2 BB
CF Anthony Hall: 2-for-4, 2B (6), RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB, K, CS (4)
Hall increases his hitting streak to 8 and is entering “Does he belong here anymore?” territory. He is 8-for-26 in June after hitting .338/.477/.471 in May.
SS Brenny Escanio2-for-4, 2 RS, 2 BB, K
LF Christopher Familia: 2-for-4, 2B (2), HR (5), 3 RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB, K, CS (1)
Familia: 5 HR in 7 games. 
C Jesus Rodriguez2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Rodriguez is now on a 7-game hitting streak (three straight multi-hit games)
RF Tayler Aguilar1-for-5, 2 RBI, 4 K
3B Beau Brewer0-for-2, RS, 3 BB
1B Ronny Rojas1-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K

LHP Brock Selvidge: (W, 3-3)  5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Selvidge was stretched out to 100 pitches tonight. He is throwing in the mid-90s (hit 96.7 tonight) and generated 19 swing and misses. Season: 3.02 ERA (50.2 IP, 46 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 2 HR, 12 BB, 56 K)
RHP Shane Gray2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
4.28 ERA (27.1 IP, 23 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 35 K)
RHP Alex Bustamante1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Ocean Gabonia1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

FCL Yankees (2-1) (Defeated the Phillies, 7-1)

DH Keiner Delgado1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, BB, K, SB (1), CS (1)
Just like we said with Serna last year: If he taps into some power, his stock will go up. Without power? He still would have a chance because he can play up the middle positions.
SS Roderick Arias2-for-5, 2B (1), RBI, 2 RS, 2 K
If Arias develops to his potential, he will have above-average power for a shortstop. I think the Yankees will be patient with him, but they won’t keep a bonus baby down here any longer than he needs to be.
CF Willy Montero2-for-4, RBI, BB, K, CS (1)
The 18-year-old did enough in the DSL last season (.262/.396/.382; 16-for-20 SB) to earn a shot here in 2023. I don’t see any info on his signing bonus (again, likely an indicator that it wasn’t much) but the fact that he is a CF hitting third in the lineup tells you that the organization is impressed with something.
3B Hans Montero1-for-2, HR (1), RBI, RS, 3 BB
Montero, who was signed for $1.7 million (the highest bonus the Yankees handed out in 2021), struggled badly in the DSL. Now 19, they simply couldn’t throw him back down there for a third season. Something has to start clicking.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda0-for-3, 2 BB, K
Tejeda (18) hit ..289/.463/.493 in 46 DSL games last season. As I keep saying: DSL stats are wacky. However, if you don’t perform down there, you will probably die on the vine (unless you are someone like Montero, who they invested significant money in)
RF Dayro Perez0-for-2, RBI, RS, 2 BB, SB (1)
Perez, signed as an infielder, gets his first career start in the OF. He was given a taste of Low-A earlier this season, where he went 13-for-85 (.153) with a 2-for-3 stolen base rate.

RHP Ryan Harvey4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
A strong professional debut for Harvey. Bobby Milone (on Twitter) pointed out that he was a college reliever so it appears this is another case of the Yankees drafting a relief pitcher and converting him to a starter. It really is not a bad strategy. It isn’t hard to convert them back to the bullpen.
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza (W, 1-0): 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Mendoza received some praise from Josh Norris of Baseball America. In 2022, down in the DSL, he pitched to a 2.95 ERA in 55 IP with a 77/19 K/BB ratio. Given that he tossed three innings today, he likely is still seen as a starting pitcher.

DSL Yankees (3-0) and the DSL Bombers (3-0) both won. The Yankees knocked off the Pirates Black, 8-5, while the Bombers knocked off the Mets Orange, 7-6. The Bombers overcame a 6-0 deficit entering the bottom of the 7th.

As I keep saying, DSL stats are insane. The Yankees’ eight runs came on 6 hits and *16* walks. C Josue Gonzalez and DH Luis Escudero each drew three walks while 3B Ovandy Frias doubled home two runs and drew a pair of walks. RHP Jorge Luna went 2.2 innings in his professional debut, allowing no runs on two hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts.

As for the Bombers, CF Ramiro Altagracia hit his first home run of the season. This is his third season at this level and he has done little of note offensively in his first two years…SS Kevin Verde (17) had one of the biggest knocks in the game: A 2-run double. He made his first professional hit memorable…DH Gabriel Lara (17) went 1-for-3 with an RBI, 2 runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base…