Yankees MILB 6/15: Estevan Florial Homers Twice

News:

RHP Chase Hampton has been promoted to Somerset, where he will start on Sunday.

The 21-year-old is making the rise to Double-A after only nine minor league starts, all at High-A Hudson Valley this year. He produced an impressive 2.68 ERA (2.90 FIP) over 47 innings with a 40.5% K and 8.4% BB. He allowed five home runs, just under 1.0 HR/9. Amongst all MILB pitchers with at least 40 innings, Hampton ranks 3rd in K% and 2nd in K-BB%. Both categories are led by Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott, who is listed as MLB’s 94th-best prospect. Abbott’s stock will rise, and so will Hampton’s. Hampton is currently ranked as the Yankees’ #24 prospect (Pipeline) and could (should?) jump into the Top 5 when they do their next major update.

How far can he take this? Let’s see what happens against advanced hitters. In 2016, James Kaprielian seemed to be on a fast track before an injury crushed his season after three starts. Before him, Joba Chamberlain flew all the way up to MLB in his first professional season to help the big league bullpen (I doubt Hampton will be asked to do that).

Scranton (29-36) (Lost a doubleheader to Rochester)

Game 1 (Lost, 6-3)

CF Estevan Florial1-for-4, RBI, K, SB (13)
SS Oswald Peraza0-for-3, BB, SB (8)
LF Elijah Dunham1-for-4, 2 K
1B Andres Chaparro0-for-3
C Rodolfo Duran0-for-3, K
DH Franchy Cordero1-for-3, HR (5), RBI, RS, K
3B Jamie Westbrook1-for-2, RS, BB, K
2B Jesus Bastidas2-for-3, 2B (9), RS
RF Michael Hermosillo1-for-3, RBI

RHP Randy Vasquez (L, 1-7): 2.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR
Vasquez continues to struggle in Scranton while he pitches well when he is given spot starts in the majors (yes, it is only two MLB Starts!)
RHP Aaron McGarity1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Colten Brewer1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Bowman1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Game 2 (Lost, 8-7. They bounced back from a 6-2 deficit by scoring two in the 6th and three in the 7th, only for Rochester to win it in the bottom of the 7th)

CF Estevan Florial2-for-3, 2 HR (17), SF, 5 RBI, 2 RS
It was Florial who engineered the comeback, with his solo HR in the 6th and 3-run bomb in the 7th. He now owns a 33-game on-base streak and has tied his personal best for HR in a season. This is his third multi-HR game of 2023 and 7th in his career (all since 2021). Oh, and this also ties his personal best for RBI in a game (now done three times). 
DH Oswald Peraza1-for-4, 3B (1), RS, K
Peraza is hitting .298/.370/.573. Could he be worse than Josh Donaldson? I guess, though that bar is ridiculously low. However, remember that calling up Peraza is also about finishing off his development. 
RF Elijah Dunham1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, RS, 2 K
Dunham’s last 8 games: 9-for-33 (.273)
3B Andres Chaparro0-for-1, SF, RBI, BB, K
Chaparro is down to .240/.314/.433 in 264 PA. He is 8-for-45 in June with only three extra-base hits (all doubles)
C Carlos Narvaez0-for-2, BB
1B Franchy Cordero0-for-3
LF Brandon Lockridge0-for-3
SS Jesus Bastidas2-for-3, 2B (10), 2 RS
.273/.335/.449 in 209 PA (10 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 30 R, 15 BB, 53 K)
2B Wilmer Difo1-for-3, RS

RHP Jhony Brito5 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
Brito’s Triple-A ERA is up to 7.08.
RHP Greg Weissert (L, 1-2): 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
3.60 ERA (20 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 30 K)

Somerset (37-22) (Doubled up Altoona, 6-3. Eric Wagaman drove in all six runs)

SS Trey Sweeney1-for-5, 2 K
Sweeney’s hitting streak is up to 12.
CF Jasson Dominguez1-for-5, K
1B T.J. Rumfield0-for-3, BB, K
His home run streak ends at five. 
3B Tyler Hardman1-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K
2B Caleb Durbin1-for-4, RS, K
.260/.330/.375 in 115 PA since his promotion. His K% is 5.2% at this level and 7.1% overall.
C Anthony Seigler0-for-2, 2 RS, 2 BB
.190/.342/.250 in 146 PA. He has 28 walks (19.2%), which is something he can build on. Obviously, he needs to hit a little as well.
DH Eric Wagaman: 2-for-4, 2 HR (5), 6 RBI, 2 RS
One of the home runs was an 8th-inning grand slam that turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead. He ties his personal best for RBI in a game (he set it in his first professional game back in 2017). This season, he has 16 RBI in 23 games.
RF Jeisson Rosario0-for-2, 2 BB, K
LF Aaron Palensky0-for-2, BB, HBP, K

RHP Yoendrys Gomez2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, HR
Gomez tossed 56 pitches tonight. I have to assume that he will be reaching 75 pitches soon. He owns a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 IP.
LHP Edgar Barclay3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 K
RHP Justin Wilson1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Tanner Myatt: (W, 3-1)  1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Hudson Valley (35-25) (Defeated Rome, 5-4, in ten innings)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-5, RS, 3 K
I made a note about his slump on Twitter and instantly saw stuff about him being a “bust.” I report slumps because I think it is important to keep everyone up-to-date. However, it isn’t meant to lead to any conclusions about whether a prospect is a bust or not. Jones is a big kid who is going to have his peaks and valleys as he tries to get to MLB.
2B Ben Cowles: 1-for-4, BB, K
C Josh Breaux0-for-3, 2 BB, K
DH Rafael Flores1-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K
Flores increases his hitting streak to five (one hit in each game). His average is still over .300 (.301)
1B Spencer Henson0-for-4, RBI, HBP, K
A walk-off HBP!
SS Alexander Vargas: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K, SB (9)
A little bit of everything tonight for Vargas…
LF Grant Richardson1-for-3, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
The home run was of the inside-the-park variety. Richardson has been teetering around .200 for a while (now hitting .197).
RF Aldenis Sanchez1-for-4, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-3, SF, RBI

RHP Zach Messinger: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
It took Messinger 93 pitches to get through five innings tonight. Season: 2.44 ERA (55.1 IP, 48 H, 22 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 26 BB, 68 K). After compiling a 4.19 ERA in four May starts, he has a 0.60 ERA in three June starts (15 IP, 12 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 8 BB, 22 K). 
RHP Luis Velasquez2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
This is his second appearance since his promotion.
RHP Mason Vinyard1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Carlos Gomez: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
LHP Clay Aguilar: (W, 3-0)  0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Tampa (26-33) (Lost to Clearwater, 8-4)

SS Jared Serna0-for-4, 2 K
.314/.377/.534 in 247 PA, Serna has yet to have a streak of hitless games longer than two this season (I just jinxed him – sorry)
CF Anthony Hall0-for-3, BB
DH Agustin Ramirez0-for-4, 3 K
2B Brenny Escanio1-for-4, K
RF Matt Pita1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, K
  RF Daury Arias0-for-1, K
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-3, HR (3), RBI, 2 RS, K
.301/.379/.429 in 178 PA and he has eight multi-hit games in June (12 games).  One thing Rodriguez has consistently done is hit. In 138 career games, he is hitting .314/.402/.481 in 553 PA (36 doubles, 8 triples, 9 HR, 77 RBI, 100 R, 67 BB (12.1%), 75 K (13.6%), 25-for-33 SB). He is 21 years old and can catch in addition to playing other positions. Will it translate as he moves up? We’ll see.
LF Christopher Familia2-for-3, 3B (1), RS, BB
The extra-base hit machine now has 12 (5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR) in 13 games. He is hitting .412/.500/.912 and is riding a 10-game hitting streak.
C Omar Martinez0-for-3, 2 RBI, K
1B Ronny Rojas0-for-3, K

LHP Brock Selvidge: (L, 3-4) 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K
3.56 ERA (55.2 IP, 52 H, 26 R, 22 ER, 2 HR, 14 BB, 64 K). The Yankees’ organization isn’t filled with a lot of left-handed starter types, so Selvidge does stick out. Tonight, he was victimized by one bad inning.
RHP Matt Keating1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.04 ERA (26.2 IP, 22 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 2 HR, 15 BB, 43 K). One has to love his ability to miss bats.
RHP Manny Ramirez0 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Adam Stone1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 5 K
RHP Alex Bustamante1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
3.04 ERA (26.2 IP, 14 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 0 HR, 17 BB, 26 K). He has yet to allow a home run in 31.2 career innings.

FCL Yankees (5-3) (Defeated the Tigers, 9-8. They scored three in the 8th and three in the bottom of the 9th to pull off the miracle)

2B Keiner Delgado1-for-5, 2B (2), RS, 2 SB (8)
.281/.439/.438 in 41 PA. Delgado is 42-for-51 (82.4%) stealing bases in 60 career games.
SS Roderick Arias0-for-4, BB, 2 K
Arias is 0-for-18 in his last five games (5 BB, 7 K)
CF Willy Montero0-for-2, SF, RBI, RS, 2 BB
10-for-25 (.400) with five walks and four strikeouts.
3B Hans Montero0-for-3, 2 BB, K
.286/.487/.607 in 39 PA with three doubles and a pair of home runs. It is a small sample size but still an encouraging start.
DH Enmanuel Tejeda1-for-3, 2B (1), 3 RS, 2 BB
RF John Cruz2-for-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS, BB
Cruz is only 17. In the DSL last season, he hit five home runs and drove home 24 in 54 games. He did that as a 16-year-old, which is pretty impressive.
C Manuel Palencia0-for-3, RBI, 2 BB
Palencia is 0-for-11, though he has yet to strike out. In 2022, he hit .323/.411/.392 in 39 games down in the DSL.
1B Kelvin Espino: 2-for-3, 2B (2), 2 RBI, RS, BB, K
LF Joel Mendez1-for-3, SF, RBI, K

RHP Ryan Harvey4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
2.08 ERA (8.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K)
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
The 19-year-old pitched to a 2.95 ERA in 55 IP with a 77/19 K/BB ratio down in the DSL in 2022.
RHP Donys Garcia (W, 1-0): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Garcia is 22, so he will need to pitch well and start moving.

DSL Yankees (8-0) defeated the Bombers (6-2) again, 7-3. This game was a scheduled 7-inning game. Some games in the rookie leagues are seven innings even though they aren’t part of doubleheaders. I am sure there is a reason for that.

Bombers:

3B Gabriel Terrero2-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS
This is the debut season for the 17-year-old. He only stands 5’6″ officially.
RF Darwin Castillo0-for-2, HBP, K, 2 SB (2)
SS Kevin Verde1-for-3, 2B (2), RS

Yankees:

2B Luis Suarez0-for-3, BB, K, SB (5)
C Josue Gonzalez1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB
Gonzalez has driven home at least one run in all five of his games.
DH Anthony Pena: 1-for-3, 2 RS, K, SB (1)
This is Pena’s professional debut. 
RF Andry Javier2-for-2, RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 SB (4)
Javier is 6-for-20 (7 runs, 3 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K, 4-for-4 SB)

RHP Jerson Alejandro4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, HR
The 17-year-old is listed at 6’6″, 255 pounds. From what I read, he is already dialing it up into the upper 90s (though he doesn’t yet sit there), so who knows how hard he will throw when he is developed?  He cost the Yankees over $400,000.