News:
I wrote briefly about the Yankees potentially blowing up the draft this year yesterday.
As for the draft itself, it all begins on July 9th. I question a lot of things that MLB does, but I think they did the right thing when they moved the draft to be part of the All-Star Game festivities. It is very hard for baseball to create a buzz around the draft. Unlike the NBA and NFL, you won’t see these players right away. The NHL is somewhat similar to baseball as there is a minor league system, but we see more teenagers in the NHL than we do in MLB. This past season, 11 teenagers played at least one NHL game.
Anyway, I am not really an MLB draft expert. I read about who the Yankees choose to get as informed as possible before they show up in my daily reports. If you want people who follow the draft more closely than I do on Twitter, you can look at Virginia Yankee or Bobby Milone. Last year, Bobby correctly predicted the Spencer Jones pick.
Scranton (34-40) (Lost to Buffalo, 2-0)
RF Estevan Florial: 0-for-4, K
.288/.379/.597 in 277 PA. He is in a 3-for-27 slump.
C Ben Rortvedt: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Andres Chaparro: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
1B Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-2, 2 BB
.267/.431/.422 in 116 PA since his promotion.
LF Elijah Dunham: 1-for-3, BB, K
.220/.336/.336 in 283 PA. The lack of pop in 2023 has been the biggest concern for me. We’ll see what the second half brings.
2B Jesus Bastidas: 1-for-3, BB, K
.257/.316/.411 in 237 PA. His versatility and a bat that continues to do SOMETHING could make him MLB viable.
DH Josh Breaux: 0-for-3, BB
CF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-2, BB, K, SB (4)
Lockridge is now 21-for-24 stealing bases. His personal best is 22, set in 2019.
SS Max Burt: 0-for-3, K
RHP Randy Vasquez: (L, 2-8) 6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
5.11 ERA (61.2 IP, 65 H, 39 R, 35 ER, 8 HR, 34 BB, 69 K). After you see a pitcher perform in MLB, you start to not care so much about minor league numbers – but you still want to see the prospects perform. Today, Vasquez did well. I should note that offense in Triple-A is souped up, even if it wasn’t today.
LHP Matt Krook: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Michael Feliz: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Somerset (42-26; they have already clinched a playoff berth courtesy of a first-half title) (Lost to New Hampshire, 8-7)
SS Trey Sweeney: 3-for-5, 2B (14), 3B (1), 2 RBI, RS, K, SB (10)
Sweeney is up to .250 with 14 doubles, 1 triple, 10 HR, 34 RBI, 43 R, and a 10-for-13 SB rate. He is 27-for-94 (.287) in June with six doubles, one triple, and seven home runs.
LF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, BB, 2 K, SB (17)
Dominguez has 53 walks this season, putting him in the top ten in all of MILB and second in all of Double-A. It’s something, as we await for the rest of his game to catch up.
DH Austin Wells: 1-for-5, RBI, K
CF Everson Pereira: 0-for-2, RS, BB, 2 K
As stated the other night, this is essentially his rehab stint. He will eventually play a full game if all is well.
PH-RF Aaron Palensky: 0-for-2, K
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-4, RS, BB, K, 2 SB (7)
C Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
Nice game for Seigler, who has been slumping lately and hasn’t been able to get much going this year.
RF-CF Jeisson Rosario: 2-for-4, RS, CS (4)
2B Matt Pita: 1-for-4, RBI, RS
3B Delvin Perez: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K, SB (4)
LHP Carlos Rodon: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Rodon is right on target to make his first MLB start of 2023 in the next week or two.
RHP Blane Abeyta: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
RHP Justin Wilson: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
4.00 ERA (27 IP, 22 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 3 HR, 17 BB, 27 K)
LHP Lisandro Santos: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Zac Houston: (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Tanner Myatt: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Hudson Valley (39-30; they have already clinched a playoff berth courtesy of a first-half title) (Lost to Brooklyn, 2-1. Omar De Los Santos started the bottom of the 9th with a bunt single, stole two bases, and eventually scored on a wild pitch to win the game. Old school! Old school! By the way, 33-year-old ex-Yankee Abraham Almonte is still playing ball – he is rehabbing down here for Brooklyn)
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-4
0-for-15 in his last four games and 1-for-22 in his last six games. Before that, he had a 10-for-20 stretch. Baseball!
2B Ben Cowles: 1-for-4, HR (7), RBI, RS, 2 K
Cowles’ first home run since 6/6. He is hitting .257/.343/.399 in 210 PA.
C Rafael Flores: 0-for-3, BB
RF Anthony Garcia: 0-for-4, 2 K
SS Alexander Vargas: 1-for-4, 2B (9)
.208/.265/.361 in 234 PA. He is 9-for-13 in the stolen base department, but he needs to get on base more to use his wheels.
1B Spencer Henson: 0-for-3, K
DH Grant Richardson: 0-for-2, BB, 2 K, SB (9)
LF Aldenis Sanchez: 1-for-3, 2B (7), SB (11)
3B Eduardo Torrealba: 0-for-3, 2 K
RHP Drew Thorpe: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
2.49 ERA (72.1 IP, 54 H, 24 R, 20 ER, 4 HR, 24 BB, 86 K). This is the third time this season Thorpe went 7+ innings. June numbers: 28.2 IP, 12 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 34 K
RHP Bailey Dees: (L, 1-1) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Dees came close to escaping a man on 3rd, no outs jam in the 9th but the wild pitch did him in. He owns a 2.43 ERA with a 46/11 K/BB over 29.2 IP.
Tampa (33-36) (Lost to Ft. Myers, 9-1)
2B Jared Serna: 0-for-4, K
One of my favorite facts this season is that Serna has yet to go three straight games without earning a hit. He is up to two after this game! He is hitting .294/.359/.504 in 290 PA (14 doubles, 1 triple, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 47 R, 25 BB (8.6%), 46 K (15.9%), 16-for-21 SB)
3B-C Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-3
DH Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-3
.245/.384/.397 in 232 PA.
RF Christopher Familia: 1-for-3, K
Familia has hit safely in 19 of his 21 games played. He is hitting .398/.474/.928 in 95 PA.
SS Brenny Escanio: 0-for-3, K
CF Daury Arias: 0-for-3, K
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-2, K
I am not sure why Martinez had to leave the game.
3B Ronny Rojas: 1-for-1, 2B (6), RS
LF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-3
1B Beau Brewer: 0-for-3, RBI
RHP Baron Stuart: (L, 1-5) 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
5.59 ERA (38.2 IP, 39 H, 31 R, 24 ER, 6 HR, 20 BB, 39 K). Stuart is a sinker/slider type of pitcher.
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 0.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
These are the types of appearances that kill a reliever’s stat line for an entire season.
RHP Cole Ayers: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
4.76 ERA (28.1 IP, 31 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 3 HR, 11 BB, 34 K)
RHP Manny Ramirez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
3.03 ERA (29.2 IP, 25 H, 14 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 16 BB, 47 K). Keating seems to be a fastball/slider guy – his fastball isn’t thrown hard (91-93), so I wonder if his slider is a really good one, given the strikeout rates.
FCL Yankees (9-6)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (8-7)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (11-3)
Day off.