Yankees MILB 7/4: Everson Pereira Homers in Triple-A Debut

News:

OF Everson Pereira is now a member of the Scranton Railriders.

Ranked as the #4 prospect in the system by Pipeline, Pereira hit well for Somerset this season. In 185 plate appearances, he hit .292/.362/.545 (143 wRC+) with ten home runs and 31 runs batted in. He plays all three outfield positions, though there is talk he is best suited at a corner. This happens to a lot of prospects as they mature. I am not sure if Pereira has completely outgrown center field, but he likely has enough bat to play a corner anyway.

The one negative in his game is a K% that sits at 29.2% this season. A high batting average and high K% typically mean a high BABIP, and that is the case with Pereira. His BABIP is .373. Also, he has a history of some annoying injuries. Last season, he set a personal best with 102 games played. An injury earlier this season likely keeps him away from breaking that record.

Can he make it to MLB in 2023? Yes. He is already on the 40-man roster, so it will be a relatively simple transaction once they deem him ready. If not, he is certainly a 2024 option if they don’t use him as trade bait.

To make room for Pereira, the Yankees demoted Elijah Dunham to Somerset. Dunham hasn’t been able to get much going this year, so perhaps this will jumpstart him into a solid second half.

Scranton (38-42; 3-2 in the second half) (Lost to Lehigh Valley, 5-4. They loaded the bases in the 9th with Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira coming up, and couldn’t get the game tied. Baseball!)

CF Estevan Florial: 1-for-3, RS, 2 BB
Last 6 games: 9-for-23 (.391; 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 9 R, 7 BB, 4 K). Whether you think he is MLB caliber or not, there is no doubt that Florial has done everything he can to earn that shot.
SS Oswald Peraza0-for-3, RS, 2 BB, 2 K
.280/.360/.543 in 186 PA.
RF Everson Pereira: 2-for-5, HR (1), 3 RBI, RS, K
This is what you call a successful debut. He homered in his first at-bat (an at-bat where he battled back from 0-2 to make it 3-2). The home run traveled 426 feet at 111.4 MPH. His talent is legitimate.
DH Ben Rortvedt1-for-2, RS, BB, HBP
Rortvedt is hitting .304/.439/.519 in 98 PA at this level.
1B Andres Chaparro1-for-2, 2 BB
Chaparro has nine walks in his last nine games. 
C Carlos Narvaez0-for-4, K
LF Franchy Cordero0-for-4, K
3B Jamie Westbrook2-for-4
  PR Brandon Lockridge0-for-0
2B Jesus Bastidas1-for-4, K

RHP Jhony Brito5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
Brito’s statistics down here are meaningless. I am not just saying that because he owns a 6.39 ERA. He is down here to continue to work on things for the inevitable call-up at some point later this season.
RHP Michael Gomez: (L, 0-4) 2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Greg Weissert: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.20 ERA (25.1 IP, 19 H, 13 R, 9 ER, 3 HR, 12 BB, 39 K)
LHP D.J. Snelten0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K

Somerset (46-29; 4-3 in the second half) (Lost to Reading, 5-4)

SS Trey Sweeney: 1-for-2, RS, BB, HBP, CS (4)
.246/.365/.430 in 326 PA (15 doubles, 1 triple, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 47 R, 46 BB, 61 K, 10-for-14 SB). He has started July 3-for-10 with three walks and a strikeout.
CF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, 2 SB (22)
Since we tend to dwell on negatives, here are two positives: 22-for-25 SB (88%); 56 BB in 327 PA (17.1%).
C Austin Wells: 1-for-3, SF, 3 RBI, K
Wells has 86 RBI in 102 games at this level. 
3B Tyler Hardman0-for-4, 3 K
They gave him a day off after his 3-HR game and he is 0-for-8 since. Don’t let the small sample size ruin my narrative.
1B T.J. Rumfield0-for-3, HBP
RF Jeisson Rosario0-for-2, 2 BB, CS (5)
LF Aaron Palensky0-for-4, 2 K
Palensky is in a 4-for-34 slump. He is hitting .213/.396/.440 since his promotion.
DH Eric Wagaman: 2-for-3, 2 RS, BB, SB (13)
.333/.388/.543 in 116 PA with a surprising 13-for-14 SB rate.
2B Mickey Gasper1-for-4, 2B (3), RBI, RS
Gasper’s first career appearance at a position other than P (two games)/C/1B/DH. 

RHP Richard Fitts6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Two of the three walks were compiled in the 7th inning, where Fitts went over the 100-pitch mark. Season: 3.78 ERA (83.1 IP, 79 H, 36 R, 35 ER, 13 HR, 20 BB, 92 K)
RHP Danny Watson0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, HR
He hadn’t allowed a run since being promoted, so you can say he was due for a tough outing.
LHP Josh Maciejewski: (L, 0-1) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Hudson Valley (43-33; 4-3 in the second half) (Defeated Jersey Shore, 4-2)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-4, 2B (20), RBI, RS, K
If it felt as if he was stuck on 19 doubles forever, you are correct. This is his first double since 6/14.
2B Ben Cowles1-for-4, K
C Agustin Ramirez1-for-3, 2B (4), RBI, BB
Ramirez is 10-for-20 since his promotion (4 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 K). 
LF Christopher Familia0-for-4, 2 K
Familia is 3-for-22 since his promotion. We all knew this might be a challenge – let’s see how he adjusts.
1B Rafael Flores0-for-4, 3 K
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-4, K
DH Antonio Gomez0-for-4, 2 K
RF Grant Richardson2-for-4, RS, 2 K, CS (1)
3B Marcos Cabrera: 3-for-3, HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 RS
Cabrera’s second 3-hit game of the season. This is his first home run since May 28th.

RHP Tyrone Yulie: (W, 4-5)  5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, HR
3.99 ERA (65.1 IP, 47 H, 37 R, 29 ER, 9 HR, 38 BB, 79 K). A strong start to July after he posted a 2.35 ERA in four June starts (23 IP, 14 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 24 K)
RHP Bailey Dees2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
2.10 ERA (34.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 52 K)
RHP Carlos Gomez1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
LHP Clay Aguilar (S, 1): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Aguilar’s first professional save. Congrats!

Tampa (35-39; 2-4 in the second half) (Lost to Dunedin, 4-2)

DH Jared Serna1-for-5, K
He isn’t on a “hot streak,” but he does own a 6-game hitting streak (7-for-27; 2 doubles, 1 home run)
SS Brenny Escanio0-for-4, 3 K
C Ben Rice1-for-3, 2 K
Rice is 1-for-6 with three walks on his rehab stint.
  C Jesus Rodriguez1-for-1, RS
Rodriguez is 34-for-95 since June 1st (.358; 7 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 15 R, 14 BB, 13 K)
CF Anthony Hall: 1-for-2, RS, HBP, BB, K
LF Daury Arias1-for-4, 2 K
3B Brett Barrera: 2-for-4, 3B (1), RBI
Barrera’s first career triple (44 career games)
RF Tayler Aguilar0-for-2, K
  RF Felix Negueis0-for-2, K
1B Beau Brewer1-for-4
2B Jose Colmenares0-for-3, BB, K
Colmenares’ first game since August 9, 2021. He was signed in 2019 for an undisclosed amount. In 57 career games heading into tonight, he hit .214/.318/.326 with four home runs and 26 RBI.

RHP Leonardo Pestana3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
4.79 ERA (35.2 IP, 35 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 7 HR, 17 BB, 47 K). Injuries limited him to only three appearances between 2021-2022, so they are taking it easy with him.
RHP Kris Bow3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Matt Keating (L, 5-6): 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR

FCL Yankees (12-10) (Lost to the Phillies, 5-4)

2B Keiner Delgado0-for-5, K
SS Roderick Arias1-for-4, BB, CS (3)
Arias is now a proud owner of a 10-game hitting streak (15-for-39). Overall, he is hitting .263/.411/.461 in 95 PA with four home runs and 16 runs batted in.
DH Hans Montero1-for-5, 3 K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda2-for-4, RS, BB, K
.324/.520/.515 in 98 PA with three home runs and 15 RBI. He is also 13-for-15 stealing bases. Tejeda is only 18 years old.
CF Willy Montero2-for-5, 2B (5), RBI, RS, K
DSL, 2022: .262/.396/.382 in 235 PA
FCL, 2023: .291/.356/.418 in 90 PA.
Yes, the BB rate has gone down – but while the FCL isn’t the perfect league, the DSL is a crazy league. I am never alarmed by walk rates going down when a player gets away from that league.
RF John Cruz2-for-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, RS
.227/.337/.480 in 89 PA (5 HR, 26 RBI, 10 R, 12 BB, 21 K)
LF Joel Mendez1-for-3, BB, K
1B Kelvin Espino2-for-3, 2 2B (4), RBI, BB, K

RHP Carlos Lagrange3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
3.71 ERA (17 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 14 BB, 22 K)
RHP Osiel Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
I firmly believe that Rodriguez belongs in Tampa.
RHP Montana Semmell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
A needed dominant performance by Semmell, who pitched well in limited action here in 2022.He was drafted in the 36th round out of high school back in 2019. The Yankees nabbed him for $125,000 – an important number because $125,000 is the max you can give a player after the 10th round without it counting against your bonus pool.

DSL Yankees (15-5)

The game was postponed due to rain.

DSL Bombers (11-10)

The game was postponed due to rain.