Yankees MILB 7/21: Spencer Jones Collects 3 Hits

News:

C Austin Wells was promoted to Scranton today, and instantly placed in the cleanup spot.

Wells, the Yankees’ first-round pick in the 2020 COVID draft, hit .248/.343/.460 in 113 Double-A games with 22 doubles, 1 triple, 23 HR, and 93 RBI. Whether he can stick behind the plate is still a matter of debate.

Scranton (43-47; 9-6 in the second half) (Lead Worcester, 4-0, in the 4th. The game was suspended due to a power outage. They will conclude this tomorrow afternoon (playing out the entire 9 innings) before a 7-inning nightcap)

CF Greg Allen0-for-1, RS, HBP
DH Jake Bauers: 2-for-2, 2B (7), RS
LF Everson Pereira0-for-2, 2 K
C Austin Wells1-for-1, RS, BB
Triple-A debut.
3B Andres Chaparro0-for-1, BB
1B Carlos Narvaez1-for-2, HR (8), 2 RBI, RS, K
2B Jamie Westbrook0-for-0, RBI, BB, CI, CS (4)
RF Brandon Lockridge0-for-2
SS Wilmer Difo0-for-1, K

RHP Will Warren3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Warren was throwing well, but his outing will be cut short. At this level: 4.39 ERA (41 IP, 36 H, 26 R, 20 ER, 8 HR, 20 BB, 44 K)

Somerset (51-35; 9-9 in the second half) (Crushed Hartford, 9-2)

SS Trey Sweeney1-for-5, RBI, RS, K
Sweeney increases his hitting streak to five (8-for-25; 2 doubles, 1 triple, 8 RBI). 
CF Jasson Dominguez1-for-5, RBI, RS, K
.216/.349/.371 in 378 PA (8 doubles, 2 triples, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 60 R, 64 BB, 103 K, 25-for-29 SB). There is still plenty of time to go, but I wonder how his season will be judged when all is said and done.
3B Tyler Hardman1-for-3, HR (23), 2 RBI, RS, 2 BB, 2 K
A new career best (23 HR in 71 games this year; 22 in 111 games last year). Hardman hits his bombs in bunches. He hit home runs in three straight games in early June and had a stretch where he hit six home runs in six games (including three in one game). While he has enough pop to make it to the big leagues, it is the strikeouts that are a problem: 101 in 302 PA (33.4%).
1B T.J. Rumfield1-for-5, 2 K
RF Elijah Dunham1-for-5, HR (3), RBI, RS, K
Dunham has homered in back-to-back games and has hit safely in nine of his last ten games.
DH Ben Rice2-for-5, RS
Rice has back-to-back 2-for-5 efforts to begin his Double-A journey.
LF Aaron Palensky1-for-5, 2B (6), RS, K
C Josh Breaux1-for-4, HR (2), 2 RBI, RS, BB, 2 K
Breaux is 5-for-25 at this level. Overall, in 23 games, he is hitting .191/.250/.303.
2B Max Burt: 2-for-2, 2B (5), RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB
.268/.358/.500 at this level. 

RHP Yoendrys Gomez3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
1.26 ERA (28.2 IP, 15 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 17 BB, 34 K). He is throwing very well in his limited spurts. Tonight, he tossed 57 pitches.
LHP Edgar Barclay: (W, 3-1) 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, HR
1.20 ERA (30 IP, 23 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 10 BB, 45 K). Barclay hadn’t allowed a home run since September 15, 2021. He tossed 67.1 homerless innings in 2022. You are looking at a legit swingman type of prospect here who can probably start, pitch in the middle innings, and even give you some late-inning production. You are probably thinking about guys like Ramiro Mendoza or Alfredo Aceves, etc.
LHP Josh Maciejewski1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Hudson Valley (49-38; 10-11 in the second half) (Lost to Brooklyn, 8-7)

CF Spencer Jones: 3-for-5, 2B (21), RBI, 3 RS, SB (22)
Jones has nine 3+ hit games this season. He is 15-for-43 (.349) in July (2 doubles, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R, 10 BB, 9 K, 4 SB)
SS Ben Cowles: 1-for-4, 2B (12), SF, RBI
C Rafael Flores0-for-1, 3 BB, HBP
Flores collects his first career 3-BB game.
RF Christopher Familia3-for-5, 2B (3), 2 RBI, RS
Familia has been struggling a bit since his promotion, so this game was needed. He is now 14-for-63 (.222; 3 doubles, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R). Overall, he has 10 doubles, 2 triples, 12 HR, 38 RBI, and 34 runs scored in 36 games between here and Tampa.
DH Antonio Gomez0-for-5, 4 K
1B Spencer Henson1-for-5, HR (10), RBI, RS, K
Henson ties his personal best for HR in a season (61 games this year; 71 games in 2022). Overall, he has 28 HR and 98 RBI in 160 career games.
LF Anthony Garcia0-for-4, RS, BB, 3 K
2B Eduardo Torrealba1-for-3, 2B (5), RS, BB, HBP
3B Marcos Cabrera1-for-5

LHP Brock Selvidge4.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
It wasn’t a spectacular High-A debut, but he battled to keep runs off the board. 
RHP Luis Velasquez1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
LHP Clay Aguilar: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
3.98 ERA (20.1 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 10 BB, 31 K)
RHP Carlos Gomez: (L, 2-3)  1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Harrison Cohen0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Tampa (42-46; 11-11 in the second half) (Lost to Clearwater, 7-0. After a pair of slugfests, Tampa hasn’t scored a run in the last two games)

2B Jared Serna1-for-4, BB, SB (17)
This is Serna’s first stolen base since June 20th. It was only his second attempt this month. Just one of those weird things. Serna is 21-for-69 (.304). He hit .310 in April, .305 in May, and .263 in June (though that came with five home runs and 21 RBI). Just remarkable consistency.
3B Jesus Rodriguez0-for-4, K
.292/.369/.432 in 294 PA. His 6-game hitting streak is snapped.
C Omar Martinez0-for-3, BB, 2 K
.244/.364/.409 in 269 PA. He is 16-for-54 (.296) in July with four home runs and 16 RBI. 
SS Brenny Escanio0-for-3, HBP
Escanio draws walks (52; .335 OBP) but hasn’t done enough in the contact department. The Yankees took him as a lottery ticket from the Brewers for J.P. Feyereisen.
CF Daury Arias0-for-3, BB, 2 K
DH Brett Barrera0-for-1, 2 HBP
  PR-DH Beau Brewer0-for-1
LF Jake Palmer1-for-3, BB
1B Ronny Rojas0-for-4, 2 K
RF Felix Negueis1-for-3, BB

RHP Leonardo Pestana: (L, 0-4)  2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
4.87 ERA (40.2 IP, 38 H, 23 R, 22 ER, 7 HR, 21 BB, 54 K). This is his new personal best for innings in a season – beating the mark he set in 2019. Injuries, injuries, injuries. By the way, the Yankees are unlikely to give up on this kid, as he is pumping upper-90s fastballs. 
RHP Ocean Gabonia2.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Yorlin Calderon2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
3.00 ERA (51 IP, 41 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 13 BB, 64 K). Calderon doesn’t throw hard, but he does have a starter’s arsenal (sinker, slider, change, curve). 
RHP Montana Semmel1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

FCL Yankees (18-13) (Lost to the Tigers, 4-3, in ten innings)

DH Keiner Delgado: 2-for-4, RBI, RS, BB, 2 SB (20)
Delgado has ten multi-hit games (29 games played). 
SS Hans Montero0-for-5, 4 K
It happens to everyone….
RF Willy Montero0-for-4, BB, K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
CF John Cruz1-for-4, HR (6), RBI, RS, 2 K
Cruz, still only 17, has 11 home runs in 52 minor league games.
LF Joel Mendez3-for-4, 2B (4)

RHP Luis Serna2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
7.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 10 K. The important thing is that he is showing signs of being back on track after missing a vast majority of the season.
RHP Anderson Munoz2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
The 24-year-old is on a rehab assignment. He has made it as high as High-A Hudson Valley, where he pitched to a 4.41 ERA in 32.2 innings last season (48/12 K/BB)
LHP Miguel Pozo2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Steven Fulgencio (L, 0-1): 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
The 22-year-old was signed all the way back in 2018, but didn’t make his debut until 2022.

DSL Yankees (20-10) (Lost to DSL Tampa Bay, 8-3)

CF Brando Mayea1-for-4, BB
Mayea is 9-for-41 in July, but has walked 12 times.
SS Santiago Gomez0-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K
1B Jhon Imbert0-for-1, 3 BB
3B Luis Ogando3-for-4, 2B (9), HR (4), 2 RBI, 2 RS, SB (10)
Ogando is a 19-year-old right-handed bat who has played in 58 games at this level over the last two seasons (.330/.406/.519 in 226 PA)

RHP Yordanny Sosa2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Sosa pitched in 12 games back in his 2019 debut season, posting a 2.21 ERA (though that came with a 9/12 K/BB ratio), Then, he disappeared for four years and is back now. Injuries suck.

DSL Bombers (15-17) (Destroyed DSL Miami, 12-1. Talk about a bunch of baserunners: They compiled 13 hits and 14 walks while Miami commited three errors. This game had real 28-1 DSL potential. Trust me, stuff like that has happened before at this level!)

SS Ovandy Frias3-for-5, RBI, 2 RS, BB, 2 K, 3 SB (10)
Have yourself a morning/afternoon, Ovandy! It is hard to find much out there on the 19-year-old, who is in his debut season.
C Johan Contreras3-for-5, 2B (3), 4 RBI, RS, BB, K, CS (1)
The 18-year-old right-handed bat hit very well in his debut 2022 season but has yet to repeat that in 2023. Perhaps today is the start of something good.
CF Geyber Blanco3-for-5, 2 2B (11), 2 RBI, K
I pay close attention when 17-year-olds start raking in their debut season. So far, Blanco is doing that: .333/.405/.480 with 11 doubles in 84 plate appearances. He was just signed back in February.
DH Abrahan Ramirez1-for-2, 2 BB, K
The 18-year-old left-handed bat is hitting .314/.442/.446 in 45 games at this level going back to last season.
RF Luis Puello1-for-3, 2B (2), 2 RS, 2 BB, K
1B Johan Ferreira1-for-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 RS, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (5)
Ferreira is already 20 years old. This is his first professional home run!

RHP Daniel Guerrero3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K
RHP Mariano Salomon (W, 2-1): 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
He is 20 years old but this is his first professional season. Salomon has a 40/6 K/BB ratio over 29.1 innings.
LHP Luis Urbano1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K