News:
Nothing new.
Scranton (59-61; 25-21 in the second half)
The game against Lehigh Valley was postponed due to wet grounds.
This is a big series against Lehigh Valley, the team they are chasing for the second-half title. They are currently 3.5 games behind both Lehigh Valley and Worcester. Durham (0.5 games back), Buffalo (3 games back), and Jacksonville (3 games back) are also ahead of Scranton.
LF Estevan Florial: 0-for-0
.289/.385/.566 (131 wRC+) in 343 PA. Florial is staring at minor league free agency this winter. The Yankees can definitely add him to the 40-man early in the offseason and look to deal him rather than lose him for nothing. Either way, it has been quite a journey for the kid. You may not love him as a prospect, but I will maintain that he deserves a chance.
CF Jasson Dominguez: 0-for-0
Dominguez is 20 – and a young 20 as he won’t turn 21 until February. This is an unusual year with the big club so anything can happen – but I would still be surprised to see him make his MLB debut. One thing Dominguez can do is put together a strong 2-3 weeks and make the Yankees think about it.
C Austin Wells: 0-for-0
Wells is hitting .262/.350/.458 (100 wRC+) at this level. The fact he has a .808 OPS and a 100 wRC+ tells you what you need to know about the souped-up conditions in Triple-A. There is nothing Wells can do about that – he just has to keep on hitting.
DH Andres Chaparro: 0-for-0
RF Franchy Cordero: 0-for-0
1B Carlos Narvaez: 0-for-0
3B Jake Lamb: 0-for-0
2B Jamie Westbrook: 0-for-0
SS Wilmer Difo: 0-for-0
RHP Randy Vasquez: 0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Personally, I give Vasquez the ball in the majors every five days and see what happens. The Yankees would rather not do that for their own reasons, so I guess I have to accept that.
Somerset (69-47; 27-21 in the second half) (Defeated Hartford, 2-1)
C Ben Rice: 0-for-4, K
No home run tonight? Disappointing (yes, I am kidding – sheesh)
DH Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-4, K
If you read this space enough, you already know that I am not concerned at all about Ramirez struggling here. They have been aggressive with him in his first taste of full-season ball and perhaps he has run into a wall. Or, maybe he has a hot month coming up to close the season. Who knows? The kid is a 21-year-old catcher – these types don’t typically fly through the minors like this. PATIENCE!
LF Elijah Dunham: 2-for-3, HR (9), RBI, RS, BB, SB (16)
His home run to lead off the 9th inning tied the game. Between here and Scranton, Dunham has 21 doubles, 15 homers, and 28 stolen bases.
2B Anthony Seigler: 0-for-3, RS, BB, K
RF Aaron Palensky: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K
1B Mickey Gasper: 1-for-3, BB, K
CF Jeisson Rosario: 1-for-3, RBI, K
Walk-off RBI single in the 9th.
SS Max Burt: 1-for-2
3B Eduardo Torrealba: 0-for-2
RHP Richard Fitts: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K (101 pitches)
Fitts is a bulldog. His ERA falls to 3.16 in 131 IP (110 H, 47 R, 46 ER, 18 HR, 34 BB, 139 K). His August line is insane: 24.1 IP, 14 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 BB, 21 K. He goes deep into most games, so it is also impressive that he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game since May 10th. After that game ended, his ERA was 6.07. A remarkable year for someone I think can be an innings-eating #3-#4 guy in MLB. The issue you hear about is that his command sometimes fails him inside the strike zone. That can certainly be developed.
RHP Jesus Liranzo: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
RHP Bailey Dees: (W, 1-1) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Since promotion: 11.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 6 BB, 12 K. Overall, he owns a 71/21 K/BB over 53 innings pitched. When I say that the Yankees can afford to trade a few of their MLB relievers, it is because of relievers like Dees, Danny Watson, and Jack Neely at this level + several others at other levels. They have a pipeline of potential.
Hudson Valley (64-53; 25-26 in the second half) (Lost to Aberdeen, 2-1)
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, K, CS (9)
Jones increases his hitting streak to five (7-for-20).
RF Anthony Hall: 0-for-3, BB, K
2B Jared Serna: 1-for-4
Overall, between here and Tampa, he is at .281/.350/.468 in 506 plate appearances. The power hasn’t shown up yet at this level, but I think it will.
C Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-4, K
SS Alexander Vargas: 2-for-4, 2B (15), RS
DH Antonio Gomez: 1-for-4, 2B (16), RBI, SB (1)
Gomez stole five bases in 2021, but that has been the extent of his base-stealing prowess. Before all these other catchers started emerging, Gomez looked like the future guy. Defensively, he may still grade better than most of them.
3B Ben Cowles: 0-for-2, BB, 2 K
Cowles has a 36-game on-base streak (thanks to the Hudson Valley Renegades official Twitter account – I hadn’t picked up on this).
1B Rafael Flores: 1-for-3, K
LF Jared Wegner: 0-for-3, K
LHP Brock Selvidge: (L, 2-1) 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, HR
Between here and Tampa: 3.49 ERA in 111 IP (100 H, 49 R, 43 ER, 5 HR, 30 BB, 125 K). In 2022, Selvidge walked 3.59 hitters per nine innings. This season, the number is 2.43. Major improvement there. Furthermore, he has allowed only seven home runs in 157.1 career innings. That number could go up as he moves up the chain, but it is encouraging. Oh, and he is only 20 (21 in four days)
RHP Cole Ayers: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
RHP Luis Velasquez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Since promotion: 1.99 ERA (31.2 IP, 18 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 18 BB, 36 K).
Tampa (57-60; 26-25 in the second half) (Defeated Palm Beach, 8-7, in ten innings)
SS Brenny Escanio: 1-for-5
Roc Riggio was in the original lineup but was pulled late. Hopefully, it is something minor in nature.
3B Kiko Romero: 0-for-5, 3 K
DH Omar Martinez: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 RS, BB
.263/.376/.471 in 396 PA with 17 homers and 69 RBI. Martinez has done enough to earn a promotion and maybe he’ll get some time up in Hudson Valley in September/playoffs.
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, RS, 2 BB
.294/.422/.353 in 64 PA (12 walks, 14 K). Moylan is doing what you want to see college bats do in their first taste of professional ball.
CF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, HBP, K, SB (2)
RF Garrett Martin: 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
LF Tayler Aguilar: 0-for-5, 2 K
2B Jose Colmenares: 1-for-3, 2 RS, HBP
C Manuel Palencia: 2-for-4, 2 RS
I said a few weeks ago that I don’t know much about him, and that hasn’t changed. That said, he is 9-for-22 at this level with only one strikeout. He is still looking for his first extra-base hit. Maybe I should do some reading…
RHP Sean Hermann: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Between here and Hudson Valley: 5.29 ERA (98.2 IP, 110 H, 68 R, 58 ER, 9 HR, 44 BB, 83 K). Hermann is even younger than Selvidge (won’t be 21 until next June), so keep that in mind.
RHP Alex Bustamante: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Adam Stone: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Montana Semmel: (W, 3-1) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
At this level: 15 IP, 18 H, 12 R, 8 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, 15 K
FCL Yankees (35-22; 1-0 in the playoffs) (Defeated the Pirates, 7-6, in a sudden death game. They move on to meet the Braves in a 3-game series for the championship. The Yankees are defending their title from 2022)
2B Keiner Delgado: 2-for-4, 2B (1), RBI, RS, BB, K
Delgado hit 12 doubles in 49 games during the regular season. I would be stunned if he doesn’t get to Tampa next week.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
No complaints about his small sample size.
1B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS, 2 K
Jasso’s 2-out, 2-run HR in the bottom of the 6th turned a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead.
CF Willy Montero: 1-for-4, RS, BB
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, HBP
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 4-for-5, 2 RBI, RS
Tejeda had one 4-hit game in the regular season as well. He drove in the deciding 7th run.
RF John Cruz: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
3B Hans Montero: 0-for-4, 2 K
C Edinson Duran: 0-for-2, BB, HBP
RHP Luis Serna: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Serna struck out the side in the second. In the third, sloppy play (including his own error on a pickoff attempt) turned out to be his downfall.
LHP Allen Facundo: (W, 1-0) 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Facundo did a fabulous job calming this game down.
RHP Jackson Fristoe: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR
LHP Miguel Pozo (S, 1): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Pozo picks a good time to pick up his first professional save.
DSL Yankees (33-19)
Their season is over, as they missed the playoffs by a half-game.
DSL Bombers (27-26)
Their season is over.