Yankees MILB 8/26: Jasson Dominguez…Again

News:

Two people independently contacted me tonight from Somerset, claiming that they spotted OF Spencer Jones in the dugout. Given Jones’ size, he is easy to spot, so I believe it to be true. Jones has not played the last two nights for Hudson Valley.

Assuming he isn’t there for a wedding (hey, you never know), this promotion would be earned. The strikeout rate needs to come down for him to reach his full potential, but I am not going to complain about a .268/.337/.450 (113 wRC+) line with 28 doubles, 13 homers, and 35 stolen bases. The strikeout percentage sits at 29% and he does need to get the ball in the air more (46% ground ball). To me, these numbers show that there is monster potential – look what he is doing as is. Now imagine more balls in the air and at least a slight drop in the strikeouts.

Scranton (62-61; 28-21 in the second half) (Swept a doubleheader against Lehigh Valley)

This is a big series against Lehigh Valley, one of the teams they are chasing for the second-half title.
Up to the second:
Worcester: 30-19
Durham: 30-20
Lehigh Valley: 29-21
Scranton: 28-21

Game 1 (Used a 7-run first inning to cruise to a 7-4 victory)

CF Estevan Florial2-for-3, RS, BB
LF Jasson Dominguez1-for-3, RBI, BB
This was the appetizer…
C Austin Wells2-for-4, 2B (10), RS
At this level: .263/.356/.456 in 132 PA with ten doubles, four homers, and 18 RBI. Overall, he is hitting .242/.335/.443 in 415 PA (24 doubles, 16 HR, 70 RBI, 45 R, 46 BB, 94 K). Today, Aaron Boone mentioned that Wells may see some reps at first base. The Yankees have yet to play him at any other position but catcher in the minors, despite concerns that he may not be able to stick there. The main reason for this is probably value – Wells as a catcher has more market value than Wells the first baseman. That said, it doesn’t harm his value at all to give him some work at first base. Some players are able to adapt quickly when presented a new position, so we’ll see what happens.
3B Andres Chaparro1-for-4, SB (4)
DH Franchy Cordero0-for-3, RS, BB, K
2B Jamie Westbrook1-for-3, HR (19), 4 RBI, RS, BB
Westbrook hits a grand slam. He ties his personal best for home runs in a season, set back in 2018.
1B Jake Lamb1-for-2, HR (4), RBI, RS, BB
RF Michael Hermosillo1-for-3, HR (12), RBI, RS, 2 K
Scranton hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the first inning.
SS Wilmer Difo1-for-3, RS

RHP Will Warren: (W, 6-4)  6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 3 HR
At this level: 4.82 ERA (71 IP, 68 H, 48 R, 38 ER, 15 HR, 36 BB, 74 K). His ERA is lower than the league average in this crazy league, so keep that in mind. Overall, Warren is 9-4 in 23 starts between here and Somerset with a 4.13 ERA in 100.1 IP (94 H, 58 R, 46 ER, 15 HR, 48 BB, 113 K)
RHP Zac Houston1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Game 2 (Won, 6-3)

DH Estevan Florial0-for-1, RBI, RS, 3 BB
.288/.390/.558 in 418 PA. He is only 7-for-35 in August, though he has drawn 11 walks.
CF Jasson Dominguez: 3-for-4, 2B (2), 3 RBI, 2 RS
…this was the main course. He is now 9-for-20 (.450) since his promotion with eight runs batted in and only one strikeout. This is exactly what the Yankees ordered. Overall, he is hitting .263/.374/.420 in 530 PA (21 doubles, 2 triples, 15 HR, 74 RBI, 86 R, 80 BB (15.1%), 131 K (24.7%), 38-for-46 SB). 
3B Andres Chaparro1-for-4, RBI, K
.246/.339/.461 in 496 PA (19 doubles, 2 triples, 23 HR, 77 RI, 71 R, 59 BB (11.9%), 107 K (21.6%), 4-for-4 SB). Chaparro is in the mix for the organization’s HR and RBI crowns (he leads in RBI).
RF Franchy Cordero2-for-4, 2 K
C Carlos Narvaez0-for-3, SF, RBI, 2 K
.252/.380/.416 in 321 PA. A fascinating Rule 5 case this winter. It is hard to give up catching depth – every team needs it, and you don’t even want to give up a potential backup catcher for free.
2B Jamie Westbrook1-for-2, 2 BB
1B Jake Lamb2-for-3, RS, BB
LF Brandon Lockridge0-for-3, RS, BB
SS Jesus Bastidas0-for-1, RS, 2 BB

RHP Randy Vasquez4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HR
Vasquez tossed only 63 pitches. He owns a 4.59 ERA at this level with a 96/40 K/BB over 80.1 innings. As I always say, once I see some success in MLB, I don’t pay quite as much attention to MILB numbers. The probability is high that the MLB coaching staff is asking him to work on specific things in the minors.
LHP Anthony Misiewicz (W, 3-0): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
RHP Zach McAllister1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR

Somerset (71-47; 29-21 in the second half) (Defeated Hartford, 3-1)

DH Caleb Durbin0-for-3, RS, BB, SB (18)
Durbin is up to 33 stolen bases in 38 attempts between here and Hudson Valley. He has accomplished that in 59 games.His up-to-the-minute K% is 6.5%. That is elite-level stuff.
C Ben Rice: 3-for-4, RBI, RS, SB (5)
Rice is 30-for-90 (.333) in August (6 doubles,1 triple, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 17 R, 8 BB, 16 K, 5-for-6 SB) and has four 3+ hit games this season. He isn’t typically frisky on the basepaths, but let him have his fun. 
1B Agustin Ramirez2-for-4, 2B (2), HR (2), 2 RBI, RS
Ramirez is 15-for-71 (.211/.606 OPS) since his promotion. Overall, he has 19 doubles, 18 homers, and 66 RBI in 100 games between here, Hudson Valley, and Tampa. There is nothing to worry about at all – he continues to make a lot of contact here and the results will follow.
RF Elijah Dunham0-for-4, 2 K
LF Aaron Palensky0-for-4, K
2B Anthony Seigler1-for-3, BB
CF Jeisson Rosario2-for-4, K
SS Max Burt1-for-3, K
3B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-3, 2 K

RHP Matt Sauer: (W, 3-3) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K
4.03 ERA (44.2 IP, 36 H, 21 R, 20 ER, 6 HR, 21 BB, 54 K)
RHP Tanner Myatt2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
At this level: 3.21 ERA (47.2 IP, 29 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 3 HR, 32 BB, 56 K)
RHP Jack Neely (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Since promotion: 11.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 15 K. Overall, he has an 89/19 K/BB over 60.1 IP.

Hudson Valley (66-53; 27-26 in the second half) (Defeated Aberdeen, 4-2)

SS Jared Serna1-for-5
Serna now has a 7-game hitting streak.
CF Anthony Hall1-for-3, RS, BB, K
Since promotion: 10-for-58 (.172) with five doubles, a homer, nine walks, and 22 strikeouts.
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-4, 2B (4), RBI, 2 K
Rodriguez is 19-for-55 (..345/.921 OPS) in 15 games since his promotion. He has four doubles, a homer, 11 RBI, nine walks, and 12 strikeouts.
DH Alexander Vargas0-for-4, 4 K
2B Ben Cowles0-for-3, RS, BB, K
RF Christopher Familia2-for-4, HR (10), RBI, RS
Familia continues to rake. He has 21 HR and 58 RBI in 59 games between here and Tampa. Over the last two years, he has 32 HR and 99 RBI in 116 games. In 38 games since his promotion, he is hitting .267/.344/.500 in 163 PA (4 doubles, 10 HR, 27 RBI, 29 R, 16 BB, 34 K). He will find himself in Somerset in 2024.
C Rafael Flores1-for-3, HR (6), RBI, RS, BB, 2 K
.262/.344/.363 in 392 PA (15 doubles, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 44 R, 43 BB, 101 K)
1B Spencer Henson1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
LF Kyle Battle0-for-3, BB, K

RHP Zach Messinger4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
4.29 ERA (92.1 IP, 78 H, 55 R, 44 ER, 13 HR, 48 BB, 111 K). The 23-year-old is doing a good enough job in his first full season of starting (he made 16 starts in his 31 appearances last year)
RHP Anderson Munoz: (W, 1-0)  1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Harrison Cohen: (S, 1) 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR
Following this game on GameDay, I got the feeling that Cohen (who tossed 36 pitches) was fighting his way through the 9th. Anyway, he has a 3.76 ERA in 38 IP at this level (29 H, 17 R, 16 ER, 4 HR, 17 BB, 48 K)

Tampa (57-62; 26-27 in the second half) 

They played two games against Palm Beach on Friday. No game today.

FCL Yankees (35-22; 1-2 in the playoffs) (Lost to the Braves, 9-1. The Braves take the championship series, 2-0, as the Yankees season comes to an end. Overall, this was a successful season in the FCL as many prospects performed more than well enough to earn a shot in Tampa. That could come next week or next season. I assume it will be next week for a few of them)

2B Keiner Delgado1-for-4
Delgado followed up his .293/.414/.485 regular season with a 4-for-12 (including two doubles) postseason.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4
Lombard hit safely in every game he played in (four regular season games, and three playoff games). Combined, he went 8-for-23 (.348) with a double, seven walks, and four strikeouts.
1B Dylan Jasso1-for-3, RS, BB
In 20 regular season/postseason games, Jasso went 26-for-72 with two home runs and 23 runs batted in. He walked 12 times and struck out six times. A candidate to go to Tampa next week.
CF Willy Montero2-for-4
Montero burst onto the scene last year and did not disappoint this year, hitting .331/.389/.436 in 203 PA while spending a lot of time in CF (27 starts in CF, 18 starts in RF). He followed that up with a 4-for-12 postseason. 
LF Jackson Castillo0-for-3, BB
3B Enmanuel Tejeda0-for-4
Tejeda was one of the most consistent players at this level. After hitting .307/.465/.458 in the regular season, he went 5-for-13 with three RBI in the postseason.
RF John Cruz0-for-4, K
Cruz went 1-for-9 in the postseason, but that doesn’t lessen his productive regular season.
DH Wilson Rodriguez0-for-3, 2 K
  PH Joel Mendez0-for-1, K
C Edinson Duran0-for-4

RHP Carlos Lagrange (L, 0-1): 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
The 6’7″ 20-year-old did enough in the rookie leagues this year to earn his shot at Low-A in 2024. 
LHP Edwar Polimir3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
The 22-year-old Polimir made his Low-A debut already (8/10) but it was only for a game.
RHP Jordy Luciano0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
LHP Pablo Mujica2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

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.