Yankees MILB 8/27: Spencer Jones: 2 Hits in Somerset Debut

News:

SS George Lombard Jr., 1B/3B Dylan Jasso, and OF Jackson Castillo were all moved up to Low-A Tampa after the FCL season concluded yesterday. All three were in today’s lineup.

Lombard (18) was the Yankees’ first-round pick in the 2023 draft while Jasso (20-year-old right-handed bat) and Castillo (20-year-old left-handed bat) both were signed as undrafted free agents after the draft.

“Is the Lombard promotion aggressive for the Yankees?” That question is impossible to answer. The most recent direct comparison (Anthony Volpe2019) played under a different system. He never played in the GCL (now FCL), instead going straight to short-season Pulaski after being drafted. We’ll never know what the exact plans for him were because he came down with an illness that wiped out his season after 34 games.

Jasso and Castillo are college kids – one should never be surprised to see college bats making their way to a full-season league quickly. Many start there.

Scranton (63-61; 29-21 in the second half) (Defeated Lehigh Valley, 6-4. The Railriders took six out of seven in this series)

Up to the second second-half title chase:
Worcester: 31-19
Durham: 29-21 (game not yet completed)
Scranton: 29-21
Lehigh Valley: 29-22

RF Estevan Florial: 2-for-4, 2B (19), RBI, RS, SB (21)
Florial is a double away from a 20/20/20 season. He is hitting .290/.391/.561 in 422 PA.
LF Jasson Dominguez2-for-3, 3B (1), 2 RBI, RS, BB, K
Dominguez is 11-for-23 (.478/1.023 OPS) since his promotion with two doubles, one triple, and ten runs batted in. What, no home runs? He is right in the middle of the organization’s RBI title race, as he is up to 76 (Andres Chaparro leads with 77. Jared Serna also has 76). His triple slash now sits at .266/.376/.426. Remember when he was hitting under .200? It really wasn’t all that long ago. Yeah, a 20-year-old doing this in the upper minors deserves a ranking in the 80s, Pipeline. 
C Austin Wells1-for-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, RS, K
Wells has eight doubles, five home runs, and 19 RBI in 23 August games. He is also in the middle of the RBI race, as he is up to 72 in 94 games.
3B Andres Chaparro0-for-4, K
1B Carlos Narvaez0-for-4, K
DH Franchy Cordero0-for-3, RS, HBP, 2 K
2B Jamie Westbrook0-for-2, RS, BB
CF Brandon Lockridge0-for-2, SAC, K
Small ball Lockridge! He is hitting .300/.371/.425 in 283 PA between here and Somerset with 34 stolen bases in 38 attempts.
SS Jesus Bastidas1-for-3, RBI, RS, K, SB (8)

RHP Clayton Beeter5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, HR
Beeter hit 96.1 MPH today. Breakdown: 66% 4-seam; 31% slider; 2% curve; 1% changeup. At this level: 5.32 ERA (45.2 IP, 40 H, 28 R, 27 ER, 11 HR, 27 BB, 55 K). Overall, Beeter has a 131/58 K/BB over 106.1 innings.
LHP Nick Ramirez: (W, 1-0)  1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Matt Krook1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Ron Marinaccio: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, HR
RHP Greg Weissert (S, 10): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Somerset (72-47; 30-21 in the second half) (Defeated Hartford, 7-6)

SS Caleb Durbin: 2-for-5, RS, SB (19)
The injury didn’t slow him down. Durbin is 11-for-33 (.333) since returning with two walks, only one strikeout, and five stolen bases.  His season numbers between here and Hudson Valley: .298/.393/.399 in 252 PA (11 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 42 R, 25 BB, 16 K (6.3%), 34-for-39 SB)
1B Ben Rice1-for-5, HR (12), RBI, RS, K
Rice has 12 home runs in 32 games since his promotion (.326/.389/.674 in 144 insane plate appearances)
CF Spencer Jones2-for-4, RS
Jones starts his Double-A journey with a multi-hit game. He has 27 multi-hit games down in Hudson Valley (100 games)
C Agustin Ramirez2-for-3, 2B (3), RBI, BB, SB (2)
Back-to-back multi-hit games for Ramirez, who is now 17-for-74 (.230) with three doubles and two home runs since his promotion. Overall, he is at .284/.382/.484 in 435 PA with 20 doubles, 18 HR, 67 RBI, 67 runs, 58 walks, 71 strikeouts, and 11 stolen bases.
RF Elijah Dunham0-for-4
DH Josh Breaux1-for-4, RS
LF Grant Richardson: 2-for-4, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 RS
Richardson has homered in back-to-back games and has 15 home runs overall between here and Hudson Valley.
2B Mickey Gasper: 2-for-3, 2B (5), RS, BB
3B Eduardo Torrealba0-for-4, K

RHP Blane Abeyta5 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Alex Mauricio0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Danny Watson1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Since promotion: 1.41 ERA in 32 IP (16 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 HR, 16 BB, 38 K). In 117.1 career innings, Watson has allowed only 76 hits while striking out 145. He will allow his share of walks but the overall profile is a dominant one.
RHP Jesus Liranzo: (W, 3-1) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Bailey Dees: (S, 1) 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Since promotion: 12 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 6 BB, 13 K. In 113 career innings, Dees has allowed only 69 hits while striking out 147 (48 walks). There are some fun relievers in the minors who are getting closer to their big-league dreams.

Hudson Valley (66-54; 27-27 in the second half) (Lost to Aberdeen, 4-2. Poor Renegades have lost most of the players who helped them earn a playoff berth in the first half. Life as a High-A affiliate!)

SS Ben Cowles0-for-3, HBP, 2 K
The hard way to increase your on-base streak to 38.
DH Antonio Gomez0-for-4, 2 K
1B Jesus Rodriguez1-for-3, BB, CS (1)
LF Christopher Familia0-for-4, K
RF Jared Wegner1-for-3, BB, 2 K
Wegner is 8-for-30 at this level with six walks. 
3B Marcos Cabrera1-for-4, K, CS (2)
2B Luis Santos0-for-3
CF Kyle Battle0-for-1, RS, 2 BB, SB (2)
Battle is only 1-for-24 this season, which has (obviously) been interrupted by injury. He has speed to kill (20 SB in 51 games in 2022) but the rest of the game hasn’t yet developed.
C Juan Crisp1-for-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, RS
Crisp started in the system back in 2018, and this is his 98th career game. His last home run came exactly four years ago: 8/27/2019.

RHP Baron Stuart: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
At this level: 3.54 ERA in 28 IP (21 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 2 HR, 14 BB, 20 K)
LHP Clay Aguilar2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
2.65 ERA in 37.1 IP (27 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 2 HR, 17 BB, 55 K)
RHP Luis Velasquez (L, 3-2): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR

Tampa (57-63; 26-28 in the second half) (Lost to Palm Beach, 12-1)

2B Roc Riggio0-for-4, BB
At this level: 9-for-45 (.200/.429/.222) with a double, 17 walks, and 15 strikeouts.
SS George Lombard, Jr.: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
Lombard’s first career hitless game – but at least he got on base!
C Omar Martinez0-for-4, 3 K
LF Jackson Castillo0-for-4, 2 K
1B Dylan Jasso0-for-4
3B Kiko Romero1-for-3, 2B (4), BB, K
.200/.326/.300 in 89 PA with four doubles, a triple, and a home run. 
DH Brenny Escanio: 1-for-2, 2 BB, K, SB (20)
.223/.337/.290 in 449 PA with 20 stolen bases in 26 attempts. He has a 14.7% BB and 25.4% K.
CF Nelson Medina: 1-for-2, RS, BB, K, SB (8)
  CF Daury Arias0-for-1, K
RF Cole Gabrielson1-for-4, 2B (3), RBI, K
At this level: 9-for-51 (.176/.250/.275) with three doubles and a triple. 

RHP Cam Schlittler: (L, 0-2) 4 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Talk about an undeserved loss in a game like this! That’s baseball, Suzyn. At this level: 5.21 ERA in 19 IP (23 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 7 BB, 20 K)
RHP Nolberto Henriquez1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Luis Arejula: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Alex Bustamante: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Adam Stone0 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, HR
RHP Ocean Gabonia2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
5.06 ERA (48 IP, 44 H, 33 R, 27 ER, 4 HR, 26 BB, 43 K)

FCL Yankees (35-22; 1-2 in the playoffs)

They lost to the Braves in the championship series. Their season is over.

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.