News:
The Yankees announced that RHP Drew Thorpe (who should be the organization’s Pitcher of the Year) has been placed on the 7-day IL. No matter how minor the injury may be, he’s done for the year. They aren’t going to push him for the Double-A playoffs.
In his first professional season, Thorpe was dominant down in Hudson Valley, pitching to a 2.81 ERA (3.30 FIP) over 109 innings with a 32.4% K and 7.7% BB. That was more than enough to earn a promotion to Somerset, where he was more dominant. In five starts for the Patriots, he pitched to a 1.48 ERA (2.15 FIP) over 30.1 IP with a 40% K and 4.5% BB. Thorpe isn’t Rule 5 eligible until after the 2025 season, but that won’t stop the Yankees from using him in 2024 once he is ready.
RHP Danny Watson, one of their best relief prospects, was also placed on the IL. In 45 games between Hudson Valley and Somerset, Watson pitched to a 1.58 ERA over 62.2 IP with a 32.7% K and 10.0% BB. He held opponents to a .138 BAA. Hopefully, the injury is minor because he should be in the 2024 bullpen mix at some point. He isn’t Rule 5 eligible until after the 2024 season.
OF Nelson Medina was promoted from Tampa all the way up to Scranton today. Don’t read a lot into that – he is not likely to be playing in Scranton to start 2024. Medina, soon to be 23, hit .276/.380/.479 in 192 PA for Tampa with six home runs and 28 runs batted in. I can’t tell you how the decision-making process works (Elijah Dunham would have been a good choice to bring back to Scranton), but this is usually a move to get a warm body onto the roster. The Railriders recently lost Estevan Florial to MLB promotion after losing Jasson Dominguez and Everson Pereira.
The Somerset Patriots received some pitching from Hudson Valley today, as LHP Clay Aguilar, RHP Harrison Cohen, RHP Zach Messinger, and RHP Anderson Munoz are now on the roster. This is a good indication that these four pitchers are scheduled to start 2024 at this level. Munoz started 2023 at Somerset before an injury sidelined him for a significant amount of time. The Yankees aren’t loaded with LHP, so there is an opportunity for Aguilar to make some noise.
With Tampa’s season over, Hudson Valley received some players for the playoffs (which started tonight):
RHP Luis Arejula
RHP Jackson Fristoe
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert
RHP Nolberto Henriquez
RHP Sebastian Keane
RHP Matt Keating
Just like with the kids promoted to Somerset, this is a good indicator that at least some of these pitchers will begin 2024 in Hudson Valley.
Scranton (68-68; 34-28 in the second half) (Defeated Buffalo, 4-1)
CF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-2, HBP, K
PR-CF Nelson Medina: 0-for-1, RS, K
C Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-4, 2B (11), RBI, 2 K
.252/.379/.402 in 301 plate appearances since his promotion. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees look for a trade partner before they need to submit their 40-man roster this winter.
RF Franchy Cordero: 2-for-2, RS, 2 BB, SB (7)
1B Andres Chaparro: 1-for-4, 2 K
3B Jamie Westbrook: 1-for-4, RBI, K
DH Jake Lamb: 1-for-4, 2 RBI
LF Michael Hermosillo: 0-for-3, K
SS Jesus Bastidas: 0-for-2, BB
2B Wilmer Difo: 1-for-2, RS, BB
RHP Will Warren: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
At this level: 3.91 ERA (89.2 IP, 76 H, 49 R, 39 ER, 15 HR, 43 BB, 93 K). Entering today, the league ERA was 5.53 – which should show you just how well Warren has been pitching lately.
RHP Zac Houston: (W, 2-1) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Aaron McGarity: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Michael Gomez (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
5.40 ERA (61.2 IP, 59 H, 45 R, 37 ER, 6 HR, 40 BB, 54 K)
Somerset (80-52; 38-26 in the second half) (Defeated New Hampshire, 3-2)
SS Trey Sweeney: 1-for-5, RS
Since coming off of the IL: 3-for-20 with three walks and four strikeouts. Overall, he is hitting .245 with a .766 OPS (18 doubles, 2 triples, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 63 R, 62 BB, 87 K, 17-for-24 SB)
C Ben Rice: 0-for-3, RS, BB
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-3, RBI, BB, K
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-4, 3 K
LF Elijah Dunham: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, K
DH Jeisson Rosario: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
2B Anthony Seigler: 0-for-3, BB, SB (7)
It is too bad that the injury bug hit Seigler so hard – he is an athletic kid who switch hits and can take a walk. The rest of his offensive game simply hasn’t been there.
RF Grant Richardson: 1-for-3, BB, K, 2 SB (4)
Richardson is 18-for-21 stealing bases between here and Hudson Valley. He is 13-for-38 since his promotion with three home runs.
3B Max Burt: 1-for-4, RS, K, SB (18)
RHP Matt Sauer: (W, 5-4) 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, HR
3.63 ERA (62 IP, 47 H, 26 R, 25 ER, 10 HR, 27 BB, 74 K). Does he survive the Rule 5 draft again?
RHP Carlos Gomez: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Tanner Myatt: (S, 6) 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
2.80 ERA (54.2 IP, 29 H, 20 R, 17 ER, 3 HR, 38 BB, 67 K). As usual, Myatt is tough to hit but walks too many hitters.
Hudson Valley (70-62; 31-35 in the second half) (Lost to Jersey Shore, 2-1. They fall behind in the best-of-3 series, 1-0. The final two games will be at home)
RF Anthony Hall: 0-for-5, 2 K
SS Jared Serna: 0-for-4, 2 K
DH Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-4
Of course, Rodriguez would compile a multi-hit game in Game 1. During the regular season, between here and Tampa, he finished at .310/.399/.450 in 460 PA (20 doubles, 4 triples, 9 HR, 62 RBI, 66 R, 55 BB, 70 K, 21-for-25 SB)
LF Christopher Familia: 2-for-4, 2B (1), K
A multi-hit game for Familia. It will be interesting to see what he does in 2024 after a power surge in 2023.
3B Ben Cowles: 0-for-3, BB
2B Alexander Vargas: 1-for-2, 3B (1), RS, 2 BB
Vargas had an organization-leading six triples during the regular season.
C Rafael Flores: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
1B Spencer Henson: 0-for-3, BB
CF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-4, K
RHP Yorlin Calderon: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
A sparkling performance in Game 1 for Calderon, who entered this game with two High-A starts to his name.
LHP Joel Valdez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Cole Ayers: (L, 0-1) 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, HR
Tampa (61-69; 30-34 in the second half)
Their season is over.
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.