Yankees MILB 9/20: Drew Thorpe Wins Player of the Year

News:

C Rodolfo Duran was placed on the 7-day injured list today. Meanwhile, the Railriders added a couple of bodies, bringing up OF Kyle Battle and IF Ben Cowles from Hudson Valley. The Renegades’ season ended last night.

The 23-year-old Cowles hit .254/.356/.393 (109 wRC+) in 444 plate appearances in High-A.He was 23-for-27 in the stolen base department while playing second base and shortstop. The Yankees drafted him in the 10th round in the 2021 draft out of Maryland.

Battle has played in only 15 games this season, going 3-for-34 with a home run.

Baseball America named RHP Drew Thorpe as the Yankees Minor League Player of the Year. Thorpe (22) pitched to a 2.52 ERA (3.05 FIP) over 139.1 innings with a 34% K and 7.1% BB. He is the leader in all of MILB with 182 strikeouts and 26.9% K-BB%. His season ended early due to an injury to his non-throwing arm. He will receive a spring training invite in 2024 and should make his debut at some point during the season. There is no reason to hold him back based on his Rule 5 status (he isn’t eligible until after the 2025 season). If he is still in the minors at that point, something went wrong.

Scranton (71-73; 37-33 in the second half) (Lost to Syracuse, 14-3)

C Carlos Narvaez1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
RF Franchy Cordero0-for-3, BB
  RF Kyle Battle0-for-0, BB
Battle earns himself a walk in his first Triple-A plate appearance.
2B Jamie Westbrook0-for-5
1B Andres Chaparro0-for-4, K
3B Jake Lamb1-for-4, RS
DH Josh Breaux0-for-4, 2 K
LF Aaron Palensky1-for-3, 2B (1), RS, BB, 2 K
Palensky has 20 doubles, 21 HR, and 22 SB between Hudson Valley, Somerset, and Scranton. He is 3-for-15 since his promotion with a double, home run, and five walks.
SS Wilmer Difo: 2-for-4, 2B (10), RBI, RS, K
CF Nelson Medina1-for-4, RBI

RHP Zac Houston1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, HR
A spot start for the 28-year-old. He owns a 4.78 ERA for Scranton with a 44/15 K/BB over 26.1 IP. 
RHP Aaron McGarity: (L, 6-4)  2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Jesus Liranzo2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
The 28-year-old can dial it up (hit 98.7 MPH on the gun tonight; averaged 96.4 MPH). If you throw hard, you will always get a look. However, Liranzo has yet to make his MLB debut, mostly because his walk rates are rather extreme.
LHP Clay Aguilar: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Michael Gomez: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Ron Marinaccio: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
It’s been a rather frustrating season for Marinaccio, who pitched to a 2.05 ERA (3.20 FIP) in 40 games for the Yankees in 2022. Walks and the gopher ball (a lethal combination) hurt him in 2023. We’ll see if he can find a way to rebound next year.
RHP Jesus Bastidas0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
The utility infielder makes his second appearance on the hill.

Somerset (84-53; 42-27 in the second half) 

The Patriots currently trail Binghamton in their best-of-three series, 1-0. The series continues on Thursday.

Hudson Valley (70-62; 31-35 in the second half) 

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

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. They missed the playoffs by a half-game.

DSL Bombers (27-26)

Their season is over.