Yankees MILB 9/21: Richard Fitts Finishes Season with a Strong Effort

News:

Nothing.

Scranton (71-74; 37-34 in the second half) (Lost to Syracuse, 5-4)

2B Wilmer Difo: 1-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K, SB (23)
3B Ben Cowles1-for-5, 4 K
Cowles’ Triple-A debut.
C Carlos Narvaez0-for-2, 3 BB
1B Andres Chaparro: 1-for-5, RBI, RS, 3 K
Chaparro now has 87 RBI. It is the most RBI in the organization since Oswaldo Cabrera drove home 89 in 2021 (I never said it was a long time ago)
DH Josh Breaux1-for-2, K
He left the game after an “injury delay.”
  PH-DH Edinson Duran0-for-2, K
Duran’s Triple-A debut.
SS Jesus Bastidas2-for-4, HR (11), RBI, RS, 2 K
RF Aaron Palensky: 1-for-4, HR (2), RBI, RS, K, CS (2)
Palensky’s 22nd HR between here, Somerset, and Hudson Valley. 
CF Nelson Medina0-for-3, 2 K
LF Kyle Battle: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K, SB (1)
Battle’s first Triple-A hit.

RHP Mitch Spence7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HR
Spence finishes the season with a 4.47 ERA in 163 innings (the most in all of MILB – not just the Yankees organization!). He allowed 162 hits while walking 53 and striking out 153. Spence is already Rule 5 eligible – not sure if he is eligible for MILB free agency.
RHP Zach Greene: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Matt Bowman (L, 4-1) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Somerset (84-53; 42-27 in the second half) (Lost to Binghamton, 2-0. Their big season comes to an end as the Rumble Ponies sweep them in two games. Sometimes, the best team simply doesn’t win, especially in the minor leagues, where rosters fluctuate all year)

SS Trey Sweeney0-for-3, BB, K
Sweeney likely begins 2024 in Scranton. I don’t like prospects staying there for long, so we’ll see how he does in the first few months.
C Ben Rice0-for-4
Rice doesn’t really need to go to Triple-A in 2024, but the question is where he fits into the Yankees’ plan. He can catch and play first base. Furthermore, his swing looks perfect for the Yankee Stadium porch. For a team that lacks offense, you would think they could find a spot.
CF Spencer Jones0-for-4, K
Was Jones’ 2023 season a success? Between here and Hudson Valley, he hit .267/.336/.444 (113 wRC+) in 537 plate appearances with a 9.1% BB and 28.9% K. He was also 43-for-55 in the stolen base department. I would say this is an overall success with some room for improvement. That is a fair enough assessment.
DH Agustin Ramirez0-for-4, 4 K
There is no doubt that Ramirez will return to this level to start 2024. That is OK – it’s been a long season for the catcher and he likely ran into a wall late.
1B T.J. Rumfield1-for-3, K
His first half HR binge was fun – he couldn’t get it back post-injury. He should be the Scranton first baseman next year.
LF Elijah Dunham0-for-3, K
I don’t know where Dunham’s future lies – he probably isn’t protected from the Rule 5 this winter. Does another organization see value in his left-handed bat and solid ability to steal bases? We’ll find out.
3B Caleb Durbin1-for-3
Durbin is a unique prospect – not much power, but can play 2B/3B (and played a few games at SS) and has strong contact skills with speed to burn. Don’t sleep on him.
2B Mickey Gasper: 1-for-2, 2B (1), BB, CS (1)
RF Jeisson Rosario0-for-2, K
  PH-RF Grant Richardson: 0-for-1

RHP Richard Fitts: (L, 0-1)  6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, HR
Fitts is one of a few top prospects who spent all season at one level (that is not a bad thing if that level is Double-A!). Between the regular season and this playoff start, he pitched to a 3.46 ERA in 158.2 IP (136 H, 62 R, 61 ER, 23 HR, 44 BB, 171 K). The home runs are a bit high, and scouting reports indicate that sometimes he can have command issues inside the strike zone. That can be worked on with experience. He should firmly be in contention for some MLB innings in 2024.
RHP Bailey Dees1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Jack Neely: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Both Dees and Neely are arms to watch for call-ups in 2024. I don’t think either will start the season in the big league pen, but the talent is there to make it at some point (the same goes for Danny Watson, who missed the last several games of the season due to a not-so-bad injury)
RHP Tanner Myatt0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

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.