Yankees MILB 4/7: Caleb Durbin is on Fire!

News:

Spencer Jones continues to be out of action with his stiff neck. Get that man a sleep number bed and memory foam pillow.

Scranton (4-4) (Defeated Syracuse, 7-2)

2B Caleb Durbin: 2-for-2, 2 2B (4), SF, 4 RBI, RS, 2 SB (7), 2 BB
The Yankees received a player with legitimate MLB potential (perhaps as a super-utility type) for Lucas Luetge. Luetge is someone they revived after years of not pitching in MLB. He is now 13-for-28 (4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 6 R, 8 BB, 2 K, 7-for-7 SB)
CF Everson Pereira0-for-4, SB (1), HBP, 4 K
Pereira is 6-for-30 with a whopping 15 strikeouts.
DH Carlos Narvaez0-for-1, 3 BB
Narvaez is 3-for-20 but has 11 walks.
LF Jose Rojas0-for-4, BB, 2 K
C Luis Torrens1-for-4, 2B (1), RS, K
3B Kevin Smith1-for-3, 2 RS, HBP, K
SS Jeter Downs0-for-3, RS, HBP, K
6-for-19 with a triple and a homer.
RF Luis Gonzalez0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K
1B Jordan Groshans1-for-3, 2 RBI, RS, BB

RHP Cody Poteet4.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB,7 K
The 29-year-old is on the 40-man roster. If you like “kitchen sink” types, you will like him. He featured six pitches today, averaging 93 with his 4-seamer and 92.1 with his sinker. He allowed two homers in the fifth inning.
RHP Phil Bickford: (W, 1-0) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Alex Mauricio2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Mauricio was cutter-heavy today (57% of his 37 pitches). He also featured a 4-seamer and a slider.  The 27-year-old pitched to a 3.14 ERA and 45/19 K/BB in 48.2 innings for Somerset in 2023.
RHP Duane Underwood Jr.: (S, 1)  1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K


Somerset (2-1) (Shut down Richmond, 8-0)

DH Ben Rice2-for-4, RS, SB (1), BB, 2 K
Rice is 4-for-14 with a homer.
C Agustin Ramirez1-for-5, HR (3), 3 RBI, RS, 2 K
Ramirez has homered in three straight games to start his campaign. He is 4-for-14 with six RBI.
1B T.J. Rumfield0-for-1, RS, SB (1), 3 BB
2B Anthony Seigler0-for-3, RS, SB (1), BB
He has the athleticism to play an up-the-middle position. Can he stay healthy and hit a little? We’ll see.
LF Jared Wegner0-for-3, RS, K
CF Grant Richardson0-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K
SS Ben Cowles3-for-4, 2B (2), 3 RBI
Cowles was their 10th-round pick in the 2021 draft (Maryland). The Yankees have played him at 2B/SS/3B (plus two outs in left field)
RF Aaron Palensky0-for-2, RS, BB, HBP
3B Max Burt0-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K

RHP Trystan Vrieling: (W, 1-0) 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
This is his professional debut (yes, he was thrown right into the Double-A fire). He was drafted in the third round of the 2022 draft but missed the 2023 season. He did make five starts (10.2 innings) in the Arizona Fall League.
RHP Tanner Myatt2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Health and control have been issues for the 6’7″ Myatt, who has 232 strikeouts in 194 innings. 
LHP Ryan Anderson1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
The 6’6″ lefty pitched well last season (2.17 ERA in 37 games).
RHP Danny Watson1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Watson could make his MLB debut in 2024, even though he isn’t on the 40-man roster. He is a tall kid with a funky motion who pitched to a 1.58 ERA in 62.2 IP with an 82/25 K/BB in 2023.


Hudson Valley (2-1) (Shut down Bowling Green, 3-0)

2B Roc Riggio1-for-5, 2B (1), K
SS Jared Serna: 1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, 2 BB, K
After going 28 games without a home run at this level, he has homered in back-to-back games. 
DH Omar Martinez1-for-4, BB, K
LF Jesus Rodriguez1-for-4, RS, BB, K
1B Josh Moylan1-for-3, RS, BB, 2 K
RF Garrett Martin1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
C Rafael Flores1-for-4, K
3B Alexander Vargas0-for-2, SF, RBI, BB
CF Nelson Medina0-for-4, SB (1), 2 K

RHP Cam Schlittler: (W, 1-0) 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
The 6’6″ 23-year-old was drafted in the 7th round of the 2022 draft (Northeastern). He pitched to a 4.11 ERA and 50/21 K/BB over 46 innings last year (FCL/Tampa/Hudson Valley)
LHP Ben Shields2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Signed as a non-drafted free agent, this is the 25-year-old’s professional debut. I know nothing about him beyond the fact that he pitched for George Mason in 2023. The baseball-reference linker will take you to a pitcher from the early 1900s. That Shields went 4-0 with an 8.27 ERA in his brief career.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Gilbert was their 13th-round pick in the 2022 draft.


Tampa (1-2) (Lost to Fort Myers, 5-2)

SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-3, RS, SB (2), 2 BB
The 18-year-old is 1-for-11 but has drawn four walks and stolen a pair of bases. This is his first 2024 start at shortstop, as they switched Lombard and Arias today. We’ll see more of that.
2B Roderick Arias0-for-4, 3 K
Nobody said baseball is easy, teenager! He is 3-for-13 with a triple, a homer, and seven strikeouts. You should expect a mixed bag from a teenager making his full-season debut. The goal is for the good to outweigh the bad.
3B Enmanuel Tejeda1-for-4, RBI, RS, SB (2), K
Speaking of teenagers, Tejeda will play this entire year as a 19-year-old. He is 4-for-12 with four runs batted in.
LF Coby Morales: 0-for-4
1B Dylan Jasso1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI
CF Jackson Castillo0-for-2, SB (1), 2 BB, K
DH Willy Montero0-for-3, SB (2), BB, K
The 19-year-old is 2-for-10 with a double, two walks, and two stolen bases.
RF Tayler Aguilar: 1-for-3, 2B (1), SB (1), BB, K
C Tomas Frick1-for-3, BB
Drafted in the 15th round in the 2023 draft out of North Carolina, this represents his professional debut.

RHP Josh Grosz: (L, 0-1) 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
This is Grosz’s professional debut. The 21-year-old was drafted in the 11th round out of East Carolina. He throws a sinker/slider/change, a mix the Yankees like to work with.
RHP Yoljeldriz Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 0 K
RHP Ocean Gabonia1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
According to Savant, Gabonia used a 5-pitch mix among his 11 pitches. There could be an error in the tracking, of course. His fastball/sinker was in the lower 90s.
RHP Montana Semmel2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Semmell maxed out at 94.4 MPH, equally mixing his 4-seamer and slider. He had some long-term buzz about him when he was drafted out of high school in 2019 and is still young enough (22) to tap into that potential.


FCL (0-0)

The season starts on 5/4.


DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!