Yankees MILB 4/13: Agustin Ramirez: 6th HR in 7 Games

News:

LHP Josh Maciejewski was designated for assignment by the Yankees. He threw a scoreless inning in his MLB debut a few nights ago.

Unfortunately, this is how baseball works. However, it isn’t all bad for him. If someone claims him, he sticks to a 40-man roster. If not, he goes to Scranton for depth.

The Yankees added Kevin Smith to the MLB roster today. Smith, who replaces the injured Jon Berti, is a .173/.215/.301 career hitter in 333 plate appearances. He is mostly a shortstop/third baseman.

So far this season, the Yankees haven’t shown much faith in Oswaldo Cabrera against LHP. That will need to change as they can’t count on Smith or Jahmai Jones to provide anything offensively. While there is talk that DJ LeMahieu may be back soon, we’ll believe that when he is on the field.

Scranton (9-4) (Defeated Norfolk, 3-0. Even without Jackson Holliday, this lineup is dangerous. Scranton has held them to 12 runs in five games. The Railriders are 5-0 in those games)

CF Brandon Lockridge0-for-3, CS (1), BB, K
DH Caleb Durbin0-for-4
Durbin has run into a little slump (2-for-16).  His strikeout rate has fallen below 5% (4.9).
LF Everson Pereira0-for-4, 4 K
Pereira has been hitting better lately but has an unsightly 36.2% K.
C Carlos Narvaez1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
Power and walks define his offensive game.
1B Jose Rojas1-for-2, 2 BB, K
SS Jeter Downs1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
11-for-34 (.324). 
RF Luis Gonzalez1-for-4, 3 K
3B Jordan Groshans0-for-4
2B Josh VanMeter1-for-3, HR (2), RBI, RS, 2 K

RHP Clayton Beeter: (W, 1-0)  5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K
An impressive night for Beeter. The Yankees could have gone with him over Cody Poteet but they likely want Beeter to work down here. There is nothing wrong with that. Once again, he was primarily 4-seam (66%)-slider (28%) while mixing in a handful of changeups. He peaked at 95.7 MPH.
RHP Matt Givin: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
The Yankees signed Givin to a minor league contract last August. This is the 24-year-old’s organizational debut (he never pitched above High-A while in the Marlins organization).
RHP Jake Cousins (S, 2): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K


Somerset (4-4) (Swept a doubleheader up in New Hampshire)

Game 1 (Won, 10-2)

DH Spencer Jones: 2-for-3, 2B (1), RBI, 3 RS, BB
Jones finally makes his 2024 debut. One of the Yankees’ top prospects (he could be #1 based on who you ask), Jones went 8-for-18 with two doubles and a homer during spring training.
1B T.J. Rumfield2-for-4, RBI, RS
7-for-23 (.304) with a double, six walks, and four strikeouts.
SS Ben Cowles0-for-2, RS, 2 BB, K
C J.C. Escarra0-for-2, SF, 2 RBI, BB
CF Grant Richardson0-for-4
RF Jared Wegner1-for-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, RS, K
Back-to-back games with a home run.
2B Anthony Seigler1-for-4, RS, K
LF Aaron Palensky2-for-3, 2 2B (3), RS, BB, K
5-for-17 with three doubles, five walks, and five strikeouts.
3B Max Burt1-for-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 RS, SB (1), K
Burt reached double digits in home runs and stolen bases in 2022 and 2023.

RHP Bailey Dees4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 6 K
Bees tosses 81 pitches in his second start of the season. He is converting from the bullpen, so it’s a process.
RHP Kevin Stevens (W, 1-0): 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Game 2 (Won, 3-1)

DH Ben Rice1-for-4
.233/.324/.333 in 34 PA. He hit a leadoff HR on Opening Day and hasn’t homered since. Is that a problem? No. It’s the quirks of baseball.
C Agustin Ramirez2-for-4, HR (6), RBI, RS
He has homered in six of his seven games this season (and has a 7-game hitting streak that is eight if you go back to 2023). He is hitting .290/.333/.871 in 33 PA.
3B Ben Cowles2-for-3, 2B (4), 2 RS, HBP
Cowles is hitting .407/.500/.556 in 32 PA. He has hit safely in seven of his eight games.
RF J.C. Escarra1-for-4, 2B (2), RBI, K
Catcher in Game 1, RF in Game 2. That is how a player can keep himself employed.
CF Grant Richardson0-for-4, 4 K
2B Anthony Seigler1-for-3, RBI, 2 K
LF Jared Wegner1-for-3, SB (2)
Wegner had a solid senior season for Arkansas (.312/.457/.674 with 15 home runs), enough for the Yankees to draft him. While he did play a little CF in college, he likely sticks to the corner OF spots in the pros.
1B Spencer Henson0-for-3
Like Jones, this is Henson’s 2024 debut. Last season, for Hudson Valley, the 26-year-old hit .252/.327/.453 with 14 home runs in 339 plate appearances. 
SS Max Burt0-for-2, BB, K

RHP Trystan Vrieling: (W, 2-0) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
First two professional starts: 11 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 12 K. Is he this year’s Drew Thorpe? Way too early for that, but you have to be encouraged when a kid is thrown straight into the Double-A fire without any other minor league experience and performs.
RHP Carlos Gomez (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K


Hudson Valley (4-2) (Defeated Rome, 3-0)

2B Jared Serna1-for-5, RS, K
.263/.391/.579 in 23 PA with four walks and three strikeouts. 
3B Jesus Rodriguez0-for-4
I have mentioned his versatility in the past. In his six starts this year, he has played third base three times, catcher twice, and left field once. Last year, he played the same positions along with time at first base.
DH Omar Martinez1-for-4, 3B (1), RBI, K
7-for-21 with a triple, home run, two walks, and four strikeouts. There is nice catching depth in the system.
RF Garrett Martin1-for-3, RS, SB (1), HBP
Martin’s first professional stolen base.
C Rafael Flores2-for-4, RS, K
7-for-20 with two doubles and a homer. He will split time between catching and first base.
1B Kiko Romero0-for-2, 2 BB, 2K
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-4, RBI, K
CF Nelson Medina0-for-4, 4 K
LF Cole Gabrielson0-for-3, BB, K

RHP Sebastian Keane4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
Keane was used primarily as a reliever during his 2023 debut season. However, he had plenty of experience as a starter in college. They didn’t push him beyond 72 pitches, but this effort was impressive.
RHP Trent Sellers (W, 2-0): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 12 K. I would consider this a nice start to his career.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert (S, 2): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K


Tampa (2-6) (Defeated Dunedin, 8-7, in ten innings)

SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 SB (5), 2 BB, 3 K
Lombard Jr. has a silly 35% BB rate. Small sample sizes rule. The single was a 107.2 MPH bullet that brought in the winning run in the 10th.
DH Roderick Arias: 2-for-5, 2 2B (3), RS, CS (2), 2 K
Arias is hitting .212 with a .752 OPS. Five of his seven hits have gone for extra bases (3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR). 
3B Dylan Jasso1-for-2, RS, 3 BB
7-for-21 with six walks. Many undrafted free agents are on the older side, but Jasso is only 21.
1B Coby Morales0-for-4, BB, K
CF Willy Montero1-for-5, RBI, 2 K
Montero was second to teammate John Cruz (no longer in the system) with his 43 RBI in the FCL last year. He is off to a slow start here (3-for-26).
RF Daury Arias0-for-4, RS, BB, 2 K
C Tomas Frick1-for-4, 2B (1), RBI, RS, BB, K
  PR Enmanuel Tejeda0-for-0, RS
LF Tayler Aguilar1-for-2, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 RS, SB (2), 3 BB, K
It has been a frustrating few years for Aguilar, so it’s nice to see him put up this effort.
2B Brenny Escanio0-for-4, RS, BB, K

RHP Ryan Harvey1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Harvey spent time on the injured list late last season, so I assume they are bringing him back slowly.
RHP Kris Bow2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
The results aren’t what he wants, but he did touch 97 MPH (he averaged 94). He has control issues (understatement) that he will need to clean up.
RHP Osiel Rodriguez: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 K
You can work with someone who flashes mid-90s 4-seamers and sinkers (he featured a 5-pitch mix tonight).
RHP Aaron Nixon2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Huey Morrill: (W, 2-0)  1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K


FCL (0-0)

The season starts on 5/4.


DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!