News:
OF Jasson Dominguez will miss at least eight weeks due to an oblique injury. That pushes his return to mid-August, where he will undoubtedly be rusty. He can still be one of the September call-ups, but we must be realistic about 2024 expectations. He hasn’t played much and the Yankees will likely be cautious. As I said last night, it isn’t quite a lost season but it isn’t a productive one for his development either.
Scranton (41-29) (Lost to Buffalo, 9-4)
CF Brandon Lockridge: 2-for-4, SB (22), RS, BB, K
With Dominguez and Everson Pereira out, the #5 outfield slot is there for the taking. Known for his speed and defense, he is hitting .274/.404/.363 in 151 PA with 22 stolen bases in 24 attempts.
2B Jorbit Vivas: 0-for-1, RS, 4 BB
With Scranton, Vivas has 19 walks in 21 games (98 PA; 19.4%)
SS Oswald Peraza: 2-for-4, RBI, HBP
Many hitters never figure out how to hit in MLB. We don’t know if that will be true for Peraza. However, I am shocked at how badly he is slumping in Scranton. Unless something is bothering him, he should be crushing this level. He is at .176/.317/.216.
C Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-4, HBP, K
Ramirez is off to a 1-for-9 start in Scranton. It was fun while it lasted…
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-4
DH Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-4, 2B (14), K
Narvaez continues to show off his pop (14 doubles, 7 HR in 57 games; .431 SLG).
RF Jose Rojas: 1-for-4, HR (14), RBI, RS, K
Rojas has 14 homers in 52 games. Impressive, but the 31-year-old owns a .188/.245/.339 triple slash in 83 MLB games (2021-2022). He spent 2023 in Korea (.253/.345/.474 with 19 homers)
3B Jeter Downs: 1-for-4, 2 K
Downs has a 5-game hitting streak and is 14-for-35 (.400) in June with a 7-for-8 SB rate.
LF Taylor Trammell: 1-for-3, HR (3), RBI, RS, BB, K
Trammell has homered in two of his last three games.
LHP Tanner Tully: (L, 1-5) 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 4 HR
RHP Jake Cousins: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Cody Morris: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
LHP Oddanier Mosqueda: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Josh VanMeter: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Kevin Smith: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
VanMeter and Smith are veteran utility players who received an inning on the hill tonight.
Somerset (32-34) (Lost to Erie, 9-7. Everyone in the lineup collected at least one hit)
CF Spencer Jones: 2-for-5, RBI, SB (17), BB, 3 K
June: 20-for-70 (.286; 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 13 R, 5-for-6 SB). He entered June with a .641 OPS. It is now .704.
C Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-6, RBI
Rodriguez earns his first Double-A hit. Congrats! Fans of the Patriots are getting a dose of his versatility: Third base in his Double-A debut, and catcher tonight. As for the multi-hit game, he has 22 in 58 games this season. Machine.
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, BB
3B Ben Cowles: 1-for-5, RS, SB (12), 2 K
LF Grant Richardson: 1-for-5, RS, SB (8), 3 K
DH Elijah Dunham: 2-for-3, 2B (8), 2 RS, 2 BB, K
2B Anthony Seigler: 2-for-4, 2B (10), HR (7), 3 RBI, 2 RS, BB
Seigler is showing some pop and speed this year (10 doubles, 7 HR, 11-for-12 SB) but that doesn’t mean his prospect status is coming back (.198 with a .670 OPS). Anyway, the 7 HR ties his personal best, set in 2022.
RF Aaron Palensky: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
SS Alexander Vargas: 2-for-5, 3B (2), RBI, RS, 2 K
Vargas is hitting .211 since his promotion. By most accounts, the glove is still MLB-quality – the bat just hasn’t developed. That sounds somewhat like Kyle Holder, but Vargas likely has more offense to tap into. That said, he has to prove it. In case you are wondering about Holder, he hasn’t played since 2022.
RHP Blane Abeyta: (L, 3-6) 5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 3 HR
RHP Danny Watson: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR
I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but Watson is likely still in “get back into a groove” mode after a long-term injury.
RHP Yorlin Calderon: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
For Somerset: 2.57 ERA (21 IP, 16 H, 11 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 20 K)
RHP Kevin Stevens: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Hudson Valley (33-32) (Lost to Greensboro, 4-2)
LF Jace Avina: 0-for-4, K
SS Jared Serna: 0-for-4
Since being hit by a pitch and missing a game, Serna is 0-for-11. It could be a coincidence. I hope that it is.
C Rafael Flores: 0-for-4, 2 K
DH Garrett Martin: 1-for-3, HR (3), RBI, RS, 2 K
.212/.305/.372. He has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
RF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-3, 2 K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, 2B (5), RS
.222/.357/.284 in 199 PA (5 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 23 R, 15.6% BB, 23.1% K). So far, the power hasn’t shown up (.313 SLG in 24 games in Tampa last year).
2B Brenny Escanio: 0-for-3, K
3B Beau Brewer: 1-for-3, RBI
CF Nelson Medina: 0-for-3, K
RHP Sebastian Keane: (L, 5-5) 5.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR
Keane allowed three runs in the first inning but worked it out. Season: 5.02 ERA (57.1 IP, 55 H, 33 R, 32 ER, 6 HR, 29 BB, 55 K)
RHP Mason Vinyard: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
2.29 ERA (19.2 IP, 13 H, 10 R, 5 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 31 K)
RHP Luis Arejula: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
3.46 ERA (26 IP, 23 H, 14 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 15 BB, 27 K)
Tampa (24-42) (Lost to Palm Beach, 5-2)
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-4, RS, CS (4)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-4, 2B (10), RS, K
.228/.360/.321 in 225 PA (10 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 23 R, 17-for-18 SB). He is on a 6-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games. Before this 10-game stretch, his triple slash was .207/.359/.269. His OBP has barely moved, but his SLG is up 52 points.
2B Roderick Arias: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, SB (17), CS (8), K
.209/.301/.364 in 289 PA (9 doubles, 6 triples, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 35 R, 17-for-25 SB). He has eight extra-base hits and 19 RBI in June, which is good. However, the strikeouts remain prominent.
1B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-3, HBP, K
DH Antonio Gomez: 0-for-4
CF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-4
RF Willy Montero: 1-for-2, BB
.241/.298/.366 in 245 PA (13 doubles, 5 HR, 29 RBI, 28 R, 8-for-9 SB). Entering June, his triple slash was .207/.288/.283.
C Tomas Frick: 1-for-2, 2B (9), BB
.270/.391/.400 in 138 PA. Frick is doing a nice job in his debut season.
LF Daury Arias: 1-for-3, K
RHP Bryce Warrecker: (L, 0-1) 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Warrecker’s Tampa debut (he appeared in a game earlier this season for Hudson Valley). He pitched well through 4 innings but ran into trouble in the 5th. The 22-year-old out of Cal Poly (drafted in the 20th round in 2023) is an interesting prospect. The Yankees are good at converting these pitchers into something valuable.
RHP Aaron Nixon: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
3.96 ERA (38.2 IP, 26 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 1 HR, 29 BB, 39 K). He hit 95 MPH with his 4-seamer, which they should be able to work with. You don’t need me to tell you that control is an issue.
RHP Jordy Luciano: 2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Standing 5’10”, the 22-year-old Luciano packs a punch, maxing out at 96 MPH with his heater. His issue? Control. He has walked 30 batters in 33.1 innings this year and 76 in 82.1 innings in his career.
FCL (21-13) (Squeaked past the Phillies, 3-2)
CF Brando Mayea: 1-for-4, 2 K
Mayea is hitting .270/.356/.303 in 101 PA, which isn’t so bad. The K% is 27.7%, borderline but not in the “red alert” zone. Another metric I like to look at is Swinging Strike %. Entering today’s action, Mayea’s was at 22.9%, which will raise an eyebrow or two. Anyway, let’s see what happens as he gets more reps.
DH Edgleen Perez: 1-for-3, BB, 2 K
3B Abrahan Ramirez: 2-for-2, 3B (2), RS, BB
Is Ramirez going to become the latest obsession? He is hitting .396/.518/.582 in 115 PA and has seven multi-hit efforts in his last eight games. That’s not easily done at any level of baseball, folks.
LF Brian Sanchez: 1-for-3, 2B (12), RBI, RS
Sanchez has 17 extra-base hits (12 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR) in 27 games. Additionally, he has 20 RBI, 23 runs, and 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts.
SS Juan Matheus: 2-for-3, 2 RBI
RHP Hansel Rosario: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
LHP Michael Peres (W, 1-0): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Jesus Castellanos (S, 2): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
DSL Yankees (4-9) (Lost to the Rangers Blue, 7-1)
SS Dexters Peralta: 0-for-3, RS, SB (7), BB, K
CF Gabriel Lara: 1-for-3, CS (1), BB
When you have a speedster like Lara, you want him running all the time in minor league games as he attempts to turn raw speed into base-stealing ability.
RHP Varis Villarreal: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL Bombers (7-5) (Defeated the FCL Tigers 1, 4-3)
C Queni Pineda: 0-for-3, RS, BB, K
The 17-year-old is 8-for-27 (9 walks, 5 strikeouts)
RF Browm Martinez: 1-for-3, K
CF David Carrera: 1-for-3, RBI, K
SS Kevin Verde: 1-for-3, 2B (4), RS
1B Jesus Marquez: 2-for-3, 2 RBI
The 17-year-old is listed as a catcher but has only played 1B/DH thus far (only five games).
RHP Alexis Paulino: 3.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Well, that is what you call dominance. He is 21 and in his third season down here.
RHP Ismael Delgadillo (S, 1): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
The 19-year-old earns a save in his first professional appearance.