News:
Catching up on the news:
RHP Justin Lange was transferred to the full-season injury list. Acquired for Luke Voit, Lange was a $2,000,000 signing by the Padres from the 2020 draft. Like many of his ilk, Lange flashes moments of brilliance mixed with plenty of frustration due to his lack of command/control of his potentially elite stuff. He is Rule 5 eligible this winter, but that is irrelevant. The Yankees won’t protect him and he is an unlikely selection.
RHP Chase Hampton and OF Anthony Hall are heading to Tampa (from the FCL) to continue their rehab stints. Hall will eventually land with Hudson Valley while I assume Hampton is destined for Somerset before his eventual Scranton debut.
RHP Yorlin Calderon, pitching to a 2.28 ERA in 16 games (27.2 IP) for Somerset, was demoted to Hudson Valley.
Scranton (48-40) (Swept in a doubleheader against Syracuse)
Game 1 (Lost, 6-5)
CF Brandon Lockridge: 2-for-4, 2 RS, K
DH Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-3, HR (5), RBI, RS, BB
Vivas’ HR in the top of the 7th gave the Railriders a 5-4 lead, but they blew it in the bottom of the inning.
SS Oswald Peraza: 0-for-4, RS, 2 K
C Agustin Ramirez: 1-for-2, 2B (1), 2 RBI, BB, K
Ramirez crushed that 2-run double to tie the game at 4-4 in the 5th.
1B Jose Rojas: 1-for-3, RBI
LF Taylor Trammell: 1-for-3, RBI, K
RF Oscar Gonzalez: 0-for-3
3B Kevin Smith: 1-for-3, RS, K
2B Josh VanMeter: 0-for-3, 2 K
LHP Tanner Tully: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Scott Effross: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
A nice, clean inning for Effross.
LHP Victor Gonzalez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Phil Bickford (L, 2-4): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Game 2 (Lost, 2-1)
SS Oswald Peraza: 1-for-4, K
2B Jorbit Vivas: 0-for-3
For Scranton: .258/.404/.424 in 169 PA. The sample size is getting larger and the numbers are solid.
1B Agustin Ramirez: 0-for-3
Since promotion: 11-for-63 (.175) with a double, four home runs and 11 RBI. He started very slow but has picked it up. He is going to hit here – I have no concerns about that.
C Carlos Narvaez: 1-for-2, SB (8), BB
.269/.388/.446 in 304 PA (17 doubles, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 45 R)
CF Brandon Lockridge: 0-for-3, 3 K
DH Jose Rojas: 0-for-3, K
LF Taylor Trammell: 1-for-2, HR (5), RBI, RS, SB (7), BB, K
RF Oscar Gonzalez: 1-for-2, BB
3B Jeter Downs: 0-for-2, HBP
RHP JT Brubaker: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
I am not sure why Brubaker left the game. He is rehabbing, but he tossed 2.2 innings last time and has reached four innings in an outing. Yes, I am concerned but hopefully, it is nothing major.
RHP Art Warren: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Yerry De Los Santos: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Anthony Misiewicz: (L, 2-2) 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Ron Marinaccio: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Somerset (42-42) (Lost to Erie, 6-0)
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-4, 3 K
Not that it ultimately matters, but I thought they would keep him in the second spot after his solid night last night.
SS Ben Cowles: 0-for-3, HBP
This is nothing against Cowles. This is more of a “That’s baseball, Suzyn” thing: Cowles goes 7-for-8 in a doubleheader and is 2-for-15 since. Go ahead – try to figure this game out. He is hitting an impressive .297/.376/.478 in 340 PA with 23 doubles, 3 triples, 8 HR, 46 RBI, 49 R, and 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts. He is positioning himself for an MLB role sometime in 2025, whether here or elsewhere.
DH Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
1B Rafael Flores: 0-for-3, 2 K
C J.C. Escarra: 0-for-3
RF Grant Richardson: 1-for-3, 2B (18), K
Richardson is 7-for-23 with two doubles and a home run in July.
2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3, K
Last 10 games: 12-for-33 (.364; 6 doubles, 6 RBI, 7 BB, 6 K)
LF Jared Wegner: 0-for-1, CS (4), 2 BB, K
3B Max Burt: 0-for-3, 2 K
RHP Trystan Vrieling: (L, 7-7) 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
5.56 ERA (90.2 IP, 99 H, 59 R, 56 ER, 9 HR, 30 BB, 88 K). His biggest bugaboo has been lefties. Entering tonight, they hit .303/.378/.416 with 22 walks and 35 strikeouts in 204 PA. Against right-handed hitters? .242/.265/.418 with five walks and 48 strikeouts in 171 PA. Both sides have displayed power, but there is still a stark difference when looking at other metrics/numbers.
RHP McKinley Moore: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
For Somerset: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. This was the second HR he has allowed in his career (30.1 IP)
RHP Luis Velasquez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Hudson Valley (41-41) (Lost to Jersey Shore, 3-2)
2B Roc Riggio: 1-for-5, RBI
.220/.362/.377 in 290 PA. He is in a little slump after a prolonged hot streak, but nothing to be worried about.
SS Jared Serna: 1-for-4, 2B (23)
Serna was pinch hit for in the 9th yesterday, but it was nothing as he was back in action today.
RF Jace Avina: 0-for-3, HBP, 2 K
C Omar Martinez: 1-for-3, RS, BB
.239/.382/.407 in 280 PA.
3B Josh Moylan: 0-for-1, 3 BB, K
Moylan’s first career 3 BB game. He has shown off solid plate discipline.
DH Christopher Familia: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Cole Gabrielson: 2-for-4, 2B (11), RBI, RS, 2 K
1B Kiko Romero: 0-for-2, 2 BB
LF Nelson Medina: 0-for-4, K
RHP Blane Abeyta: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
RHP Matt Keating: (L, 3-2) 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
4.13 ERA (48 IP, 36 H, 24 R, 22 ER, 7 HR, 18 BB, 59 K)
Tampa (30-52) (Lost to Dunedin, 4-3)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-5, 3 K
Tough nights are becoming rarer for Lombard Jr. We will toss this one.
2B Roderick Arias: 2-for-4, 2B (13), RS, SB (23), BB, K
Back-to-back multi-hit efforts for Arias. He is 4-for-5 stealing bases in his last five games. Yes, I know about his warts and have commented on them several times. He has these flashes where he shows off his pure raw talent that keeps you interested. I do not disagree with those who have lowered him in their rankings.
1B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-4, RBI
CF Willy Montero: 1-for-4, 3B (1), RS, K
3B Hans Montero: 1-for-2, RBI, RS, CS (3), 2 BB, K
Montero has a 6-game hitting streak (9-for-18). It has increased his triple slash from .202/.286/.337 to .232/.322/.398.
DH Coby Morales: 2-for-4, K
C Diomedes Hernandez: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
Hernandez singled in Castillo in his first Low-A plate appearance. For the FCL squad, the 19-year-old played only 14 games, going 10-for-41 (.244/.295/.244) with five runs batted in. He was called up to this level on July 5th, but this was his first game.
RF Daury Arias: 0-for-4, K
RHP Josh Grosz: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, HR
Grosz dialed it up to 95.8 tonight (averaged 94.3) and mixed his three pitches well (35% 4-seamers, 33% changeups, 32% sliders). The 21-year-old owns a 5.04 ERA at this level with an 80/25 K/BB over 60.2 IP. He has allowed too many homers (9) and the walk rate isn’t ideal, but he has shown signs of dominance. Like many youngsters, he needs to find consistency.
LHP Rafelin Nivar: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Nivar touched 95.2 with his sinker and struck out Joey Votto. I can only imagine what kind of thrill that is for a kid. Standing 5’10”, control has been an issue (25/21 K/BB over 24 IP between here and the FCL)
RHP Aaron Nixon (L, 2-2): 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
4.34 ERA (45.2 IP, 28 H, 26 R, 22 ER, 1 HR, 36 BB, 47 K). He is keeping the ball in the park and striking out a decent number of hitters, but walks are an issue. Nixon pitched in big settings in college, as he pitched for Texas and Mississippi State. The Yankees signed him as an undrafted free agent, hoping to unlock some production.
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
FCL (29-17)
Their game against the FCL Tigers was postponed due to rain. They play tomorrow but switch home fields. Hence, they have not scheduled this game for tomorrow. I do not see a makeup date.
DSL Yankees (9-17) (Lost to the DSL Tigers 2, 15-4)
SS Dexters Peralta: 1-for-5, RS, K
Peralta turned 17 today.
3B Richard Matic: 0-for-3, 2 RS, HBP
C Justin Capellan: 2-for-3, RBI, SB (4), BB
.268/.364/.357 for the 17-year-old in his debut campaign.
LF Gabriel Lara: 1-for-3, 2B (1), RS, SB (9), BB
DH Luis Puello: 1-for-4, RBI, K
.388/.492/.571 in 59 PA (3 doubles, 2 home runs, 12 RBI, 8 BB, 9 K)
RHP Luis Burgos: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
The 18-year-old’s first professional start.
RHP Keninson Diaz: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
The 20-year-old is in his third season at this level. He pitched pretty well last season (2.76 ERA in 32.2 IP with a 50/14 K/BB) but they didn’t move him up.
DSL Bombers (16-11) (Lost to the DSL Giants Orange, 3-0, in a 6-inning game)
CF Francisco Vilorio: 0-for-3, K
Vilorio has struggled in his first 16 professional games (.190/.254/.293 with 24 strikeouts). He does have a double, triple, and homer.
C Queni Pineda: 2-for-2, BB
.262/.458/.443 in 83 PA. He has a 22/13 BB/K
LHP Junior Tavera (L, 0-3): 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
RHP Carlos Almonte: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
10.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K
RHP Jose Rosario: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K