Yankees MILB 7/21: Cade Smith Ks 8 in 5 Innings

News:

We are closing in on the trade deadline. I will watch closely to see if any prospect gets pulled out of a game over the next week. Today, I noted on Twitter that George Lombard Jr. has played third base and Roderick Arias has played shortstop in all three games since the All-Star Break. Is this a “weekend showcase” for scouts, or a coincidence?

Scranton (51-42) (Defeated Buffalo, 4-0)

CF Brandon Lockridge0-for-3, BB, K
3B Jorbit Vivas1-for-4, RBI
For Scranton: .255/.394/.414 in 183 PA (15.8% BB, 21.9% K, 9-for-13 SB). 
1B Agustin Ramirez1-for-4, 2B (2), RS, SB (5)
Since promotion: .186/.304/.349 in 102 PA with a 12.7% BB and 17.6% K. Earlier this season, his BABIP was lagging – eventually, he ended up with a normal .292 mark for Somerset. For Scranton, it is .185. There is likely another correction coming.
2B Oswald Peraza: 3-for-4, RBI, RS, 3 SB (12)
Peraza has reached base 8 times in the last two games, increasing his triple slash from .210/.325/.251 to .234/.348/.286.
DH T.J. Rumfield0-for-4, 2 K
RF Oscar Gonzalez1-for-3, RS, BB
C J.C. Escarra2-for-4, RBI, RS, K
Escarra is 6-for-9 in two games since his promotion. That pace should be easily maintained.
SS Kevin Smith0-for-3, RBI
LF Taylor Trammell0-for-3

LHP Tanner Tully4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
RHP Scott Effross: (W, 1-0)  1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Effross’ 4th straight scoreless appearance (4 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K). He relies on command to generate outs, so the Yankees will wait until they are satisfied that his command is back. It looks like it is heading in that direction.
LHP Chasen Shreve1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
LHP Oddanier Mosqueda1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
3.86 ERA (46.2 IP, 31 H, 24 R, 20 ER, 4 HR, 27 BB, 60 K). He has a 9-game scoreless streak (11.1 IP).
RHP Ron Marinaccio1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Duane Underwood Jr.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
2.57 ERA (35 IP, 25 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 5 HR, 21 BB, 35 K)


Somerset (46-44) (Squeaked past Altoona, 3-2)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
Jones is hitting .238 with a .716 OPS
SS Ben Cowles1-for-4, HR (9), RBI, RS, K
Cowles, who has already set a personal best in doubles, is one away from his best in home runs (10, set last year).
1B Tyler Hardman0-for-3, BB, 2 K
C Rafael Flores0-for-2, RS, BB, K
LF Elijah Dunham1-for-3
Dunham has hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games
RF Grant Richardson0-for-2, SAC
2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-2, CS (2), BB
DH Jared Wegner0-for-2, SF, RBI
3B Max Burt1-for-3, 2B (5), RS, K

RHP Zach Messinger5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
3.90 ERA (101.2 IP, 85 H, 59 R, 44 ER, 7 HR, 34 BB, 103 K).
RHP Joey Gerber: (W, 1-0)  1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Sauer1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Kevin Stevens (S, 6): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
2.76 ERA (32.2 IP, 27 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 14 BB, 46 K)


Hudson Valley (44-44) (Defeated Rome, 3-1)

2B Roc Riggio1-for-3, BB
.227/.359/.400 in 316 PA. Last 4 games: 6-for-16 (1 triple, 2 HR). 
SS Jared Serna0-for-4, K
.248/.339/.429 in 378 PA. He is 10-for-50 (.200) in July with only three extra-base hits (all doubles). That said, he has struck out only four times. Following him over the last few years, I have noticed a streaky trait in his profile.
C Omar Martinez1-for-4, HR (10), RBI, RS, 2 K
In his last two seasons, Martinez has 28 HR, 103 RBI, and 119 walks in 744 PA (15.99%).
LF Garrett Martin0-for-3, K
DH Christopher Familia2-for-3
Familia is 13-for-77 (.169/.256/.286) at this level with a pair of home runs.
RF Cole Gabrielson0-for-3, RS
1B Kiko Romero1-for-3, RBI, RS, SB (9)
3B Beau Brewer1-for-3, RBI
CF Nelson Medina0-for-3, 3 K

RHP Cam Schlittler: (W, 5-3)  5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
For Hudson Valley: 2.77 ERA (74.2 IP, 48 H, 31 R, 23 ER, 6 HR, 37 BB, 94 K). He had a tough emergency start for Scranton earlier this year, but I am not concerned about that.
RHP Yorlin Calderon: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Cohen’s rehab stint is over and he was assigned here. I thought they might place him in Somerset (where he finished in 2023).
LHP Joel Valdez (S, 3): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
3.16 ERA (42.2 IP, 29 H, 19 R, 15 ER, 2 HR, 21 BB, 50 K). In 2023, he allowed 10 HR in 78.2 IP. In his 172 other career innings, he has allowed 4 HR.


Tampa (35-53) (Defeated Bradenton, 9-6)

3B George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-3, RBI, 2 HBP, K
July: 16-for-60 (.267/.343/.483; 4 doubles, 3 HR, 5 BB, 18 K, 4-for-5 SB).  Season: .237/.358/.356 in 324 PA. 
SS Roderick Arias2-for-4, RBI, 3 RS, SB (26), BB
July: 16-for-52 (.308/.431/.365; 12 BB, 12 K, 12 R, 7-for-9 SB). I won’t ignore the warts but I will point out that July has been a good month for him.
1B Dylan Jasso: 2-for-5, 2B (22), 2 RBI, K
Jasso leads the FSL in doubles (22) and is second in RBI (52).
CF Jackson Castillo: 2-for-4, SF, 2 RBI, RS, 2 K
July: 15-for-51 (.294/.403/.431; 4 doubles, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB, 9 K, 3-for-3 SB). The 21-year-old was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Nevada in 2023 and is overachieving. He owns a 16.8% BB and 19.2% K.
LF Willy Montero: 2-for-3, RBI, RS, SB (9), 2 BB
.245/.298/.361 in 329 PA (15 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR, 41 RBI, 40 R, 9-for-10 SB, 6.7% BB, 22.5% K). Montero is a free-swinging type.
2B Hans Montero0-for-4, RS, SB (10), BB
RF Coby Morales: 1-for-4, 2 RS, BB
C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-2, SF, RBI, HBP
Gonzalez is 9-for-34 (.265) since his promotion. He has three doubles and six RBI.
DH Tomas Frick1-for-4, RS
Frick’s first game since July 4th. He was never placed on the injured list.

RHP Cade Smith: (W, 6-6) 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
3.61 ERA (77.1 IP, 53 H, 37 R, 31 ER, 5 HR, 36 BB, 103 K). July: 14.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 22 K. Last year’s 6th-round pick out of Mississippi State (the Yankees love SEC pitchers nowadays!) doesn’t throw exceptionally hard (averaged 91.4 with the 4-seamer) but generates whiffs with his slider. He also mixes in a curveball.
RHP Gabriel Barbosa (S, 1): 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, HR
It looks like they went the “tandem start” route today. In other words, I wouldn’t be concerned about Smith being pulled after five innings with a low pitch count. Barbosa has a 4.95 ERA (87.1 IP, 86 H, 52 R, 48 ER, 8 HR, 28 BB, 89 K)


FCL (34-21)

Scheduled day off.


DSL Yankees (11-22)

Scheduled day off.


DSL Bombers (20-14)

Scheduled day off.