Yankees MILB 9/15: Caleb Durbin, Spencer Jones, Roc Riggio: Leadoff Homers

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Scranton (84-59) (Defeated Lehigh Valley, 5-4. Worcester won, so the two teams will enter the final week tied for first place in the second-half title chase)

SS Caleb Durbin: 1-for-2, HR (10), RBI, 3 RS, SB (28), HBP, BB, K
Durbin hits a leadoff home run (the beginning of a trend today?). Durbin’s first double-digit HR campaign. He is hitting .295/.409/.488 in 344 PA at this level (20 doubles, 2 triples, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 54 R, 28-for-30 SB, 13.1% BB, 9.9% K). He also has 11 HBP this season and 43 in 275 career games.
2B Jorbit Vivas1-for-4, 2B (18), 2 RBI
.231/.354/.364 in 393 plate appearances. Vivas is 12-for-50 with seven extra-base hits (5 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR) in September.
3B Oswald Peraza1-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, 2 K
1B Ben Rice2-for-4, RBI, K
Rice is hitting .294/.440/.612 in 109 Triple-A plate appearances. Triple-A isn’t a problem. So, we’ll see if he can be a productive MLB player.
CF Taylor Trammell1-for-4, K
DH Carlos Narvaez0-for-4, 2 K
C J.C. Escarra1-for-4, RS
RF Oscar Gonzalez0-for-3
LF Jahmai Jones0-for-3, 2 K

LHP Josh Maciejewski5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
RHP JT Brubaker1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Brubaker will be a 2025 rotation/bullpen/swingman option – assuming he is healthy.
RHP Phil Bickford0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Anthony Misiewicz0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Scott Effross: (W, 6-1)  0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Effross will have an offseason to work on getting back to the pitcher he was before his injuries.
RHP Nick Burdi0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ron Marinaccio (S, 8): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K


Somerset (75-62) (Defeated New Hampshire, 5-1, to win the second-half title. Portland lost, so they were covered both ways. The first round starts on Tuesday, when Hartford comes in for a visit. There is a tropical rainstorm that might impact the area that night)

CF Spencer Jones: 2-for-4, 2B (30), HR (17), RBI, 2 RS
Jones hits a leadoff home run (sense a trend?). Final stats: .259/.336/.452 in 544 PA (30 doubles, 6 triples, 17 HR, 78 RBI, 73 R, 25-for-34 SB (73.5%), 54 BB (9.9%), 200 K (36.8%)). I agree: 200 strikeouts at Double-A is not ideal and a .401 BABIP benefited him. However, he also displayed the power/speed combination that tantalizes scouts. He is one of the most interesting prospects I have ever covered. And that is saying something.
C Rafael Flores0-for-3, BB
Final Somerset numbers: .274/.359/.519 in 273 PA. Overall, he hit .279/.379/.495 in 506 PA with 31 doubles and 21 home runs. He is a breakout prospect in 2024.
1B Tyler Hardman2-for-4, RBI
2B Anthony Seigler: 1-for-3, RS, SB (29), HBP, K
.234/.350/.398 in 433 PA (24 doubles, 12 HR, 49 RBI, 61 R, 29-for-32 SB). I am happy that Seigler played in 118 games (his previous high was 97) and contributed to the team’s success. It’s been a grind for the kid.
DH Elijah Dunham2-for-4, HR (15), RBI, RS, SB (19)
Dunham played a big role this week. He has homered four times in his last five games.
LF Grant Richardson1-for-3, HR (9), RBI, RS, CS (6), BB
Last season, Richardson hit 7 doubles and 18 home runs. This season, he hit 25 doubles and 9 home runs. He just missed his third consecutive double-digit HR/SB campaign.
RF Jared Wegner0-for-3, BB, 2 K
SS Alexander Vargas0-for-3, 2 K
Vargas hit .254/.293/.375 in 256 PA after his promotion.
3B Max Burt0-for-3, 2 K

RHP Trystan Vrieling (W, 13-7): 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
4.58 ERA (147.1 IP, 140 H, 79 R, 75 ER, 13 HR, 46 BB, 132 K). In his first professional season, the Yankees shipped Vrieling directly to Somerset which is highly unusual. He had ups and downs but finished very strongly (2.23 ERA in 40.1 August/September innings). He can be in the conversation for MLB innings as early as mid-2025.
RHP Sean Boyle1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Leonardo Pestana1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
At this level: 3.18 ERA (22.2 IP, 19 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 28 K). If Pestana can stay healthy, he has potential as a relief pitcher. However, health has been a concern.
RHP Eric Reyzelman1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
Since I talk him up often, it is fair to comment on a flaw: Reyzelman’s walk rate isn’t ideal (14 BB in 23.1 innings for Somerset). He doesn’t have to improve it by much if his ability to miss bats translates to MLB.


Hudson Valley (2-2) (Lost to Bowling Green, 5-1. They are down 1-0 in the best-of-3 series, which will continue on Tuesday in Hudson Valley)

2B Roc Riggio1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, RS, BB, K
Riggio hits a lead-off homer (yes, there was a trend). However, this was Hudson Valley’s lone hit.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
1B Josh Moylan0-for-4, 3 K
RF Garrett Martin0-for-4
DH Omar Martinez0-for-3, BB, K
LF Jackson Castillo0-for-3
3B Dylan Jasso0-for-3
CF Brendan Jones0-for-3, K
C Antonio Gomez0-for-2, 2 K
  PH Coby Morales0-for-1, K

RHP Baron Stuart: (L, 0-1)  2.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR
RHP Harrison Cohen1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Cohen continues to dominate High-A hitters.
LHP Joel Valdez0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Yorlin Calderon2.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Blane Abeyta1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K


Tampa (54-74)

Their season is over.


FCL (35-22)

Their season is over.


DSL Yankees (17-36)

Their season is over.


DSL Bombers (30-25) 

Their season is over.