Notes:
RHP Justin Lange (remember him?) started a rehab assignment today in the FCL. Acquired by the Yankees from the Padres for 1B Luke Voit (remember him?) back in 2022, Lange has dealt with wildness and injuries during his Yankees tenure. Today was his first appearance since August 29, 2023. He split time with Tampa and Hudson Valley that year, going 2-5 with a 4.75 ERA and 131/63 K/BB over 85.1 innings. While that walk rate is high (16%), don’t ignore the strikeout rate (33.2%).
Amazingly, Lange is only 23 years old. When I opened his player page, I was expecting to see that he was in his mid-20s.
Scranton (27-30) (Defeated St. Paul, 11-8. Call me crazy, but I think St. Paul’s ballpark leans a tad offensive)
3B Jesus Rodriguez: 2-for-3, 2B (9), RBI, 2 R, HBP, 2 BB
Rodriguez reaches base five times. In 40 Triple-A games, Rodriguez has 55 hits, 26 walks, and two HBP. He has scored 31 runs and is hitting .362 with a .921 OPS.
2B Jorbit Vivas: 2-for-6, HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 R, K
Vivas’s first game since his demotion. His 22-game MLB audition wasn’t great (.156/.255/.267 with a key home run). He struck out 20.8% of the time and his BABIP was a ridiculous .182, which comes with the small sample size flag.
RF Everson Pereira: 2-for-5, R, 2 K
Pereira is having a nice season, but is carrying a 33.1% K rate.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 1-for-3, RBI, R, 2 BB
C Alex Jackson: 0-for-4, R, BB, 3 K
DH Jose Rojas: 0-for-5, RBI, 3 K
LF Brennen Davis: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, R, HBP, BB, 2 K
Davis is 6-for-11 with a homer and three RBI since being placed here.
SS Braden Shewmake: 3-for-5, 2B (3), 2 R, SB (7)
Shewmake is enjoying his time in St. Paul (5-for-12; 1 double, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 3 SB)
CF Ismael Munguia: 1-for-5, 2B (7), 2 RBI, R
RHP Erick Leal: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 HR
RHP Scott Effross: (W, 1-1) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
You don’t want to see the run he allowed, but at least he missed bats tonight.
RHP Geoff Hartlieb: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Hartlieb maxed out at 97.1 MPH. He struck out the side in his second inning of work. Season: 2.22 ERA (24.1 IP, 23 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 9 BB, 27 K). Due to an extreme walk rate (55 in 79.1 innings with the Pirates, Mets, Marlins, and Rockies), Hartlieb hasn’t been able to hold down an MLB job. The arm has never been in question.
LHP Jayvien Sandridge (S, 1): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Another impressive performance….
Somerset (24-29) (Lost to Binghamton, 7-4)
2B George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-3, 3B (2), RBI, R, BB, K
Position breakdown (including his time in Hudson Valley): 2B: 6; SS: 40; 3B: 4. They want him to get a feel for 2B/3B while keeping him primarily at his natural position.
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-3, BB, K
C Rafael Flores: 1-for-4, 2B (14), RBI
.277/.339/.505 in 227 PA. Flores is up to 500 Double-A plate appearances (.275/.350/.512; 28 doubles, 26 HR, 71 RBI. For good measure, he is 11-for-11 in the stolen base department).
LF Garrett Martin: 0-for-4, 3 K
DH Brendan Jones: 0-for-4, K
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-4, HR (9), RBI, R
.269/.330/.478 in 203 PA. A good season for a 22-year-old making his Double-A debut.
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, HR (10), RBI, R, K
Hardman has six homers in his last six games.
RF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-3, 3 K
SS Max Burt: 0-for-2, R, SB (6), BB, K
RHP Trystan Vrieling: (L, 0-1) 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HR
Vrieling has a few good outings and a few less-than-ideal outings since coming back from his rehab stint. No concerns.
RHP Danny Watson: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
2.21 ERA (20.1 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 26 K). He hasn’t allowed a run in seven straight outings (9.2 IP).
RHP Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Hudson Valley (33-20) (Mauled Aberdeen, 11-2)
CF Dillon Lewis: 2-for-5, 3B (1), HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 R, BB, K
Lewis is 4-for-16 since his promotion and has nine home runs in his last 27 games overall. He joins Rafael Flores, Spencer Jones, Tyler Hardman, and Everson Pereira in the organization’s 10+ HR club. He is an intriguing 21-year-old to keep an eye on.
LF Jackson Castillo: 2-for-4, SF, RBI, 2 R, BB
If Lewis and Castillo can get hot, they will cause a lot of havoc at the top of this lineup.
RF Coby Morales: 1-for-5, RBI, BB, K
A hot streak has his numbers up to .270/.354/.453 in 181 PA at this level. For Somerset, he was 3-for-19.
1B Parks Harber: 2-for-4, BB, K
Since promotion: .325/.389/.491 in 126 PA. Including his time in Tampa, he has 15 multi-hit efforts in 48 games. Somerset may not be far away.
DH Omar Martinez: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, K
2B Jose Colmenares: 0-for-4, R, BB, K
3B Alexander Vargas: 1-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, R, K
I feel bad for Vargas, a late spring training “sensation” who is lost in the numbers game. Part of that is the lack of development, of course. There could be a better opportunity elsewhere.
SS Brenny Escanio: 2-for-4, 2B (5), 2 R, SB (7), BB, K
C Tomas Frick: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R
RHP Josh Grosz: (W, 4-3) 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Grosz had to grind out these five innings, as it required 95 pitches to record 15 outs. He owns a 3.83 ERA in 47 IP (37 H, 24 R, 20 ER, 3 HR, 16 BB, 56 K). He may get lost in the shuffle, but he has pitched very well.
RHP Tony Rossi: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
For Tampa and Hudson Valley: 19.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 25 K. Ridiculous.
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Speaking of ridiculous, Warrecker owns a 0.75 ERA in 24 IP (8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 31 K). I don’t know what the Yankees’ plans are, but there has to be a lot of temptation to leave the 6’8″ 23-year-old in a bullpen role. He is thriving.
RHP Hayden Merda: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Merda “merely” has an ERA below 3.00 (2.96; 24.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 11 BB, 34 K). The Renegades’ pitching staff is deadly.
Tampa (29-24) (Defeated Jupiter, 6-1. They keep rolling along. Tonight, they went 9-for-9 stealing bases)
SS Roderick Arias: 1-for-4, 2 R, SB (13), BB, K
DH Edgleen Perez: 1-for-2, 2 R, SB (4), 3 BB
.215/.369/.239 in 206 PA (4 doubles, 16 RBI, 24 R, 4-for-5 SB, 18.4% BB, 21.8% K). Do I worry about the SLG? It doesn’t make me a baseball savant to say that a .239 SLG is far from ideal. However, I am not concerned as he is a young developing catcher. The Yankees are doing the right thing by keeping him in the lineup every day.
C Engelth Urena: 1-for-5, RBI
3B Juan Matheus: 1-for-5, 2B (12), RBI, K
.271/.340/.341 in 197 PA.
RF Tyler Wilson: 1-for-3, RBI, 3 SB (14), 2 BB, K
LF Hans Montero: 1-for-5, 2 K
2B Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, R, 2 SB (10), CI, BB, 2 K
Cobb’s first game since May 29th. He is hitting .375/.420/.639 in 83 PA (6 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 20 R, 10-for-12 SB, 7.2% BB, 20.5% K)
CF Marshall Toole: 2-for-3, 3B (5), RBI, R, SB (12), BB
.318/.422/.505 in 128 PA (7 doubles, 5 triples, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 26 R, 12-for-13 SB, 14.8% BB, 22.7% K). He is 5-for-8 with a double, triple, homer, eight RBI, and five walks in three June games. I don’t know what will become of him, but he is a fun prospect to follow.
1B Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 2B (5), RBI
RHP Gage Ziehl: (W, 3-2) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, HR
3.79 ERA (38 IP, 35 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 6 BB, 31 K, 3 HR). Last three starts: 16 IP, 15 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 17 K
RHP Sean Hermann: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
142 ERA (25.1 IP, 14 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 20 BB, 22 K). I know I have said it many times, but it is worth repeating that many of those walks were in the first month of the season (15 in 12.1 IP).
RHP Chris Veach: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
The changeup specialist hit 93.6 MPH with his sinker (changeup averaged 75.3 MPH). Season: 1.29 ERA (21 IP, 15 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 12 BB, 34 K)
RHP Brady Kirtner: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
FCL (12-12) (Lost to the Blue Jays, 14-11, in ten wild innings. They ran out of pitchers in the 9th, trying to use position players to close out a 5-run lead. That didn’t work. Another position player allowed three runs in the 10th. That’s the FCL for ya)
CF Isael Arias: 1-for-6, 2B (6), RBI, R, SB (8), 3 K
1B Manuel Palencia: 3-for-4, RBI, BB
Last six games: 13-for-25 with four doubles, a triple, and a home run.
3B-2B Luis Escudero: 1-for-3, 3 R, SB (7), 2 BB
2B-P-LF Santiago Gomez: 1-for-4, 2 R, HBP, K
You know things were crazy when a position player went from second base to the mound to left field.
LF Gabriel Lara: 3-for-3, 3 RBI, 2 R
I am not sure why Lara was pulled from the game. He is hitting .370/.433/.667 in 30 PA and is 8-for-12 in his last four games.
LF-RF Wilson Rodriguez: 1-for-2, HR (1), RBI, R
The 20-year-old launches his first home run since 2023 (he has played in only 32 career games)
SS-3B Kevin Verde: 1-for-5, R, SB (4), 2 K
RF-C Luis Puello: 2-for-5, 3 RBI, R, K
DH Gabriel Terrero: 0-for-4, RBI, K
SS Dexters Peralta: 0-for-0, SF, RBI
RHP Justin Lange: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
We don’t get pitch counts in the FCL, but it doesn’t matter. Lange is back and is still young enough to be intriguing.
RHP Carson Coleman: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
One of the reasons why they ran out of pitchers is that they began the game with two pitchers on rehab stints.
RHP Chance Nolan: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Their third pitcher, the quarterback-turned-reliever, is also on a strict limit right now.
RHP Omar Gonzalez: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
At least Gonzalez tried to give them some length.
RHP Hansel Rosario: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
DSL Yankees (0-2) (Losing to DSL Miami, 7-4, in the bottom of the 5th. The game was suspended due to rain. They will try to finish it on June 17th)
SS Mani Cedeno: 0-for-1, HBP, K
DH Francisco Vilorio: 1-for-2, R, K
3B Richard Matic: 1-for-2, 2B (1), RBI, R, K
LF Isaias Castillo: 1-for-2, RBI, R, 3 SB (3)
DSL Bombers (1-1) (Lead DSL Colorado, 7-3, in the bottom of the 7th. This game was suspended due to rain. They will try to finish it on June 17th)
CF Ruben Castillo: 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 SB (2), BB, K
The DSL Castillos put on a running display today!
C Queni Pineda: 1-for-4, RBI
2B Juan Torres: 1-for-2, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
LHP Junior Tavera: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Last year, as a 17-year-old, Tavera put up an 8.82 ERA in 16.1 IP with a 22/21 K/BB.