Notes:
The Yankees released OF Christopher Familia.
I talk about “cult followings” because it is fun to watch an unheralded prospect get some love. In 2023, that player was Familia. He hit 22 home runs in 68 games between Tampa and Hudson Valley, putting up a strong .307/.378/.617 line. Injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued him since then. In 2024, his triple slash fell to .248/.320/.433 in 45 games.
RHP Marcus Stroman began his rehab stint with Somerset today. I am not sure what his role will be, but my first guess is that he will move to the #5 slot in the rotation with LHP Ryan Yarbrough becoming a multi-inning long man. They can swap those roles. I don’t care. My expectations are low, but they won’t release him.
With Giancarlo Stanton coming back soon, questions about where Ben Rice fits into the equation have been raised. It seems the Yankees may make him the backup catcher, which would be bad news for J.C. Escarra. Aaron Boone will need to be creative to get enough at-bats for everyone. It would make sense to give Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt off days as well. Can they rotate Rice into the lineup 3-4 times a week?
Scranton (31-31) (Defeated Syracuse, 7-5)
C Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-4, BB
3B Jorbit Vivas: 3-for-5, HR (4), RBI, 2 R
Vivas is 7-for-24 with a pair of homers since his demotion.
CF Everson Pereira: 0-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
1B T.J. Rumfield: 2-for-4, HR (8), 3 RBI, R, 2 K
Yesterday, I talked about his home run drought. Now? He has homered in back-to-back games. Baseball!
LF Brennen Davis: 2-for-4, HR (3), RBI, R, SB (1)
At this level: 11-for-26 (2 doubles, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, 1-for-1 SB). Overall, he has eight home runs in 21 games (three of those in six rehab games for the FCL squad)
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 0-for-4, 2 K
DH Jose Rojas: 2-for-4, HR (10), RBI, R, K
SS Braden Shewmake: 3-for-4, R
Shewmake has a 7-game hitting streak (12-for-26).
2B Andrew Velazquez: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
RHP Allan Winans: (W, 6-0) 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, HR
Winans’ ERA jumps from 0.23 to 0.61 (44 IP, 34 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 53 K)
RHP Erick Leal: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, HR
It’s been a struggle for the veteran, so nice to see him put together a strong outing.
RHP Geoff Hartlieb: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Somerset (27-32) (Split a doubleheader against Portland)
Game 1 (Lost, 4-3)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-4, R, 2 SB (10)
A delicious appetizer…
DH Giancarlo Stanton: 1-for-4, 2B (1), RBI, K
3-for-7 with a double and four RBI.
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
C Rafael Flores: 0-for-4
In 123 Double-A games (521 PA): .278/.349/.504 (28 doubles, 26 HR, 71 RBI, 73 R, 11-for-11 SB, 9% BB, 27.3% K)
2B Roc Riggio: 2-for-3, HR (5), 2 RBI, R, K
Since promotion: 11-for-30 (.367/.367/.967; 3 doubles, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 7 R, 1-for-1 SB). Riggio has five homers in his last five games and leads the organization with 12 home runs (in only 29 games).
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-3, 2 K
RF Garrett Martin: 0-for-3, 2 K
LF Brendan Jones: 0-for-3, K
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, SB (4), K
RHP Marcus Stroman: 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Stroman tossed 46 pitches (27 strikes) and had a 4/1 GO/FO ratio.
RHP Baron Stuart: (L, 0-2) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
2.01 ERA (22.1 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 13 BB, 30 K). Cohen has nine straight scoreless appearances (11.2 IP, 3 H,
RHP Mason Vinyard: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Game 2
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R, K
…a perfect entree. Lombard Jr. launches his first Double-A home run. He is on a 5-game hitting streak (8-for-19, 5 runs). Before the streak, his OPS at this level was .581. Now, it’s .664. Between Hudson Valley and Somerset, he is 21-for-25 stealing bases in 56 games.
DH Spencer Jones: 3-for-4, 2B (7), HR (11), 2 RBI, 3 R
Jones has 11 home runs in 37 games. All prospects come with risk, but Jones remains one of the biggest boom-bust guys I have covered (yes, Aaron Judge was once on that list. No, I am not saying Jones is Judge)
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-2, RBI, R, HBP, BB, K
.272/.341/.480 in 223 PA (9 doubles, 3 triples, 9 HR, 33 RBI, 32 R, 6.7% BB, 21.97% K). Jasso is a pleasant 2025 surprise.
CF Brendan Jones: 0-for-3, R, SB (1), BB
If Jones can consistently get on base, his wheels are legit. He is 24-for-28 stealing bases in 52 games this year.
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, RBI, SB (5)
RF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-2, 2 RBI, HBP, BB
LF Cam Eden: 0-for-4
C Antonio Gomez: 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K
2B Max Burt: 1-for-2, R, BB, K
RHP Trystan Vrieling: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 K
Vrieling allowed a pair of solo home runs in the first before settling down.
RHP Indigo Diaz: (W, 3-1) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Jordany Ventura: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Luis Pacheco: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
4.91 ERA (22 IP, 22 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 29 K)
Hudson Valley (35-22) (Lost to Greenville, 6-4)
CF Dillon Lewis: 2-for-5
Lewis is 8-for-38 since his promotion.
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-5, 2 SB (10), K
DH Coby Morales: 2-for-4, R, K
3B Parks Harber: 1-for-3, 2B (11), RBI, R, BB
Harber has an 8-game hitting streak. It’s his second 8-game hitting streak this season.
C Omar Martinez: 2-for-4, HR (8), 2 RBI, R
He is pretty much the same hitter he was last year at this level (.247/.356/.409 this year; .238/.374/.404 last year).
2B Jose Colmenares: 0-for-4, 3 K
SS Alexander Vargas: 1-for-3, R, 2 SB (3), BB
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-4, 2 K
RF Luis Durango: 1-for-4, RBI, K
RHP Josh Grosz: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Grosz reached 96 pitches tonight. Season: 3.54 ERA (53.1 IP, 38 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 3 HR, 20 BB, 62 K). He has shown the ability to go deep into games (for a modern pitcher), including a pair of 7-inning outings in addition to pitching into the 7th inning twice.
RHP Chris Kean: (L, 3-2) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
RHP Sebastian Keane: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Keane hadn’t allowed a run since his second appearance (April 9th).
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Tampa (32-25)
Their game against Clearwater was postponed. They will attempt to play two tomorrow.
FCL (14-14)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (2-4)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (2-4)
Day off.