Yankees MILB 6/25: Cam Schlittler: Cheat Code?
Notes:
RHP Ben Hess, last year’s first-round pick, magically made his way back to the mound tonight after missing nearly a month for (?) reasons.
Scranton (40-34) (Defeated Worcester, 4-0)
C Jesus Rodriguez: 0-for-4
Cam Schlittler ran into a little trouble in the 6th inning tonight (allowed three baserunners). Rodriguez helped out his battery mate by throwing out a runner trying to steal. He has caught 15 runners in 40 attempts (37.5%) between Somerset and Scranton. Last season, his success rate was 20.4%.
2B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-3, R, CS (6), BB, K
RF Everson Pereira: 1-for-4, R, 3 K
1B T.J. Rumfield: 3-for-4, 2B (17), 2 RBI, K
Rumfield’s fourth 3+ hit game this season (19th multi-hit effort).
PR-3B Andrew Velazquez: 0-for-0, R, SB (18)
3B-1B CJ Alexander: 0-for-3, BB, K
DH Jose Rojas: 2-for-4, 2B (18), RBI, R, 2 SB (7), K
SS Braden Shewmake: 0-for-4, K
LF Ismael Munguia: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (17), BB
CF Duke Ellis: 1-for-3, 2B (1), SB (3), CS (3), BB
Last year, Ellis was 57-for-61 (93.4%) stealing bases. He may still be trying to get his legs under him after returning from injury.
RHP Cam Schlittler: (W, 2-1) 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K
Schlittler, who retired the first 15 batters, hit 99.3 MPH (also had a 99.2 MPH offering + several pitches over 97) and generated 20 whiffs. For now, if they want to mess around with Allan Winans and Marcus Stroman, whatever. That is especially true if Luis Gil is on the comeback trail. If Schlittler keeps this up, however, they will have a decision to make at some point. Since promotion: 1.69 ERA (21.1 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 33 K). Overall, he owns a 97/25 K/BB over 74.1 innings. I will gladly call out any site that doesn’t place him on their mid-season Top 100.
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Can he get his BB% down to a reasonable number (doesn’t need to be great) while maintaining his ability to limit hits? Answer that riddle to determine if he can be a successful MLB reliever.
RHP Geoff Hartlieb: (S, 2) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
3.58 ERA (32.2 IP, 34 H, 16 R, 13 ER, 2 HR, 10 BB, 36 K)
Somerset (35-36) (Lost to Erie, 9-3. After feasting on New Hamspire last week, the Patriots have run into the buzzsaw known as Erie. They are 47-24.)
2B Roc Riggio: 0-for-3, HBP, K
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-3, 2B (5), R, BB
Lombard Jr. has raised his SLG from .281 to .329 over his last nine games. His Double-A triple slash is now .219/.353/.329 in 44 games. In his first 29 High-A games (2023), his triple slash was .226/.321/.296. We need to allow for more adjustment time in Double-A, and it appears to be happening.
RF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, HR (16), RBI, R, K
Jones is alternating home run and non-home run games (HR, no HR, HR, no HR, HR, no HR, HR, no HR, HR). He has seven home runs in June and is hitting .271/.389/.600 in 203 PA (8 doubles, 16 HR, 31 RBI, 10-for-12 SB, 15.8% BB, 33.99% K). There is no rush to get a prospect from Double-A to Triple-A, but Jones is up to 187 games for Somerset.
1B Rafael Flores: 2-for-4, RBI, K
Flores was slumping for a bit but now has four straight 2-hit efforts (8-for-18 with four doubles). That has spiked his triple slash from .271/.335/.471 to .282/.343/.484.
3B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-4, K
I don’t think I brought up his extended on-base streak (28 games) once before last night. Of course, it would be broken the next day. Sorry.
CF Brendan Jones: 0-for-4
DH Garrett Martin: 0-for-4
C Omar Martinez: 1-for-3, HR (1), RBI, R, K
Martinez homers in his Double-A debut.
LF Cam Eden: 0-for-3, 3 K
RHP Carlos Lagrange: (L, 2-2) 4 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 4 K
Lagrange settled down a little after a 4-run second inning, but this wasn’t his best night (he struck out 12 in 5.1 innings last time out). Since promotion: 6.05 ERA (19.1 IP, 17 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 2 HR, 15 BB, 24 K). He is alternating good and bad starts since his promotion (6 IP, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K; 4 IP, 5 R, 5 BB, 2 K; 5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 12 K; 4 IP, 4 R, 7 BB, 4 K). I expected the BB rate to climb after his promotion. We’ll see how he adjusts.
RHP Mason Vinyard: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
LHP Will Brian: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
At this level: 2.28 ERA (23.2 IP, 18 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 11 BB, 27 K)
RHP Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Ryan Anderson: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Hudson Valley (41-27) (Used an 8-run inning to wallop Wilmington, 10-3)
DH Jackson Castillo: 2-for-6, RBI, R
Last eight games: 10-for-34 (.294). He is hitting better, though the power is non-existent (zero extra-base hits in June; 19 straight games overall)
CF Dillon Lewis: 0-for-2, R, HBP, 2 BB, K
1B Coby Morales: 2-for-4, 2B (13), 2 RBI, 2 R, SB (12), BB
RF Jace Avina: 0-for-2, SF, RBI, R, HBP, K
RF Luis Durango: 0-for-1
2B Jose Colmenares: 1-for-5, 2B (9), 3 RBI, R, 2 K
A big 3-run double in that 5th inning.
SS Alexander Vargas: 3-for-5, HR (3), 2 RBI, 2 R
I always like to see Vargas do well. The bat hasn’t been consistent during his development, which consists of 427 games.
C Manuel Palencia: 1-for-4, R, BB
The 22-year-old hit .312/.380/.422 in 121 PA for the FCL squad. While this is his first taste of High-A, it isn’t his first taste of a full-season league. He played in 39 games for Low-A Tampa between 2023 and 2024.
3B Brenny Escanio: 2-for-5, RBI, R, K
LF Anthony Hall: 1-for-5, 2 K
RHP Ben Hess: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Hess tosses 42 pitches in his return. As long as he is healthy, that’s what is important. Season: 4.32 ERA (41.2 IP, 28 H, 24 R, 20 ER, 1 HR, 27 BB, 62 K)
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
3.20 ERA (19.2 IP, 17 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 32 K). That’s a lot of strikeouts for the 24-year-old, who has 100 in 76 career innings. He missed significant time due to injury last year; otherwise, he may be in Somerset now.
RHP Chris Kean: (W, 4-2) 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Keating: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
2.78 ERA (22.2 IP, 16 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 11 BB, 24 K)
RHP Tony Rossi: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Rossi allows a run for the first time in his career (25.1 innings). He owns a 0.36 ERA between here and Tampa with a 33/8 K/BB.
Tampa (38-32) (Lost to Ft. Myers, 3-1. The Tarpons had their chances, as they walked nine times + a hit batter. The big hit, however, was elusive as they went 1-for-14 with RISP.)
C Edgleen Perez: 3-for-5, R
.205/.362/.233 in 276 PA (6 doubles, 0 HR, 19 RBI, 30 R, 4-for-5 SB, 17.8% BB, 21% K). While the BB% is a good reason to lead him off, it goes beyond that. The Yankees want him to get as many reps as possible.
CF Brian Sanchez: 1-for-4, BB, 2 K
.267/.350/.429 in 220 PA (14 doubles, 4 triples, 3 HR, 29 RBI, 27 R, 18-for-22 SB, 10.9% BB, 24.5% K)
SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-5, 4 K
Ouch. After a brief surge, Arias is back to his old tricks and is hitting .174/.301/.250 in 219 PA. He has a 29.2% K rate, which is slightly down from last season. That offers little comfort, and Arias is getting closer to bust territory.
DH Engelth Urena: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (6), HBP, BB
.214/.347/.345 in 291 PA (10 doubles, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 42 R, 14.1% BB, 17.9% K). He has two doubles, two homers, and seven RBI in his last seven games.
3B Juan Matheus: 0-for-3, SB (22), 2 BB
.261/.352/.336 in 267 PA (15 doubles, 1 triple, 0 HR, 30 RBI, 35 R, 22-for-29 SB, 12.7% BB, 22.5% K). After a strong May, Matheus is hitting .200/.333/.293 in June. The volume of walks has allowed him to go 8-for-10 stealing bases.
LF Hans Montero: 0-for-4, BB, K
RF Marshall Toole: 0-for-4, 2 K
.292/.385/.453 in 187 PA with a 21-for-23 SB rate. A little 1-for-12 slide has dropped him under .300.
1B Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-1, 3 BB
Gonzalez had three walks in his last ten games entering tonight.
2B Santiago Gomez: 0-for-3, SB (3), BB, 3 K
RHP Gage Ziehl: (L, 3-3) 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
I don’t type “8 IP” very often. Ziehl needed only 93 pitches (71 strikes; 76.3%) and had a 13/4 GO/FO ratio, including a pair of double plays. Season: 3.61 ERA (57.1 IP, 54 H, 27 R, 23 ER, 4 HR, 10 BB, 45 K). He entered tonight with a 48.8% ground ball rate.
RHP Jackson Fristoe: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
FCL (17-21)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (7-9)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (6-9)
Day off.