Yankees MILB 8/12: Brandon Decker Tosses 6 Scoreless Innings
Notes:
Trade analysis links:
Jose Caballero/Camilo Doval (link)
David Bednar/Jake Bird (link)
Ryan McMahon (link)
Amed Rosario (link)
Austin Slater (link)
The Yankees were lacking catching depth after the trade deadline. They added to it today by signing Rob Brantly to a minor league contract. The 36-year-old has 140 games of MLB experience (including seven with the Yankees), hitting .226/.286/.323 with seven home runs and 38 RBI. He is the pure definition of a grinder, having played for 12 different organizations, including six at the Major League level.
Brantly will join youngster Omar Martinez in Scranton. Edinson Duran was moved back to the Development List.
Scranton (67-45; 29-11 in second half) (Lost to Indianapolis, 6-5)
2B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-5, SB (10), K
1B T.J. Rumfield: 1-for-4, R, HBP
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, K
Full numbers (including time at Somerset): .293/.394/.640 in 358 PA (14 doubles, 30 HR, 62 RBI, 75 R, 25-for-29 SB, 13.4% BB, 30.4% K)
DH Jose Rojas: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-4, 2B (11), R, K
SS Braden Shewmake: 0-for-4, RBI
3B Jeimer Candelario: 1-for-4, HR (3), RBI, R
C Omar Martinez: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB
Since promotion: 5-for-16 with a double, a triple, and five RBI. Even with the presence of Brantly, I suspect Martinez will get most of the playing time.
LF Duke Ellis: 2-for-3, 2B (11), HR (2), 2 RBI, R, BB
Ellis is 17-for-35 (.486) with four doubles and two home runs in August. He has ten multi-hit efforts in his last 14 games.
RHP Erick Leal: (L, 7-9) 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
RHP Kervin Castro: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.51 ERA (35.2 IP, 19 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 16 BB, 44 K)
RHP Scott Effross: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ian Hamilton: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Somerset (58-51; 23-18 in second half) (Lost to Portland, 6-3)
CF Brendan Jones: 0-for-3, SB (12), BB, 2 K
Pipeline has Jones ranked 16th in their organizational Top 30, given praise for his discipline, speed, and ability to play all three outfield positions. Additionally, they mentioned his sneaky pull pop. If that sounds a bit Brett Gardner-ish, I can see it. But don’t underestimate how high the Brett Gardner bar is.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-2, HBP, BB, 2 K
Lombard Jr. leads the organization with 13 HBP (103 games) this season.
3B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Jace Avina: 1-for-4, 2 K
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, 3B (3), 2 R, BB, K
RF Garrett Martin: 1-for-4, HR (11), 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Over the last two seasons, Martin has 28 doubles, 23 home runs, and 33 stolen bases in 166 games between here and Hudson Valley. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and is 25 years old.
DH Coby Morales: 1-for-3, BB
C Manuel Palencia: 1-for-4, K
2B Duncan Pastore: 0-for-4, K
RHP Ben Hess: (L, 0-2) 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Hess’ second Double-A start (9 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 10 K). Overall, Hess owns a 104/36 K/BB over 75.2 innings.
RHP Luis Pacheco: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Danny Watson: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
We’ll take the two shutout innings, but this ends his impressive walkless inning streak (28.2 innings). His ERA is now 5.65 (43 IP, 50 H, 28 R, 27 ER, 6 HR, 8 BB, 46 K).
Hudson Valley (65-41; 27-15 second half) (Lost to Aberdeen, 5-2)
CF Dillon Lewis: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
SS Kaeden Kent: 0-for-4, K
Kent is 2-for-19 with a double to begin his career.
C Engelth Urena: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB
Urena is 3-for-23 since his promotion. Was he ready for this level? Maybe not, but the Yankees are likely giving him a taste of where he will be next year.
3B Juan Matheus: 1-for-4, 2B (3), K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (8), BB
2B Core Jackson: 0-for-4, K
RF Tyler Wilson: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Cam Troyer: 1-for-3, SB (1), BB, K
Troyer is 3-for-13 with a double, two walks, and two strikeouts to begin his professional career.
DH Joe Delossantos: 0-for-4, 2 K
RHP Brandon Decker: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Decker allowed seven runs in 5.2 innings in his High-A debut. He turned that around in his second start. The seven strikeouts are a new personal best.
RHP Tyrone Yulie: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 0 K
RHP Tony Rossi: (L, 0-2) 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Chris Kean: 1 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
RHP Jordany Ventura: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Tampa (50-56; 14-27 in the second half) (Won two games against Dunedin)
Game 1 (Won, 3-1. This was the conclusion of a game started earlier this season.)
C Edgleen Perez: 0-for-1, BB
The last time Perez will be featured in one of my daily reports (he’ll appear in future “Where are they now?” articles). In case you are wondering, he is 3-for-14 with three walks and no strikeouts since being traded to the Pirates.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-2, R, SB (1), K
SS Roderick Arias: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (23), CS (6), BB, K
DH Engelth Urena: 0-for-2
PH-DH Hans Montero: 0-for-2, K
3B Juan Matheus: 0-for-2
2B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-2, R, SB (1)
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Wilson Rodriguez: 1-for-4, 2B (3)
RF Marshall Toole: 1-for-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Toole’s 2-run home run in the top of the 9th broke a 1-1 tie.
2B Owen Cobb: 0-for-1, K
PH-1B Kyle West: 0-for-3, K
1B-C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-2, 2B (7), BB
RHP Brandon Decker: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Becker shows up twice in today’s report!
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Gus Hughes: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Cade Austin (W, 5-1): 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Game 2 (Won, 6-2)
SS Dax Kilby: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB
Kilby reaches base for the first time in his professional career (0-for-9, 2 BB)
3B Roderick Arias: 3-for-4, 2B (16), 2 R, SB (28), K
Now that he is over .200 (.207/.323/.313 in 376 PA), hopefully he can build on it and finish the season strongly.
1B Kyle West: 1-for-3, RBI, R, SB (1), K
West is 4-for-24 with a double and a pair of walks to start his professional career.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-2, RBI, SB (3), 2 BB
Tejeda is hitting .208, but has 16 walks in 16 games.
CF Marshall Toole: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, SB (33)
.296/.399/.477 in 306 PA (13 doubles, 11 triples, 4 HR, 39 RBI, 54 R, 33-for-36 SB, 13.7% BB, 20.9% K).
LF Willy Montero: 0-for-2, BB
RF Eric Genther: 0-for-3
DH Richie Bonomolo Jr.: 1-for-3, 2B (1), R, SB (1), 2 K
C Ediel Rivera: 1-for-3, R
Rivera is 2-for-15 without a walk or a strikeout since his promotion.
LHP Henry Lalane: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Since joining Tampa: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 8 K. Will the Yankees ask him to stretch out before the season concludes? We’ll see. He threw 51 pitches tonight.
RHP Jackson Fristoe: (W, 4-2) 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
4.72 ERA (47.2 IP, 41 H, 29 R, 25 ER, 9 HR, 30 BB, 40 K).
RHP Jack Sokol: (S, 1) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
FCL (28-30)
Their season is over.
In case you are wondering, the DSL ends on August 19th. The Yankees have no shot at the playoffs. The Bombers still have a chance to make it into the 16-team field.
DSL Yankees (22-29) (Lost to the DSL Twins, 9-0. This game won’t show up on Yankees Classics)
CF Francisco Vilorio: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
SS Mani Cedeno: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Isaias Castillo: 1-for-4
2B Alfred Ciriaco: 1-for-2
RF Alfiery Matos: 1-for-3, SB (10), K
RHP Enixon Sanchez (L, 1-4) 3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
The 18-year-old owns a 4.97 ERA in 41.2 IP (48 H, 31 R, 23 ER, 2 HR, 30 BB, 46 K)
DSL Bombers (27-24) (Defeated the DSL Phillies White, 7-1. The Bombers have little room to lose games if they want to grab one of those tournament slots)
SS Stiven Marinez was out of the lineup again, so it’s safe to say he is dealing with something. The season is nearly over, so we’ll see if he gets back into the lineup before they pack their bags.
LF Ruben Castillo: 0-for-4
2B Christofer Reyes: 0-for-2, R, BB
RF Jose Castro: 1-for-3, R
3B Juan Torres: 2-for-3, 2B (9), RBI, R, CS (8)
Torres has been ridiculous from the start. This is his 12th multi-hit effort (43 games played), and he is hitting .345/.389/.493 with four home runs and 39 RBI in 157 plate appearances.
SS Leni Done: 0-for-2, R, BB
LF David Carrera: 0-for-2, R, BB, 2 K
DH Richard Meran: 0-for-1, RBI, R, 2 BB
1B Remy Veldhuisen: 1-for-1, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
C Carlos Rondon: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, K
RHP Ranciel Abreu: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
The 18-year-old makes his professional debut.
LHP Junior Tavera (W, 2-1): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K
The 18-year-old has encountered the same issue many 18-year-olds encounter as they begin their careers: Walks. He has walked 48 batters in 52 career innings (59 strikeouts).