Yankees MILB 8/15: Kaeden Kent Goes Yard
Notes:
Trade analysis links:
Jose Caballero/Camilo Doval (link)
David Bednar/Jake Bird (link)
Ryan McMahon (link)
Amed Rosario (link)
Austin Slater (link)
Alexander Vargas, one of the most expensive international players in the system, has been released.
The shortstop, who signed for $2.5 million in 2018, struggled to find a groove. In his debut 2019 campaign, he hit a decent .233/.313/.373 (97 wRC+) with a homer and 15 stolen bases. Like with every prospect, 2020 was a lost season as it was canceled due to COVID. Further complicating his development, he played in only 42 games in 2021.
In summary, after signing in 2018, he played in 90 games from 2019 to 2021. Using Pipeline, he ascended to the 13th position in the organization (2021) and appeared on their list in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
His prospect status eroded in 2022 (.203/.271/.311; 68 wRC+) and 2023 (.206/.248/.342; 59 wRC+). He hit better in 2024 (94 wRC+) and 2025 (92 wRC+), but that wasn’t enough to keep his job. At 23 years old, he could catch on elsewhere, especially since he has a solid defensive reputation.
By the way, one name I forgot about for a possible demotion once Fernando Cruz and Ryan Yarbrough are ready is Brent Headrick. Pick two of three from Headrick, Yerry De los Santos, and Cam Schlittler. Some of that depends on what Yarbrough’s role will be.
Scranton (68-47; 30-13 in second half) (Lost to Indianapolis, 6-5, in ten innings.)
2B Jorbit Vivas: 2-for-5, R, K
1B T.J. Rumfield: 2-for-4, 2B (30), R, BB, K
.308/.391/.495 in 463 PA (30 doubles, 1 triple, 14 HR, 79 RBI, 70 R).
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-5, RBI, 4 K
Jones falls under .300 since his promotion (.294/.369/.629). When he had his 3-HR game (the last game he played before his back injury), he was hitting .400/.457/.950 at this level. That was unsustainable, but there is no doubt that his slump is a deep one. Also, the strikeouts are appearing in bulk.
DH Jose Rojas: 1-for-4, HR (23), RBI, R, BB, K
Rojas, who has homered in three straight games, is eight home runs away from tying his personal best (2019 for Salt Lake).
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
3B Jeimer Candelario: 1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, R
SS Braden Shewmake: 1-for-3, R, SB (12), BB
Shewmake has survived on the 40-man roster all season.
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, 3 K
PR Andrew Velazquez: 0-for-0, CS (4)
C Rob Brantly: 0-for-0
LF Duke Ellis: 1-for-4, SB (25)
RHP Kenta Maeda: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Maeda’s second start isn’t as impressive as the first one was.
RHP Baron Stuart: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Scott Effross: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Kervin Castro: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Jake Bird: (L, 1-1) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Bird needed a night like this. No, I don’t care that the ghost runner scored – he wasn’t even on the mound when it happened.
LHP Jayvien Sandridge: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Somerset (59-53; 24-20 in second half) (Lost to Portland, 3-1)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-4, K
RF Jace Avina: 1-for-3, 2B (6), R, BB
Avina is hitting .244/.340/.384 in 100 PA (12% BB, 23% K) since his promotion. Not bad for a 22-year-old getting his first taste of Double-A.
DH Brendan Jones: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (13), BB
Jones is 36-for-43 in the stolen base department this season and continues to have a higher OPS here (.774) than he had in Hudson Valley (.711).
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-4, SB (1)
Jasso isn’t a big walker (7.6%). Stealing bases? 3-for-5 in his career. Whether he can hit consistently will determine his future.
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, 2B (19), R, 2 K
CF Garrett Martin: 0-for-3, 2 SB (16), BB, 2 K
Martin’s first stolen bases since June 27th. He missed some time due to injury.
LF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-4, 2B (8), RBI, K
C Tomas Frick: 2-for-4, K
2B Jake Gatewood: 0-for-4, K
RHP Trent Sellers (L, 2-5): 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K
3.65 ERA (91.1 IP, 73 H, 40 R, 37 ER, 8 HR, 47 BB, 103 K). He’s rarely asked to go deep into games. How rare? This is the first time in his career that he has completed six innings.
LHP Ryan Anderson: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Hudson Valley (68-41; 30-15 second half) (Defeated Aberdeen, 5-2. As I stated last night, this team has been gutted as the season has gone along – but it isn’t stopping the wins. At least not yet)
CF Dillon Lewis: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
They even win a game where their “veteran” player doesn’t contribute much.
3B Kaeden Kent: 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R
Kent is the first 2025 Yankees’ draftee to put one over the fence.
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-2, R, HBP, BB
DH Juan Matheus: 2-for-4, 2B (5), 2 R, 2 K
Matheus continues to chug along. He is 11-for-34 (.324) with five doubles since his promotion and is on a 5-game hitting streak (10-for-21).
SS Core Jackson: 0-for-2, 2 HBP
1B Tyler Wilson: 2-for-4, RBI
Wilson is 8-for-22 since his promotion.
RF Cam Troyer: 0-for-4, RBI
2B Connor McGinnis: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Joe Delossantos: 0-for-3
LHP Xavier Rivas: (W, 1-0) 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 12 K
Rivas also had a 13-strikeout effort for Tampa earlier this season. In two starts here: 12.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 17 K. The 23-year-old was drafted in the 16th round in the 2024 draft out of Ole Miss (he pitched only one season for the Rebels after transferring from Indianapolis)
RHP Jordany Ventura: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Tony Rossi (S, 7): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
Tampa (52-58; 16-29 in the second half) (Lost to Dunedin, 7-6, in ten innings)
DH Dax Kilby: 1-for-5, SB (2), K
Kilby is 2-for-17 with a pair of stolen bases. This is about getting his feet wet heading into the off-season. That would be true even if he were 12-for-17.
SS Roderick Arias: 0-for-5, RBI, R, 2 K
1B Kyle West: 0-for-1, K
I am not sure why West left the game.
C Ediel Rivera: 0-for-2, R, HBP, BB, K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-5, R
RF Marshall Toole: 2-for-5, HR (5), 3 RBI, R, SB (37)
Toole’s 3-run home run tied the game in the 9th. He is hitting .301/.403/.493 in 325 PA. Five home runs in 325 plate appearances doesn’t qualify as a power surge, but Toole has impressed this season with his combination of speed and extra-base hits. We’ll see if he can maintain it at higher levels, but many prospects don’t progress beyond this point.
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, CS (1)
CF Wilson Rodriguez: 1-for-3, 2B (4), BB, K
.242/.345/.396 since his promotion.
LF Eric Genther: 1-for-3, R, SB (2), BB
C-1B Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-3, R, SB (10), BB, K
RHP Mariano Salomon: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR
Since promotion: 5.47 ERA (24.2 IP, 24 H, 16 R, 15 ER, 5 HR, 9 BB, 20 K).
RHP Jackson Fristoe: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
RHP Gus Hughes: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Chris Veach: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
2.66 ERA (47.1 IP, 39 H, 22 R, 14 ER, 5 HR, 26 BB, 62 K)
RHP Hans Montero: (L, 0-1) 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
The Yankees rarely ask their relief prospects to pitch on back-to-back days. Their position players? Fair game.
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 (22-31) (Lost to the DSL Rockies (39-14 – wow), 12-5)
DH Francisco Vilorio: 1-for-3, R, BB
SS Mani Cedeno: 1-for-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, R, 2 K
The strikeouts are high, but he is starting to show pop (all three HR are in August; .588 SLG)
2B Carlos Bello: 0-for-3, SB (14), BB, 2 K
LF Wilberson De Pena: 1-for-4, R, K
1B Diego Flores: 2-for-4, 2 2B (5), RBI, 2 R
The 18-year-old is hitting .271/.357/.375 in 56 plate appearances.
RHP Jhosneyker Colina (L, 1-3): 3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
The 17-year-old has tossed 42.2 innings this year, which is valuable. He has a 4.85 ERA and 30/20 K/BB.
RHP Jose Vargas: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Luis Ilarraza: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
DSL Bombers (29-24) (Defeated the DSL Rangers Blue, 11-4. They cannot catch the Marlins for the division and automatic berth, so it’s all about those wild cards. They have won three in a row and will probably need to win on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. Their final three games are against DSL Colorado (21-31), DSL Miami (36-17), and DSL Mets Blue (18-35).
SS Stiven Marinez: 1-for-4, BB
He is now the owner of a 10-game hitting streak (16-for-39; 2 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR)
1B Leni Done: 1-for-2, 4 R, SB (15), CI, BB
3B Juan Torres: 4-for-5, 2B (10), 3B (1), 4 RBI, 2 R, K
.361/.401/.524 in 162 PA (10 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 43 RBI, 31 R, 12-for-20 SB, 3.7% BB, 12.3% K). He has three straight multi-hit efforts, and this was his first 4-hit game. Looks like he is going with the old “You can’t walk your way off the island” mantra.
DH David Carrera: 2-for-5, RBI, K
LF Angel Ventura: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 SB (21), BB
C Carlos Rondon: 1-for-3, HR (2), 3 RBI, R, BB, K
After going 8-for-61 in 28 games last year, he is hitting .258/.434/.419 in 26 games this year.
RHP Randy Angomas: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
The 17-year-old comes within an out of notching his first professional win.
RHP Christopher Vasquez (W, 1-1): 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
RHP Diego Carrillo: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
The 18-year-old is 4-0 with a 4.36 ERA in 15 games (33 IP, 29 H, 18 R, 16 ER, 5 HR, 16 BB, 29 K)