Yankees MILB 6/22: Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz Ks 9
Notes:
Trade analysis links:
Jose Caballero/Camilo Doval (link)
David Bednar/Jake Bird (link)
Ryan McMahon (link)
Amed Rosario (link)
Austin Slater (link)
No other news today.
Scranton (72-48; 34-15 in second half) (Defeated Buffalo, 7-4)
2B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-5, RBI, R, 2 K
C J.C. Escarra: 1-for-3, 2B (2), 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, K
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-5, 2B (8), 3 K
Jones has a pair of doubles and a homer in his last five games. Hey, it’s something.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
Rumfield has 13 walks in 21 August games.
DH Jose Rojas: 2-for-3, R, CS (2), 2 BB, K
LF Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-5, 3 K
3B Jeimer Candelario: 1-for-3, HR (5; grand slam), 4 RBI, R, BB, 2 K
SS Braden Shewmake: 1-for-4, 2B (10), R, 2 K
RF Duke Ellis: 1-for-3, R, SB (31), BB, K
Ellis has 15 stolen bases in 18 August games. He is on a 6-game hitting streak.
RHP Kenta Maeda: (W, 4-5) 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, HR
One great outing, one bad outing, and one in-between outing (tonight) since he was signed.
RHP Bailey Dees: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Since promotion: 1.08 ERA (8.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 9 K). Overall, he owns a 3.49 ERA in 77.1 IP (55 H, 32 R, 30 ER, 7 HR, 36 BB, 89 K)
LHP Jayvien Sandridge: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ian Hamilton: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Jake Bird: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Somerset (61-57; 26-23 in second half) (Lost to Hartford, 4-3. Hartford has taken the first four games in the series, allowing them to pull within a half-game for the second-half title.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (17), BB, K
Lombard Jr.’s 5th double in his last 11 games and 25th in 112 games (he also had 25 in 110 games in 2024).
LF Jace Avina: 1-for-5, 2B (7), RBI, K
Avina is hitting .215/.298/.336 in 121 plate appearances since his promotion.
CF Brendan Jones: 1-for-3, 2 BB, K
Jones has walked 15 times in 19 August games (.250/.400/.406)
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-5, RBI, K
Jasso has gone into an extra-base hit slump (1 double, 1 HR in 19 August games).
RF Garrett Martin: 0-for-4
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, R, SB (10), BB
DH Jackson Castillo: 1-for-3, HBP, 2 K
2B Jake Gatewood: 0-for-4
C Manuel Palencia: 3-for-4, RBI, 2 R
Palencia has seven 3+-hit games in 55 contests this season (Five in the FCL, one in Hudson Valley, one in Somerset).
RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz: (L, 3-2) 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, HR
Rodriguez-Cruz has allowed three home runs in 126.1 innings. For Somerset: 2.32 ERA (42.2 IP, 33 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 47 K). He only tossed 76 pitches, which could mean one of two things: 1. They are starting to ease him down the stretch; 2. Fernando Cruz is nearly at the end of his rehab, and they wanted to use him in the middle of an inning. Or a combination of both!
There’s always a chance that Rodriguez-Cruz will be on the trade block this winter. If not, barring injury, we are likely looking at a 2026 rotation option at some point.
RHP Fernando Cruz: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LHP Will Brian: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
2.30 ERA (31.1 IP, 24 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 15 BB, 34 K). Injuries have impacted his career, but one thing you like to see is that he has allowed only one home run in 50.1 career innings.
Hudson Valley (71-43; 33-17 second half) (Lost to Jersey Shore, 3-0. The pitching has been there, but the offense is in a slump)
CF Dillon Lewis: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
DH Core Jackson: 1-for-3, 2B (4), BB, K
3B Juan Matheus: 0-for-4, K
SS Kaeden Kent: 1-for-4, CS (1), 2 K
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
Urena is 4-for-40 with nine walks and nine strikeouts since his promotion.
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-2, BB, 2 K
LF Tyler Wilson: 2-for-3
Wilson is 12-for-35 (.343) since his promotion.
RF Luis Durango: 0-for-3, K
2B Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, K
Cobb is off to a 2-for-15 start at this level.
LHP Xavier Rivas: (L, 1-1) 5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, HR
His second straight 10+ strikeout effort (third overall). Since promotion: 1.50 ERA (18 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 27 K). Overall, across three levels (FCL, Tampa, Hudson Valley), he owns a 3.77 ERA in 74 innings (47 H, 34 R, 31 ER, 6 HR, 45 BB, 96 K). An interesting debut campaign for the 23-year-old (he spent most of the season as a 22-year-old). Tough to hit, too many walks, plenty of strikeouts.
RHP Tyrone Yulie: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Jordany Ventura: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Brady Kirtner: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Tampa (56-60; 20-31 in the second half) (Defeated Ft. Myers, 11-2. They have put together back-to-back 11-run games. They lost last night, though)
SS Dax Kilby: 2-for-6, RBI, 2 R, SB (6), 2 K
Since starting 0-for-9: 8-for-25 with a pair of doubles, three walks, and six stolen bases. He won’t turn 19 until November.
3B Roderick Arias: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (31), HBP, BB, K
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, SB (8), HBP, 2 K
Tejeda has a 9-game hitting streak. This was his first multi-hit game during the streak.
1B Jackson Lovich: 2-for-4, 2B (4), 2 RBI, R, BB
Lovich is loving life as a professional baseball player. He has hit safely in all five of his professional games, four of which are multi-hit efforts (12-for-20, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 7 RBI, 8 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 3-for-3 SB)
2B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-5, 3B (2), 3 RBI, R, K
Martin-Grudzielanek clears the bases with a triple.
RF Richie Bonomolo: 1-for-5, 2B (3), R, K
CF Willy Montero: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
LF Eric Genther: 0-for-4, BB
C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 2 R, 2 SB (12), 2 BB
LHP Henry Lalane: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 K
At this level: 0.75 ERA (12 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 10 BB, 12 K). An intriguing tall left-hander, Lalane topped out at only 92.6 MPH tonight. While he is Rule 5 eligible this winter, it is hard to imagine anyone jumping on him if left unprotected. It isn’t 0%, though.
RHP Edinzo Marquez: (W, 1-2) 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
A solid effort for the 20-year-old.
RHP Gus Hughes: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
FCL (28-30)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (24-32)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (31-25)
Their season is over.