Yankees MILB 8/24: Carlos Lagrange’s Solid Effort
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 (74-49; 36-15 in second half) (Defeated Buffalo, 5-3)
Syracuse has fallen three games behind the pace (33-18) while Toledo (31-19) has surged past Indianapolis (31-20). Toledo’s game is still in-progress today. These are the four teams currently in the mix for the second-half title. Whoever has the best record will take on Jacksonville for the International League championship for a spot in Las Vegas to play the PCL winner for the overall Triple-A title.
3B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-3, CS (8), 2 BB
C J.C. Escarra: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
LF Brennen Davis: 1-for-4, K
PR-CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-1, R
Spencer Jones, pinch-run specialist!
DH T.J. Rumfield: 1-for-4, R, 2 K
Rumfield is trying to hang onto that .300 average (.301/.390/.483)
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-4, 2 K
1B Jeimer Candelario: 2-for-4, 2 R
SS Braden Shewmake: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, R, BB, K
.247/.323/.372 in 252 PA.
2B Andrew Velazquez: 2-for-3, SF, RBI, SB (24), K
CF-LF Duke Ellis: 1-for-4, 2B (14), 2 RBI, SB (32)
Ellis increases his hitting streak to seven, all 1-hit games (even with that, he is 24-for-56 this month). He has 16 stolen bases in August.
RHP Erick Leal: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
RHP Zach Messinger: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Messinger reached 96.1 MPH with his fastball today.
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Since promotion: 1.35 ERA (20 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 10 BB, 19 K). I was asked if the 26-year-old is a legit relief prospect. I would say “Yes,” but he isn’t your typical hard-throwing reliever. He tries to get outs more with his cutter-change mix. And, yes – it is still true that most of your top relievers were starters who needed to convert for one reason or another. Regardless, I think Cohen makes it to MLB – from there? Who knows?
RHP Scott Effross: (W, 2-4) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Kervin Castro: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Finally, I was able to use him for SF, < 3.00 ERA in the Immaculate Grid! As for this season, he owns a 1.41 ERA in 38.1 IP (22 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 18 BB, 48 K)
RHP Joel Kuhnel: (S, 5) 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Somerset (62-58; 27-24 in second half) (Lost to Hartford, 1-0. This lineup isn’t deep to begin with – when Dylan Jasso (who was pulled in last night’s game) and Brendan Jones get a day off, the lack of offense stands out even more.)
Their lead for the second-half title is 0.5 games, as Hartford comes to New Jersey and takes 5-of-6. The mediocre records allow for Portland, despite being under .500, to dream of a second-half title as well).
Making life tougher for Somerset is this week’s series against Binghamton, the best team in the Eastern League (they will win the first and second half titles, which is what opens the door for someone else to make the playoffs)
Somerset’s season ends on September 14th.
3B George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-2, 2 BB
Lombard Jr. has 14 walks in August (.213/.359/.347). If you want to say, “We were fooled by Anthony Volpe – why should we trust George Lombard Jr.?”, that’s valid. But just because one highly-touted infielder is failing doesn’t mean the next one will.
RF Jace Avina: 0-for-4, K
My nephew, who was at the game, commented on how hard Avina was hitting the ball today without any results.
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, 2B (21), HBP, K
With the bases loaded and one out early in the game, he hit a fly ball to RF that was converted into an inning-ending double play. That’s how it goes.
CF Garrett Martin: 0-for-4, 3 K
It’s been a tough season for Martin, who is hitting .206/.275/.358 with 11 homers in 87 games. Last year, for Hudson Valley, he hit .216/.326/.422 with 12 homers in 87 games. More patience with more extra-base hits. Double-A is not easy, folks.
LF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-4, 2 K
DH Coby Morales: 0-for-2, BB, 2 K
SS Jake Gatewood: 0-for-3, K
2B Duncan Pastore: 1-for-3
C Manuel Palencia: 0-for-2, BB
RHP Carlos Lagrange: (L, 5-5) 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, HR
Always nice when Lagrange keeps the walks to a minimum. At this level: 3.68 ERA (63.2 IP, 43 H, 29 R, 26 ER, 4 HR, 41 BB, 83 K). Overall: 3.84 ERA (105.1 IP, 74 H, 49 R, 45 ER, 8 HR, 53 BB, 147 K). Most importantly is that he is getting a lot of reps this year after tossing only 21 innings in 2024.
RHP Hayden Merda: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Indigo Diaz: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Kelly Austin: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
2.87 ERA (37.2 IP, 31 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 1 HR, 21 BB, 35 K)
RHP Danny Watson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
5.55 ERA (47 IP, 56 H, 30 R, 29 ER, 6 HR, 8 BB, 48 K). Watson, who carries a .373 BABIP, should be commended for not losing confidence after a dreadful start to his campaign. He was injured late in 2023 then pitched in a few games in April 2024 before going back on the injured list. Did it simply take him a while to find his groove? I don’t know the answer to that. He’s Rule 5 eligible.
Hudson Valley (71-45; 34-19 second half) (Lost to Jersey Shore, 9-1)
Hudson Valley’s season ends on September 7th.
Their goal this coming week is to stay within striking distance of Greensboro (37-17), as the two squads square off in the season-ending 6-game series. It may seem unfair for Hudson Valley to miss the playoffs, but Greensboro is 82-37 with no guarantee that they will make the playoffs. These are the two best squads in the Sally League this year but Brooklyn did just enough in the first half to hold off Greensboro.
CF Dillon Lewis: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
Lewis is hitting .238/.319/.443 with a 10-for-11 stolen base rate at this level.
SS Core Jackson: 1-for-4, CS (1), K
3B Juan Matheus: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
Matheus is one of those prospects who walked more than he struck out when he was in the rookie leagues, but (predictably) hasn’t been able to do that with his move to full-season leagues. That said, he still has 54 walks in 462 plate appearances this year (11.7%).
DH Kaeden Kent: 0-for-4, K
C Engelth Urena: 1-for-4, 2 K
Urena is hitting .114 (5-for-44) since his promotion. He just turned 21 last week, but there is no doubt that his trademark pop hasn’t showed up much this season.
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Tyler Wilson: 1-for-3, BB
Wilson is 13-for-42 (.310) since his promotion. He is a switch-hitter, if you didn’t know that already.
RF Camden Troyer: 0-for-4, K
2B Connor McGinnis: 0-for-3, R
RHP Cade Smith (L, 0-1): 3.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, HR
Smith threw 74 pitches today. We won’t get a read on him this season – it’s just good that he was able to get in some work before the season concluded.
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
RHP Sebastian Keane: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Gabonia has sneakily put up a solid season. He owns a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings (28 H, 16 R, 11 ER, 0 HR, 12 BB, 39 K). He has pitched well enough in 35 High-A games to get a shot in Somerset next season.
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
1.95 ERA (50.2 IP, 30 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 1 HR, 11 BB, 54 K). If Hudson Valley doesn’t make the playoffs, I wonder if they will send Warrecker up to Somerset after next week to get his feet wet.
Tampa (56-60; 20-31 in the second half)
Their doubleheader against Ft. Myers was canceled due to rain. The games will not be made up.
Tampa’s season ends on September 7th.
FCL (28-30)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (24-32)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (31-25)
Their season is over.