Yankees MILB 8/26: Dax Kilby’s Big Night
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 have released RHP Leonardo Pestana, who was pitching for Triple-A Scranton.
The 26-year-old started his professional journey in 2018 and was primarily a starter through 2023. Injuries were a major part of that journey, as he has never tossed more than 54.1 innings in a season.
This year, he pitched to a 6.49 ERA (6.99 FIP) in 43 innings with a 24.6% K, 17.1% BB, and 45% GB.
RHP Yerry De los Santos was demoted to Scranton, while RHP Wilking Rodriguez, one of the final cuts during Spring Training, was activated from the 60-day injured list.
Scranton (75-49; 37-15 in second half) (Defeated Syracuse, one of the teams trying to run them down in the standings, 9-4)
2B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-4, BB, K
C J.C. Escarra: 1-for-5, HR (1), RBI, R
Escarra isn’t sulking down here, as he is hitting .314 (16-for-51).
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-4, 3 K
Jones is 15-for-91 (.165) with 37 strikeouts in August. He was hitting better lately, to be fair, though tonight’s game is one to toss.
LF Brennen Davis: 1-for-3, HR (10), RBI, R, BB
Davis has ten home runs in 20 Triple-A games. My goodness.
PR-LF Ismael Munguia: 0-for-0, R, SB (23)
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 3-for-4, RBI, 2 R
The veteran masher is 22-for-65 (.338) in August. In an interesting twist, De La Cruz (who is known as an all-or-nothing hitter) hasn’t homered this month.
3B Jeimer Candelario: 1-for-3, HR (7), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
The veteran has homered in three of his last four games. According to GameCast, this home run went 534 feet. I have this sneaky suspicion that is a glitch in the system.
DH Jose Rojas: 1-for-2, HR (24), 2 RBI, R, SB (11), 2 BB
SS Andrew Velazquez: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, K
LHP Ryan Yarbrough: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Yarbrough tossed 63 pitches tonight and has to be close to a return. The Yankees may see something in Paul Blackburn and wish to keep him, but is he not the most logical candidate to cut? Yarbrough can slide right into the same role.
RHP Bailey Dees: (W, 1-0) 0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Wilking Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Rodriguez’s first appearance since June 4th. The 35-year-old grinder, who hit 97 MPH tonight, is still trying to get back to MLB for the first time since 2014 (two scoreless innings for the Kansas City Royals. It was the only time he has ever appeared in MLB. This takes dedication, folks.)
RHP Jake Bird: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
I know it’s only Triple-A, but Bird needed an outing like this.
LHP Jayvien Sandridge: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Scott Effross: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Somerset (62-59; 27-25 in second half) (Lost to Binghamton, 8-1. Somerset picked the wrong time to go into a slump. The only good news is that Hartford also lost, so the Patriots remain 0.5 games ahead in the race for a playoff berth.)
Somerset’s season ends on September 14th.
CF Brendan Jones: 1-for-4, 2 K
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-4, 2 K
I again remind myself of all the fools who were calling for the Yankees to use him right out of Spring Training. The best part about that is he won’t be the last one to get this treatment from fans who think earning some hits against Joe Quadruple-A in Spring Training is somehow meaningful.
3B Dylan Jasso: 1-for-3, BB, K
Thankfully, if he was injured on Saturday, he wasn’t out for long. He is hitting .276/.344/.438 (16 doubles, 13 HR, 63 RBI) in 459 PA and has a 5-game hitting streak.
LF Jace Avina: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Coby Morales: 0-for-4, K
DH Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, 2B (22), R, K
Hardman, who is auditioning for everyone at this point, is having a nice August (20-for-72 (.278); 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR).
RF Garrett Martin: 0-for-3, BB
C Tomas Frick: 0-for-3, K
2B Jake Gatewood: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 K
LHP Brock Selvidge: (L, 2-5) 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
At this level: 5.09 ERA (58.1 IP, 53 H, 34 R, 32 ER, 4 HR, 32 BB, 45 K)
RHP Baron Stuart: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
With De los Santos and Rodriguez pitching for Scranton, Stuart was sent back to Somerset.
LHP Will Brian: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Carson Coleman: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Coleman becoming a legitimate relief prospect again would be quite the story.
Hudson Valley (71-46; 34-20 second half) (Somehow lost to Brooklyn, 10-9. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead and still held a 9-7 edge heading into the bottom of the 9th. Brooklyn’s Nick Roselli hit a 2-out, 3-run walk-off home run to stun the Renegades. It was the 22-year-old’s first High-A home run (28th game). Wow.)
Greensboro won, so they have a 3-game lead over Hudson Valley. They face each other in the last week of the season (next week). Hudson Valley wants those six games to mean something.
CF Dillon Lewis: 1-for-3, 2B (12), R, SB (11), 3 BB, K
Since promotion: .239/.326/.445 in 283 PA (12 doubles, 3 triples, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 11-for-12 SB, 10.95% BB, 19.8% K). This is his first career 3-walk effort.
2B Core Jackson: 2-for-5, 2B (5), 2 R, BB, K
3B Juan Matheus: 2-for-4, 2B (7), 2 BB
Matheus’ 30th double (112 games) between here and Tampa. He will never come close to 30 home runs (understatement), so a 30/30 doubles/stolen bases season is a fun accomplishment for him.
SS Kaeden Kent: 1-for-5, 2 RBI, R, HBP, K
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-5, R, BB, 2 K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-4, BB, K
RF Camden Troyer: 2-for-4, 2B (2), RBI, R, BB, K
Troyer is hitting .310/.383/.357 in his first 47 professional plate appearances. He has five walks and four strikeouts.
LF Luis Durango: 3-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, 4 SB (14), HBP, BB
Speed is Durango’s game. He hasn’t homered since his 2021 debut season, but he does have 101 career stolen bases (80.8% success rate) in 217 games. In case you forgot (and why would you remember?), he was chosen in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft out of the Cleveland organization.
DH Joe Delossantos: 1-for-5, 3B (1), RBI, R, K
RHP Brandon Decker: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Since promotion: 5.40 ERA (21.2 IP, 20 H, 14 R, 13 ER, 9 BB, 28 K).
RHP Brady Kirtner: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Chris Kean: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 0 K
RHP Tony Rossi: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Making matters worse: Rossi struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the 9th.
RHP Tyrone Yulie: (L, 1-3) 0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
Yulie has zero saves and six blown saves this season.
Tampa (57-60; 21-31 in the second half) (Destroyed Bradenton, 13-2. The Tarpons don’t have a playoff berth to fight for, but they can make a run at a .500 season.)
C Edgleen Perez, traded to the Pirates as part of the David Bednar trade, is playing for Bradenton. He is 7-for-41 with a pair of doubles since the trade. However, he has walked (9) more times than he has struck out (6).
Tampa’s season ends on September 7th.
SS Dax Kilby: 4-for-5, 3B (1), 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB (8), BB, K
While I have been consistently saying that what he does in 2025 shouldn’t be overanalyzed, I can say that it is impressive how quickly the 18-year-old is adjusting to professional baseball. This is his 4th multi-hit performance in his last five games, and his triple slash reads .308/.400/.410 in 45 PA.
3B Roderick Arias: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, SB (32), BB
.214/.330/.325 in 425 PA (17 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 50 RBI, 58 R, 32-for-41 SB, 14.1% BB, 28.7% K). While he has hit better lately (23-for-81 (.284) in August), his overall OPS is still 73 points below his 2024 number.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
Tejeda’s hitting streak ends at ten. His on-base streak is up to 17.
CF Marshall Toole: 0-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
1B Jackson Lovich: 2-for-2, 3B (2), 2 RBI, R, BB
The good news: Lovich remains red hot to start his career (14-for-22 (.636; 4 doubles, 2 triples) + hitting safely in all six games, including five multi-hit efforts.) The bad news: I am not sure why he was pulled from the game.
1B Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-1
RHP Richie Bonomolo Jr.: 0-for-5, 2 K
RF Willy Montero: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, R
Montero’s third 3-hit effort in August. He is 22-for-72 (.306) this month.
LF Eric Genther: 2-for-4, 2B (3), 3 R, HBP, K
The undrafted free agent signing is 9-for-36 (.250; 3 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 10 R, 7 BB, 6 K)
C Ediel Rivera: 1-for-5, RBI, R, SB (3), 2 K
RHP Luis Serna: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Serna tossed 39 pitches in his third start, coming off an injury. As I said about Cade Smith on Sunday, we aren’t going to get much of a read on the 21-year-old this year. Someone mentioned the possibility of sending him to the Arizona Fall League. That seems possible.
RHP Cade Austin: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
LHP Franyer Herrera: (W, 2-0) 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Since promotion: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K. He had a 2.33 ERA and 28/9 K/BB over 27 innings for the FCL squad.
RHP Tyler Boudreau: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Gus Hughes: 1.1 IP, 1 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.