Yankees MILB 8/31: Cade Smith: 5 Shutout Innings
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 to report.
Scranton (77-52; 39-18 in second half) (Lost to Syracuse, 3-0. That’s back-to-back shutout losses. Yesterday, they faced a good prospect (Brandon Sproat). Today, Syracuse used a “bullpen game” to shut them down.)
Syracuse pulls within three games in the second-half title race, with Toledo and Indianapolis also in the picture. The season ends on September 21st. Scranton’s last three series are against Worcester (road), Lehigh Valley (home), and Buffalo (road). Lehigh Valley is on the fringe of the playoff race.
2B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-3, 2B (14), BB
I talked about his lack of pop in August – on the bright side, he doubled in three of his last five August games.
RF Austin Slater: 0-for-2, BB
It is possible that Slater will not be ready for Tuesday (this is only his second rehab game, and he has yet to play a full game in the field). The Yankees could bring up someone else in the meantime. Slater has no options, so they can’t simply leave him here.
RF Ismael Munguia: 0-for-1
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, 2 K
Perhaps it is related to the back spasms from a month ago, but the surge in strikeouts is concerning. He played in 29 August games, striking out at least once in 25 of them (15 games with multiple strikeouts). Overall, his strikeout rate is 32.9% (36.8% in 2024).
LF Brennen Davis: 0-for-3, BB, K
For Scranton: .313/.378/.800 (that’s his SLG – not his OPS!) in 90 PA (3 doubles, 12 HR).
1B T.J. Rumfield: 0-for-4, 2 K
A rough August (23-for-109 (.211); 26 strikeouts) comes to an end. Here’s hoping he finds his stroke for the September title race.
DH Bryan De La Cruz: 1-for-4, K
3B Jeimer Candelario: 0-for-3, K
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, 3 K
Martinez is hitting .208/.304/.333 in 15 games since his promotion (1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR).
SS Andrew Velazquez: 0-for-3, K
RHP Erick Leal (L, 8-10): 4 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 3 K
RHP Joel Kuhnel: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Since signing: 3.60 ERA (25 IP, 24 H, 16 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 21 K). Maybe they will re-sign him to a minor league deal and invite him to spring training.
RHP Bailey Dees: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
He has a nice 1.59 ERA at this level, but has walked eight over 11.1 innings. Dees is a big kid who doesn’t flash a big fastball (averaged 91 MPH today).
RHP Scott Effross: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Ian Hamilton: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Somerset (64-62; 29-28 in second half) (Lost to Binghamton, 4-1, in a Sunday evening game.)
Hartford defeated Portland to move within 0.5 games of the Patriots. Portland remains 1.5 games behind.
Somerset’s season ends on September 14th. Their final two series are against New Hampshire and Reading, two of the worst teams in the Eastern League. Can they take advantage?
LF Brendan Jones: 0-for-3, BB, 3 K
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, K
It’s still interesting that despite his low batting average and not-so-great Double-A stats overall, he still had a 107 wRC+ at this level entering today. A lot of that is tied to his walk rate, which ranks sixth in the Eastern League.
RF Jace Avina: 1-for-4, R, K
Avina is hitting .216 with a .641 OPS since his promotion.
DH Dylan Jasso: 1-for-3, 2B (17), RBI, BB, 2 K
The right-handed bat entered today with a reverse split (.252/.313/.359 vs. LHP; .280/.347/.450 vs. RHP)
1B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-4, 3 K
CF Garrett Martin: 1-for-4, 3 K
2B Duncan Pastore: 1-for-4, K
3B Jake Gatewood: 0-for-3, 2 K
C Diomedes Hernandez: 0-for-3, K
The 20-year-old has spent most of 2025 on the “Development List,” participating in only five games.
LHP Brock Selvidge: (L, 2-6) 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
5.23 ERA (62 IP, 57 H, 38 R, 36 ER, 4 HR, 35 BB, 49 K). While an injury hurt his progress this season, it’s been a bit of a slog for him.
RHP Zach Messinger: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Mason Vinyard: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Kelly Austin: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
2.90 ERA (40.1 IP, 33 H, 15 R, 13 ER, 1 HR, 24 BB, 36 K).
Hudson Valley (75-48; 37-22 second half) (Defeated Brooklyn, 8-3)
If Greensboro wins tonight, they will enter the season-ending 6-game series with a 3-game lead. Hudson Valley will need to go 5-1 to make the playoffs. If Greensboro loses, the lead is cut to two. Hudson Valley will need to go 4-2. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record in the second half, and the upcoming series is their only series in the second half.
CF Dillon Lewis: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K
Lewis has done enough in Hudson Valley to make it to Somerset as a 22-year-old in 2026. His OPS is slightly below what he did in Tampa (from .800 to .783), but the reduction in his strikeout rate is impressive (from 28.2% to 20.5%). As for his future position, the Yankees are giving him a lot of time in center field. Can he stick there?
SS Core Jackson: 1-for-2, SF, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
Jackson has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
3B Juan Matheus: 2-for-3, RBI, R, 2 BB
Matheus finishes a solid August at .270/.360/.440 (9 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 13 R, 5-for-6 SB). Overall, he is second in the organization in doubles (30) and stolen bases (40), and third in hits (111).
DH Kaeden Kent: 1-for-5, RBI, K
Kent has 14 hits in his professional career, five of which came on August 27th.
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
7-for-61 (.115) since his promotion.
1B Josh Moylan: 3-for-5, 2 2B (19), 2 RBI, R, K
.219/.343/.348 in 429 PA. A .155/.308/.260 triple slash in his first half (56 games) crushed any chance of him having a strong overall campaign. That said, a young/inexperienced team that needed an offensive boost is benefiting from his strong second half (.286; 8 doubles, 2 triples, 5 HR, 27 RBI).
RF Camden Troyer: 2-for-5, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R
The 23-year-old launches his first professional home run. He is hitting .263/.354/.351 in 65 plate appearances.
LF Joe Delossantos: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
2B Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RHP Cade Smith (W, 1-1): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K
Smith’s first High-A win. In seven starts at this level: 3.38 ERA (26.2 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 15 BB, 27 K). He threw 67 pitches today, which is in range of his recent appearances (74 is his maximum this season). He has one more start before the Yankees decide what to do with him during the offseason.
RHP Ocean Gabonia: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
2.21 ERA (53 IP, 33 H, 13 R, 13 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 59 K). His second half has been solid (3.55 ERA in 25.1 innings with a 25/6 K/BB), but hasn’t been as dominant as his first half (0.98 ERA in 27.2 innings with a 34/6 K/BB).
RHP Jack Cebert: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
First three professional appearances: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Tampa (60-61; 24-32 in the second half)
Their game against Bradenton was cancelled due to rain. Obviously, with one series left in the season, this one will not be made up.
Tampa’s season ends on September 7th. Assuming there is no rain this week (wild assumption in Florida), the final series is seven games (including a doubleheader).
Their chances to win the second-half title are somewhere in the 0.0000001% range. However, they do play the current leader (Clearwater), and a 7-game sweep would push them ahead of the Threshers.
“So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
FCL (28-30)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (24-32)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (31-25)
Their season is over.