Yankees MILB 9/4: George Lombard Jr. Homers
Notes:
Trade analysis links:
Jose Caballero/Camilo Doval (link)
David Bednar/Jake Bird (link)
Ryan McMahon (link)
Amed Rosario (link)
Austin Slater (link)
Nothing to report.
Scranton (80-52; 42-18 in second half) (Defeated Worcester, 6-2)
Syracuse’s game against Buffalo was postponed (they will try to play two tomorrow), so Scranton increases its lead to 4.5 games. Teams trying to hang in there include Toledo, Indianapolis, and Lehigh Valley. Scranton owns a solid lead over Lehigh Valley, but they do play a 6-game series next week. The season ends on September 21.
DH Austin Slater: 0-for-2, R, BB
PH-DH Duke Ellis: 0-for-1, SF, RBI
2B Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-4, CS (9), BB
Vivas is on a 5-game hitting streak and has hit safely in ten of his last 11 games. He’s hitting .274/.400/.361 at this level.
RF Brennen Davis: 1-for-4, K
LF Ismael Munguia: 0-for-1, K
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, 2B (11), R, 3 K
Some may think I focus too much on the strikeouts. I do it for a reason: You aren’t surviving in MLB with these strikeout rates. If this insane surge is due to his back injury, that can explain it. But that happened over a month ago. If his back is still hurting, why is he playing at all? Hence, I assume he is healthy and pitchers have adjusted to him.
LF-RF Bryan De La Cruz: 2-for-3, RBI, 2 R, BB
1B Jose Rojas: 2-for-4, RBI, R, SB (12)
3B Jeimer Candelario: 0-for-4, K
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K
SS Andrew Velazquez: 2-for-4, 2B (18), 2 RBI, K
RHP Allan Winans: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, HR
RHP Bailey Dees: (W, 2-0) 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Brent Headrick: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Headrick begins his rehab stint. Since he has options, they could leave him here once the stint is over.
RHP Yerry De los Santos: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Ian Hamilton: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Joel Kuhnel (S, 6): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Somerset (67-62; 32-28 in second half) (Defeated New Hampshire, 4-1, in a rain-shortened contest)
Hartford (1.5 games back) and Portland (2.5 games back) both won.
Somerset’s season ends on September 14th.
DH Brendan Jones: 0-for-2, R, SB (18), BB, K
Yankees’ minor league stolen base leaders: Marshall Toole: 43; Brendan Jones: 41; Juan Matheus: 40.
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-3, HR (8), RBI, R, K
Lombard Jr. hit one home run for Hudson Valley, so he is within one of a double-digit campaign. He has also drawn 80 walks between the two levels (20.7% BB in Hudson Valley; 13.4% here). Don’t worry that the rate is lower – it is still solid, and that is expected.
CF Jace Avina: 0-for-1, BB
3B Dylan Jasso: 0-for-2, RBI, K
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-2, R
RF Garrett Martin: 1-for-2, 3B (2), RBI
1B Coby Morales: 0-for-2
2B Jake Gatewood: 2-for-2, 2 2B (12), R
C Diomedes Hernandez: 1-for-2, RBI, K
The rarely-used Hernandez is 3-for-16 in six games. The 20-year-old has spent most of the season on the Development list.
RHP Ben Hess: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Since promotion: 2.93 ERA (30.2 IP, 19 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 1 HR, 11 BB, 39 K). He is up to 97.1 innings in his debut campaign (133/44 K/BB). Yeah, if he stays healthy, a 2026 debut is within range.
Hudson Valley (77-49; 39-23 second half) (Defeated Greensboro, 10-0, in a rain-shortened game.)
As a reminder, Hudson Valley has to win the final three games in this series to win the second-half title.
3B Juan Matheus: 3-for-4, SF, 2 RBI
Matheus has a 5-game hitting streak (9-for-19). He has nine 3+ hit efforts this season (three with Hudson Valley). I don’t have illusions of greatness, but he could be a legitimate utility prospect. Let’s see how he handles the upper minors.
CF Dillon Lewis: 1-for-5, RBI
SS Core Jackson: 1-for-5, 2B (7), R, 2 K
DH Kaeden Kent: 2-for-5, RBI, R
1B Josh Moylan: 3-for-5, 2 2B (21), 2 R, K
Moylan’s experienced bat is helping a roster that is young/inexperienced. He has five multi-hit efforts in his last eight games.
RF Camden Troyer: 0-for-2, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
2B Connor McGinnis: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R
McGinnis owns a 6-game hitting streak.
C John Cristino: 0-for-1, 2 R, 2 HBP, BB
LF Luis Durango: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
LHP Xavier Rivas: 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 10 K
Since promotion: 1.23 ERA (29.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 14 BB, 44 K). Rivas has four 10+ strikeout efforts this season, including three at this level (8/15, 8/22, 9/4). Between here, Tampa, and the FCL, he owns a 113/50 K/BB over 85.1 innings. The walks are high, but one should be intrigued by his ability to miss bats.
RHP Jack Cebert: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K
Tampa (62-63; 26-34 in the second half) (Lost to Clearwater, 7-3. The Tarpons need to finish 2-1 to finish at .500)
Their season ends on Sunday.
SS Dax Kilby: 3-for-5, R, SB (14), K
Kilby’s insane run continues. He is now 23-for-65 (.354/.447/.446; 2 doubles, 2 triples, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 18 R, 14-for-15 SB, 11 BB, 10 K) and has eight multi-hit efforts in his last 12 games. I wonder if questions about his ability to play shortstop caused him to slip in the draft. The answer is likely “Yes,” to some extent.
3B Roderick Arias: 1-for-4, 2B (19), RBI, BB, 2 K
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (12), BB
CF Marshall Toole: 0-for-4, BB
With three games to play, Toole is at .304/.403/.481 in 367 PA. The Florida State League batting title is sewn up, as nobody else is above .281. It’s all about trying to be the only qualified FSL player to hit .300 this season.
2B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-5, 2 K
RF Willy Montero: 0-for-4, K
C Ediel Rivera: 0-for-1, SB (6), CS (1), 3 BB
Rivera hadn’t drawn a walk in seven straight games heading into tonight (he had two walks in August!)
LF Hans Montero: 1-for-3, SB (25), BB, 2 K
After stealing zero bases in July, he is 10-for-12 in August/September. This was his 15th start in LF (33 at first base; 19 at second base; 11 at third base; 3 in right field).
1B Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-4, HR (4), RBI, 2 R, K
RHP Mariano Salomon: (L, 1-5) 3.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
LHP Franyer Herrera: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
It’s a bit deceiving after this performance, but he still owns a 0.00 ERA since his promotion (10 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 12 K)
RHP Cade Austin: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K
3.08 ERA (52.2 IP, 46 H, 25 R, 18 ER, 5 HR, 24 BB, 57 K)
RHP Jack Sokol: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
3.60 ERA (45 IP, 46 H, 27 R, 18 ER, 3 HR, 22 BB, 40 K)
FCL (28-30)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (24-32)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (31-25)
Their season is over.