Notes:
For the 2,105,815th time in my life, I was wrong. Anthony Volpe has not been called up, but a decision is looming, as his 20-day rehab window is nearing completion. He does have options if they wish to keep him in Somerset/Scranton.
The FCL season starts on Saturday, when the Yankees play the Tigers. Get used to that. The Yankees only play teams within their division, and it’s only a 4-team division. So, it’s Tigers, Phillies, and Blue Jays. All season. Boring!
One of their top prospects at the level, Francisco Vilorio, will start the season on the injured list. The 19-year-old outfielder hit .279/.387/.366 in 217 plate appearances for the DSL squad last year. Vilorio, who was one of their bonus baby international signings, has lost some luster over the last two years. MLB Pipeline didn’t rank him on their Top 30 list.
If you were looking to see if Dax Kilby would start a rehab assignment there, he is not currently listed on their roster. RHP Ryan Osinski, their 17th-round pick (Virginia) in the 2025 draft, will miss the entire season. He has yet to make his professional debut.
Scranton (17-13) (Split a doubleheader against Buffalo)
Game 1 (Won, 2-0)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-3, K
CF Spencer Jones: 2-for-3, RBI, 2 SB (7)
RF Yanquiel Fernández: 0-for-3
3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 2-for-3, R, K
1B Seth Brown: 0-for-3, K
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-2, SF, RBI
C Ali Sanchez: 0-for-2, BB
LF Duke Ellis: 0-for-3
2B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-for-2, R
RHP Adam Kloffenstein (W, 1-1): 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
The Yankees like their sinkerballers, and he loves to throw his. He also topped out at 95.4 MPH. He is not a threat to make it to the Major League roster unless a lot of things go wrong.
RHP Rafael Montero (S, 1): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Montero is throwing in the 92-94 range with his sinker and 4-seamer.
Game 2 (Lost, 8-3)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-4, K
Triple-A pitching is too much for him.
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, HR (8), RBI, R, 2 K
The home run was hit 347 feet at 106.2 MPH. Jones is hitting .252 with a .905 OPS (6 doubles, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 20 R, 7-for-9 SB, 12.4% BB, 34.4% K)
RF Yanquiel Fernández: 1-for-4, 2 R
3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 3-for-3, 3 2B (4), 2 RBI
A 5-for-6 doubleheader + a 2-for-3 night yesterday increases his average from .143 to .204. By the way, I don’t get to type “three doubles” in a box score very often.
DH Seth Brown: 1-for-3, 2B (2), 2 K
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-3, K
2B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-for-3, K
LF Duke Ellis: 0-for-2, SB (10), BB
C Edinson Duran: 1-for-3, K
Payton Henry is listed as active, but he didn’t play in either game today. Duran was recently activated off the Development List.
RHP Dom Hamel: (L, 1-4) 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR
RHP Carson Coleman: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Harrison Cohen: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Cohen’s fifth straight scoreless appearance. This follows a game where he allowed five runs over 1.2 innings. Overall, he owns a 5.40 ERA in 11.2 IP (6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 15 K)
Somerset (11-14) (Defeated Portland, 13-3. They have scored 156 runs in 25 games (6.28) and lead the Eastern League with 42 home runs. I will say it again: Something is up in this league this year. Entering today, teams were averaging 5.35 runs per game. Last season, they averaged 4.19 runs per game. Run scoring doesn’t tend to dip as warmer air rushes into the Northeast…)
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
Castillo starts his campaign with a 7-game hitting streak (10-for-24; 2 doubles, 1 HR, 3 BB, 2 K). Known for his ability to steal bases, he has yet to attempt one.
SS Anthony Volpe: 0-for-3, SF, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, K
Volpe is the lone Patriot without a hit tonight, but it wasn’t a complete failure.
RF Garrett Martin: 2-for-6, HR (8), 2 RBI, 2 R
Martin has homered in three straight games and in four of his last five games.
2B Marco Luciano: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, HBP, K
Luciano has a 5-game hitting streak (8-for-18 with three home runs and seven RBI).
1B Coby Morales: 1-for-3, RBI, R, 2 BB
.313/.414/.614 in 99 PA (7 doubles, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 23 R, 6-for-7 SB)
3B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, HR (4, grand slam), 4 RBI, 2 BB, K
Hardman’s second 4-RBI effort this season.
DH DJ Gladney: 2-for-4, RBI, R, CI
CF Kenedy Corona: 1-for-5, RBI, R, K
C Manuel Palencia: 2-for-3, R, 2 BB
RHP Jack Cebert: (W, 1-0) 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, HR
Last year’s 15th-round pick (Texas Tech) makes his Somerset debut. He posted a 0.98 ERA over 18.1 innings for Hudson Valley. This is the 24-year-old’s debut season, and he is impressing early on. After all, if we are going to talk about the spike in offense, that should make tonight’s pitching performance more impressive.
RHP Hayden Merda: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
3.09 ERA (11.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 21 K). After his promotion here last year, he posted a 4.38 ERA in 24.2 innings with a 21/19 K/BB.
RHP Chris Kean: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
3.60 ERA (10 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 HR, 3 BB, 14 K)
Hudson Valley (14-10) (Lost to Jersey Shore, 8-7. They scored three in the ninth to make it interesting, but couldn’t pull it off)
SS Kaeden Kent: 2-for-5, 2B (6), 3B (1), 2 R, 2 K
.330/.402/.516 in 102 PA (seven multi-hit efforts in his last ten games). He is also 7-for-7 stealing bases this season.
DH Core Jackson: 1-for-4, RBI, R, SB (10)
Jackson is tied for the organization lead in stolen bases with Duke Ellis.
1B Kyle West: 1-for-4, 2B (3), RBI, R, K
2B Roderick Arias: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
RF Wilson Rodriguez: 0-for-3, R, BB, 2 K
.162/.337/.294 in 92 PA. His BB% and K% sit at 19.6%.
3B Josh Moylan: 0-for-4, K
C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-4, 2B (4), RBI, R, 2 K
.218/.313/.436 in 64 PA. Gonzalez compiled a .287 SLG in 265 plate appearances for Tampa last year.
LF Connor McGinnis: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
CF Cole Gabrielson: 2-for-3, 2B (1), R, SB (5), CS (3), K
Gabrielson is hitting .321 in limited action this season.
PH Camden Troyer: 1-for-1
RHP Rory Fox: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HR
Fox allowed one run through four. Of course, the fifth inning counts too.
RHP Tony Rossi: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
1.74 ERA (10.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 16 K). He hasn’t allowed a home run in 55.2 professional innings.
RHP Thomas Balboni: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Chris Veach: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
10 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 15 K. Dominance.
Tampa (11-14) (Lost to St. Lucie, 8-1)
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 3-for-4, 2B (7), HR (2), RBI, R, CS (4), K
Tejeda collects three of their four hits. After the games of April 12th, Tejeda was 1-for-27 (.037) with one extra-base hit. Since: 21-for-55 (.382) with six doubles, a triple, and two home runs. His triple slash is .268/.419/.451 with a 19.8% BB and 20.8% K.
LF Brando Mayea: 0-for-3, HBP, 2 K
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-4
2B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
LF Willy Montero: 1-for-4, 2 K
CF JoJo Jackson: 0-for-3
DH Ediel Rivera: 0-for-3, 2 K
1B Hans Montero: 0-for-2, BB, K
3B Kevin Verde: 0-for-2, CS (1), BB, 2 K
RHP Brennan Stuprich: 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
Stuprich makes his professional debut. The 24-year-old was their 14th-round pick in the 2025 draft out of Southeastern Louisiana. He is on the older side because he spent five years there (missed the 2022 season). Over four seasons, he finished with an ERA under 3.00 three times and saw his strikeout rate spike in 2025. He throws three different fastballs (4-seamer, cutter, sinker), though his most-featured pitch tonight was his slider. It generated seven whiffs (his 4-seamer generated six).
RHP Jose M. Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Brian Arias: (L, 0-3) 1.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Josh Tiedemann: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR