Notes:
I was randomly looking at a minor league report from a few years ago when I came to this blurb:
RHP Cam Schlittler: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Schlittler’s professional debut. He stands 6’6″ and was drafted in the 7th round in the 2022 draft out of Northeastern.
Nothing more than that. No prediction that he would have an ERA under 2.00 in MLB on May 17, 2026. No declaration that I knew the Yankees had a gem on their hands. If anyone asked me about him that day, I would have told them he is a college kid throwing fastballs at FCL players. I don’t recall receiving any questions, though, because who the heck was Cam Schlittler and why should we care? A kid playing for a mid-major college in the Northeast wasn’t going to make the heart beat any faster.
Yet, here we are. Baseball is a weird and funny game.
As for pulling Elmer Rodriguez today, I am not surprised, though I agree with anyone who called the move stupid and panicky. I understand Juan Soto was coming up, but do you want Rodriguez to learn? If it were Carlos Lagrange‘s first MLB start or a shuttle guy like Brendan Beck, I would understand it more.
By the way, the Yankees don’t have any catchers in the minors. Nobody. As in, they may as well just let pitchers throw the ball with nobody behind the plate. We have Austin Wells and need to live with it. Do I like it? No. Wells is as lost as I have ever seen a hitter. And I grew up when the Yankees were using guys like Oscar Azocar in the lineup.
I think people wonder why I sometimes talk poorly about this system. What do you see that I don’t? Beyond some arms and the hope that George Lombard Jr. reaches his potential, what am I supposed to get excited about? When is Dax Kilby leaving the witness protection program? There are a few interesting bats mixed in. I don’t want to paint everyone with the same brush. But it’s not a great situation, no matter how you wish to slice it.
Scranton (23-20) (Defeated Syracuse, 5-3. Bradley Hanner shows David Bednar how to lock down a game.)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-4, RBI, R
He hit one ball 106.3 MPH, but that wasn’t either of his hits. His two softest hit balls (87.3, 65.2) turned into hits. Baseball!
RF Yanquiel Fernández: 0-for-2, RBI, R, 2 BB, K
2B Marco Luciano: 1-for-4, RBI, K
This is what you are looking at with Triple-A depth. If you want to lengthen the lineup, it isn’t coming from Yanquiel Fernandez, Marco Luciano, or anyone else. Luciano is only interesting because he once had some prospect shine and is only 24 years old.
LF Oswaldo Cabrera: 0-for-2, SF, RBI, BB, 2 K
.232/.311/.352 in 161 PA. He has played 1B/2B/SS/3B/LF/RF.
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-4, K
C Payton Henry: 1-for-3, BB
As I said above, no catching. Payton Henry and Ali Sanchez are not saving the day, folks.
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 0-for-4, R, 2 K
CF Duke Ellis: 1-for-3, R, BB, K
RF Kenedy Corona: 0-for-3, R, BB
RHP Carlos Lagrange: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Lagrange continues to hum. Today, he hit 103 MPH and averaged 100.2 with his 4-seam fastball, 99.4 with his sinker, and 93.3 with his slider. Wow. He owns a 4.23 ERA in 38.1 innings (30 H, 19 R, 18 ER, 6 HR, 21 BB, 52 K). Is it tempting to bring him up and let him try to blow away hitters out of the bullpen? Certainly. Do I think that would be smart? Probably not.
RHP Dylan Coleman (W, 1-0): 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Kervin Castro: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Bradley Hanner (S, 1): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Are scoreless innings allowed for closers? I didn’t know that.
Somerset (19-20) (Lost to Binghamton, 10-7)
LF Jace Avina: 1-for-5, R, 4 K
Avina has a 7-game hitting streak and a 17-game on-base streak. I don’t know why people dislike hearing the truth sometimes. He’s an interesting prospect with strikeout issues. How can that reasonably be disputed?
DH Garrett Martin: 1-for-4, 2B (6), R, 3 K
Martin has a 5-game hitting streak.
RF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-4, K
SS Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, HR (10), RBI, R, K
Tyler Hardman, shortstop? He only made one error, too! Since I know you are wondering, this was his first professional game at the position (note to people who don’t know Hardman’s profile: He is not a shortstop!)
3B Coby Morales: 2-for-4, HR (9), 3 RBI, 2 R, SB (11), 2 K
Morales has back-to-back multi-hit efforts. His nine home runs are already a personal best, and he is hitting .288/.361/.540.
DH DJ Gladney: 0-for-4, 3 K
C Manuel Palencia: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
1B Miguel Palma: 1-for-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, R
Palma follows up his grand slam from yesterday with a 3-run blast today. He is 8-for-54 this season. Baseball!
2B Duncan Pastore: 1-for-3, BB
RHP Chase Chaney: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 2 HR
Nothing against Chaney, but when a minor league team gets hit around, I am relieved when it is a depth guy getting hit around.
RHP Chris Kean (L, 0-2): 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
Kean, however, is not only a depth guy. Rough day.
RHP Hayden Merda: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
2.70 ERA (16.2 IP, 14 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 5 BB, 25 K). Doing well.
RHP Michael Arias: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Hudson Valley (18-20) (Lost to Frederick, 6-3. The Keys sweep the 6-game series)
SS Kaeden Kent: 0-for-3, BB
.302/.373/.430 in 166 PA (8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 26 R, 10-for-11 SB, 10.2% BB, 15.7% K). He has run into a slow stretch, but the overall numbers remain encouraging.
C Eric Genther: 2-for-4, 2 R, K
DH Kyle West: 1-for-4, R, K
LF Wilson Rodriguez: 0-for-2, 2 BB
.235/.385/.339 in 152 PA. His BB% (19.1%) is higher than his K% (17.8%).
2B Roderick Arias: 0-for-4, RBI, 2 K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, 2B (1), RBI, 2 BB, K
Tejeda sets a personal best with his 10th double of the season (he had nine for Tampa). If he can add extra-base hit power to his resume, he would become very interesting. As I have said before, however, that won’t likely be home run power.
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer: 0-for-4, 2 K
RF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-3, BB, K
LHP Franyer Herrera (L, 2-1): 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
LHP Tanner Bauman: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Wilmy Sanchez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Hansel Rincon: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
5.54 ERA (13 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 0 HR, 10 BB, 19 K)
RHP Chris Veach: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
0.63 ERA (14.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 25 K)
RHP Andrew Landry: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Final five relievers: 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 14 K. Bring them all up! Yes, to the Bronx!
Tampa (19-20) (Shut down by Dunedin, 4-0)
SS Jackson Lovich: 0-for-4, 3 K
The 12-game hitting streak is snapped. He is hitting .294/.382/.571 in 136 PA.
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4
1B Hans Montero: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Luis Puello: 0-for-4, K
CF Willy Montero: 2-for-3, 2B (3)
.211/.287/.305 in 143 PA.
DH Engelth Urena: 0-for-3, K
.191/.353/.291 in 139 PA (6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 22 R, 17.9% BB, 22.3% K). It’s not an extreme strikeout rate, but he continues to flounder with the stick.
C Ediel Rivera: 0-for-3, K
It’s been a rough start to the year for the 20-year-old, as he is 10-for-80 with six RBI. The Yankees desperately need to rebuild their catching pipeline.
RF Luis Durango: 1-for-3
.355/.388/.419 in 68 PA (2 doubles, 1 triple, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 9 R, 11-for-15 SB).
2B Santiago Gomez: 1-for-3, SB (5)
RHP Ty Boudreau (L, 0-1): 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
3.49 ERA (28.1 IP, 20 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 37 K). The 23-year-old out of Texas Tech is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Warrecker is throwing well, but this is still his rehab stint. I expect him to get to Somerset this season after a successful 2025 in Hudson Valley.
RHP Brennan Stuprich: 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, HR
FCL Yankees (6-5)
Day off.