Notes:
I like to get these reports done early on Sunday. Of course, Scranton and Lehigh Valley decided to play an evening game. Probably good for ticket sales the night before Memorial Day, but not good for me. And I come first.
Scranton (26-23) (Defeated Lehigh Valley, 5-4)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-3, SF, 3 RBI, R, BB, K
Lombard Jr. was briefly above .200 at this level, but ended the night at .198.
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 1-for-5, 2B (6), 2 RBI, 2 K
Fernandez’s 2-out, 2-run double in the top of the 9th gave the Railriders the lead. The hit increased his hitting streak to six (11-for-29).
2B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-5, SB (4), K
1B Seth Brown: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
3B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
OK, let me address the Luke Voit comparisons. I won’t discount it happening, as late-blooming players who come up and rake for a little while can happen. That said, his 2026 Eastern League numbers have to be put into context. I have mentioned it a million times this year: That league is juiced for some reason. Run scoring is up considerably. Entering today, Somerset was averaging an insane 6.34 R/G. Last season, they averaged 4.35. “Well, maybe the personnel has changed!” Sure, I can buy that. However, the Eastern League as a whole went from 4.19 R/G in 2025 to 5.17 this year. In other words, let’s not get silly, OK? Let’s see how he performs here and go from there.
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-3, BB, K
C Payton Henry: 1-for-4, 2 R
CF Duke Ellis: 1-for-4, K
LF Kenedy Corona: 2-for-3, 2 R, SAC
RHP Brendan Beck: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
4.42 ERA (53 IP, 44 H, 31 R, 26 ER, 8 HR, 14 BB, 54 K). To get an extended look in MLB, he likely will need to end up elsewhere. That isn’t a knock on him or the Yankees. It’s the reality of being a member of a franchise that has plenty of big arms to choose from. I would have said the same thing about JP Sears, and he ended up making 95 starts for the Athletics before being moved to the Padres, where he is currently struggling in Triple-A. He is the answer to the “other guy” acquired alongside Mason Miller trivia question.
RHP Kervin Castro: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Bradley Hanner: (W, 3-0) 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.54 ERA (23.1 IP, 17 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 8 BB, 33 K). One interesting tidbit: Hanner allowed 13 home runs in 49.1 innings last season (2.37 HR/9). That was a massive outlier, as he never had a home run rate above 0.84 before last year.
Somerset (23-22) (Defeated Chesapeake, 5-2. The Patriots are 1.5 games behind New Hampshire in the race for the first-half title (Hartford is a half-game behind)).
DH Jace Avina: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, K
Yesterday, I mentioned that six of Avina’s eight multi-hit games featured at least one extra-base hit. Make that six of nine. He is hitting .259/.340/.548 in 188 PA (12 doubles, 12 HR, 32 RBI, 38 R, 4-for-4 SB, 10.1% BB, 31.4% K). Your reminder that he got off to a 3-for-34 start.
RF Garrett Martin: 1-for-5, HR (15), 3 RBI, R, K
Martin, who set a new personal best for home runs in a season, leads the Eastern League in home runs and is one behind Tyler Hardman (now in Scranton) for the RBI lead. He is in the midst of a 5-game hitting and RBI streak (7-for-23; 10 RBI).
CF DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, 3 SB (8), 2 BB, 2 K
.290/.353/.460 in 140 PA (7 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 22 R, 8-for-9 SB)
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-5, 2 K
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-4, 2B (5), HBP, K
.276/.377/.371 in 122 PA. After going 45-for-52 stealing bases in 236 games entering this season, he hasn’t attempted a stolen base this year.
C Manuel Palencia: 2-for-5, R
Palencia has three straight multi-hit efforts. He has zero extra-base hits in 27 games.
1B Abrahan Gutierrez: 2-for-4, 2 R
11-for-35. He has three multi-hit efforts in his last four games. An opportunity to climb on the Yankees’ catching depth chart exists.
SS Owen Cobb: 1-for-4, 2 K
2B Santiago Gomez: 2-for-3, 2B (1), R, BB, K
The 22-year-old makes his Somerset debut. Like Kevin Verde, he was likely placed here because Somerset needed a body. Yes, you can read into them choosing Verde and Gomez over someone like Kaeden Kent. Kent is an actual prospect who they don’t feel is ready for Double-A yet.
RHP Chase Chaney (W, 2-2): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
The 26-year-old is doing what he was signed to do: Fill in some Double-A innings. He was struggling in May before today.
RHP Kelly Austin: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Michael Arias (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Hudson Valley (21-23) (Shut down by Brooklyn, 4-0. This game was stopped after seven innings due to wet grounds. An offensive clinic, this was not. The Renegades are buried, 7.5 games behind Frederick in the first-half title race)
SS Kaeden Kent: 1-for-3, SB (13), 2 K
.298/.368/.421 in 190 PA (13-for-14 SB). May hasn’t been as productive as April, but he is hitting .271/.333/.353 this month.
RF Wilson Rodriguez: 0-for-3
.220/.363/.311 in 172 PA. He has a 18.0% BB and 17.4% K. As a corner outfielder, you want to see the power develop. He won’t turn 22 until September, so there is room for growth.
C Eric Genther: 1-for-2, 2B (5), BB
1B Kyle West: 0-for-3, 2 K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-3, 2 K
His High-A start (6-for-39) is nowhere near his start to the season in Tampa (1-for-27). Just have to hope he adjusts.
2B Roderick Arias: 0-for-2, CS (3), BB, K
Arias is reaching the status where I don’t even know if I am going to include “notes” very often anymore.
DH Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-1, 2 BB
LF Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer: 1-for-3, SB (5), K
Troyer has shown some pop in May (.455 SLG). Plate discipline has been an issue (eight walks in 145 PA).
LHP Franyer Herrera (L, 2-2): 4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K
3.86 ERA (30.1 IP, 27 H, 18 R, 13 ER, 7 HR, 20 BB, 38 K). He turned 21 in early May, so this is a challenge for him. There’s some good and not-so-good.
RHP Brady Kirtner: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Aaron Nixon: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Jack Sokol: 0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Sokol threw four pitches before the game was called. He hit a batter.
Tampa (22-23) (Doubled up Clearwater, 8-4. That pulls them within four games of Clearwater for the first-half title, but there are three teams between them)
The red-hot Jackson Lovich had the day off. I would love to read that he has been assigned to Hudson Valley tomorrow, but I am not getting my hopes up.
Lovich leads the Florida State League with 11 home runs. This is despite missing the beginning of the season due to injury. His ranks 6th in average (.302), 17th in OBP (.384), first in slugging (.633), and third in OPS (1.017). The leader in OPS (Murf Gray (PIT)) has already been moved to High-A.
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, 2 R, CS (3), HBP, K
Martin-Grudzielanek is hitting .292/.391/.458 with 11 stolen bases in May.
3B Hans Montero: 2-for-3, 3B (5), 2 RBI, R, BB, K
I always leave space for a youngster to start “figuring things out,” even if this is his third season at this level. The 22-year-old is hitting .278/.399/.549 in 163 PA (8 doubles, 5 triples, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 29 R, 12-for-13 SB, 15.95% BB, 26.4% K). The bonus baby was signed as a shortstop, but no longer plays there. This is his first game at third base in 2026 (33 games at first base, six at second base).
DH Luis Puello: 2-for-5, RBI, CS (1), K
Puello is 10-for-39 (.256) since his promotion. He has walked only once.
LF Willy Montero: 1-for-3, K
PH-CF Luis Durango: 0-for-1, K
RF JoJo Jackson: 1-for-2, RBI, R, CS (3), 2 BB
C Engelth Urena: 1-for-1, 2B (7), RBI, 3 BB
.190/.373/.289 in 158 PA (he has 20.9% BB and K rates). The 20.9% BB is second in the Florida State League, where he is one of six players with a 1.000 or better BB/K ratio.
CF-LF Gabriel Lara: 0-for-4, SB (2)
1B John Cristino: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB, K
2B Luis Escudero: 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K
The 20-year-old makes a strong first impression. He played in six games for the FCL squad this season, going 4-for-18 with a home run. Escudero plays 2B/3B.
RHP Ty Boudreau (W, 1-1): 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Boudreau, who generated 11 whiffs, earns his first professional win. Congrats! In eight starts (covering only 33.1 innings), he owns a 2.94 ERA with a 42/12 K/BB.
RHP Brennan Stuprich: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
4.05 ERA (13.1 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 3 HR, 3 BB, 16 K). Assuming Savant data is accurate, he has a wide assortment of pitches and generated seven whiffs.
LHP Jose Ledesma (S, 1): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
FCL Yankees (9-7)
Day off.