Notes:
Two Pipeline Top 30 prospects were placed on the injured list today.
Outfielder Jace Avina, who shows up all over the Eastern League leaderboard, left the game early last night. He is hitting .276/.358/.583 (146 wRC+). Joining him on the Somerset injured list is RHP Harrison Cohen, who got off to a slow start in Scranton before his demotion. In 2024 and 2025, he put himself on the map by pitching to a 1.63 ERA over 77.1 innings with a 98/39 K/BB and two home runs allowed. This season, he has allowed five home runs over 18.1 innings.
While not on any injured lists (yet), two of their top hitting prospects from the 2025 draft haven’t played in a while. Dax Kilby hasn’t played since making his season debut last Thursday (the FCL was off today). Jackson Lovich, who is hitting .305/.384/.616 (159 wRC+) in 172 plate appearances for Tampa, hasn’t played since Sunday.
Scranton (30-28) (Split a doubleheader against Syracuse)
Game 1 (Won, 6-3)
2B George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-2, R, BB, K
Lombard Jr. played third base last night and second base in Game 1 today.
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, RBI, R, K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera: 0-for-3, SF, RBI
Cabrera has six sacrifice flies this season (useless stat alert)
DH Tyler Hardman: 2-for-3, HR (1), RBI, R
Hardman’s first Triple-A home run after hitting 67 homers in 312 Double-A contests.
1B Seth Brown: 3-for-3, HR (9), 2 RBI, R, BB
C Ali Sanchez: 1-for-4, R, K
RF Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (6), RBI, 2 K
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-for-4
LF Duke Ellis: 1-for-3, R, K
RHP Rafael Montero: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Carlos Lagrange (W, 1-3): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Lagrange’s transition to the bullpen begins, and he maxed out at 101.4 MPH. It isn’t surprising they stretched him out in his first appearance, though it means we won’t see him again for several days. It’s a process. In his most recent relief appearance before this one (7/13/25), he tossed five hitless innings with seven strikeouts. “Do they really need to get him ready to pitch back-to-back days?” It is possible that they envision him as a multi-inning reliever who can pitch every couple days instead of back-to-back days.
RHP Bradley Hanner: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
1.65 ERA (27.1 IP, 18 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 12 BB, 40 K). For Triple-A Columbus in 2025, he allowed 13 home runs over 49.1 innings.
RHP Peter Strzelecki: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Yerry de los Santos (S, 1): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Game 2 (Lost, 13-2)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 0-for-2, BB
Back to shortstop. He is hitting .193 but has a .376 OBP.
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-3, 2B (8), K
RF-3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-3, 2B (9), R, SB (5), K
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-3, 2 K
3B-C Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3
If Hardman ever caught before tonight, it was before college. He also played a game at shortstop for Somerset before his promotion, his first game at that position since 2017 for Martha’s Vineyard (Futures Collegiate League).
2B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-for-3, HR (4), RBI, R, K
Ornelas has a 5-game hitting streak. He is hitting .329/.396/.498 in 159 PA.
1B Seth Brown: 0-for-3
LF Kenedy Corona: 0-for-3
C-P Edinson Duran: 0-for-2, BB
RHP Zach Messinger: (L, 3-1) 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Emergency start, though Messinger isn’t a stranger to starting. He owns a 3.15 ERA over 34.1 innings with a 29/15 K/BB.
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
What was his big issue in Triple-A last year? You guessed it: Walks. He walked 42 over 42 innings. Since being promoted this year, he has walked seven in five innings after walking only four over 17.2 innings for Somerset. He maxed at 95.9 MPH, which is a few ticks below where you want him to be.
RHP Dylan Coleman: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
0.61 ERA (14.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 12 BB, 18 K). Obviously, some luck in that profile give the insane number of walks.
RHP Danny Watson: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Edinson Duran: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
Duran allowed two of Watson’s runs to score, but hard to ask a catcher to do get out of jams. Duran has pitched a few times before and hits the low-90s with his fastball.
Somerset (28-25) (Defeated Harrisburg, 4-2)
LF Jackson Castillo: 3-for-5, 2 2B (9), RBI
Avina’s injury gives Castillo a shot to lead off in a depleted lineup (Somerset has lost a lot of their Opening Day lineup depth to injury and promotion. Promotions aren’t bad, of course.) Castillo is hitting .287/.370/.390 in 154 PA.
CF Garrett Martin: 1-for-5, SB (12), K
Martin is 10-for-12 stealing bases after a 2-for-4 start.
DH Nicholas Torres: 1-for-4, RBI
RF DJ Gladney: 1-for-3, 2B (9), R, SB (10), BB
2B Connor McGinnis: 2-for-4, R, 2 K
McGinnis has hit safely in six of his last seven games.
1B Abrahan Gutierrez: 2-for-4, RBI
Gutierrez has multiple hits in seven of his 15 games.
C Miguel Palma: 1-for-4, RBI
3B Kevin Verde: 1-for-4, R, K
SS Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RHP Cade Smith: (W, 3-3) 5 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, HR
6.18 ERA (39.1 IP, 48 H, 28 R, 27 ER, 11 HR, 19 BB, 41 K). He’s had a few good starts mixed in (including tonight), but the overall resume is lacking. That home run rate is insanity.
RHP Chris Kean: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
All stats count, but Keating allowed eight of his runs in two appearances (totaling one inning). He has a 6.23 ERA over 17.1 innings with a 27/16 K/BB.
RHP Michael Arias (S, 2): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Hudson Valley (23-29) (Lost to Frederick, 10-3)
2B Kaeden Kent: 1-for-5, HR (4), 3 RBI, R, K
Kent’s first home run since April 28th.
SS Core Jackson: 0-for-2, SB (13), 3 BB
He owns a solid 12.6% BB rate (his high OBP is also supported by six HBP).
C Eric Genther: 1-for-5, 2 K
1B Kyle West: 0-for-4, BB, K
RF Wilson Rodriguez: 2-for-5, K
Rodriguez had a strong May. Let’s hope for an even stronger June.
DH Roderick Arias: 1-for-2, R, SB (13), 2 BB, K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-3, BB, K
LF Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, 2B (7), HBP, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer: 0-for-4, R, K
RHP Luis Serna: (L, 2-3) 3.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 6 K, HR
4.11 ERA (46 IP, 38 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 2 HR, 23 BB, 56 K). He has had his ups and downs this season, with his last two outings qualifying as “downs”. Your reminder that he has battled injuries and tossed only seven innings last season.
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Tony Rossi: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Rossi continues his dominance. He owns a 0.98 ERA over 18.1 IP (6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 26 K). He’s an older prospect (26) who didn’t debut professionally until last year. A situation where he is here due to experience, not age. However, he should get to Somerset at some point.
RHP Wilmy Sanchez: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Brandon Decker: 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Tampa (27-26) (Crushed Palm Beach again, 14-5. They have won the first two games by a combined 26-6. In case you are wondering, Palm Beach is a good team. This loss dropped them to 29-24. Yes, it is always possible that some players on the team have been promoted, etc.)
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 3-for-6, 3 R, SB (16), 2 K
.287/.394/.460 in 208 PA. On May 7th, he was hitting .222/.346/.278. Since then, he is 30-for-84 (.357; 5 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 25 R, 11-for-14 SB). Not including tonight’s game, his wRC+ during this stretch was 184.
3B Hans Montero: 5-for-5, 2B (11), 3 R, BB
Wow. Montero never had more than three hits in a game until tonight. He has a 3-HR game and 5-hit game this season and is hitting .299/.418/.555 in 201 PA.
C Luis Puello: 2-for-4, R, HBP, BB
LF Logan Maxwell: 2-for-4, 2B (2), SF, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 SB (5), BB, 2 K
Maxwell’s first game since his rehab stint (which lasted only one game) is a good one. He is hitting .264/.359/.415 in 15 games at this level.
RF JoJo Jackson: 0-for-4, RBI, SB (8), 2 BB, 3 K
CF Willy Montero: 1-for-5, HR (6), RBI, R, BB, 2 K
Montero extends his hitting streak to 11.
DH Engelth Urena: 3-for-4, 4 RBI, 2 SB (6), BB
.211/.373/.342 in 193 PA. This is the first time he’s been over .200 this season (was at exactly .200 on May 27th). Additionally, the 4 RBI tie his career best (done three previous times).
1B John Cristino: 1-for-4, HR (1, grand slam), 4 RBI, R, BB, K
Cristino (26) had a 3-HR game in the FCL earlier this season. In case you were wondering, he was only 6.7 years older than league average.
2B Luis Escudero: 0-for-5, K
RHP Wyatt Parliament: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
Parliament averaged 94.3 MPH with his 4-seam fastball, topping out at 97.1. He threw the pitch 59% of the time and generated an impressive nine whiffs. He also featured a cutter (22%), slider (12%), curve (6%), and changeup (1%).
RHP J.T. Etheridge: (W, 5-0) 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
4.44 ERA (26.1 IP, 21 H, 15 R, 13 ER, 1 HR, 15 BB, 37 K)
RHP Jose Rodriguez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.99 ERA (22.2 IP, 12 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 1 HR, 17 BB, 33 K).
FCL Yankees (12-11)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (1-1)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (0-2)
Day off.