Notes:
A nice win over the Red Sox today. Anthony Volpe had a key walk in the 8th inning, but none of his issues have been resolved, which should surprise no one. People actually thought having “competition” for his job would magically improve him. That makes a wild assumption: That he only played poorly because he knew nobody was taking his job. Not likely.
Scranton (31-31) (Lost to Syracuse, 4-3. Scranton is buried in the race for the first-half title. In Triple-A, you have to look at both divisions, because it is the best OVERALL team in the first half that takes on the best OVERALL team in the second half in the Championship Series.)
LF Jasson Dominguez: 0-for-3, 2 K
To hear the Yankees talk about him playing some RF only to see him playing LF today is funny (he played DH in his first rehab game). I assume he will start playing some right field this coming week, but who knows? In case you are wondering, he has one career game in right field (2024 for Scranton).
1B Seth Brown: 0-for-1, BB
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-5, 2B (6), 2 K
Lombard is 6-for-24 with six walks in June. Today’s double was his first extra-base hit. He owns a 19.2% BB and 22.8% K since his promotion. In 559 PA for Somerset, his BB% was 13.6%, and his K% was 25.6%.
DH Marco Luciano: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-3, R, BB
3B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, 2B (5), RBI, BB, K
Hardman has a .415 SLG in 15 games since his promotion (.542 in a small June sample).
2B Jonathan Ornelas: 0-for-4, R, K
Ornelas’ .314 average leads all qualified Yankees’ minor leaguers (not including the rookie leagues).
1B-LF Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-4, RBI, K
CF Kenedy Corona: 2-for-3, 2 2B (3), RBI, BB
C Abrahan Gutierrez: 0-for-3, BB
With Payton Henry on the injured list, Gutierrez is likely our new #3 catcher. It is safe to cross Ben Rice off the “catching depth” list.
RHP Dom Hamel: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Hamel was flirting with a no-hitter into the 6th.
RHP Yerry de los Santos: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Bradley Hanner (L, 3-1): 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
Hanner has been one of Scranton’s most reliable relievers. Not today.
Somerset (30-27) (Defeated Harrisburg, 7-3. The Patriots remain in a bunched-up race for the first-half title. Hartford is 30-25, New Hampshire is 29-25, Somerset is 30-27, and Portland is 29-27. As you likely know, no effort is made to ensure everyone plays an equal amount of first-half games)
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-3, SF, RBI, 2 K
DH Garrett Martin: 1-for-4, HR (19), 2 RBI, R
I’ve talked about how Martin leads the Eastern League in home runs. Where does he rank among all minor league players? As of this writing, he is tied for third with Jacob Gonzalez (AAA, White Sox). Ahead of them are Manuel Pena (AA, Arizona; 22 HR) and Jason Schiavone (A+/AA, Houston; 20 HR).
1B Nicholas Torres: 0-for-4, K
RF DJ Gladney: 2-for-3, 2 HR (11), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
Gladney’s second 2-HR game this season. This is his fifth straight double-digit home run campaign, and he owns a .914 OPS. His personal best OPS for a full season is .783, set in 2023.
3B Coby Morales: 1-for-3, R, CS (5), BB
C Miguel Palma: 1-for-4, HR (4), 2 RBI, R, K
Palma’s third home run in his last eight games.
2B Connor McGinnis: 0-for-3, R, BB
SS Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, K
CF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-3, R, SB (1)
RHP Ben Hess: 1 IP, 1 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
The Yankees have been working him back slowly since he came off the injured list. However, this start goes beyond that as Hess needed 40 pitches to get through one inning. He wasn’t pitching the second inning under any circumstances.
RHP Chase Chaney: (W, 3-3) 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
3.81 ERA (52 IP, 45 H, 31 R, 22 ER, 8 HR, 17 BB, 39 K). He is doing a nice job filling in some innings.
RHP Kelly Austin: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Hayden Merda: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
2.31 ERA (23.1 IP, 16 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 HR, 7 BB, 40 K). The 6’6″ 26-year-old may be overlooked a bit, but he is having a strong campaign in his second full season as a reliever.
Hudson Valley (25-31) (Lost to Frederick, 16-3. Hudson Valley had few answers for Frederick’s offense this week, allowing 55 runs in six games. The one answer they did have was Allen Facundo, who struck out 12 in six hitless innings. That looks even better than it already did, right?)
SS Kaeden Kent: 1-for-4, 2B (15), RBI
Kent has five doubles in his last three games (two doubles in his previous 27 games).
LF Wilson Rodriguez: 1-for-4, RBI
C Eric Genther: 0-for-4
DH Kyle West: 0-for-4, K
2B Roderick Arias: 1-for-4, 2B (5), CS (5), K
3B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, HR (3), RBI, R, K
Perhaps I should continue to bring up his lack of power. Between here and Tampa, he has 13 doubles, a triple, and five home runs in 52 games.
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, 2 K
CF Camden Troyer: 1-for-3, 2B (8), R, K
RF Luis Durango: 1-for-3, R, SB (2), K
Durango is the second Yankees’ minor leaguer to reach 20 stolen bases this year (he had 18 for Tampa). Duke Ellis (25) is the other.
RHP Sean Paul Linan: (L, 1-6) 1.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3 HR
Linan struck out the side in a perfect first inning. Things didn’t go so well in inning #2. He owns a 5.89 ERA in 36.2 innings with a 56/13 K/BB.
RHP Brady Kirtner: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
LHP Franyer Herrera: 2.1 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 3 HR
Before this season, Herrera allowed two home runs in 106.2 innings. He topped that today and has allowed ten home runs in 38 innings this season.
RHP Brandon Decker: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
2.81 ERA (25.2 IP, 21 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 28 K)
RHP Jack Sokol: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Tampa (30-27) (Defeated Palm Beach, 2-1. Tampa finishes a strong week against a good team, but Palm Beach is in the other division. Tampa is, unfortunately, in the same division as Clearwater (36-21). A first-half title doesn’t seem likely)
3B Jackson Lovich: 1-for-3, SF, RBI, R, SB (13)
Lovich is second in the Florida State League in home runs (11) and RBI (34). His .929 OPS is 4th.
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 2-for-3, 2B (8), SB (17), CS (6), BB, K
A 9-for-22 June (four multi-hit games) has improved his triple slash from .274/.386/.427 to .290/.402/.457. The .290 batting average is his high-water mark this season.
2B Hans Montero: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
LF Luis Puello: 1-for-4
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-3, BB, K
DH Engelth Urena: 0-for-4, K
.210/.371/.352 in 205 PA (9 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 28 R, 6-for-9 SB, 19.0% BB, 20.5% K). The walk and strikeout percentages are impressive, and he is starting to show off the power they have talked about.
RF JoJo Jackson: 0-for-1, 2 BB, K
C Ediel Rivera: 1-for-3, R, SB (1)
1B Austin Green: 0-for-2, BB, K
RHP Brennan Stuprich: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K
2.28 ERA (23.2 IP, 16 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 3 HR, 6 BB, 24 K). Stuprich (24) is having a nice debut campaign. He doesn’t throw hard for a modern pitcher, but he does possess a wide assortment of pitches.
RHP Jose Martinez: (W, 2-0) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K
2.19 ERA (24.2 IP, 25 H, 10 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 9 BB, 27 K).
RHP Josh Tiedemann: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Jose Rodriguez (S, 1): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Rodriguez hit 97.5 MPH.
FCL Yankees (14-12)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (1-4)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (1-4)
Day off.