Notes:
At the end of the 2025 International signing period, the Yankees made a notable move when they signed a left-handed pitcher out of the Netherlands. I don’t know why I randomly thought about him today, but that’s how my brain works. In case you are wondering (are you as weird as me?), Tjin Fredrikze started the season on the 7-day injured list but was transferred to the 60-day list on June 12th.
While it wasn’t the Yankees’ goal, one advantage of losing all of their top international signings earlier this year is that it left a large sum of money to spend the rest of the year. It appears that a chunk of that cash will go to Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Fan Lai. If the reports I read are accurate, he is a teenager who was clocked at 96 MPH in some high school tournament. Works for me, as the Yankees have money to spend, and signing a pitcher who already has some polish on him isn’t a bad way to spend it. Even if he signs in the $800,000 – $1M range, the Yankees will have a lot left over for any other prospect that grabs their attention between now and December. It is not official, but it appears to be heading in that direction.
In case you have spent the day living under a rock (I did), the Yankees have recalled Elmer Rodriguez to pitch tomorrow, with Gerrit Cole moved to Monday. Jake Bird was sent to Scranton, as was J.C. Escarra. It is time for Austin Wells to claim the everyday job or force the Yankees’ hand at the trade deadline.
The Yankees promoted Garrett Martin, one of the top home run hitters in minor league baseball this season, from Somerset to Scranton. Martin is not a major prospect, but he plays all three outfield positions and has shown some pop and speed. The right-handed bat hits righties (.276/.352/.573) better than lefties (.254/.320/.552), but both splits are impressive.
I saw the video of Yanquiel Fernandez “giving up” on Bo Naylor‘s game-winning inside-the-park home run last night. The obvious explanation is that he thought the game was tied, and the runner on base was the winning run. Hardly a “good” excuse, though.
Scranton (36-37) (Lost to Columbus, 6-3)
2B Oswaldo Cabrera: 2-for-5, HR (7), RBI, R, K
Cabrera’s fourth straight multi-hit effort, and he is a crazy 24-for-62 (.387) in June. Could he replace Max Schuemann on the Major League roster? Sure. Do I think the Yankees feel the urge to do that? Not really.
DH Marco Luciano: 1-for-4, R, K
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 2-for-4, 2B (7), HR (16), 2 RBI, R, K
Yes, he made a bonehead play last night. However, he also has homered in three straight games after compiling zero June extra-base hits before this stretch.
LF Garrett Martin: 1-for-4, K
Martin’s first Triple-A hit.
3B Tyler Hardman: 2-for-4, SB (3)
Hardman is 6-for-6 stealing bases between here and Somerset. While basestealing isn’t his superpower, he has three double-digit seasons in his minor league career.
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-3, HBP, 3 K
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 0-for-4, 3 K
C Payton Henry: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Duke Ellis: 1-for-4, K
RHP Dom Hamel: (L, 2-8) 4.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
His job is to fill in Triple-A innings, so he is doing that much. However, his 7.23 ERA doesn’t keep Scranton in many games.
LHP Will Brian: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
I hope Brian loves to travel, as he has gone from Somerset to Scranton to Somerset to Scranton many times over the past week. Is it permanent this time, or was he called up because they needed a fresh arm after needing to use an outfielder to lock down a save last night?
RHP Yerry de los Santos: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Rafael Montero: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Somerset (36-32) (Blew a 3-run lead in the 9th to lose to Portland, 7-6. The goal is not to do that.)
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-5, 3 K
RF Jace Avina: 2-for-4, HR (15), RBI, 2 R, K
His IL stint didn’t slow him down. Avina is 5-for-10 since that stint and is hitting .287/.372/.594 in 231 PA. The 30.3% K rate will rightfully concern people.
3B Kevin Verde: 0-for-1
CF DJ Gladney: 3-for-5, HR (13), 2 RBI, R
On May 1st, Gladney was hitting .329/.372/.429, which nobody will complain about. However, he hadn’t homered yet. He has 13 home runs in 36 games since.
1B-RF Nicholas Torres: 2-for-5, R, 3 K
3B-1B Coby Morales: 3-for-4, 2B (13), RBI, K
.270/.348/.461 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI in 64 games.
C Miguel Palma: 0-for-3, HBP
DH Manuel Palencia: 1-for-4, R
2B Connor McGinnis: 1-for-3, 2B (2), RBI, R, BB
SS Owen Cobb: 1-for-3, 2B (11), RBI, SAC, K
LHP Kyle Carr: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, HR
4.40 ERA (61.1 IP, 60 H, 33 R, 30 ER, 7 HR, 26 BB, 75 K). After an awful April (9.56 ERA) and a dominant May (1.55 ERA), he has been steady in June (3.97 ERA).
RHP Chris Kean: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Ben Grable: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Grable has a 3.57 ERA and 24/6 K/BB over 17.2 innings for Somerset. He hasn’t allowed a run in six June innings.
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Keating’s IL stint was short-lived.
RHP Hayden Merda: (L, 0-2) 0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
That’s what I get for bragging about his strikeout rate. And also an example as to why K% is more reliable than K/9.
RHP Tony Rossi: 0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Rossi did his job (generated a ground ball), but Cobb muffed it. That’s how it goes sometimes.
Hudson Valley (31-35) (Defeated Rome, 3-2)
SS Kaeden Kent: 0-for-4, BB, K
3B Core Jackson: 1-for-5, HR (8), RBI, R
.243/.357/.463 with a solid 21.6% K over 213 PA. He also has 18 stolen bases in 24 attempts.
C Eric Genther: 5-for-5, 2 2B (9), R
Genther’s first career 5-hit game (hardly surprising). He was 9-for-53 in June, entering today.
1B Kyle West: 2-for-5, 2B (11), HR (12), 2 RBI, R, 2 K
LF Wilson Rodriguez: 0-for-4, K
2B Roderick Arias: 1-for-3, BB, K
He has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games. He was hitting .190/.297/.262 before this stretch and .230/.327/.362 now.
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-4, K
Since promotion: .233/.373/.389 in 111 PA. He owns impressive 16.2% BB and 19.8% K rates.
CF Camden Troyer: 1-for-4
RF Luis Durango: 0-for-4, K
RHP Rory Fox: (W, 4-3) 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, HR
5.46 ERA (57.2 IP, 64 H, 46 R, 35 ER, 9 HR, 19 BB, 61 K). His debut season is a series of ups and downs, which is hardly surprising.
RHP Jack Sokol: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Wilmy Sanchez (S, 2): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Sanchez has four straight scoreless appearances (1 H, 3 BB, 6 K).
Tampa (36-32) (Lost a crazy one to Ft. Myers, 13-11)
SS Jackson Lovich: 0-for-4, SF, RBI, R, BB, K
CF Brando Mayea: 4-for-5, 3 RBI, R, CS (1), K
Mayea desperately needed a night like this. It’s his first career 4-hit effort.
PH Gabriel Lara: 0-for-1
He likely pinch-hit because Mayea recently returned from the injured list, I guess? Mayea played all nine innings in the field, so maybe not. Weird.
LF Luis Puello: 4-for-6, 2B (5), SB (2), K
He batted third, compiled four hits, the team scored 11 runs, and he didn’t have an RBI or run scored. This is his second 4-hit game in his last three games (he hit three home runs last time). He homered yesterday, so his last three games look like this: 9-for-13 with four home runs and eight RBI.
3B-1B Hans Montero: 0-for-3, 2 BB, HBP, 2 K
RF Logan Maxwell: 2-for-4, HR (4), SF, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
When signing undrafted free agents, looking at SEC kids is never a bad idea.
C Engelth Urena: 1-for-6, R, K
DH David McCann: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, R, K
1B Austin Green: 0-for-2, K
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-1, 2 R, 3 SB (22), HBP, BB
He made the most of not starting tonight. Martin-Grudzielanek is 22-for-28 stealing bases this year.
2B Luis Escudero: 2-for-3, 2 HR (4), 3 RBI, 3 R, SB (3), 2 BB
Escudero has a 6-game hitting streak. Not known for his power, this is his first career multi-HR effort.
RHP Ty Boudreau: 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
3.54 ERA (56 IP, 40 H, 27 R, 22 ER, 4 HR, 22 BB, 72 K). He’s putting together a sneaky good campaign.
RHP Jose Martinez: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
LHP Pedro Rodriguez: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
When Rodriguez implodes, he really implodes. 11 of the 13 runs he has allowed have come in two games (one total inning).
RHP Matthew Tippie: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
If you are the organization’s minor league pitching coordinator, you need to have a lot of patience. His arm is so electric, but the results are erratic.
FCL Yankees (18-18) (Lost to the Blue Jays again, 3-2. I have expressed this before, but not as much this year: I hate how the FCL schedule works. There is no reason, other than to cut down on costs, for the Yankees to play the same three teams all season. It’s boring, and prospects should see more variety as well. Not the biggest hill to die on, but it’s still stupid)
3B Richard Matic: 2-for-4, RBI, SB (10), K
New streak unlocked.
RF Wilberson De Pena: 0-for-4, 3 K
C Queni Pineda: 0-for-3, K
SS-2B Leni Done: 0-for-3, K
CF Jose Castro: 0-for-3, 2 K
Castro’s on-base streak comes to an end.
LF Robbie Burnett: 1-for-3
LF Isael Arias: 0-for-0
DH Francisco Vilorio: 0-for-2, R, BB
A 4-for-30 start to his campaign doesn’t inspire confidence.
2B-SS Dexters Peralta: 1-for-2, R, SB (7), BB, K
Why did Done and Peralta randomly switch positions mid-game? Perhaps the manager is bored with playing the same teams over and over and over and wanted to spice things up.
1B Justin Capellan: 0-for-1, BB, K
1B Christofer Reyes: 0-for-1
RHP Sabier Marte: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
His ERA is still over 6.00 (6.12), but he has mixed in some solid performances.
RHP Austin Breedlove (L, 1-1): 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
RHP Jorge Luna: 0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
DSL Yankees (8-7) (Their 7-game winning streak comes to an end courtesy of their Bombers buddies, 8-5)
CF Isaias Castillo: 3-for-3, RBI, R, 2 SB (5), 2 BB
Castillo reaches base five times as he tries to break out of a mini-slump.
SS Stiven Marinez: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
DH Yostin Pena: 0-for-4, SF, RBI, K
2B Juan Torres: 1-for-3, R, CS (2), BB
All of a sudden, he is addicted to walks. He has five walks in his last three games.
3B Abrahan Pichardo: 1-for-4, RBI, K
1B Jose Peralta: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
LF Kendry Diaz: 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB
RHP Jose Vargas: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL Bombers (7-8) (Won their fifth straight game, 8-5)
SS Mani Cedeno: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 R, SB (4), 2 BB, K
His encouraging start continues.
DH Carlos Bello: 2-for-3, 2 HR (4), 3 RBI, 3 R, SB (8), 2 BB
Bello has two multi-HR efforts in his last five games. His .048/.200/.048 triple slash on June 11th is now .200/.365/.480.
C Alessandro Rodriguez: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, SB (1), 2 BB
Rodriguez has 14 RBI in 11 games.
CF Alfiery Matos: 1-for-5, SB (9)
2B Adrian Feliz: 1-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 K
RHP Brandy Luis: 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
The 18-year-old’s professional debut.