Notes:
Usually, when the Yankees lose to the Red Sox, I am not pleasant to be around (well, more so than usual at least). This weekend? There isn’t much to say. The Yankees were hitting above expectations after Aaron Judge went on the injured list. It didn’t feel sustainable, and that is playing out. The Red Sox have shut them down with three left-handed starters. From my “eye test,” those starters threw well enough. However, you should be able to score more than that against them.
Their defense (and a cheap home run – hey, if announcers can harp on Yankee Stadium cheapies, I can harp on whatever that thing Caleb Durbin hit was) did them in on Thursday. They didn’t exactly hit the cover off the ball that night, but crisp play likely means a win. But the biggest culprit is the dead offense. And I don’t know if it magically becomes better. Ben Rice should eventually hit again. But is there a sparkplug that gets this team going? It’s hard to envision, unless Jasson Dominguez starts mashing the ball, and Spencer Jones can be productive once he removes the splitters from his butt. George Lombard Jr. would likely be considered for a call-up right now if not for those pesky fingers.
Trent Grisham will come back during the next homestand. As much as I downplayed bringing him back, they need his bat desperately. Ryan McMahon, hardly Graig Nettles offensively, still provides the occasional pop with the strong, run-preventing defense.
Which is to say that run scoring should improve in the coming weeks.
OF Willy Montero, who has hit well in Tampa this season, was placed on the injured list today. OF Isael Arias, who hasn’t played since June 20th, was promoted from the FCL to take his place. Arias has never hit in the rookie leagues. He is 43-for-46 stealing bases, however.
Montero is hitting .264/.343/.459 (112 wRC+) in 274 plate appearances.
Scranton (40-39) (Allowed three runs in the bottom of the 9th in a 4-3 loss to Indianapolis)
2B Marco Luciano: 2-for-3, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Luciano hit a lead-off blast and a 2-run homer in the 8th. That was most of the offense!
DH Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Garrett Martin: 0-for-4, K
Martin’s 12-game hitting streak ends.
3B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-4, K
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 0-for-3, K
C Payton Henry: 0-for-3, K
LF Duke Ellis: 0-for-3, CS (4), K
RF Kenedy Corona: 1-for-3, 2B (7), R
RHP Brendan Beck: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
3.07 ERA (88 IP, 62 H, 35 R, 30 ER, 9 HR, 28 BB, 91 K). This is his third 7-inning start this season. Last 6 starts: 1.03 ERA (35 IP, 18 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 14 BB, 37 K)
RHP Angel Chivilli: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Eric Reyzelman : (L, 0-1) 0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Reyzelman’s Triple-A struggles continue. He has a 2.43 ERA in 34 career Double-A games and a 5.47 ERA in 41 career Triple-A games. In those 41 Triple-A games, he has a 54/51 K/BB over 49.1 innings.
RHP Dylan Coleman: 0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Somerset (39-35) (Split a doubleheader with New Hampshire)
Game 1 (Lost, 6-5. No notes for the hitters in this game because most of them played in Game 2)
RF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-4, 2B (16), 2 RBI, R
DH DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Nicholas Torres: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB, K
3B Coby Morales: 2-for-3, 2B (15), RBI, R
C Tomas Frick: 1-for-3
LF Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, 2 K
SS Kevin Verde: 0-for-2, K
PH Miguel Palma: 1-for-1, RBI
2B Santiago Gomez: 0-for-0
2B-SS Connor McGinnis: 1-for-2, 2B (4), R, BB
RHP Chase Hampton: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K
It’s been a struggle for Hampton as he continues his journey back from injury. When do we become concerned? I don’t know.
RHP Chris Kean: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Trent Sellers (L, 3-3): 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Game 2 (Won, 5-1)
RF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-4, 2B (12), RBI
Castillo is hitting .271/.356/.417 in 250 PA (12 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 32 R, 6-for-7 SB, 10.8% BB, 22.4% K).
DH Jace Avina: 1-for-4, 2 K
.281/.358/.557 in 257 PA. He is tied for the league lead in runs with 50 and is in the top ten in several categories.
CF DJ Gladney: 0-for-4, 2 K
1B Nicholas Torres: 0-for-3, K
.262/.342/.338 in 146 PA. Torres has not been the same since coming back from the injured list.
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-1, R, 2 BB
A nice offensive day for Morales (2-for-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB).
C Manuel Palencia: 0-for-3, 2 K
LF Josh Moylan: 1-for-2, 2B (2), 2 R, BB, K
Someone brought to my attention the Sports Illustrated web article touting Moylan as a prospect. Anything is possible, but Moylan spent a long time in Hudson Valley. Nothing against Moylan, who was in demand as an undrafted free agent, but that article was about as random a prospect article as I have ever seen.
SS Kevin Verde: 1-for-2, RBI
PH Miguel Palma: 1-for-1, RBI, R
Two PH opportunities, two RBI singles.
2B Santiago Gomez: 0-for-0
2B Connor McGinnis: 1-for-3, 2B (5), 2 RBI, R
RHP Ben Hess: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
Hess threw 65 pitches tonight. He owns a 4.44 ERA over 26.1 IP (24 H, 18 R, 13 ER, 5 HR, 18 BB, 35 K). He has tossed those 26.1 innings in ten starts. The Yankees are slowly building him back up since his injury.
RHP Tony Rossi: (W, 1-0) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Since promotion: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 11 K. Rossi hasn’t allowed a home run in 70 career innings (allowed only 32 hits).
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Cohen has pitched well since his demotion (7.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 8 K).
Hudson Valley (33-38)
Their game against Bowling Green was postponed due to rain. They will try to play a pair tomorrow.
Tampa (40-34) (Shut down Dunedin, 8-0)
3B Jackson Lovich: 2-for-4, 2B (12), RBI, R, BB, K
Lovich leads the Florida State League with 14 home runs, 49 RBI, and .539 SLG.
CF Brando Mayea: 1-for-4, R, SB (7), BB, 2 K
LF Luis Puello: 2-for-5, RBI, R, CS (2)
Puello is hitting .294/.377/.515 in June.
1B Hans Montero: 0-for-3, 2 R, SB (18), 2 BB
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-5, 2B (12), RBI, 2 K
DH Engelth Urena: 0-for-4, RBI, 2 K
Urena is in a 2-for-23 slump that has dropped him back under .200 (.199). I always stress patience with catching prospects, but I understand any frustration. It stems from Yankees fans’ desperation for a legitimate catching prospect.
2B Luis Escudero: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
C Ediel Rivera: 0-for-2, R, HBP, BB, K
RF Gabriel Lara: 1-for-4, R
RHP Ty Boudreau (W, 4-2): 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
3.19 ERA (62 IP, 42 H, 27 R, 22 ER, 4 HR, 24 BB, 77 K). The Yankees signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech last July.
RHP Brian Hendry (S, 1): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
The rehabbing Hendry’s first career relief appearance (11th game). He topped out at 95.4 MPH and featured six pitches.
FCL Yankees (20-21) (Defeated the FCL Blue Jays, 3-2)
3B Richard Matic: 0-for-4, 3 K
Easily his worst game this season.
LF Wilberson De Pena: 1-for-4, 2B (14), 2 RBI
De Pena had 15 extra-base hits in 68 games between 2024 and 2025. This season, he has 26 extra-base hits (14 doubles, 1 triple, 11 home runs) in 39 games. He is the lottery ticket they acquired from the Angeles for Oswald Peraza.
C Queni Pineda: 1-for-3, K
2B Leni Done: 1-for-2, SB (22), HBP
In 175 PA, 2025 (DSL): .277/.414/.454 (8 doubles, 1 triple, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 16-for-20 SB). In 179 PA, 2026 (FCL): .315/.419/.497 (8 doubles, 2 triples, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 22-for-29 SB).
CF Jose Castro: 0-for-3, K
DH Francisco Vilorio: 1-for-3, SB (2)
SS Dexters Peralta: 0-for-2, BB, 2 K
RF Estivenzon Montero: 0-for-3, R
1B Christofer Reyes: 1-for-2, 2 R, SB (7), BB, K
RHP Sabier Marte: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
5.64 ERA (30.1 IP, 30 H, 21 R, 19 ER, 2 HR, 14 BB, 39 K). After walking 11 over 12.2 innings in May, he has walked three over 17.2 innings in June.
RHP Rafael Arias: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Huey Morrill (W, 1-0): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
DSL Yankees (11-8) (Defeated DSL Miami, 7-2. They are far from “cold,” but they are losing their grip on that 1.000 team OPS. They are down to 1.003. Insanity.)
CF Isaias Castillo: 1-for-3, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Castillo has scored 33 runs in 19 games as the catalyst of this offense. He is hitting .363/.485/.763 in 99 PA.
SS Stiven Marinez: 1-for-3, R, SB (13), CS (1), HBP, BB, 2 K
It became lost in my shuffle, but Marinez has reached base safely in all 17 of his games this season. Technically, he’s been in 18 games, but he only pinch-ran in his other game.
RF Yostin Pena: 1-for-2, 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB
Pena continues to have zero trouble with this league in his debut campaign. He is hitting .372/.436/.705 in 94 PA. He has 35 RBI, 29 runs, and is 12-for-12 stealing bases.
2B Juan Torres: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
Torres has reached base safely in 17 of his 18 games. He is hitting .361/.417/.574 (21 doubles, 2 triples, 8 HR, 68 RBI) in 259 plate appearances between 2025 and 2026.
LF Manuel Aguilar: 1-for-5, SB (3), K
3B Abrahan Pichardo: 1-for-3, SB (6), BB, 2 K
1B Edgar Jimenez: 2-for-4, 2B (3), R, K
RHP Jhon Beltre: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Only 17, Beltre entered the day with a 16.20 ERA. This effort lowered that to 10.00.
RHP Yunior Jerez (W, 3-0): 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Piggyback starters can earn a lot of wins in the rookie leagues. Jerez owns a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings (4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 7 BB, 19 K). This is his debut season.
RHP Breidy Adames: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
The 19-year-old strikes out the side in his professional debut.
DSL Bombers (9-10) (Defeated the DSL Nationals, 11-6)
CF Alfiery Matos: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 R, 3 SB (13), 2 BB
Matos is hitting only .208 with a .245 SLG. However, he owns a .382 OBP and is 13-for-14 stealing bases.
2B Carlos Bello: 0-for-4, 2 R, 3 SB (12), BB, K
Unlike Matos, Bello has shown power with the low batting average (.200/.342/.462; 5 doubles, 4 HR). He is 12-for-14 stealing bases.
C Alessandro Rodriguez: 0-for-4, 2 R, BB, K
RF David Carrera: 2-for-4, 2B (4), 3 RBI, SB (2), K
SS Germayhoni Beltre: 1-for-4, HR (1), RBI, R
Beltre (17) launches his first professional home run. He is hitting .264/.420/.358 and is 8-for-9 stealing bases.
DH Poly Ojeda: 1-for-3, R, BB, K
1B Stalen Ramirez: 1-for-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, R, BB, K
Ramirez (17) launches his first professional home run. He is hitting .281/.425/.438 in 40 PA.
3B Adrian Feliz: 1-for-4, SB (2), K
LF Eddison Charles: 2-for-4, 3B (1), 2 R, SB (4), K
LHP Ronald Tejada (W, 1-0): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Chaury Gomez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
The 19-year-old’s 2026 debut.
RHP Oscar Vasquez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Vasquez is already 21, but has a 0.00 ERA in 6.2 innings (2 unearned runs).