Notes:
George Lombard Jr., assuming he is healthy, and Carlos Lagrange, assuming he is still a minor leaguer, have been invited to the Futures Game.
The Yankees are a disaster. They can’t hit (imagine my horror when they bunted a runner over in the 10th, hoping Oswaldo Cabrera would do something useful. Maybe they should have tried a safety squeeze, though the likely outcome would have been something hilarious.)
The roster is a mess. Cody Bellinger is in a bad slump at the worst possible time. Austin Wells hasn’t hit all season, to the point where it has become embarrassing. Anthony Volpe goes on a tear for a week,, and some think things will be different this time. How does he keep fooling people? The thing is, I don’t care if he fools fans. The real problem is that he fools the front office and the manager. Jasson Dominguez hit a few balls hard today, but isn’t doing anything to convince me that living organisms on Mars are good at baseball.
We see this every time Aaron Judge misses time, and the front office either doesn’t recognize this or doesn’t care. I will admit that my suggestion to sign Kyle Tucker would have been a disaster. However, the Yankees aren’t doing much to build a team that hits consistently without their star. Other than the slumping Ben Rice, the system is struggling to produce Major League hitting talent. This isn’t “The Yankees don’t give young players a chance!” because that is ridiculous. The leashes on Volpe and Wells have been long. Dominguez has received extended playing time. The opportunities are there. The results are not.
Scranton (41-41) (Lost to Norfolk, 9-5)
3B Jonathan Ornelas: 1-for-4, R, BB, K
C J.C. Escarra: 3-for-5, 2B (1), R, K
2B Marco Luciano: 2-for-4, 2 HR (5), 4 RBI, 2 R, K
Luciano, who has four multi-hit games during his 5-game hitting streak, has four 2-HR efforts this season. The first two were in Somerset (4/16, 4/28). He hit two on 6/27 at this level.
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 2-for-4, 2B (9), R, BB, K
Fernandez has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games.
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-4, SB (6), BB, K
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
LF Kenedy Corona: 1-for-3, BB, K
CF Duke Ellis: 0-for-3, SF, RBI, K
SS Owen Cobb: 0-for-4, K
RHP Dom Hamel: (L, 3-9) 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HR
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR
His Triple-A struggles continue to bemuse.
RHP Angel Chivilli: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Dylan Coleman: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Somerset (41-36) (Defeated Hartford, 5-3. Tonight, they faced Griffin Herring, one of the players the Yankees sent to Colorado for Ryan McMahon. Herring was solid after the deal, compiling a 2.40 ERA over 30 innings with 14 hits allowed and a 47/13 K/BB. He has dealt with injuries in 2026 and hasn’t pitched well when healthy (7.32 ERA in 19.2 innings for Hartford))
CF Trent Grisham: 1-for-3, 2B (1), R, BB
Grisham should be back on Friday.
1B John Cristino: 0-for-1, K
DH Jace Avina: 1-for-3, HR (16), 2 RBI, R, BB
Avina sets a new personal best for home runs. He hit 15 in 64 games during his 2022 debut campaign.
RF Jackson Castillo: 2-for-3, 2B (13), RBI, R, BB
Castillo started the season with a 14-game hitting streak and has been consistent since, even with a few down periods.
LF DJ Gladney: 2-for-4, 2B (12), HR (14), 2 RBI, R
3B Coby Morales: 1-for-4, 3B (1), 2 K
Morales is trying to build on his .338/.400/.584 June.
C Miguel Palma: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-4, 2 K
SS Kevin Verde: 0-for-4, K
2B Connor McGinnis: 2-for-4, R, K
LHP Xavier Rivas: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
While I wouldn’t rule out an injury, Rivas tossed 51 pitches in two innings. He pitched to a 1.45 ERA and 26/7 K/BB over 18.2 innings in June.
RHP Michael Arias: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
RHP Trent Sellers: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
RHP Hayden Merda: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
4.33 ERA (27 IP, 21 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 12 BB, 43 K)
RHP Chris Kean: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Tony Rossi (S, 1): 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Since promotion: 3.68 ERA (7.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 14 K). In his career, he has a 104/32 K/BB over 71 innings and has yet to allow a home run.
Hudson Valley (34-41) (Lost to Wilmington, 5-3)
2B Kaeden Kent: 0-for-4, R, BB, K
SS Core Jackson: 1-for-4, 2B (13), K
RF Wilson Rodriguez: 1-for-4, RBI, CS (4), K
.261/.377/.438 in 309 PA. After the May 1st games, he was hitting .162/.337/.294.
C Eric Genther: 2-for-3, 2 R, HBP
1B Kyle West: 2-for-4
3B Roderick Arias: 1-for-2, SF, 2 RBI, BB, K
Arias has a 21-game on-base streak. In the game before the streak began, he went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts, lowering his triple slash to .190/.297/.262. He is now hitting .257/.341/.402.
DH Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, HBP
Tejeda is hitting .237/.362/.390 in 142 PA since his promotion. He hit .279/.397/.459 in June.
CF Camden Troyer: 0-for-4
LF Robbie Burnett: 0-for-3, BB, K
RHP Luis Serna: (L, 3-4) 6 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, HR
4.18 ERA (71 IP, 57 H, 38 R, 33 ER, 6 HR, 29 BB, 78 K). Serna has already set a personal best for innings in a season, which demonstrates the injury issues he has dealt with.
RHP Andrew Landry: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Wilmy Sanchez: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Tampa (43-34) (Shut down St. Lucie, 6-0. If that looks familiar, it’s because it is the same score as last night.)
SS Jackson Lovich: 3-for-5, 2 2B (14), RBI, R, K
Lovich has eight 3+-hit efforts this season. He has 30 extra-base hits (14 doubles, 2 triples, 14 HR) in 59 games.
2B Hans Montero: 1-for-4, R, CS (2), BB, K
C Luis Puello: 0-for-3, R, CI, BB, 2 K
RF-LF Logan Maxwell: 3-for-4, HR (5), 3 RBI, R, BB, K
In 28 games: 4 doubles, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 24 R, 19 BB, 20 K, and a 9-for-10 SB rate.
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
CF Brando Mayea: 0-for-4, BB, K
LF JoJo Jackson: 1-for-2, 2B (13), R, BB
PR-RF Isael Arias: 0-for-1
1B David McCann: 1-for-4, RBI, 2 K
DH Ediel Rivera: 1-for-4, 3 K
RHP Thatcher Hurd: (W, 1-2) 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
Hurd, who earned his first professional win, has been cruising since an awful start on May 26th. In 21.2 innings since then: 7 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 9 BB, 33 K.
RHP Brian Hendry: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Jose Martinez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
FCL Yankees (22-21) (Defeated the Tigers, 9-8, in a rain-shortened affair. The Tigers had one on and two outs in the top of the 9th when the game was called. The Yankees stole ten bases.)
A few people were surprised when I noted that the team leader in home runs last year hit four.
Context: The Yankees have hit the most home runs (65) in the FCL, 15 more than the Blue Jays. Last season, the top team was the Tigers, who hit 38 in 59 games. It is fair to say home runs are up. However, the Yankees are still overwhelming the competition. Their .481 team SLG is 38 points higher than the Marlins’.
3B Richard Matic: 0-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
CF Wilberson De Pena: 0-for-3, SB (18), HBP, 2 K
DH Queni Pineda: 1-for-1, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 R, 3 SB (9), 3 BB
Pineda, who set a new best for home runs in a season, is hitting.264/.402/.424 in 179 PA. He has a 5-game hitting streak that includes a pair of home runs. He is a 19-year-old catcher.
2B Leni Done: 1-for-2, 2 R, 2 SB (24), HBP, BB
.310/.417/.484 in 187 PA. He has 40 stolen bases in 89 career games.
LF Jose Castro: 1-for-3, HR (6), 3 RBI, 2 R, SB (20), BB
.304/.505/.582 in 111 PA. He reaches six home runs and 20 stolen bases for the second straight season. This year, he did it in 27 games. Last year, while with the DSL, he did it in 35 games.
RF Francisco Vilorio: 1-for-3, 2B (4), 2 RBI, R, BB, K
SS Dexters Peralta: 2-for-3, HR (11), 2 RBI, R, 2 SB (9), BB
Peralta has been in the rookie leagues for three seasons (1 with DSL; 2 with FCL). That said, he is 18 years old and has already shattered many of his personal bests. For example, he has 11 home runs in 43 games this season. Entering this season, he had five in 88 games.
C Justin Capellan: 0-for-4, SB (3), CS (4), 2 K
1B Diego Flores: 0-for-3, HBP, 3 K
RHP Sunayro Martina: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
LHP Marco Manzano (W, 1-0): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
The 22-year-old has struck out 28 in 14 innings. Oh, should I mention he has walked 17?
RHP Brian Arias: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Jorge Luna: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K
RHP Rafael Arias: 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 2 HR
RHP Austin Breedlove (S, 2): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
1.80 ERA (20 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 9 BB, 26 K). He is 22 years old and went to a major college (Tennessee), so I expect him to pitch well in the rookie leagues.
DSL Yankees (13-8)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (9-12)
Day off.