Notes:
“Who comes up if Jazz Chisholm Jr. goes on the injured list?” Probably the hitless Oswaldo Cabrera. Why not, at this point? Bring back Tyler Wade for all I care. I remember, when I was on Twitter, people drooling over him, and it had nothing to do with his baseball talent (which, to be fair, is better than 99.999% of the general population, but worse than the population that matters).
Camilo Doval is the ultimate white flag at this point. Nobody is fooled by anything he throws. Yeah, he was victimized by Anthony Volpe not fielding a ground ball and a weird bunt. That would explain one game of incompetence. It’s beyond that point.
The upcoming schedule is brutal all the way through and beyond the All-Star Break. There isn’t a soft spot. The Red Sox, Tigers, and Twins were supposed to be that soft spot. They went 1-9. If they don’t wake up, they’ll be in the race with the Red Sox for the “Mediocrity of the Year” Award (the Mets don’t qualify for something that prestigious). It’s pathetic, and nothing will happen. No big deal. “This is awesome, man!” will be the Aaron Boone reaction. Or maybe he will pound on the interview table, which he does once a year or so to show us he cares.
Scranton (44-41) (Defeated Norfolk, 5-2, on a walk-off grand slam. Game 2 was cancelled due to rain and will not be made up)
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 2-for-4, HR (8, grand slam), 4 RBI, R
A 2-out, walk-off grand slam. Does it get better than that? It was a no-doubter, hit 432 feet at 107.9 MPH.
C J.C. Escarra: 2-for-3, HR (1), RBI, R
You know what is funny? The Yankees’ catchers can’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, and Aaron Boone tried to convince us that Escarra would be a starter for other franchises. If that is true, why isn’t he starting for a team that actually needs a catcher? Can the Yankees explain that disconnect? They won’t, because Boone was feeding us bullcrap, and nobody will ask him to explain that bullcrap. “We can’t have two lefties” doesn’t fly when the current lefty can’t even post a .500 OPS.
DH Marco Luciano: 1-for-3, 2 K
Luciano is 12-for-30 in his last eight games.
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-3, K
3B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-2, BB
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-3
PR Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-0, R
LF Kenedy Corona: 2-for-3, R
CF Duke Ellis: 0-for-3, R, 2 K
2B Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, K
LHP Kyle Carr: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
It’s fun to get some Savant data. Carr featured a 5-pitch mix, using his sweeper 35% of the time. He also threw three different fastballs (sinker, 4-seamer, cutter) and a changeup. His 4-seamer averaged 93.9 MPH (maxed at 95.2), which is fine. The 4-seamer was featured more against right-handed hitters, while his sinker was used more against left-handed bats. Nothing is discouraging in his Savant data – it’s fine. We’ll see how he builds off this effort.
RHP Yovanny Cruz: (W, 6-3) 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Cruz reached 100.8 MPH (averaged 99.4). Boone is adamant that Cruz needs to keep working on his splitter, which he added to his mix this year. I guess I can buy that, especially if they feel as if it has plus-plus potential.
Somerset (42-39) (Lost another boring one to Hartford, 5-0)
DH Jackson Castillo: 0-for-4, K
.273/.355/.424 in 279 PA.
CF Jace Avina: 0-for-3, BB, K
“You say they don’t have any nearly ready MLB talent, yet you talk about Castillo and Avina a lot. Why?” OK, let me answer that: In a system filled with talent, I wouldn’t be as “hyped” (?) about Castillo and Avina, both of whom have MLB potential but likely in smaller roles (not that there is anything wrong with that). Anyway, Avina owns a solid .272/.360/.540 triple slash over 286 PA. He ranks 7th in the Eastern League with his .900 OPS.
LF DJ Gladney: 1-for-2, 2B (14), SB (12), HBP, BB
.265/.329/.496 in 290 PA. The 24-year-old is having his best minor league season. He was the White Sox’ 16th round pick in 2019.
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-3
RF Nicholas Torres: 1-for-3
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, K
C Miguel Palma: 0-for-1, K
C Tomas Frick: 0-for-2
SS Kevin Verde: 0-for-3, 2 K
2B Connor McGinnis: 1-for-1, 2 BB
.258/.343/.355 in 38 games since his promotion. He is 7-for-15 to begin July.
RHP Cade Smith: (L, 5-5) 5 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
His up-and-down season continues. He owns a 4.93 ERA over 69.1 IP (74 H, 39 R, 38 ER, 16 HR (!!!!!!), 30 BB, 65 K). Walks + home runs = Inconsistency. It’s not rocket science.
RHP Trent Sellers: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Ben Grable: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
At this level: 3.22 ERA (22.1 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 29 K). Last 10 appearances: 11.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 15 K.
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Hudson Valley (37-42) (Walked it off against Wilmington, 7-6)
SS Kaeden Kent: 0-for-3, BB, K
Kent has a 20-game on-base streak.
PH Robbie Burnett: 0-for-1, K
It doesn’t make sense that Burnett would pinch hit for Kent down 6-4 in the 9th, so I assume there’s an injury. Unless he did something the coaches didn’t like after he committed a key 9th inning error!
3B Core Jackson: 1-for-5, 2 R, 2 K
LF Wilson Rodriguez: 0-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K
It’s High-A, but it appears Rodriguez has strong strike zone awareness. He also entered today with a 9.7% swinging strike percentage, which is a sign of solid plate discipline.
1B Kyle West: 1-for-4, HR (15), 3 RBI, R, BB, K
West hits the walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the 9th. He has 57 RBI in 76 games.
DH Roderick Arias: 3-for-4, 2 2B (12), RBI, R
It looks like last night’s 0-for-4, 4 K game did not stop the momentum. Arias is hitting .264 with a .762 OPS. His OPS was .555 at the end of May.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, RBI, SB (9), BB, K
C Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-3, R, SB (6), BB
RF Camden Troyer: 2-for-4, RBI, K
CF Luis Durango: 2-for-4, SB (10)
Durango is on a 5-game stolen base streak. He is 18-for-50 (.360) since his promotion.
RHP Sean Paul Linan: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
6.22 ERA (50.2 IP, 48 H, 41 R, 35 ER, 9 HR, 24 BB, 69 K).
RHP Aaron Nixon: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
4.34 (21.1 IP, 19 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 4 HR, 8 BB, 29 K)
RHP Luis Velasquez: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Velasquez is pitching well, which isn’t unexpected.
RHP Jack Sokol : 0.2 IP, 0 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
A pair of errors by Kent and Jackson didn’t help Sokol’s (or Hudson Valley’s) cause.
RHP Brady Kirtner: (W, 2-3) 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
Kirtner had a chance to rescue this game for Kent and Jackson, but allowed a 2-run single with two outs in the 9th. The offense bailed the defense out.
Tampa (46-35) (Lost to St. Lucie, 10-5)
SS Jackson Lovich: 0-for-4, 2 SB (20), BB, K
Lovich is showing off a nice power/speed combo (14 doubles, 14 HR (.513 SLG), 20-for-25 SB).
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, SF, RBI, R, 2 K
Martin-Grudzielanek leads the Florida State League in runs scored (54).
RF Brando Mayea: 1-for-3, HBP, BB
.226/.321/.299 in 187 PA. After missing some time, he had a nice enough June (12-for-36, but without an extra-base hit).
1B David McCann: 0-for-4, BB, 2 K
C Engelth Urena: 2-for-5, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 R
.206/.346/.353 in 266 PA. He’s off to a solid start in July – can he keep it up? Every time he has a little surge, he tends to fall into a deeper slump. Like Anthony Volpe.
LF Gabriel Lara: 0-for-1, R, 2 HBP
I am no Sherlock Holmes, but it appears obvious why he was pulled from the game.
PH-LF Hans Montero: 0-for-1
2B Christofer Reyes: 0-for-4, 3 K
DH Ediel Rivera: 0-for-2, R, BB
PH-DH Greg Bozzo: 1-for-1
CF Isael Arias: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 K
RHP Brennan Stuprich: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
4.57 ERA (41.1 IP, 37 H, 24 R, 21 ER, 6 HR, 13 BB, 38 K). The Yankees’ 14th-round pick in 2025 is in his debut campaign.
RHP Matthew Tippie: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Josh Tiedemann: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza: (L, 2-3) 0.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
The Doval of the Florida State League. The difference is that Mendoza is trying to work through it in Low-A, where hardly anyone is watching.
LHP Parker Seay: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
RHP Jose Martinez: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
FCL Yankees (23-23)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (15-9)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (11-14)
Day off.