Notes:
LHP Henry Lalane has been promoted to Hudson Valley. In 13 games (12 starts) for Tampa, he posted a 2.74 ERA (2.58 FIP) over 62.1 innings with a 32.8% K, 8.9% BB, and 50% GB.
As impressive as that is, his last seven starts have been off the charts. In those starts, he posted a 1.06 ERA (1.93 FIP) over 42.1 innings with a 40.4% K and 6.6% BB.
Recent international signee Chien-Fan Lai has been assigned to the DSL Yankees. The 18-year-old fireballer signed for $872,500 in June.
So much drama over Anthony Volpe today. So, Michael Kay “heard” that Volpe refused to try other positions during his rehab stint. This afternoon, he backtracked, saying he “dug deeper” to find out it wasn’t true. I don’t claim to be an expert, but shouldn’t you dig deeper before revealing your “news”? As for Joel Sherman: Was he reporting a fact or an assumption? That assumption would come from Aaron Boone mentioning that Volpe would play some second base during his rehab stint, something that didn’t materialize. This is too messy for my brain.
I don’t understand what Kay did here. It’s irresponsible at best. A young, unknown reporter could get fired for spreading a rumor, only to backtrack hours later. He should be better than this, but why should my expectations be high? (The thing is, I don’t think that is a high expectation.)
Back to Volpe: While his play has been subpar at best, he never struck me as an “entitled” kid who had a “shortstop or bust” attitude. The Yankees typically ask their shortstop prospects to play 2B/SS/3B, but Volpe played two games at second base and three at third in 2021. That was it. The Yankees wanted to maximize his reps at shortstop because that was their goal: For him to take the MLB job one day.
I noticed in last night’s crazy Royals-Mets game that former Yankees’ prospect Beck Way earned his first MLB win. Sent to the Royals in the Andrew Benintendi deal, Way has a 3.06 ERA (4.93 FIP) over 17.2 innings. He averages 97.4 MPH with his 4-seam fastball and 97 MPH with his sinker. A 1.53 HR/9 accompanies his 54.9% GB rate. Ground ball pitchers who allow a high home run rate likely have command issues.
Scranton (46-41) (Defeated Buffalo, 5-1)
C J.C. Escarra: 2-for-3, 2B (3), SF, RBI, R
CF Spencer Jones: 0-for-3, CS (3), CI, 2 K
DH Marco Luciano: 2-for-4, R, K
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 2-for-4, R
2B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-2, 2B (11), RBI
3B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, HR (8), 3 RBI, R, K
Hardman, who has 21 home runs and 64 RBI between here and Somerset, homered twice last night. “Can he provide a boost to the Yankees?” Sure – I mean, how could he be any worse than 0-for-14,000 or whatever Paul Goldschmidt‘s slump is now? It is fair to wonder if he is another Andres Chaparro, who fans clamored for but has proven the Yankees right about his ability. No two players are exactly alike, however, and it may be worth the shot.
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (9), K
LF Duke Ellis: 1-for-4, R, SB (36), 2 K
SS Jonathan Ornelas: 0-for-3, 2 K
RHP Alexander Cornielle: (W, 1-1) 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K
RHP Rafael Montero: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Chris Kean: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Kean makes his Scranton debut. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024, he has pitched extremely well. For Somerset this year, he posted a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings with a 30.7% K and 3.6% BB. As for the Savant data, he appears to be a fastball/slider type (some of his sliders registered as sweepers – not sure if he truly has both pitches). He averaged 94.4 with the fastball.
RHP Yovanny Cruz: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
2.90 ERA (31 IP, 23 H, 16 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 41 K). No 100+ MPH pitches tonight, but several pitches in the 98-99+ range.
Somerset (43-40) (Defeated Reading, 6-5)
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-5
Castillo is 0-for-17 in his last four games (9-for-23 during a 6-game hitting streak before this slump). Baseball!
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-5, K
Avina is 4-for-28 in his last eight games. He was 13-for-39 in his first ten games after coming off the injured list.
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RF DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, R, SB (13), HBP
Gladney sets a new personal best for stolen bases.
DH Tomas Frick: 0-for-3, R, BB
The top five hitters went 1-for-19, but they scored six and won the game.
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, 2B (5), 2 R, BB, 2 K
C Miguel Palma: 3-for-4, 3 RBI, R
2B Connor McGinnis: 2-for-4, 2B (9), 2 RBI, K
McGinnis is 11-for-23 (.478) in July. The 23-year-old was their 10th-round pick in the 2025 draft out of Houston.
SS Owen Cobb: 0-for-3, RBI, BB, K
RHP Jack Cebert: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Since promotion: 5.76 ERA (54.2 IP, 63 H, 39 R, 35 ER, 11 HR, 18 BB, 63 K). The home run rate is high, but he’s allowed only two in his last five games (26 innings).
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert (W, 3-1): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Ben Grable: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Since promotion: 3.09 ERA (23.1 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 32 K). Last 15 games: 16 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 24 K.
RHP Kelly Austin (S, 3): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Hudson Valley (39-42) (Defeated Rome, 7-2)
3B Roderick Arias: 1-for-2, SF, RBI, R, SB (20), BB
.262/.343/.413 in 312 PA. He reached 30+ stolen bases in 2024 and 2025.
SS Core Jackson: 1-for-4, HR (11), 3 RBI, R, K
.249/.348/.460 in 279 PA. He continues to show off his power stroke, and his strikeout rate is a reasonable 21.1%.
C Eric Genther: 0-for-3, BB
1B Kyle West: 3-for-4, HR (16), RBI, R, SB (9)
West is hitting .228/.286/.421 in 343 PA. I am not sure if he is a grip-it-and-rip-it type, but that stat line points there.
CF Wilson Rodriguez: 1-for-4, SB (19), K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 2-for-4, R, CS (4), 2 K
DH Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
RF Camden Troyer: 1-for-4, RBI
LF Luis Durango: 2-for-4, 3B (2), 2 R, 2 SB (12), K
Durango is hitting .364/.417/.491 in 20 games at this level. The .426 BABIP points to a fluke, but may as well have fun while it lasts.
RHP Luis Serna: (W, 4-4) 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 K, HR
A superb 96-pitch performance by Serna. He owns a 4.04 ERA in 78 innings (60 H, 40 R, 35 ER, 7 HR, 30 BB, 88 K). Serna has three 7-inning starts this season (seven 6+ inning efforts) as he regains some prospect shine. It feels like he has been around forever, but he is only 21 years old.
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Wilmy Sanchez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Sanchez has recorded at least one strikeout in nine straight appearances (17 in 9.2 innings)
Tampa (47-36) (Lost to Clearwater, 5-4)
3B Jackson Lovich: 0-for-4, 3 K
.283/.356/.517 in 306 PA (14 doubles, 2 triples, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 51 R, 20-for-25 SB, 10.1% BB, 28.1% K). The strikeout rate isn’t ideal, and his SwStr% was 17.6% entering tonight, the sixth-highest percentage in the Florida State League. That’s a glaring number. Anything over 15% is considered “poor”.
2B Hans Montero: 0-for-3, R, BB
LF Luis Puello: 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB, K
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 2-for-3, 2B (15), 2 RBI, R, HBP
Back-to-back multi-hit efforts and a mini 4-game hitting streak as he tries to break out of a slump.
CF Brando Mayea: 2-for-4, 2 2B (8), 2 RBI
This is only the second time Mayea has compiled multiple extra-base hits in a game (137 career games).
C David McCann: 0-for-4, K
DH Engelth Urena: 0-for-4, K
1B Christofer Reyes: 0-for-3, CS (1), BB, K
RF Isael Arias: 1-for-4, 2 K
RHP Thatcher Hurd (L, 1-3): 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
4.34 ERA (29 IP, 18 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 5 HR, 15 BB, 38 K). Since allowing ten earned runs over 2.1 innings on May 26th (Tampa debut): 26.2 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 36 K.
RHP Matthew Tippie: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
LHP Pedro Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, HR
He also threw three wild pitches.
RHP Josh Tiedemann: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
FCL Yankees (24-24)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (16-10)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (12-15)
Day off.