Notes:
The Yankees took a flyer on Mexican League MVP Nicholas Torres, which was a reasonable move. However, it didn’t work out, and he was released today.
Torres (33) started hot. In his first eight games, he hit .467/.515/.633 with two doubles and a home run. However, he ended up on the injured list, missing more than a month of action. Upon returning, he couldn’t find his stroke. He hit .190/.271/.233 (45 wRC+) with two doubles and a home run over 130 PA.
6’5″ RHP Sabier Marte was moved from the FCL to Tampa taoday. The 22-year-old had some prospect buzz in the past, but injuries kept him out in 2025. Upon returning this year, he has a 5.77 ERA (4.86 FIP) over 34.1 innings. He owns a 26.8% strikeout rate and a 10.5% walk rate.
Scranton (46-41)
Their game against Buffalo was postponed due to rain.
Somerset (43-41) (Lost to Reading, 11-5)
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, K
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-5, HR (17), 3 RBI, R, 3 K
Castillo and Avina were having ho-hum games until they earned their hits in the bottom of the 9th. Avina has 17 home runs in 67 games.
RF DJ Gladney: 1-for-5, R, 2 K
3B Coby Morales: 1-for-4, SF, RBI, K
2B Connor McGinnis: 1-for-5, 2B (10), 3 K
McGinnis has ten doubles 41 games at this level.
DH Miguel Palma: 1-for-4, HR (6), RBI, R, K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, BB, K
C Manuel Palencia: 2-for-4, 2 K
SS Owen Cobb: 2-for-4, R
RHP Chase Hampton: (L, 0-2) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
Hampton hasn’t been able to get much going since coming off the injured list. He owns a 7.27 ERA in 17.1 innings at this level with more walks (16) than strikeouts (13). As I have said all season, we have to give him some time to get back in the groove – but we can’t rule out the possibility that his stuff is diminished.
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Chase Chaney: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Hayden Merda: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HR
The strikeouts keep piling up. Merda has 53 strikeouts in 31 innings and an incredible 41.1% K. The walks (12; 9.3%) and home runs (4) aren’t bad.
RHP Trent Sellers: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Luis Velasquez: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Velasquez is back where he belongs in Somerset.
RHP Kevin Verde: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Verde is an infielder.
Hudson Valley (40-42) (Defeated Rome, 9-2)
3B Roderick Arias: 2-for-5, 2 HR (11), 5 RBI, 2 R, K
Arias continues his insane hot streak with his third career 2-HR effort. Is it sustainable? That’s not really the question anymore. The question is “How real is this?” To break down his numbers, just like I mentioned with Jackson Lovich last night, Arias has a high Swinging Strike Percentage. Entering tonight, it was 16.6%. Unfortunately, I can’t break that down by “pre-slump” vs. “post-slump”. I can break down the K% – it was 24.8% from June 5th until July 8th. Before June 5th, it was 31.8%. I am going to assume the swinging strike percentage has also fallen.
SS Core Jackson: 2-for-3, 2B (14), 2 R, 2 BB
Jackson has a 5-game hitting streak (6-for-18; 1 double, 1 HR, 4 BB).
DH Eric Genther: 1-for-4, HBP, 2 K
1B Kyle West: 1-for-4, RBI, R, BB, 2 K
CF Wilson Rodriguez: 2-for-4, RBI, R, BB, K
There has been a bit of a power outage lately for Rodriguez, who has only one extra-base hit (triple) in his last ten games. Before this stretch, he had an extra-base hit in four straight contests, including three home runs. He is still earning his hits and walks (8-for-30 with six walks in July)
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-5, 2B (8), RBI, 2 K
C Josue Gonzalez: 1-for-3, R, SB (7), 2 BB, K
RF Camden Troyer: 2-for-5, 2B (14), 2 R, 2 K
Troyer has a 5-game hitting streak (7-for-19)
LF Robbie Burnett: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
LHP Allen Facundo: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
4.30 ERA (58.2 IP, 38 H, 30 R, 28 ER, 3 HR, 39 BB, 78 K). Between here and Tampa, he has 103 strikeouts. The minor league leader (Seth Hernandez (PIT)) has 111. If you didn’t know, Hernandez is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.
LHP Tanner Bauman: (W, 2-0) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Aaron Nixon: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Brady Kirtner: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K
RHP Jack Sokol: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.12 ERA (26 IP, 27 H, 15 R, 9 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 26 K)
Tampa (47-37) (Lost to Clearwater, 6-1)
SS Jackson Lovich: 1-for-4, 2B (15), 2 K
Lovich has started 30 games at third base, 29 at shortstop, six at DH, and one at first base.
2B Hans Montero: 0-for-4
DH Luis Puello: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-3, R, SB (27), BB, 2 K
27-for-34 (79.4%) stealing bases.
CF Brando Mayea: 1-for-3, RBI, K
RF Willy Montero: 0-for-3, K
1B David McCann: 0-for-3
C Engelth Urena: 0-for-3, 3 K
LF Isael Arias: 1-for-3, 2 SB (6), K
Just like Scranton’s Duke Ellis, it isn’t smart to allow Arias to get on base. He is 49-for-53 stealing bases during his 127-game career.
RHP Wyatt Parliament: (L, 0-2) 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
A solid effort for Parliament.
RHP Jose Martinez: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Jose Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Jordarlin Mendoza: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
The inconsistent (understatement) hard thrower has been asked to get one out five times this year. It happened often enough that you wonder if it is by design to try to give him “soft” landings.
FCL Yankees (24-25) (Lost to the FCL Tigers, 1-0. The Yankees had one hit and struck out 14 times. I typically type up the entire boxscore for the FCL squad, but yikes – not today.)
3B Richard Matic: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Wilberson De Pena: 0-for-4, 2 K
2B Leni Done: 0-for-3
RF Francisco Vilorio: 1-for-3, 2 K
RHP Jerson Alejandro: 2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K
RHP Manuel Cruz (L, 3-3): 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
RHP Stanly Alcantara: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
DSL Yankees (16-10) (Lead the DSL Rockies, 6-3, in the third inning. This game was suspended and is scheduled to conclude on July 14th)
CF Isaias Castillo: 2-for-2, 2B (11), 2 R
SS Stiven Marinez: 0-for-0, 2 R, HBP, BB
RF Yostin Pena: 2-for-2, 2B (7), 3 RBI, 2 R
DH Juan Torres: 2-for-2, 2 RBI, SB (13)
The top four hitters started the game 6-for-6 with two doubles, 5 RBI, 4 runs, and a stolen base. Suffice to say, they are praying this game concludes.
DSL Bombers (13-15) (Mauled the DSL Twins, 19-3. The DSL had a bit of everything today – postponements, suspended games, and completed games. This one is the latter.)
2B Dariel Santana: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB (13), 2 BB, K
Santana got off to a 3-for-22 start. He is 10-for-33 since. He is a perfect 13-for-13 stealing bases.
SS Mani Cedeno: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB
2B Carlos Bello: 0-for-5, RBI, R, SB (15), BB, 3 K
C Alessandro Rodriguez: 1-for-3, 2 R, SB (4), BB
Rodriguez has a 6-game hitting streak (8-for-17).
PH-C Stalen Ramirez: 2-for-2, RBI, R
DH Kenneth Melendez: 0-for-1, 4 R, 4 BB, BB
This defines the DSL.
PH-DH Jesus Guerrero: 0-for-1
RF-CF David Carrera: 2-for-5, 2B (6), R, 2 K
1B Poly Ojeda: 0-for-2, SF, 3 RBI, R, SB (3), BB
PH-1B Alfred Ciriaco: 0-for-1, RBI, R
CF Alfiery Matos: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, SB (18), 2 K
PH-LF Eddison Charles: 0-for-0, R, HBP
LF-RF Sebastian Pinto: 2-for-3, 2 2B (6), 5 RBI, 2 R, SB (3), 2 BB
A big day for the 18-year-old who is in his debut season.
RHP Cesar Acosta (W, 2-1): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K
4.00 ERA (27 IP, 18 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 1 HR, 12 BB, 35 K). The 19-year-old allowed eight runs in 3.2 innings during his season debut. Since then, he has allowed four earned runs over 23.1 innings.
RHP Josue Silvestre: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K