Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
The Yankees have released utility infielder Jonathan Ornelas from his minor league contract. It’s possible he exercised an opt-out in his contract.
Amongst qualified, non-rookie league players in the Yankees’ organization, Ornales was second to Kaeden Kent in batting average, hitting .299/.362/.480 (119 wRC+) with a 7.5% BB and 22.5% K.
Dax Kilby is back (again), as he started a rehab assignment in the FCL today. Additionally, George Lombard Jr. was activated from the injured list after going 2-for-3 with two home runs for the FCL squad.
The Yankees signed eight non-drafted free agents (Baseball America):
OF Jorsixt Jimenez (Tennessee Tech product was 12th in the NCAA in batting average (.401) and 5th in slugging percentage (.817)
OF Maika Niu. (Arkansas everyday center fielder in 2026 reached double digits in home runs (10) and stolen bases (19 in 21 attempts))
OF Easton Talt (Left-handed bat compiled a .379 OBP and stole 26 bases in 31 attempts for Oregon State. His 4-year BB% was 17.6% for the Beavers)
RHP AJ Hutcheson (Another Oregon State product, Hutcheson was a reliever for his entire 4-year stay with the program)
RHP Josh Newell (Lindenwood product pitched to a 2.62 ERA in a conference-leading 103 innings)
RHP Payton Soske (Columbia reliever seemingly has injury issues. He pitched only 3.2 innings in 2024, none in 2025, and 19.1 this year)
LHP Max Vaisvila (Out of Eastern Illinois, Vaisvila compiled a 9.00 ERA in 2025 but bounced back to compile a 3.02 ERA in 2026)
LHP Zach Johnston (Wake Forest reliever compiled a 2.77 ERA in 20 games in 2026. Pitched in seven games for Trenton in the Collegiate Draft League)
Scranton (49-43) (Defeated Worcester, 7-6)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-3, HR (5), RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Lombard Jr. homered in both of his rehab games, so this extends his streak to three. The leadoff blast doesn’t have any Savant data, unfortunately. Including those two FCL games, he owns a 12-game hitting streak. Before the streak, he was hitting .197/.373/.287 for Scranton. He is now hitting .239/.388/.409.
LF Duke Ellis: 0-for-0
While Lombard Jr. was activated from the injured list today, his rehab in the FCL only lasted two days. That is the likely reason why he didn’t play a full game tonight.
C J.C. Escarra: 1-for-4, SB (1)
CF Spencer Jones: 1-for-4, 2B (11), RBI
2B Marco Luciano: 2-for-4, 2B (9), R, K
Luciano is 19-for-52 (.365) in his last 14 games. He is up to .273/.369/.462 since his promotion.
DH Yanquiel Fernandez: 1-for-4, 2 K
LF Oswaldo Cabrera: 2-for-4, R, CS (1), K
3B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-4, 3B (3), 2 RBI, K
RF Kenedy Corona: 1-for-4, HR (4), 3 RBI, R, K
LHP Max Fried: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, HR
The journey back begins…
RHP Yerry de los Santos: (W, 3-2) 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Kyle Carr: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR
Piggyback appearance.
RHP Kervin Castro (S, 3): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Good morning, good afternoon, goodnight.
Somerset (45-43) (Defeated Portland, 7-2)
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-3, RBI, R, HBP, BB, K
Castillo has struggled this month (7-for-44), but he has more walks (8) than strikeouts (6).
CF Jace Avina: 2-for-5, 2 2B (20), RBI, 2 R, SB (8)
.271/.357/.539 in 319 PA (20 doubles, 2 triples, 17 HR, 49 RBI, 59 R, 8-for-9 SB, 10.7% BB, 27.6% K). He is on a 7-game hitting streak (first multi-hit game during the streak)
RF DJ Gladney: 0-for-4, R, HBP, 2 K
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-3, SB (13), 2 BB, K
DH Miguel Palma: 1-for-4, BB, K
2B Connor McGinnis: 2-for-5, HR (5), 3 RBI, R, SB (5), K
McGinnis continues his sneaky good play for Somerset. He is 18-for-46 (.391; 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR) in July.
C Manuel Palencia: 1-for-5, K
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-4, R
SS Owen Cobb: 1-for-2, R, 2 SB (13), 2 BB
RHP Jack Cebert: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K (personal best)
The only thing that got him was the pitch count (85 pitches). Since his promotion, Cebert owns a 5.31 ERA over 59.1 IP (64 H, 39 R, 35 ER, 11 HR, 20 BB, 72 K)
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Michael Arias (W, 3-0): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Matt Keating: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Last 9 appearances: 8.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K
RHP Tony Rossi: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Since promotion: 3.55 ERA (12.2 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 20 K). He owns impressive K (37%) and BB (3.7%) rates since his promotion. I have documented many times his career 0.00 HR/9 rate.
Hudson Valley (41-45) (Lost to Brooklyn, 4-0)
3B Roderick Arias: 0-for-2, SB (26), 2 BB, K
Arias is 26-for-34 in the stolen base department.
SS Core Jackson: 0-for-3, BB, K
C Eric Genther: 0-for-3, SB (5), HBP
1B Kyle West: 0-for-4, K
Doesn’t take walks, strikes out a ton, and hits home runs (16).
CF Wilson Rodriguez: 0-for-3, BB, K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-4
DH Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-3, K
RF Camden Troyer: 0-for-3, 2 K
LF Luis Durango: 2-for-3, SB (16), K
Durango makes sure they don’t suffer the ultimate embarrassment. He is hitting .386/.427/.514 in 77 PA at this level. His BABIP is a ridiculous .458.
RHP Bryce Cunningham: (L, 2-5) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
4.10 ERA (52.2 IP, 41 H, 28 R, 24 ER, 7 HR, 29 B, 50 K).
RHP Brady Kirtner: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
LHP Tanner Bauman: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Jack Sokol: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
3.00 ERA (27 IP, 28 H, 15 R, 9 ER, 2 HR, 11 BB, 27 K).
Tampa (51-37) (Defeated Bradenton, 8-5. The Tarpons on on fire!)
SS Jackson Lovich: 1-for-5, HR (17), RBI, R, K
Lovich is closing in on a 20/20 campaign (he has 21 stolen bases). As stated in my prospect rankings, while he has played a lot of shortstop, he is unlikely to stick there. The home run was hit 432 feet at 111.2 MPH.
2B Hans Montero: 2-for-3, 2B (15), RBI, R, 2 SB (27), 2 BB
Montero’s third straight multi-hit effort.
C Luis Puello: 1-for-3, 2B (11), R, CS (3), 2 BB, K
The 20-year-old continues to pile up the extra-base hits (11 doubles, 2 triples, 8 HR in 44 games since his promotion).
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, SF, 2 RBI, R
LF Willy Montero: 3-for-4, HR (10), 3 RBI, 2R, K
Montero’s first career double-digit home run campaign.
CF Brando Mayea: 1-for-4, K
1B David McCann: 0-for-3, SF, RBI, 2 K
DH Engelth Urena: 2-for-4, 2B (14), R
RF Gabriel Lara: 1-for-4, R, SB (5), 2 K
LHP Justin West: (W, 6-3) 5 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
RHP Jose Martinez: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
3.58 ERA (37.2 IP, 39 H, 19 R, 15 ER, 4 HR, 16 BB, 42 K).
RHP Jose Rodriguez (S, 2): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
2.78 ERA (35.2 IP, 20 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 3 HR, 23 BB, 49 K). You can work with the 32.5% strikeout rate.
FCL Yankees (27-26) (Losing to the Tigers, 5-4, in the 5th inning. This game was suspended.)
Since stats don’t count yet, I won’t bore you with a boxscore.
Notable, however, is the return of Dax Kilby, who went 0-for-1 with a run scored, a walk, and a strikeout before leaving the game. During his last rehab stint, he also left the game early, and I brushed it off as normal procedure. I will not make that claim again.
Additionally, Wilberson De Pena hit his 19th double and has driven in a pair of runs.
RHP Chalniel Arias, a 22-year-old who once had some prospect shine, returned to the hill for the first time since 2024. That shine was justified, given he has a 3.21 career ERA over 84 innings with a 110/33 K/BB.
DSL Yankees (21-12) (Lost to the DSL Bombers, 10-7)
CF Isaias Castillo: 0-for-4, BB, SB (14), BB, 2 K
If he was injured, it only kept him out for a few days. He also played yesterday, a game I did not report on.
SS Stiven Marinez: 2-for-4, R, SB (27), BB
Marinez has an 8-game hitting streak (11-for-29)
RF Yostin Pena: 2-for-4, RBI, R, CS (2), BB
Pena has 54 RBI in 32 games.
2B Juan Torres: 1-for-3, R, BB
Torres falls back under .400 (.398). He has a 10-game hitting streak (19-for-39)
DH Cesar Lopez: 2-for-4, R
1B Edgar Jimenez: 4-for-5, 2B (4), HR (4), 3 RBI, 3 R
The 19-year-old’s first career 4-hit game.
3B Adrian Feliz: 1-for-4, RBI, R, SB (7), BB
LF Kendry Diaz: 3-for-5, 2 RBI
DSL Bombers (15-19) (Defeated the DSL Yankees, 10-7)
CF Ruben Castillo: 0-for-3, 2 K
Castillo went 0-for-3 yesterday as well in his first game since June 1st.
2B Dariel Santana: 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 SB (17), 3 BB
DH Alessandro Rodriguez: 1-for-2, R, SB (5), 3 BB, K
If you have concluded that the Yankees had trouble throwing strikes today, good observation.
3B Carlos Bello: 1-for-5, HR (5), 3 RBI, R, 3 K
Bello has shown some pop, discipline, and speed in his career – but hasn’t shown the ability to hit for average.
RF David Carrera: 0-for-1, R, 3 BB
The funny part about the Yankees’ control problems is that three batters combined for nine of the ten walks.
1B Poly Ojeda: 2-for-4, 2 HR (5), 3 RBI, 2 R, K
The 17-year-old stands only 5’8″ but is packing a punch in his debut campaign (3 doubles, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 15 BB, 11 K in 22 games)
SS Germayhoni Beltre: 2-for-4, 2B (3), R, SB (12)
LF-CF Alfiery Matos: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 R, 2 SB (21), BB, K
21-for-23 stealing bases in 30 games.
RHP Argenis Veloz: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K