Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
The milb.com transaction tracker is good, but can miss things at times. Today, the report stated that OF Wilson Rodriguez was transferred from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. The problem? They never announced that he was placed on the 7-day injured list in the first place. Anyway, Rodriguez is the 10th prospect on the Pipeline Top 30 on the current injured list. In 84 games for Hudson Valley, the 21-year-old is hitting .259/.379/.427 (114 wRC+) with a 15.9% BB, 19.8% K, and 9.5% swinging strike. Through April, he was hitting only .169/.341/.308. Like Core Jackson and Kaeden Kent, he was a candidate for a Somerset promotion before injury.
Scranton (55-46; 18-9 in the second half) (Defeated Iowa, 4-3. Remember that winning their division in the second half is not enough. They have to have the best record in the league. This is because Triple-A only has one round of playoffs, followed by a championship in Las Vegas between the PCL champions and the International League champions)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (9), BB, 2 K
Since promotion: .263/.406/.421 in 239 PA. Overall: .281/.412/.489 in 335 PA (23 doubles, 11 HR, 29 RBI, 61 R, 13-for-21 SB, 17.0% BB, 21.5% K)
C J.C. Escarra: 0-for-3, R, HBP
2B Marco Luciano: 2-for-4, HR (8), 2 RBI, R, K
For Scranton: .292/.382/.483 in 207 PA. Overall: .305/.392/.566 in 324 PA (19 doubles, 18 HR, 49 RBI, 59 R, 6-for-8 SB, 12.0% BB, 25.3% K)
3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-4, SB (8), K
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, K
Fernandez has done well as a depth outfielder (.254/.303/.460 with 18 HR and 60 RBI).
1B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-4, K
DH Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (10), K
LF Kenedy Corona: 0-for-4
CF Duke Ellis: 1-for-4, 2B (7)
RHP Brendan Beck: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
2.85 ERA (104.1 IP, 76 H, 38 R, 33 ER, 9 HR, 32 BB, 106 K)
RHP Bradley Hanner (W, 5-2): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
2.15 ERA (46 IP, 34 H, 12 R, 11 ER, 1 HR, 19 BB, 55 K)
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Last six outings: 7.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 14 K
RHP Yovanny Cruz (S, 4): 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
3.53 ERA (35.2 IP, 31 H, 20 R, 14 ER, 3 HR, 14 BB, 52 K). He’s allowed three runs on four hits over two innings in his last two outings, but five of the six outs were strikeouts.
Somerset (51-47; 14-14 in the second half) (Split two games against Richmond)
Game 1 (Won, 7-4. They faced former Yankees’ prospect Trystan Vrieling, who was a part of the Camilo Doval trade. In 19 starts, he is 5-1 with a 4.22 ERA and 73/54 K/BB over 85.1 innings)
2B Connor McGinnis: 0-for-3, BB
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-4, K
3B Coby Morales: 1-for-4, HR (18), 2 RBI, R, K
LF Jackson Castillo: 2-for-4, R
DH Miguel Palma: 2-for-3, HR (9), 2 RBI, R
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, K
C Tomas Frick: 1-for-2, 2 R, BB
RF Luis Durango: 2-for-3, 3B (1), RBI, R
Durango’s Double-A debut after hitting .313/.362/.365 in 27 games for Tampa and .347/.398/.442 in 32 games for Hudson Valley. Durango is known more for speed than power. He hasn’t homered since 2021, his debut season.
SS Owen Cobb: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, R, SB (14), K
RHP Cade Smith: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
4.99 ERA (83 IP, 93 H, 47 R, 46 ER, 18 HR, 35 BB, 77 K). It’s been a tough season for Smith, thanks to those hits and home runs. I don’t worry much about hits (though ten more hits than innings stands out), as minor league defenses can be spotty.
RHP Tony Rossi (W, 2-0): 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
You knew eventually that the home run rate would start to tick up.
RHP Kevin Stevens (S, 1): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Game 2 (Lost, 6-2)
2B Connor McGinnis: 3-for-3, R
McGinnis was slumping since being moved to the leadoff spot, but had a solid game here. He is hitting .258/.333/.412 in 216 PA since his promotion.
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-3, HR (19), 2 RBI, R
.264/.354/.531 in 364 PA (22 doubles, 3 triples, 19 HR, 53 RBI, 67 R, 10-for-11 SB, 10.99% BB, 26.4% K)
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-3, K
.278/.357/.503 in 389 PA (19 doubles, 2 triples, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 60 R, 16-for-24 SB, 11.3% BB, 25.96% K). He leads the organization with his 70 RBI.
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-3
.251/.336/.371 in 351 PA. He can’t wait for July to end (.173/.269/.198 in 22 games)
DH Miguel Palma: 0-for-3, K
.230/.330/.424 in 182 PA.
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-3, 2 K
C Manuel Palencia: 0-for-2, K
RF Luis Durango: 0-for-2, K
SS Owen Cobb: 0-for-2
RHP Kelly Austin: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Hayden Merda (L, 2-3): 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
4.14 ERA (37 IP, 26 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 4 HR, 19 BB, 62 K).
RHP Harrison Cohen: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Michael Arias: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Hudson Valley (46-48; 16-14 in the second half)
Their game against Jersey Shore was postponed. They now have two upcoming doubleheaders: Tomorrow and Saturday. It’s been raining a lot in Wappingers Falls, so we’ll see if the field is ready for tomorrow.
Tampa (58-40; 23-9 in the second half) (Defeated Lakeland, 9-7)
DH Dax Kilby: 0-for-3, CS (1), 2 BB, 2 K
RF Wilberson De Pena: 1-for-5, R
RF Yostin Pena: 2-for-5, RBI, R, SB (1)
Pena starts his full-season league journey with back-to-back multi-hit efforts. Between here and the DSL, he is 28-for-31 stealing bases.
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-2, 2 R, HBP, 2 BB, K
He extends his hitting streak to five (9-for-17; 4 BB)
3B Hans Montero: 1-for-3, 3B (6), RBI, BB, K
Willy Montero, not related, was promoted to Hudson Valley. I haven’t been able to note that because they keep getting rained out.
C Luis Puello: 1-for-3, HR (10, grand slam), 4 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
The power continues to surprise me, but maybe it shouldn’t anymore? Puello has 13 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, and 41 RBI in 52 games for Tampa. For now, it is more “interesting” than anything. But the Yankees need catching prospects, darn it!
1B Engelth Urena: 1-for-4, 2B (17), R, K
Urena has three doubles and a home run in his last four games.
LF Brando Mayea: 2-for-4, R, SB (9)
Mayea has a sneaky 9-game hitting streak (sneaky because I wasn’t paying attention). He is 11-for-35 during the streak.
2B Luis Escudero: 1-for-3, HR (7), RBI, R, BB
His 7th HR in 30 games at this level. He hit seven home runs in 133 rookie league games.
RHP Ty Boudreau: (W, 6-2) 5.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 BB, 5 K, HR
“The win statistic is meaningful!” Anyway, Boudreau owns a 3.38 ERA in 85.1 innings with a 97/34 K/BB. He was hot entering tonight, so we’ll toss this one aside.
RHP Jesus Rodriguez: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
2.32 ERA (42.2 IP, 23 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 2 HR, 25 BB, 59 K). Rodriguez was mostly a starter in 2025, but has moved to the bullpen in 2026. The Yankees are using him for multiple innings per outing instead of having him air it out for an inning. That might change in 2027.
RHP Jose Martinez (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K
Martinez’s first professional save.
FCL Yankees (29-29)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (24-16)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (18-23)
Day off.