Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
The Yankees have had one of the worst offenses in baseball for over a month now. You might think I am exaggerating, but it’s the truth. It’s brutal to watch, especially since they continue making fundamental mistakes. This has gone on for so long, that it makes one believe that fundamental baseball isn’t a focus. These are not isolated incidents of incompetence. They define the Aaron Boone era.
I was watching the Somerset game on YES. More on that in the boxscore below. The announcers made a point we should all consider this time of year: Players close to Rule 5 eligibility are players to watch this weekend into Monday. Players eligible this winter include OF Garrett Martin, RHP Carlos Lagrange, LHP Kyle Carr, RHP Chris Kean, RHP Eric Reyzelman (was eligible in 2025), 1B/3B Coby Morales, OF Jackson Castillo, OF Jace Avina (was eligible in 2025), RHP Cade Smith, LHP Brock Selvidge (was eligible in 2025), IF Roderick Arias, LHP Allen Facundo (was eligible in 2025), LHP Franyer Herrera, LHP Henry Lalane (was eligible in 2025), and C Engelth Urena,
Yes, OF Wilberson De Pena and SS Dax Kilby were out of the Tampa lineup tonight. Most of the time, these are routine off days. But people on social media will run with anything, then get people to think they are actually “insiders” when one of their 52,421 “scoops” happens.
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.: 0-for-2, RBI, R
DH J.C. Escarra: 0-for-2, RBI
2B Marco Luciano: 0-for-2, K
3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 2-for-2, RBI
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-2, RBI
1B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-2
C Christian Bethancourt: 1-for-1, R
Bethancourt makes his organizational debut.
CF Kenedy Corona: 0-for-0, R, BB
LF Cole Gabrielson: 1-for-1, R
RHP Alexander Cornielle: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Somerset (51-47; 14-14 in the second half) (Split two games against Richmond)
2B Connor McGinnis: 0-for-3, K
CF Jace Avina: 0-for-2, BB, K
3B Coby Morales: 0-for-3, K
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-2, R, BB
C Miguel Palma: 0-for-3
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-3, 2 K
DH Tomas Frick: 1-for-3, 2B (2), RBI, R
RF Luis Durango: 1-for-2, R, 3 SB (3), BB
Durango drew a walk and decided to steal three bases to score a run. He has a unique stance, complete with a Rod Carew-like choke-up on the bat. I can see one of those AI-generated sites picking up my sentence and writing a “Rod Carew-like Prospect is the next big thing for the Yankees!”. Anyway, he also pulled off a softball-style drag bunt. Exciting little player with absolutely no power. Does that make him a legitimate MLB prospect? Of course not. But I would love to see him make it. Between here, Hudson Valley, and Tampa, he is 36-for-45 stealing bases (80%).
SS Owen Cobb: 0-for-0
PH-SS Kevin Verde: 2-for-3, HR (3), 2 RBI, R, K
LHP Xavier Rivas: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
RHP Ben Grable: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Luis Velasquez: 0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Hudson Valley (46-48; 16-14 in the second half)
Game 1 (Lost, 2-1, in eight innings)
3B Roderick Arias: 0-for-4, 3 K
SS Jackson Lovich: 1-for-4, R, SB (1), 2 K
Lovich’s Hudson Valley debut. He hit .275/.350/.509 in 363 PA for Tampa. He stole 21 bases in 28 attempts.
C Eric Genther: 2-for-3, 2B (13), HBP, K
1B Kyle West: 1-for-4, RBI, K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-3, HBP
RF Willy Montero: 0-for-4, 2 K
Montero’s Hudson Valley debut. He hit .278/.350/.472 in 323 PA for Tampa. He stole 18 bases in 21 attempts.
CF Camden Troyer: 1-for-3
DH Robbie Burnett: 0-for-3, K
LF Gabriel Lara: 1-for-2, HBP, K
LHP Henry Lalane: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR
RHP Wilmy Sanchez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Hansel Rincon (L, 1-4): 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Game 2
3B Roderick Arias: 0-for-2, 2 K
SS Jackson Lovich: 1-for-2, RBI, K
DH Eric Genther: 0-for-1, HBP
1B Kyle West: 0-for-1, HBP, K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-1, R, BB
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-1, R, BB
RF Camden Troyer: 1-for-1, R
LF Robbie Burnett: 1-for-1, RBI
C Diomedes Hernandez: 0-for-0, RBI, BB
LHP Franyer Herrera: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Tampa (58-40; 23-9 in the second half) (Defeated Lakeland, 9-7)
CF Yostin Pena: 0-for-2
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-2, K
3B Hans Montero: 1-for-2
FCL Yankees (29-29)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (24-17) (Lost to the DSL Giants Orange, 7-6)
CF Isaias Castillo: 1-for-3, 2B (13), R, BB, 2 K
C Juan Martinez: 1-for-3, 2B (9), RBI, R, CS (2), BB
The 18-year-old continues to hit (.374/.467/.485 in 120 PA). He has more walks (18) than strikeouts (12) and has thrown in a 16-for-18 stolen base rate for good measure.
SS Stiven Marinez: 1-for-2, HR (6), 2 RBI, R, CS (5), 2 BB, K
.309/.450/.526 in 191 PA. It’s nice to see the home run, as the power he displayed in June didn’t move forward in July. However, he still has put together a strong month.
2B Juan Torres: 0-for-4, RBI, K
DH Manuel Aguilar: 2-for-2, 2B (6), 3B (1), R, CS (2), BB
Aguilar, who turns 17 on Saturday, has played well as a 16-year-old. In 21 games, he is hitting .293/.494/.483 (6 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run)
3B Abrahan Pichardo: 0-for-1, SF, RBI, R, BB
RHP Jhosneyker Colina: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
DSL Bombers (19-23) (Mauled the DSL Mets Blue, 13-2. By the way, while listed as active, Mani Cedeno has not played since July 11th)
Amidst all the turmoil this winter, the Yankees lost SS Wandy Asigen to the Mets. Asigen plays for the other Mets DSL squad (Mets Orange) and has played in 19 games, hitting .275/.448/.471 with a pair of home runs and four stolen bases.
CF Ruben Castillo: 2-for-5, 2B (2), RBI, R, SB (4), K
Castillo has a 5-game hitting streak (8-for-22)
2B Dariel Santana: 0-for-3, R, SB (22), 2 BB, 2 K
C Alessandro Rodriguez: 0-for-1, 2 R, 3 BB
3B Carlos Bello: 0-for-2, R, 2 BB, K
RF David Carrera: 3-for-3, 2 2B (9), 3B (2), 4 RBI, 3 R, BB
Carrera is having a huge campaign, but it’s his third year here. He is hitting .346/.520/.591 in 177 PA.
SS Germayhoni Beltre: 3-for-4, 2B (6), 2 RBI, 2 R, SB (17), K
.264/.416/.339 in 154 PA. Beltre is only 17 (born on January 8th)
LF Sebastian Pinto: 1-for-4, RBI, 3 K
1B Alfred Ciriaco: 1-for-1, RBI, 2 R, 2 HBP, BB
RHP Cesar Acosta: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 10 K
I don’t remember the last time a Yankees’ DSL pitcher had a 10+ strikeout effort. Acosta had a pair of 8-strikeout efforts (back-to-back) earlier this season.
RHP Diego Carrillo (W, 2-2): 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K