Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
As stated yesterday, it was Brendan Beck‘s turn in the rotation but they went with a bullpen game. Now, we know why as Beck was called up to replace Ryan Weathers.
That said, I am confident that today was Elmer Rodriguez‘s day to start and he didn’t. It seems likely he will be up soon for Beck.
As for what we are seeing from Spencer Jones, I am not complaining. I will always say it: If I am wrong about a prospect and he prospers with the Yankees, why should I be mad about that? There are still scary things in his profile, but there have been productive MLB players this year with K% above 30%, including Kyle Schwarber and Munetaka Murakami. Heck, nine of the 12 qualified hitters with a 30%+ strikeout percentage have 20+ home runs. Of the 12, only Austin Riley and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have a wRC+ below 100. Go ahead and say it: This is misleading because if you are striking out at an extreme rate and not hitting for power, guess where you likely are right now? However, this is merely trying to demonstrate that one can be productive even if the strikeouts pile up.
Bottom line is that Jones is showing off his athletic ability. If I end up with egg on my face, I don’t care. It’s when I have egg on my face over hyping a prospect that becomes nothing that I care.
Scranton (65-57; 28-20 in the second half) (Defeated Charlotte, 9-5. They are tied in the loss column with Durham, Rochester, and Indianapolis in the race for the second-half title and a shot at Memphis for the International League championship. There is still plenty of time)
2B Anthony Volpe: 0-for-3, R, SB (3), CS (2), 2 BB, K
By the way, what happened to Volpe’s ability to steal bases?
RF Jasson Dominguez: 2-for-4, HR (7), 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
Dominguez needed a day like this.
C J.C. Escarra: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB, K
LF Marco Luciano: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB, K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera: 3-for-4, 2 HR (17), 3 RBI, 2 R
Cabrera’s second multi-HR game this season. He has seven home runs in August.
DH Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-4
3B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3, BB, K
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B (13), R, K
Martinez Jr. is 13-for-44 (.295) in August. Despite that, he has three doubles and only one RBI.
CF Kenedy Corona: 1-for-4, R, SB (10)
RHP Travis MacGregor: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
RHP Luis Gil: (W, 1-0) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Trent Sellers: 1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
What is it with relief prospects struggling in Scranton this year? Sellers was promoted here from Somerset today. As a reliever for Somerset, he posted a 1.69 ERA over 26.2 innings with a 38/17 K/BB. This is not his Scranton debut, however, as he pitched in one game here in 2024 (likely an emergency situation).
RHP Harrison Cohen: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Cohen was also called up today from Somerset (he started the season here)
RHP Chris Kean: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
Kean is another promoted reliever struggling in Scranton (7.27 ERA in 14 games).
Somerset (64-56; 27-24 in the second half) (Defeated Hartford, 9-6, thanks to a 5-run top of the 9th. They are tied with Binghamton, 2.5 games behind Reading for the second-half title)
DH Core Jackson: 1-for-4, 2B (1), R, BB
Jackson was activated off the injured list today. He is 13-for-40 (.325) in August. That includes his time with Hudson Valley.
CF Jace Avina: 1-for-3, RBI, R, CS (3), 2 BB
It hasn’t been a fun month for Avina (10-for-61), but he has walked (13) more than he has struck out (11). So, his .164 average comes with a .316 OBP.
SS Roderick Arias: 1-for-4, RBI, BB, 2 K
In 18 Somerset games, he is hitting .282/.346/.451 over 78 PA with a 6.4% BB and 33.3% K. Overall, he is hitting .273/.355/.443 in 473 PA (25 doubles, 3 triples, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 68 R, 33-for-46 SB, 9.5% BB, 30.0% K)
RF DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, SF, RBI, BB, K
Gladney takes over the organizational RBI lead with 82. Jackson Lovich has 81.
3B Coby Morales: 2-for-4, 3 R, BB
C Manuel Palencia: 2-for-4, HR (5), 3 RBI, R, BB
Palencia is hitting .370/.400/.763 with all five of his home runs in August. He also has four doubles and 15 runs batted in. Something is clicking with this kid, but whether or not he can keep it up is a question that will take a while to answer. The power surge is about as unexpected as you will find.
1B Josh Moylan: 1-for-5, K
2B Connor McGinnis: 0-for-2, RBI, R, HBP, 2 BB, K
LF Luis Durango: 0-for-2
Durango grounded out to first base in the top of the 5th. He was out of the game in the bottom of the 5th. If anything happened to our slap hitting hero, I am going to throw punches.
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-3, 2B (17), R
RHP Sean Paul Linan: 3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, HR
RHP Luis Velasquez: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
At this level: 2.70 ERA (13.1 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 12 K)
RHP Yerry Rodriguez: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Huey Morrill: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: (W, 5-2) 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Hudson Valley (61-57; 31-23 in second half) (Defeated Jersey Shore, 5-4. They sweep the 6-game series and have won eight straight overall and are only one game behind Greensboro for the second-half playoff berth (as stated before, don’t worry about Frederick as they won the first-half title))
DH Eric Genther: 1-for-3, HR (14), RBI, R, BB
The jury is still out on his catching, but his bat continues to impress. He is hitting .268/.404/.442 in 464 PA. He is a 24-year-old left-handed bat. Old for this level? Certainly. Done enough to get a tryout in the upper levels? Certainly.
SS Jackson Lovich: 2-for-4, R
Lovich is hitting .333/.402/.464 in 97 PA since his promotion. His K% is 29.9.
1B Kyle West: 2-for-3, R, BB
CF Maika Niu: 1-for-4, HR (4), 3 RBI, R, K
The 22-year-old, who was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas, has shown off the power: 3 doubles, 4 HR in 13 games.
C David McCann: 0-for-4, K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 1-for-4, CS (7), K
RF Dean Toigo: 2-for-4, 3B (2), R, K
In 11 games, the 20th-round pick out of Arizona State is 14-for-42 (.333) with three doubles and two triples.
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, RBI, SB (9), CS (1), K
Martin-Grudzielanek is now 43-for-52 stealing bases. That said, his 17-game performance at this level leaves a lot to be desired: .185/.260/.246.
LF Robbie Burnett: 0-for-3, 2 K
LHP Franyer Herrera: (W, 6-4) 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR
4.78 ERA (92.1 IP, 83 H, 56 R, 49 ER, 17 HR, 50 BB, 100 K).
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Wilmy Sanchez (S, 6): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
This breaks a string of 19 straight games where he recorded at least one strikeout. Not that he’ll (or we’ll) complain about a clean inning that featured three ground balls. Sanchez probably deserves another shot at Double-A where, admittedly, he has struggled in the past. He owns a 5.73 ERA over 70.2 innings at that level.
Tampa (68-49; 33-18 in the second half)
Their game against Daytona was canceled due to rain and will not be made up.
They were down 3-0 when the cancellation happened, so who’s complaining?
FCL Yankees (29-29)
Their season is over.
DSL Yankees (33-21 regular season; 0-2 in pool play)
Their season is over.
DSL Bombers (25-29-1)
Their season is over.