Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
Michael Fulmer? What year is this, anyway?
Traded with future Yankee Luis Cessa to the Tigers for Yoenis Cespedes in 2015, the trade looked even for a while. In 2016, he compiled a 3.06 ERA in 159 innings, earning him the American League Rookie of the Year Award. That was the year when Gary Sanchez‘s 53-game binge earned him four first-place votes and second place. After following that up with an All-Star Game appearance in 2017, Fullmer’s career turned into an injury-filled mess, though he had a strong year out of the Tigers’ bullpen in 2021.
The Yankees are suddenly desperate for bullpen help. Their bullpen now features Justin Topa and Fulmer, hardly the pitchers we expected to see in August. The Yankees reliance of developing Carlos Lagrange into a bullpen weapon backfired miserably, and they didn’t try to correct it by adding an arm at the deadline.
Before someone brings it up, I agree – the Yankees bullpen has been solid in 2026. But it was fair for people to question the depth and the need for another power arm.
I get it – Matt Blake has done wonders with retreads in the past, including current standout Paul Blackburn. However, he’s had little-to-no time to work with Topa or Fulmer.
(Everything I wrote above was before he made his Yankees’ debut tonight. Good to see him give them a scoreless inning).
Scranton (66-58; 29-21 in the second half) (Defeated Worcester, 7-1. A 13-hit effort, with every member of the lineup earning at least one)
2B Anthony Volpe: 1-for-4, HR (6), RBI, R, SB (4), BB
Since demotion: 15-for-65 (.231; 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 9 BB, 17 K, 2-for-4 SB)
RF Jasson Dominguez: 1-for-4, 2B (7), R, BB, 2 K
Since demotion: 11-for-65 (.169; 2 doubles, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 8 BB, 20 K, 1-for-2 SB)
DH Mitch Garver: 2-for-5, R, K
C J.C. Escarra: 1-for-5
LF Marco Luciano: 2-for-5, RBI, R, 2 K
3B Max Schuemann: 1-for-5, K
SS Oswaldo Cabrera: 1-for-3, RBI, R, BB
1B Tyler Hardman: 2-for-4, RBI, R, K
Hardman is up to 77 RBI, four short of his career best.
CF Kenedy Corona: 2-for-4, 2B (10), HR (7), 3 RBI, R, SB (11), K
Corona, who had a cup of coffee with the Astros last season, is hitting .260/.353/.425 in 237 PA at this level.
RHP Hayden Merda: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Scranton needed to go with a bullpen game tonight. Good idea to start with Merda, who was once a starting pitcher. Furthermore, Merda started slow at this level so it’s nice to see him have a strong night. Merda throws hard enough to keep hitters honest, allowing him to use his cutter, which he throws in the mid-to-upper 80s. Tonight, he generated five whiffs on ten swings with that pitch.
RHP Harrison Cohen: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Eli Morgan: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Morgan has tossed four scoreless innings since signing. Being effective in the minors hasn’t been an issue the past few years.
RHP Chris Kean: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Luis Gil: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Gil maxed out at 96 MPH (averaged 95.5). In case you are wondering, he averaged 95.3 MPH in MLB earlier this season. By the way, the bullpen game held Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Roman Anthony, and Trevor Story to a 0-for-10 night (Kiner-Falefa earned two walks).
RHP Zach Messinger: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Somerset (65-57; 28-25 in the second half) (Lost to Akron, 7-5)
SS Core Jackson: 2-for-4, 2 R, SB (6)
Jackson continues his hitting ways, as he is hitting .323 in eight games since his promotion. With George Lombard Jr. establishing himself in MLB (his recent errors notwithstanding), could Jackson be a future 2B or 3B option? His glove was highly rated coming out of college. It was the bat that had questions.
CF Jace Avina: 2-for-4, 2 K
Avina is hopefully busting out of his slump, as he has back-to-back multi-hit efforts. He is hitting .249/.351/.473 in 459 PA (25 doubles, 3 triples, 19 HR, 60 RBI, 74 R, 14-for-17 SB, 12.4% BB, 24.2% K).
DH Omar Alfonzo: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, K
2B Roderick Arias: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
3B Coby Morales: 2-for-3, RBI, R, SB (21), BB
An example of his teammates not getting on base enough in front of him: He’s hitting well in August (22-for-66; .333) but has only three RBI.
RF DJ Gladney: 0-for-3, R, BB, K
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-4, K
C Manuel Palencia: 0-for-4, RBI
LF Jackson Castillo: 0-for-3, CS (2), BB, K
RHP Cade Smith: (L, 7-8) 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
4.98 ERA (110.1 IP, 114 H, 63 R, 61 ER, 20 HR, 45 BB, 105 K). His previous two starts were strong, but he took a step back tonight.
LHP Geoffrey Gilbert: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
RHP Yerry Rodriguez: 0.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
RHP Michael Arias: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Hudson Valley (62-58; 32-24 in second half) (Lost to Brooklyn, 11-5, in ten innings. This ends their 9-game winning streak. They had a 4-0 lead in this game)
C Eric Genther: 1-for-5, 2B (21), R, BB, K
Genther, a left-handed bat who has played C/DH, has 21 doubles and 14 home runs in 111 games. As stated a few times, he did a little catching in college but hadn’t done it since 2022. The lack of experience often shows (he had two passed balls tonight, giving him 11 this season), but this feels like a worthwhile experiment.
SS Jackson Lovich: 1-for-4, 3B (2), RBI, 2 R, BB, 3 K
Lovich, who has 82 RBI, 80 runs, and 34 stolen bases between here and Tampa, is hitting .333 with a .904 OPS since his promotion (1 double, 2 triples, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 21 R, 13-for-15 SB, 13.2% BB, 30.2% K). Strikeouts remain his bugaboo.
1B David McCann: 1-for-4, HR (6), 3 RBI, R, BB, K
McCann, a left-handed bat who has played C/1B/DH, has six home runs in 14 games at this level (15 home runs and 52 RBI in 59 games overall). One advantage he has over Genther is age: Genther is 24 while McCann is 22.
RF Dean Toigo: 0-for-3, R, HBP, BB, K
DH Hans Montero: 2-for-3, 2 BB, K
Montero is hitting .290 (9-for-31; 9 walks) since his promotion.
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 2-for-5, K
LF Robbie Burnett: 0-for-4, BB, K
3B Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 1-for-4, SF, RBI, K
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-3, HBP, BB
RHP Luis Serna: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K
3.98 ERA (108.2 IP< 90 H, 57 R, 48 ER, 10 HR, 35 BB, 128 K). In his four starts since a disaster on August 1st (0.2 IP, 8 R): 20.1 IP, 12 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 24 K. Serna has been a heckuva prospect comeback story. The combinaton of injuries and ineffectiveness from 2023 through 2025 had me and others wonder if he was done.
RHP Bryce Warrecker: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Thomas Balboni Jr.: 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Rough night for Balboni, who entered it with a 1.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 9.1 innings in August.
RHP Jose M. Rodriguez (L, 1-2): 2 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Wilmy Sanchez: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Tampa (70-49; 35-18 in the second half) (Defeated Jupiter, 2-1. The rain kept the offense in check tonight, as this game only went five innings.)
SS Dax Kilby: 1-for-2, R, SB (8), BB, K
.280/.437/.419 in 119 PA at this level (3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 20 R, 8-for-9 SB, 21.8% BB, 21.0% K). Impressive.
CF Yostin Pena: 0-for-2, R, BB, K
Pena scores his 70th run (53 games between here and the DSL).
LF Paul Contreras: 2-for-3
First 7 games: 3-for-24. Last 6 games: 10-for-24. In his 13 games overall, he has more walks (8) than strikeouts (7). As a reminder, he was their 4th round pick out of Cal State – Fullerton (signed for $497,500; below the $603,500 slot).
C Bear Harrison: 1-for-2, SF, 2 RBI, K
It’s been a slow start for the 21-year-old, so nice to see him have a productive night.
DH Luke Pettitte: 0-for-2
Go back to pitching, kid!
3B Anthony Potestio: 0-for-2, K
1B Tyce Armstrong: 0-for-1, BB, K
RF Diego Castellanos: 0-for-1, BB
2B Luis Escudero: 0-for-2
RHP Ty Boudreau: (W, 7-3) 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, HR
It goes down as a complete game in the record books, the first in his professional career.
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.