Midseason Review/New Top 30 Prospects
Notes:
RHP Justin Topa was signed to a minor league contract.
Topa has a long list of transactions in the last few weeks. He was signed, promoted, designated for assignment, declared free agency, and re-signed. The Yankees probably sweetened the pot to keep him.
C Mitch Garver has exercised the mobility clause in his contract. If he leaves, he will join Christian Bethancourt as a veteran catcher who ended up leaving. Bethancourt was traded to the Pirates and was called up to their MLB club today.
Garver exercised the clause on August 30th, giving teams until 5 PM ET today to inform the Yankees that they would be willing to add him to their active roster. If a team did that, the Yankees would have 48 hours to either add Garver or trade him. If no teams are interested, he stays with the Yankees on his minor league deal.
Is Garver potentially better than Ali Sanchez? A few years ago, the answer would have been obvious. Of course, a few years ago Garver wasn’t accepting minor league contracts. For what it is worth, Sanchez is a strong pitch framer, while Garver is not.
Scranton (69-61; 32-24 in the second half) (Split two games with Lehigh Valley)
Game 1 (Lost, 4-2. This was the conclusion of a game started August 16th. However, the game only went one inning before being called, so I will do the full box score.)
2B Anthony Volpe: 0-for-4, 2 K
LF Jasson Dominguez: 2-for-4, R, K
SS Max Schuemann: 1-for-4, 2B (9), R
DH J.C. Escarra: 0-for-3, RBI, HBP
RF Yanquiel Fernandez: 2-for-4, 2B (15), RBI
C Mitch Garver: 0-for-0
PH-C Abrahan Gutierrez: 1-for-2, BB
PH Marco Luciano: 0-for-1
1B Ernesto Martinez Jr.: 0-for-3
3B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3
CF Duke Ellis: 1-for-3, CS (7)
RHP Alexander Cornielle: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
RHP Adam Kloffenstein (L, 2-10): 6.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
RHP Bradley Hanner: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Game 2 (Won, 16-0)
CF Jarred Kelenic: 1-for-5, 2 K
SS Anthony Volpe: 2-for-3, HR (9), RBI, 3 R, 2 SB (7), BB
Volpe has homered six times in his last 11 games, including three in his last two games (Game 1 from today was recorded as being played on August 16th).
RF Jasson Dominguez: 2-for-3, 3 R, SB (12), BB
Last three games: 7-for-13. The same note about Volpe’s first game applies to Dominguez.
2B Marco Luciano: 1-for-2, SF, 2 RBI, R, BB
Luciano’s .936 OPS is easily his best mark since his first year (47 games). It is 114 points higher than his career number.
C J.C. Escarra: 3-for-4, HR (10), 4 RBI, R
A nice start to September for Escarra, who launched five home runs and drove in 24 runs in August.
3B Oswaldo Cabrera: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, R, SB (9)
1B Tyler Hardman: 1-for-3, 2 R, BB
DH Yanquiel Fernandez: 0-for-3, RBI, R, BB, K
LF Kenedy Corona: 2-for-4, 2 HR (9), 6 RBI, 2 R, 2 K
Corona sets a new personal best for RBI in a game. His second home run was a grand slam off a position player, but nobody will remember that.
RHP Eric Reyzelman: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Reyzelman’s second career start. He maxed out at 97.7 MPH.
RHP Zach Messinger: (W, 8-1) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.68 ERA (66 IP, 46 H, 30 R, 27 ER, 7 HR, 31 BB, 62 K)
RHP Danny Watson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Watson has had an up-and-down campaign: April: 5.06 ERA; May: 1.42 ERA; June: 11.88 ERA; July: 0.00 ERA; August: 11.05 ERA.
RHP Chris Kean: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Somerset (68-59; 31-27 in the second half) (Defeated Erie, 7-5)
SS Core Jackson: 2-for-5, 2 RBI, 2 R, K
Since promotion: .255/.333/.340 in 54 PA.
CF Jace Avina: 3-for-5, 2B (27), HR (20), 2 RBI, R
Avina, who has two 3-hit efforts in his last three games, launches his first home run since July 29th. Season: .254/.350/.477 in 483 PA (27 doubles, 3 triples, 20 HR, 64 RBI, 77 R, 15-for-18 SB, 11.8% BB, 23.6% K). This is the lowest K% of his career.
C Omar Alfonzo: 1-for-4, RBI, HBP, 3 K
2B Roderick Arias: 1-for-3, RBI, CS (4), HBP, K
3B Coby Morales: 1-for-4, R, K
RF DJ Gladney: 1-for-4, R, K
1B Josh Moylan: 0-for-4, 3 K
DH Manuel Palencia: 2-for-4, R, K
A nice start to September after his insane August (22-for-66 with four doubles and seven home runs).
LF Jackson Castillo: 1-for-4, RBI, R, SB (12), 3 K
RHP Cade Smith: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR
RHP Tony Rossi: (W, 6-0) 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Since promotion: 2.87 ERA (31.1 IP, 24 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 9 BB, 41 K).
RHP Kevin Stevens: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
August/September: 9.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 16 K
RHP Chris Veach: (S, 2) 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Hudson Valley (64-61; 34-27 in second half) (Lost to Wilmington, 6-0, in five innings. They likely need to win the final five games in this series to have any shot at a playoff berth)
C Eric Genther: 1-for-3, K
Genther has an 8-game hitting streak (11-for-30; .367).
CF Jackson Lovich: 1-for-3, 2B (3), 2 K
First 14 games after promotion: 0 extra-base hits; 15 games since: 9 extra-base hits (3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 HR).
1B Kyle West: 0-for-1, 2 SB (17), 2 BB, K
DH Maika Niu: 0-for-0, SB (5), 3 BB
LF Dean Toigo: 0-for-3, 2 K
3B Hans Montero: 0-for-2, K
2B Enmanuel Tejeda: 0-for-1, SB (25), CS (8), BB
Between here and Tampa, Tejeda is 37-for-49 stealing bases.
RF Camden Troyer: 0-for-2
SS Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek: 0-for-1, HBP
RHP Luis Serna: (L, 6-6) 4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, HR
It is possible Serna will start on Sunday or receive a start for Somerset, but if not, this would be his last start of 2026. In that case, he will end his comeback campaign with a 4.31 ERA over 112.2 innings (98 H, 63 R, 54 ER, 11 HR, 39 BB, 133 K). His season was good enough to land a spot in the Pipeline Top 30, something he hadn’t done since 2023.
Tampa (74-49; 39-18 in the second half – clinched playoff berth)
Their game against Dunedin was postponed due to rain.
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.