Yankees MILB 5/24: Allen Facundo Ks 11

News:

IF Caleb Durbin, who has put his name on the map the past two years, was placed on the 7-day IL today after being hit by a pitch last night.

Durbin is hitting .299/.413/.458 in 215 PA with 17 doubles, 3 home runs, 36 RBI, 34 runs, and 20 stolen bases. He has played 2B/SS/3B/LF/CF.

A non-contact injury cost him a big chunk of the 2023 season (he played only 69 games).

Depth arm Cody Poteet is also on the injured list. The Yankees are in a pitching depth crisis, losing Poteet and Clayton Beeter recently. Additionally, Will Warren and Edgar Barclay are struggling.

At this point in the season, you must make do with what you have. Brian Cashman could look to make a minor deal for minor-league depth, but the Yankees aren’t the only team that treasures veteran minor-league pitching depth.

RHP Yoendrys Gomez was promoted to the Yankees with Nick Burdi back on the injured list. Gomez’s time could be short once Ian Hamilton is ready. The Yankees hate giving up pitching depth, which is likely why they continue to hold on to Dennis Santana and Michael Tonkin. I have seen more than I need to see.

There were several promotions today – I don’t feel any of them are in the “significant” category because I think they were done based on needs more than anything. For example, RHP Trent Sellers and LHP Ben Shields were promoted to Scranton, where they need arms. Hudson Valley was short arms (especially since Baron Stuart was needed in Scranton yesterday), so RHP Josh Grosz was promoted there from Tampa. Grosz is talented, but I am not sure if a 7.06 ERA/5.76 FIP guy is a promotion that will “stick” once the dust settles (if it settles).

Scranton (32-17) (Their pitching is decimated but is hanging tough. Tonight, they defeated Syracuse, 7-3)

DH Jose Rojas1-for-5, RS, K
2B Oswald Peraza: 2-for-5, RBI, RS, 2 SB (2), 2 K
4-for-20. All he can do is stay ready and perform at a high level. 
1B Carlos Narvaez2-for-5, 2B (10), RBI, RS, K
.231/.371/.396 in 170 PA. His performance is on par with his minor league career (.238/.361/.370). The Yankees are high on him, likely as a backup catcher who can play some first base.
RF Oscar Gonzalez2-for-5, RBI, RS, K
Gonzalez has an 8-game hitting streak and is hitting .328/.397/.590 in 68 plate appearances for Scranton.
C Luis Torrens1-for-3, SF, RBI, RS
3B Jeter Downs1-for-3, RS, BB, K
LF Greg Allen1-for-3, RS, BB, K
SS Kevin Smith0-for-4, 2 K
CF Brandon Lockridge1-for-3, 2 RBI, SB (17), BB, K
.247/.376/.340 in 117 PA with 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts.

RHP Yerry De Los Santos3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
De Los Santos pitches well in his first start (minors or majors) since 2015. 
RHP Trent Sellers: (W, 1-0) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Yesterday, it was Baron Stuart – today, it is Trent Sellers. That is, pitchers they called up from Hudson Valley because they need arms. This is his first professional season. For Hudson Valley, he pitched to a 2.82 ERA in 22.1 innings with a 30/16 K/BB.
RHP Art Warren2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Phil Bickford2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Every injury moves veterans like Bickford up on the depth chart.


Somerset (21-22) (Squeaked past New Hampshire, 8-7)

CF Spencer Jones1-for-4, 2 RS, SB (11), BB, 3 K
He is not out of his slump, but he has drawn four walks in his last three games and has three stolen bases in his last four games. 
DH Jasson Dominguez2-for-5, K
Dominguez is 2-for-13 since joining Somerset.
C Agustin Ramirez: 3-for-4, 2 2B (7), SF, 2 RBI, 2 RS, SB (11), K
Back-to-back multi-hit efforts and his 4th 3+ hit game this season.  He is hitting .286/.400/.593 in 170 incredible plate appearances.
1B Ben Rice1-for-5, RBI, RS
Rice is on a 5-game hitting streak (6-for-18). He has 8 RBI in his last six games.
SS Ben Cowles1-for-1, HR (4), 2 RBI, 3 RS, 2 BB, HBP
Cowles is at .329/.419/.545 (15 doubles, 2 triples, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 29 R). He has been a machine since Game 1.
3B J.C. Escarra: 2-for-4, 2 2B (9), 3 RBI
RF Elijah Dunham0-for-4, 2 K
LF Grant Richardson0-for-4, 2 K
2B Anthony Seigler1-for-4

RHP Bailey Dees: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
4.15 ERA (43.1 IP, 39 H, 21 R, 20 ER, 5 HR, 19 BB, 47 K).  Dees hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in a game since the season opener (where he allowed 8). Tonight wasn’t perfect, but the Yankees must be thrilled with his season, given he was converted to a starter this year.
RHP Carlos Gomez1.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, HR
RHP Jesus Liranzo: (W, 1-0)  2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
RHP Jack Neely (S, 5): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Neely is 19-for-21 converting saves in his career. This season, he owns a 1.25 ERA in 21.2 IP (12 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 8 BB, 33 K). A prospect doesn’t need to stay in Triple-A for long but the Yankees are likely still considering sending him to Scranton.


Hudson Valley (20-20) (Lost to Brooklyn, 7-1)

LF Jace Avina0-for-4, BB, K
SS Jared Serna1-for-4, SB (5), 2 K
Serna now owns a 22-game on-base streak. He is hitting .250/.377/.459 in 183 PA (10 doubles, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 29 R). He was nearly a 20/20 player in 2023 (19 HR/29 SB).  He will need to get on a roll to challenge that again in 2024, but his season has taken off after a slow start.
2B Jorbit Vivas0-for-4, 2 K
DH Tyler Hardman1-for-4, RS, K
1B Omar Martinez1-for-4, K
Martinez now has a 9-game hitting streak. 
C Rafael Flores1-for-3, BB, K
RF Garrett Martin 1-for-3
   PH-RF Nelson Medina0-for-1
3B Josh Moylan1-for-3, RBI, BB, K
CF Cole Gabrielson1-for-3, 2B (7), SB (3), BB, K

LHP Kyle Carr: (L, 0-3) 4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR
A grand slam ruined his evening. Carr has struggled to put things together this season (7.34 ERA in 8 starts (30.2 IP) with a 26/25 K/BB). That said, it is his debut season and he skipped straight to High-A. One thing he has is time.
LHP Joel Valdez1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, HR
RHP Matt Keating2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
3.00 ERA (27 IP, 17 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 3 HR, 11 BB, 29 K)


Tampa (16-27) (Shut Down Jupiter, 1-0)

2B George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, BB, 2 K
Positional breakdown: Shortstop: 15 games; Second base: 5 games; Third base: 4 games. 
SS Roderick Arias0-for-4, RS, SB (10), BB, K
.209/.333/.342 in 189 PA. He has 34 extra-base hits and 37 stolen bases in 99 career games. That’s the raw talent shining through. The rawness also comes through with the high strikeout rates, etc. I continue to sit back and be patient as I don’t think anyone can tell you where his career is going.
CF Jackson Castillo0-for-3, BB, 2 K
DH Hans Montero1-for-4, RBI, K
.305/.379/.500 in 66 PA. An interesting dilemma could present itself whenever Enmanuel Tejeda returns. There will be enough playing time for everyone, though.
RF Willy Montero0-for-4, 2 K
1B Coby Morales0-for-2, SB (9), 2 BB, 2 K
3B Brenny Escanio0-for-2, 2 BB, K
C Edinson Duran1-for-4, K
LF Daury Arias1-for-4, K

LHP Allen Facundo5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K
Facundo ties his best for strikeouts in a game (set in 2021). The 6’0″ 21-year-old has a 2.40 ERA (30 IP, 18 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 1 HR, 14 BB, 38 K). He mainly featured his 4-seam fastball and slider, generating 17 whiffs with the slider.
RHP Montana Semmel: (W, 3-2) 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
1.19 ERA (22.2 IP, 14 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 HR, 6 BB, 18 K). The Yankees liked Semmel enough to give him a maximum bonus ($125,000) in 2020 to sign. In 2020, the rule was that any player drafted after the 10th round had a maximum bonus of $125,000 (anything higher than that would have counted towards a team’s draft allotment for the first ten rounds). Nowadays, the maximum bonus for these players is $150,000.
RHP Ocean Gabonia: (S, 2): 1.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
4.79 ERA (20.2 IP, 23 H, 13 R, 11 ER, 1 HR, 4 BB, 24 K). Gabonia had a 49/29 K/BB in 53.2 innings last year, so he is doing a nice job keeping the walks at bay in 2024.


FCL (8-7) (Lost to the Phillies, 20-8, in a 7-inning game)

CF Brando Mayea2-for-5, RBI, RS, SB (1), K
5-for-13
C Josue Gonzalez0-for-3, BB, HBP, K
DH Engelth Urena2-for-2, 2B (1), HR (1), 3 RBI, RS, 3 BB
Urena is 5-for-20. He missed all of 2023 due to injury.
LF Brian Sanchez1-for-4, RS, BB, K
His strong start continues (15-for-40, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 5 RBI, 9 R, 6-for-6 SB)
2B Abrahan Ramirez1-for-3, 2B (1), RBI, RS, BB
.316/.447/.500 in 48 PA with 11 runs batted in.
1B Diomedes Hernandez2-for-3, RS, HBP
3B Luis Ogando1-for-4, 2B (1), RBI
SS Santiago Gomez1-for-3, RBI, 2 RS, HBP
RF Ramiro Altagracia1-for-3, RS, BB

RHP Bryce Warrecker (L, 0-2): 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K


DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!

Yankees MILB 4/26: Agustin Ramirez’s Big Night

News:

2B Jorbit Vivas, who played in two games since returning from his eye injury, was placed on the 7-day injured list today.

RHP Brian Hendryreceiving buzz in prospect circles, was placed on the 7-day IL today for Hudson Valley. His outing yesterday was short. It is often hard to know if a short outing is a part of a plan or injury. In this case, it was injury.

Scranton (16-8) (Defeated Durham, 6-2)

3B Caleb Durbin1-for-4, RS, CS (1), HBP, K
DH Everson Pereira2-for-5, 2B (6), 2 RS
.256/.340/.593 in 97 PA (6 doubles, 1 triple, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 17 R, 9 BB, 33 K, 2-for-4 SB)
1B T.J. Rumfield2-for-4, RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
Since promotion: 9-for-34 (.265/.316/.353). He has yet to homer in 17 games after hitting 17 HR in 86 games last year (that was the outlier season in his short career)
C Carlos Narvaez: 2-for-4, SF, 2 RBI, RS
2B Luis Torrens: 1-for-4, HBP, K
LF Josh VanMeter0-for-3, RBI, BB, K
SS Jeter Downs2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 K
.281/.364/.491 in 67 PA. 
RF Luis Gonzalez1-for-4, K
CF Brandon Lockridge0-for-4, 2 K

LHP Edgar Barclay: (W, 2-1) 5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
2.70 ERA (23.1 IP, 19 H, 11 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 26 K)
LHP Josh Maciejewski2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
LHP Anthony Misiewicz1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K


Somerset (8-11) (Crushed Reading, 13-2)

CF Spencer Jones: 2-for-4, 2 2B (3), RBI, RS, CS (3), BB, K
Jones is 14-for-40 (3 doubles, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 12 K, 3-for-6 SB)
1B Agustin Ramirez: 3-for-4, 2B (1), HR (8), 2 RBI, 2 RS, 2 BB, K
I find it funny that Ramirez had no extra-base hits other than home runs entering tonight. He is hitting .246 with a 1.011 OPS (1 double, 8 HR, 17 RBI, 13 R, 12 BB (15.2%), 13 K (16.5%))
C Ben Rice2-for-4, 2B (2), 2 RS, 2 BB, 2 K
Rice is hitting .254 with a .862 OPS (2 doubles, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 15 R, 11 BB (13.1%), 21 K (25%))
3B Ben Cowles1-for-5, RBI, 2 RS, BB, K
Cowles is at .344 with a 1.020 OPS (8 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 12 R, 11 BB, 14 K, 3-for-3 SB)
DH J.C. Escarra2-for-6, 3B (2), 2 RBI, 2 RS
RF Jared Wegner1-for-5, RBI, RS, BB
LF Grant Richardson3-for-6, 2B (6), HR (2), 3 RBI, RS
Richardson is at .281 with an .835 OPS (6 doubles, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R, 4 BB, 15 K). He has hit safely in seven of his last eight games.
2B Anthony Seigler1-for-5, 2B (4), RBI, RS, BB, K
SS Alexander Vargas1-for-5, 2B (1), RBI, RS, 2 K

RHP Blane Abeyta: (W, 1-3) 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Abeyta struck out ten and 11 in games last year.
RHP Tanner Myatt1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K


Hudson Valley (11-7) (Defeated Bowling Green, 5-1)

CF Jace Avina1-for-3, RBI, HBP, K
Avina is 9-for-25 with a double, home run, and 3 RBI.
SS Jared Serna0-for-4, SB (1), 2 K
Serna hasn’t been able to get on base enough to show off his speed. He stole 29 bases in 37 attempts in 2023.
DH Omar Martinez1-for-4, 2B (1), RS, 2 K
.296/.415/.519 in 65 PA. 
2B Jesus Rodriguez1-for-3, 3B (1), RBI, RS, BB
.306/.377/.419 in 69 PA. He continues to hit while playing all over the field.
1B Josh Moylan0-for-3, SF, RBI, 2 K
.225/.385/.300 in 52 PA with a home run, ten walks, and 16 strikeouts.
C Rafael Flores1-for-3, 2B (5), RS, BB, K
3B Kiko Romero1-for-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, RS
RF Nelson Medina0-for-3, 3 K
LF Cole Gabrielson1-for-2, 2B (1), RS, HBP

RHP Sebastian Keane: (W, 1-2) 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Keane sets a personal best for strikeouts in a game. Season: 5.63 ERA (16 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 0 HR, 9 BB, 19 K). He has two strong starts and two not-so-great starts. They are building up his innings load.
RHP Matt Keating: (S, 2) 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
11.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 HR, 6 BB, 14 K


Tampa (4-15) (Lost to Lakeland, 6-4, in 10 innings)

2B Enmanuel Tejeda1-for-5, RBI,K
Tejeda has a 7-game hitting streak. He is at .316/.365/.355 in 85 PA with three doubles, six walks, and 18 strikeouts.
RF Oscar Gonzalez: 2-for-5, 2B (1), 2 RBI, K
SS Roderick Arias0-for-4, BB, 3 K
Arias has drawn exactly one walk in seven straight games. He is hitting .208/.329/.361 in 85 PA with 12 walks and 34 strikeouts (40%)
3B Dylan Jasso0-for-5, 2 K
1B Coby Morales1-for-5, RS, 2 K
LF Jackson Castillo2-for-3, SB (2)
  LF Tayler Aguilar0-for-1
CF Willy Montero0-for-3, RBI, RS, BB, K
DH Tomas Frick1-for-3, RS, HBP
Frick is 7-for-24 with five walks and five strikeouts.
C Edinson Duran2-for-4, RS, K

LHP Allen Facundo4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
2.31 ERA (11.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 HR, 9 BB, 7 K). The 6’0″ 21-year-old reached 96.5 MPH with his 4-seamer, though none of his fastballs resulted in whiffs. Just someone to put somewhere on your “watch” list.
RHP Kris Bow2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
RHP Montana Semmel: (L, 1-2) 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K


FCL (0-0)

The season starts on 5/4.


DSL (0-0)

It will be a while before their season starts!